2015 Nine-Day Solstice Celebration & Call for Video/Audio Presentation
We are pleased to announce the Nine-Day Solstice Celebration Project to be hosted by Mago Academy beginning Dec. 14 and ending Dec. 22, Solstice, 2015. And we are seeking individuals and groups who can run or partake an hour video program for each day. The program can be recorded or live. The video link will be published in the Mago and Girl God related websites including Return to Mago E-Magazine, Mago Academy, Mago Books, the Mago Circle, and the Girl God as well as other websites and blogs of our presenters.
We anticipate the Nine-Day Solstice Celebration to be an event of joy, solidarity, and self-empowerment for us, Goddessians/Magoists and all in WE! Why the Solstice season? Celebrating the day of December Solstice would be a way of balancing ourselves, as human members of the terrestrial community including the moon, with the songs and dances of the cosmic community. Traditionally, Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere marks a new beginning of the year’s cycle for the earthly community in the North. We would take this seasonal mark as a symbol for us to recognize the oneness of the whole community, as our ancient ancestors did.
Then why for nine days? “Nine” is no arbitrary number but the symbol of the Creatrix that was widely revered by gynocentric peoples of the world. By reviving the nine symbolism, we rejoin our ancestors in the Life-affirming reality of the Great Goddess. Speaking from the perspective of Magoism, the number Nine symbolism, pre-patriarchal in origin, cross-culturally manifests in the pantheon of the Nine Goddesses/Magos. They represent Nine Goddesses known as Nine Maidens (Gurang), Nine Muses, Nine Matrikas, Nine Durgas (Nava Durga), Nine Gallicians (Gallizenaes), and Nine Gwyllions, to name a few. The number nine is also deeply embedded and widely spread in such cultures and topographies as nine Koreans (Guhan), nine dragons, nine states, nine heavens, nine waterfalls, nine-tailed fox, nine-story pagoda, and nine-nipple bell in the case of East Asia. The origin of the nine Mago symbolism is epitomized in the folk story that Mago had eight daughters and dispatched them to different islands. Mago’s daughters respectively became the shaman progenitor in those regions. Here Mago means the Great Goddess.
(Read background info, Essay 1 and Essay 2 on the Nine-Mago Movement here.)
Topics/themes: Each day will have a theme. Possible topics may include but are not limited to the following; female sexuality/spirituality, cross-cultural unity in the Goddess, women’s self-birthing, female bonding, motherhood, mothers and daughters, raising Goddess sons, seeking inner voice, gynocentric/feminist journey/pilgrimage, meeting the female voice in literature, art, and media, love of Nature, inner healing, female alliance across borders, and Goddess men/masculinity.
Methods: Mago Academy will set up one hour Google Hangout video meetings for 9 days. However, if a group prefers hosting a video meeting by using its own platform, we will incorporate. A group program should not exceed more than 5 VIDEO presenters. The number of AUDIO participants may be extended up to 50 people.
Who Can Propose:
- Individuals: Anyone who may or may not represent an organization. 5-20 min video or audio presentation is acceptable. If you want to join a live program, please indicate. We will assign you to a specific forum on a certain day.
- Groups: An organization or group whose representative can organize one hour video meeting over a specific theme.
Some Group Presentation Ideas: Return to Mago Contributors may like to interview each other. The first and last day forums will be organized by the Mago Work Sisters (Trista Hendren, Kaalii Cargill, Ellen Thompson, Mary Saracino, Rosemary Mattingley, Glenys Livingstone, Harriet Ellenberger, Marsha Waggoner, and/or Helen Hwang).
Day 1: Sister East Forum (each day will have a topic, TBA)
Day 2: Sister South Forum
Day 3: Sister West Forum
Day 4: Sister North Forum
Day 5: Sister Center Forum
Day 6: Sister Wind Forum
Day 7: Sister Fire Forum
Day 8: Sister Water Forum
Day 9: Sister Earth Forum
How to Propose: Please use the form attached or contact Helen Hwang (magoism@gmail.com) or Trista Hendren (trista@girlgod.org). Project Committee: Helen Hwang, Trista Hendren, and Kaalii Cargill
Deadline: Priority deadline by September 1, 2015. Secondary deadline (contingent upon the space) by October 1, 2015.
(See the Proposal Form in the next page.)
Nine Day Solstice Celebration Presentation/Program Proposal Form
Please fill out the following form and email it to Helen Hwang (magoism@gmail.com) and/or Trista Hendren (trista@girlgod.org)
Top of Form
We have two categories you can choose from, Individual Presentation and Group Program.
| Your name, location, contact email, and/or website/blog. If it is a Group Program, include the names and other relevant info for your presenters. |
| Presentation Category, Theme (more than one theme is possible), and Title. Indicate if you wish to join the live problem. |
| Describe your presentation/program including the length of time and method (no more than 100 words per presentation. In the case of Group Program, treat it like a penal proposal, which requires the whole program description as well as descriptions of individual presentations.). If your proposal is selected, we may ask you further information from you. |
| Would you like to volunteer as a host/facilitator, interviewer, and/or promoter of the event? If so, please let us know and we will contact you. |
| Special Need and/or Question: |