The Goddess Guy Has Been Outted!

In her "Outting the Goddess " column this week, UPI columnist Anita Ryan-Revel (an awesome diva herself) featured our work in the outrageously humorous style that is uniquely hers. She raises the burning question of "Do Guys have Inner Goddesses Too?

Here's a tidbit of what Anita had to say:

Sharon Turnbull's book "Goddess Gift: Discover Your Goddess Type" is being used by returning troops in their PTSD sessions. I asked the question, "If the book is written for women, how is it finding its way to men who understand terms like “Iron Mike”, “short-arm inspection” and “sucking chest wound”?

Check out the article at : Winning The Battle for GI Joe

(And yes, it is true. Our goddess book about discovering the goddess within and connecting with that inner goddess to create a life filled with passion and purpose is really being used in a couple of PTSD groups for our returning veterans. Gotta love the concept!)

This Parking Goddess Reserves a Space for You

Tired of circling the block, praying for a parking space? It's time to call on the Goddess Asphalta, the inspired creation of three talented women who believe that "creating" goddesses, not to mention relying on them, can be great fun.

(PRWEB) June 6, 2007 -- Goddess Asphalta, full of grace, help me find a parking space.

Winding your way through bumper-to-bumper traffic on a congested street, you dread the prospect of having to circle the block searching for a parking space to become available. But finding that prime piece of real estate no longer has to be a hassle.

When you're a block or so away from your destination just repeat this mantra and miraculously a parking spot will miraculously appear.

While some may remain skeptical about the goddess' powers, Brooklyn artist Bernette Rudolph believes in them . . . so firmly that she has created a series of wood sculptures to honor the goddess of parking.

The Goddess Asphalta first appeared as a winning entry in the Create-A-Goddess competition held by www.goddessgift.com. She is the brain-child of Oregon resident, Katherine Stock, whose entry on Our Lady of the Highways and Byways captured the eye of the artist.

Sharon Turnbull, author of Goddess Gift: Discover Your Goddess Type and owner of the Goddess Gift website that introduced the Goddess Asphalta to the world, explains that "found" goddesses such as this one are "modern deities . . . goddesses that we create when we notice a need for help with a certain issue and address that need with a sense of humor."

Familiar with the frantic search for parking spots, Rudolph was well aware of the need for such a deity in our daily lives.

The Goddess Asphalta series was introduced to the public in May during an Open Studio event held in Rudolph's Park Slope studio. Five versions of the goddess were on display, including one of her adorned with street signs and another where she is draped in a map of Brooklyn.

Visitors to the studio event received a printed hanger that contained a copy of the mantra to dangle from their rear view mirrors. They also had artist's assurance that, thanks to the Goddess Asphalta, their parking problems could become a thing of the past.

View the sculptures at http://www.bernetterudolph.comm. To learn more about the Goddess Asphalta, read the article by Katherine Stock that inspired the series at http://www.goddessgift.com/found.htm.

The Hidden History of Valentine's Day: An Emperor, a
Priest, and a Goddess

Valentine's Day approaches -- that time of year when lovers (and
wannabe's) are frantic, wondering whether to splurge on the
heart-shaped box of chocolates, over-priced flowers, or the
predictable greeting cards. Ever wonder how the madness all got
started?

The history of Valentine's Day began with the ancient
Festival of Lupercalia which honored the founding of Rome. To
insure the fertility of the land, the festival also celebrated
the erotic love that was the special domain of Juno, the Roman
goddess of love and marriage. The month February was even named
in her honor -- the word comes from the Latin word "febres",
meaning feverish or febrile.

Held on the hillside near the Lupercallus ("Wolf-Cave"),
where Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, were raised as
infants by a pack of wolves, the festivities were held on
February 15 each year. Led by a pagan priest, the activities
included "whipping" all the women to ensure their fertility.

Another part of the celebration involved a lottery in which
the names of the unmarried females were drawn by the eligible
bachelors and the couples were paired for the following year to
honor the goddess Juno -- obviously a prototype of
matchmaker.com.

Turn the clock forward to the third century and you find
Claudius II serving as the Emperor of Rome, which by that time
had seen its glory days and was now being threatened on its
borders by the Goths.

Claudius had a problem on his hands. He definitely needed his
army to be at full strength. He felt that married men weren't
very good soldiers, given their tendency to go A.W.O.L. when it
was time to harvest the crops or whenever they felt the urge for
a conjugal visit.

So concerned was the Emperor that he used his authority to
ban the practice of marriage. And he banned the Festival of
Lupercalia as well, since it was obviously contributing to the
high incidence of marriage that seemed to be destroying his
militia.

For the first time, the pagan Emperor and the growing
Christian church found themselves on the same side of an
argument. The Church was also opposed to the pagan festival of
Lupercalia, objecting to its lustfulness, and especially the
practice of the lottery.

Yet it was a dangerous time to be a Christian priest. A
parish priest named Valentine was part of the Christian
underground and, in defiance of the Emperor's edict, continued
to marry couples in secret. He was soon found out and carried
off to prison.

There must have been something very "special" about
Valentine. The Emperor himself supposedly took the time to visit
him in prison and tried to convert him to the worship of the
ancient pagan deities. He failed miserably, and Valentine was
executed on the February 14, in the year 270.

Church policy in dealing with the ancient religions often
included a strategy of incorporating, rather than just banning,
the pagan traditions. And it proved to be an effective strategy.
Many of our contemporary holiday rituals and traditions are
actually based on ancient pagan celebrations.

Anxious to end the lusty Lupercalia that they saw as a
"festival of the flesh", the Church was a bit more subtle than
the Emperor in their approach to getting rid of it. Having a
"Saint's Day" celebration for the martyred Valentine, and
holding it a day earlier than the pagan festival, was a clever
idea indeed.

But like so many other holidays, Valentine's Day was co-opted
once more, this time by secular, commercial interests. And so
today we find ourselves sending valentines to all sorts of
people, even those for whom we haven't the slightest marital,
romantic, or lustful feelings . . . and wonder where all the
passion in our lives has gone.

And what about that cute little guy in diapers who goes
around shooting arrows loaded with aphrodisiacs? Hard to believe
he once was an actual god! You can read more about it at :

The Pagan History of Valentine's Day.

 

The Inner Goddess Speaks Out. May We Quote You On That?
Reminder: Let the annual competition begin! In previous years we've enjoyed "Creating Goddesses for Contemporary Times" and writing "Goddess Poetry".

This year your challenge, should you accept it: Provide us with a quote, the author of the quote, and the name of a goddess that it exemplifies.

For example: "Be a Goddess, or a doormat." (Pablo Picasso) is one of my personal favorites and it certainly sounds like something that the goddess Aphrodite might have said!

Just submit your entry, click on the "post" link below to submit your entry. Be sure to leave your own name as you'd like for it to appear as the contributor, and your email address (which we won't publish).

All valid entries will be published (Be Advised that 'The Censor' will not post obscenity, intolerant/hateful stuff, violence, etc.)

Prizes will be awarded to the 'Favored Five'. First Place: Goddess Statue Second: Goddess Pendant Third - Fifth: Aromatherapy Oil Diffuser & Oil

And the 'Fortunate Five' Gift certificates to take the Goddess Quiz or the Greek Gods Quiz will be awarded to five contributors drawn at random.Deadline: February 15, 2006

Winners will be announced in the March Edition of the Goddess Path Newsletter. To enter just lick on the comments link at the bottom of this entry, check out the comments (quotes) of the competition, and then add your own entry. You'll be asked to register as a blogger at blogspot (absolutely free) before you can add your comment. It only takes a minute and your quote will be published in no time at all!

(Be sure to check out previous entries in the Comments section under this post and the one on December 14 )

So ..... Let Your Inner Goddess Roar!

Outlander and Women with Heart

In response to an article about "A Woman's Circle of Friends" that I'd included an issue of The Goddess Path Newsletter, a woman named Lynn emailed me a poignant response and allowed me to share it in the next issue. Other subscribers responded (See initial comments to this post) to her dilemma.

Here's what Lynn said:

All my life, I've heard about the wonderful friendships women have. I'm a woman. But I'm probably not your friend.

Let me tell you who I am...I am the woman you will tell your troubles to in the line at the store...the one who will listen and empathize. But then you will smile, and maybe say thanks, but never ask my name.

I am the one who will walk out of the school with you and two other moms after a project in our children's classroom, and will hear you invite the other moms over for lunch, but will not be included.

I am the one who will hear all about the great scrapbook retreat you and another woman went to, and how you can't wait to do it again. But you will never ask me if I would like to join you.

I am the one you will tell all about your big, crazy Thanksgiving family dinners, and maybe you'll even ask to borrow a recipe or a baking pan, but even though I have no family within a thousand miles, you will not invite my child and me to join you because after all, we're not family.

I am the one with the book you need to borrow, the name of the doctor or Realtor you want to find, the one with information on the new restaurant, places to go on your vacation, or the website to help with your child's project. I am the one who can pick up your child when you're running late, pitch in when another mom didn't show for the gift wrapping table at the school holiday market, or hold your hand when the doctor's news is scary.I am the one who will ask you over to lunch, only to have you cancel...twice.

I am the outsider, the not-from-around-here, the stranger in your midst. I am educated, well dressed, well mannered, and literate. I am a woman, a mom, a neighbor But I do not go to your church. I do not celebrate the same holidays you do. I was not born here. I did not grow up here. I am a woman with no friends.

You tell me of the wonders of women's friendships. But you never see my tears. Do you even see me?