Goddess Festival 2011

This year's main ritual was "The Winged Pegasus," dedicated to the goddess Cleito. This ritual is about creativity and creation with the aid of sacred animal spirit guides and helpers. "The Winged Pegasus" offers further preparation for entering the coming age. It teaches us the need to humbly accept with gratitude the guidance and assistance of beings of other orders, without whom we might not be able to ascend, advance, or travel to The Coming World. The 2011 Goddess Festival took place on Saturday, October 1, 2011. It was preceded by our enjoyable Chocolate and Champagne Reception in honor of Lady Olivia Robertson. The 2011 reception took place Friday evening, September 30, 2011 at The Lyceum on Eastwood.. and was followed by related activities on Sunday. Program 2011: 9:00 a.m.: Doors open for registration, breakfast, and meditation at the Altar of the Muses 9:30 a.m.: Procession, clearing ceremony, quarter invocations, opening, introductions, and blessings by FOI priesthood and assembly 10:00 a.m.: Orientation to this year's liturgy: Highlights of Winged Pegasus: themes, deities, and preparation of audience for participation in liturgy. 11:00 break 11:30: Make a Sacred Sound, by Carole Linda Gonzalez of Grove Argentum, NYC: "Lost in the mists of time is the exact moment when ancient seers intuited that sound affects consciousness. The Gayatri or Savitri mantra is one of the most sacred of all mantras, and has been chanted for generations. Join in a participatory sound meditation from the living tradition of Mantra Yoga to awaken the divine within each of us." 12:00 break 12:30 Aretology Workshop with Normandi Ellis: "Writing the Isis Aretalogy: As sisters, mothers, daughters, and priestesses, we know Isis as the divine feminine in which we are sourced. She is way-shower and healer, and her wisdom and magic are as needed now as ever they were in the ancient world. Writing the Isis Aretalogy provides us with a way to share generate new poetry that sings her praises just as was done in Cyme when a blind man’s sight was restored by the Goddess. What happens when we write a hymn or areatology is that we channel the Isis within as a part of our creative spirit. One line in the Book of the Dead makes this point startlingly clear, saying: “God is my name. I do not forget this name of mine.” In this workshop we channel the creative and restorative divinity of Isis as we create poetry in her name. Depending upon time participants will use writing techniques, including the creation of personal universes, poem sketches, list poems, sestinas, and pantoums." 1:30 p.m.: Pot Luck Lunch: bring a food or drink pot luck item to share...or visit a nearby restaurant. 3:00 p.m.: Dana's Pantheon, a guided meditation and mystery play by Lady Olivia Robertson. 4:00 p.m.: Break 4:30: Dancing With the Goddess and Singing With the Muses, by Lady Haight-Ashton and Richard Spendio.: "Dance is ritual whenever and wherever it is performed and experienced. During this workshop, participants will experience the Goddess in her many facets, explore ancient dance styles from the temple priestesses, sacred festivals, and the processional dances of medieval times and help create a chant to be sung while dancing. We will be accompanied by music played on Lyre, Harp and Percussion. Guided by the Muses we will explore our ancient past and bring forth the myriad emotions that help inspire sacred dance and music today." 5:30 p.m.: Break, shopping, Silent Auction, and set-up for Main Liturgy. 6:00 p.m.: The Winged Pegasus, Main Liturgy. THANK YOU to people who made donations... without your support and generosity, there would be no Equinox Goddess Festival! THANK YOU to people who participated in the liturgy: Oracle: Lady Olivia Robertson. -- Priestess 1, Deena Butta. -- Priest 1: Raymond Butta. -- Priestess 2: Joan Forest Mage. -- Priest 2: Richard Spendio. -- Priestess 3: Demetria Nanos. -- Priest 3: Kiel Ankh-Nem-Ti-Ra. -- Oracle Lector: Gayle Mack. -- Liturgical Dancers: Deena Butta, Joan Forest Mage, Demetria Nanos, Raymond Butta, Kiel Ankh-Nem-Ti-Ra, Colin. -- Choreography: Deena Butta, with Joan Forest Mage. -- Sacred Dance Music: Cavalia. -- Meditation Music: "Music From the Pleiades," by Gerald J. Markow. -- Spiral Dance Music: "Isis," by the Yeah-Yeah-Yeahs. THANK YOU to lady Olivia Robertson, who traveled so far to be with us, and who has done so much for us...we offer you our love and our gratitude! The Equinox Goddess Festival would not exist without you. 8:00 p.m.: Farewell, and see you at next year's Equinox Goddess Festival! Pegasus Study Guide http://wingedpegasus.blogspot.com/ will help you prepare inwardly for the ritual. Silent Auction: Your contributions help make this event possible....the silent auction is a fun event that we offer each year with your generous and beautiful donations. This year in addition to the Silent auction, we raffled off a beautiful carved statue of Pegasus...which was great fun! Venue: The venue for the 2011 Annual Equinox Goddess Festival was Life Force Arts Center at 3148 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago, Illinois. Vending: Producers high-quality Isian goods, such as clothing, jewelry, books, etc., sold their wares at Cleito's Caravan. The History of the Goddess Festivals: To learn some facts about Annual Equinox Goddess Festivals of the past, click the SCRAPBOOK button in the navigation bar to the left.