It was a privilege to hear from Max Dashu this weekend, who has dedicated her life to going into the shadows to bring to light the forgotten stories of women who danced and sang, were healers and priestesses.
With great wisdom and care she pieces together each and every fragment she finds: a shard of pottery, a painting on a rock wall, the way words shift meaning over time. Following the trail of art and language, she has traced clues about how it was, what was native and indigenous to women on every continent. And somehow she has done all of this without institutional support. She told a story of the time she found a rare image in a used book store, but did not have the money to buy the book.
The picture of Max sitting in the dark, for decades going where she was invited with her slide carousels, and now with digital versions: this is uphill struggle of changing the narrative. So humbled and grateful for the deep well of resources that women today can draw on as we are revising our culture and the story of who we are.
One of our favorite quotes from the day was: “Goddess is a spectrum.”
Some are ancestors; some are spirit helpers; some are shamans and healers.
