The venue for the 2007 Goddess Festival was the Best Western University Plaza, Evanston IL. Program    9:30 am:  Registration and Meditation 10:00 am:  Procession and blessing 10:15 am:  Clearing of Sacred Space ceremony, by Vincent Hawkins 10:30 am:  Nuit Meditation and Ritual, by Angela Alsira 11 am to 1  PM:  Fellowship of Isis Reconnection and Renewal. 1 PM  - 2:30 pm::  lunch break, on your own.  Refer to list of restaurants. 2:30 pm: Lady Olivia Robertson, Meditation and Mystery Play 3:30 pm:   “Omm Sety's Living Egypt: Yesterday and Today Meet for a Follower of Isis” by Egyptologist Nicole Hansen of Glyphdoctors. 4:30 pm    Break and set-up for Main Liturgy 5:30 pm: Enactment of our main rite:  the Sacred Mystery Journey "Creation of Life Forms.” Interview With Lady Amber Dawn Interview With Joan Forest Mage   Our Presenters were:    Nicole Hansen, an Egyptologist specializing in the study of connections between ancient and modern Egyptian culture. For her, Egypt  is not simply a culture of the past, it is a living and vibrant one. Nicole has spent nearly seven years living in Egypt and she finds that her research often has close links with life there. She recently obtained her doctorate in Egyptology at the University of Chicago. In 2005, Nicole founded Glyphdoctors.com, a Web site offering online courses in Egyptian hieroglyphs and Egyptology as well as other educational experiences like tours. Omm Sety was an Englishwoman who moved to Egypt in the 1930s and spent nearly 5 decades working and living among the ancient monuments of Giza  and Abydos. Her life was the subject of a BBC documentary and two biographies, one by Jonathan Cott and a newer one by Catherine Dees and  Hanny el-Zeini. Shortly before her death in 1981, Omm Sety was proud to  have become a member of the Fellowship of Isis. Nicole will be talking about Omm Sety and will be signing copies of a new book by Omm Sety that she edited, entitled Omm Sety’s Living  Egypt: Surviving Folkways from Ancient Times. Omm Sety drew upon more than 30  years living in Egypt in Cairo and Abydos and her knowledge of ancient Egypt to produce a book that truly could be called her life's work as  it touches upon all aspects of her life, past and present. In this talk, Nicole will reveal what reading between the lines of the manuscript and  other documents uncovered during the preparation of the book tells us about how she embraced life fully through active participation in all aspects of contemporary Egyptian life and therefore was able to recognize parallels between Egypt of yesterday and today. The main liturgy was: The Creation Of Life Forms. Ray and Deena Butta were hierophants. Priestess and Priest 1 were Lady Amber Dawn and David Motherall Priestess and Priest 2 were Demetria Nanos Jones and Matthew Bearden Priestess and Priest 3 were Anna Applegate and martin barba the Sacred Dancers were Deena Butta, Joan forest Mage, Demetria Nanos Jones, and Anna Applegate. The music was Celti-Telli by Desert Wind.  Amenti:   originally the West, the place where the sun set, the entry to the Underworld, where Ra traveled during the night.   But subsequently the name was applied to the cemeteries and tombs which were usually built on the western bank of the Nile.   Amentet was the Egyptian goddess and friend of the dead, and the personification of Amenti. It was she who welcomed the deceased to their new dwelling place in the netherworld. She was also a goddess who helped with the rebirthing process, and thus a goddess of fertility and rebirth, who regenerated the deceased with food and water. Andromeda Nebula:   The Andromeda Galaxy was known in older texts as the Andromeda Nebula.  It is a spiral galaxy approximately 2.5 million light-years away in the constellation Andromeda, and contains about one trillion stars. It is the nearest spiral galaxy to our own, the Milky Way.  The Andromeda Galaxy is easily visible to the naked eye in a moderately dark sky.  Only the central part is bright enough to be visible, but the full angular diameter of the galaxy is seven times that of the full moon.  The constellation Andromeda takes the form of a female stick-figure, with a prominent belt where one arm has something long attached to it, giving the appearance of a female warrior holding a sword. Alternately, by including still fainter stars, which the naked eye can see, the attachment extends in a different direction, giving the appearance of a maiden held by a chain., and Andromeda appears to be trying to get away. Together with other constellations nearby (Cepheus (constellation), Perseus, Cassiopeia, and possibly Pegasus), and the constellation Cetus below Andromeda, this may be the source of the myth of the Boast of Cassiopeia, with which it is usually identified.  In Greek mythology, Andromeda was the wife of Perseus.  She was the daughter of King Cepheus and Queen Cassiopeia.  . Her mother boasted that Andromeda was more beautiful than the Nereids, and Poseidon punished her by sending a sea monster to devastate Joppa. To appease the gods, Andromeda was chained to a rock and left to be devoured by the monster. Perseus flew by on Pegasus, fell in love with Andromeda, and slew the monster. She married him and bore him six sons and a daughter. After her death she became a constellation. Anubis Aquila Ausar Auset--the Egypptian name of Isis. The Greek and Roman "mystery religions" revered Auset (or Aset) as Isis. Bakhau--the sky rests upon the two mountains of Bakhau and Manu, the Mountains of Sunrise and Sunset. Mount Bakhau is Mount Sunrise. Boat of Millions of Years Body of Light Callisto Cassiopeia:  Queen Cassiopeia, was the mother of Andromeda.  She boasted that her daughter was more beautiful than the daughters of Poseidon, the Nereids.  the Milky Way passes as far north as the constellation of Cassiopeia. Cepheus:  Kung Cepheus was the father of Andromeda. Cosmic Egg Cygnus--The constellation of the Swan (Cygnus) was the shape that Zeus had assumed when he seduced Leda, the mother of the Dioscuri and Helen. The Cygnus looked more like a large cross, which was why it was sometimes called Northern Cross. The brightest star in the Swan is the Deneb. There are at least half-dozen nebulae in the Cygnus constellation, known as the Cygnus Loop. Of these nebulae, the most notable are the Lacework Nebula and the Veil Nebula Delphis womb matrix----The name is from Ancient Greek "delphis" meaning "with a womb" which can be interpreted as meaning "a 'fish' with a womb. The constellation Delphis (The Dolphin) is one of the smallest constellations.  In Greece it also was "Ieros Ikhthus," the Sacred Fish, the constellation signifying philanthropy, because of the dolphin's devotion to its young. Deneb Druids Egg of Creation Galaxy:  Our galaxy is called The Milky Way Geb Great Aug Great Cackler Hathor Horus Io Isis Jupiter Lacework Nebula--The constellation of the Swan (Cygnus) was the shape that Zeus had assumed when he seduced Leda, the mother of the Dioscuri and Helen. The Cygnus looked more like a large cross, which was why it was sometimes called Northern Cross. The brightest star in the Swan is the Deneb. There are at least half-dozen nebulae in the Cygnus constellation, known as the Cygnus Loop. Of these nebulae, the most notable are the Lacework Nebula and the Veil Nebula Manu Matet Mars Milky Way:  The Milky Way is the galaxy in which the Earth is found. When viewed from the Earth and its environs, it appears in the night sky as a hazy band of white light (hence "milky") across the celestial sphere, formed by stars within the disc of its namesake galaxy. It is also simply known as the Galaxy, as the Earth's solar system is a part of it. The Milky Way appears brightest in the direction of Sagittarius, where the galactic center lies.  The Milky Way passes as far north as the constellation of Cassiopeia and as far south as the constellation of Crux. The Milky Way divides the night sky into two roughly equal hemispheres.   The Milky Way, the Andromeda Galaxy and the Triangulum Galaxy are the major members of the Local Group, a group of some 35 closely bound galaxies.  There are numerous legends in many traditions around the world regarding the creation of the Milky Way. In particular there are two similar ancient Greek stories that explain the etymology of the name 'Galaxias' and its association with milk. One legend describes the Milky Way as a smear of milk created when the baby Herakles suckled from the Goddess Hera. Another story tells that the milk came from the goddess Rhea, the wife of Cronus, and the suckling infant was Zeus himself. Naut Nuit Oester Orion Osiris Ra Rishis Sagittarius:  The Milky Way appears brightest in the direction of Sagittarius, where the galactic center lies.  Scorpio Seb Second Chakra Seket Boat Sekhet-Hetepet Shadow Shu Sirius Svadisthana Lotus Taurus Tefnut Tuat Uachat Eye Underworld Wheat Sheaf  Lady Olivia Robertson's 2007 itinerary  included:   Illinois: Chicago:  September 12-19, 2007.  -- The Equinox Goddess Festival takes place September 15, 2007. -- The Reception takes place the evening before.  -- Contact Deena for information: (773) 478-4763; DeeAnkh@sbcglobal.net New York:  Altamont:  September 19-27, 2007.  Contact Mary Browne, (518) 872-1641 or (518) 872-2272; Mary@UniversalPathways.com California:  Los Angeles:  September 27-October 2, 2007.  Contact Laura Janesdaughter, isishazel@yahoo.com California:  Geyserville:  October 2-10, 2007. --  Isis Oasis Convocation takes place October 5-8, 2007. -- Contact Loreon Vigne,  isis@isisoasis.org  Hawaii:  October 10-22, 2007.  Contact Loreon Vigne,  isis@isisoasis.org Florida:  Pensacola:  October 23-30, 2007. -- Contact Deborah Merwin, (850) 654-1005;  isisofphilae@juno.com Minnesota:  Minneapolis:  October 30-November 5, 2007. -- Contact Cathryn Anne Rogers,  fontisis@yahoo.com