I was in my dining room, sorting out bills, when the phone rang. It was a dear friend. “I’m just looking into booking a ticket to Lima, do you want to come?" It was 2006 and I had recently retired from work at a bank and was looking for things to do. I called my New York boyfriend and left a message. “I’m going to Peru!”
In two days we were off and tour guides hired. What a thrill! I had always dreamed of going to Peru, knowing I had a spiritual home there to be discovered, uncovered, and analyzed. What would my insights be this time? Having researched Peru and its connection to the Pleiades star system, I knew the significance of Lake Titicaca, Cusco, and Machu Pichu. My own connection to the Pleiades has been strong since I took Reiki classes. During the first class, I saw myself walking on another plane of existence among Greek-like columns. There were beings in long white robes walking about a beautiful rectangular pool. Crystals sparkled at a water fountain. I discovered that I had been transported to the Pleiades star cluster, to Alcyone, a place of golden Light, and it is my home for 500 years when I return. My first Reiki class also happened to coincide with the Harmonic Convergence in August of 1987.
One of the things I love most about Kris Waldherr's Goddess Inspiration Oracle is that it features Goddesses from around the world. I've had the chance to learn about Goddesses who never appeared in my mythology courses and who seldom (if ever) get invoked in the rituals I attend. And while I am always seeking to be mindful of issues of cultural appropriation when working with Goddesses from other cultures, I have found valuable messages in learning about these Goddesses. I especially appreciate Waldherr's inclusion of Goddesses from First Nation and African traditions in this deck, as these are faces of the Feminine Divine that so often get passed by in the Feminist Witchcraft I know.
Axomama (deity #19 from the atheists’ god graveyard) is one of the daughters of Pachamama, the ancient Peruvian Earth mother. Her name literally means Potato mother. Potatoes were a staple food and main energy source for ancient Peruvians and still are for modern Andeans.
In Peruvian folklore, Kuka Mama ("mother coca") or Cocamama (Cocomama) is a goddess of health and happiness.The tale goes that she was accused of being promiscuous by a jealous lover.She was cut in half and her body planted like a seed which grew into the first coca plant.It is said that the leaves should only be chewed by men after they have satisfied a woman’s sexual needs.Other sources describe her as benevolent and beneficial Nature divinity.I couldn't find much more than that on this deity but I did find quite a bit on coca.
The problem I am running into, as I try to fulfill my promise of writing something for each of the divinities placed in the atheists’ “god graveyard”, is trying to find enough information on some of the divinities. For them, I tend to resort to poetry and prayers. The Incan/Aztec divinities have been especially hard. As everywhere I look, there are the same miniscule bits of information, repeated over and over. Not complaining, just stating the challenges I have faced in order to fulfill my promise. This week’s divinity (#17) is Chasca, Incan goddess of dawn and dusk, symbolized by the planet Venus.
Erin Lale
Fellow faculty at Harvard Divinity School posted an open letter to Wolpe in response to his article. It's available on this page, below the call for p...
Erin Lale
Here's another response. The Wild Hunt has a roundup of numerous responses on its site, but it carried this one as a separate article. It is an accoun...
Erin Lale
Here's another response. This one is by a scholar of paganism. It's unfortunately a Facebook post so this link goes to Facebook. She posted the text o...
Erin Lale
Here's another link to a pagan response to the Atlantic article. I would have included this one in my story too if I had seen it before I published it...
