Racial Literacy for Priestesses

Dear Ones,

Our Temple, like many others in the world, is invested in an ongoing examination of peace, conflict, and justice around issues related to sexism, racism, gender expression, economic disparity, ageism, and ableism. In order to properly honor the Goddess in our world, it makes sense for spiritual communities like ours to investigate how we can be sensitive, compassionate, and open to one another's circumstances and concerns, in ways that hold space for each individual to occupy their unique place in the world.

This commitment to mindfulness around social wholeness and wellness is not political- it's spiritual. In the political world there is a lot of patriarchal thinking, posturing, competition, and manipulation that dictates the course of conversations. In many cases, the contentious nature of these conversations brings out peoples' stubbornness, self-righteousness, and tone-insensitivity- exactly the opposite of what we are trying to create in a Temple setting.

To be in accord with spirit, we need to learn to approach these issues with open hearts, empathy, compassion, and commitment to the benefit of all beings (while paying special mind to those most oppressed among us). In our dharma-rooted Temple, we endeavor to recognize and avoid the 3 poisons that keep us from perceiving the world with lovingkindness. These 3 poisons are attachment, aversion, and indifference. One might say that attachment represents the stubbornness with which we cling to our own point of view, aversion is our unwillingness to hear the views of others, and our indifference is the choice to shut down or to refuse to care about the well-being of others when our views differ.

When we describe it like that, it's easy to see how these behaviors would stand in the way of our true spiritual wholeness.

Recently, across the world, BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) have been joined by white supporters and anti-racists of all backgrounds in expressing cries of rage, grief, and pain at the ways in which white supremacy has shaped and dominated our world for over 400 years. The Mt Shasta Goddess Temple, in sensitivity and alignment with these cries of suffering, has taken on two projects: 1) A fundraiser for the Black Mamas Matter Alliance, donating proceeds from the sales of our Madonna of Black Butte artwork by Priestess Holly of The Wild Empress: https://wildempressmagic.com/path-of-the-wolf/2020/6/10/embracing-the-darkness

2) We are planning, under the visionary leadership of poet and activist Mona Webb, to create a "Black Woman Is God" retreat in Mt Shasta, so that BIPOC women who have been leading activities toward social change can take some time to rest, rejuvenate, and heal in a space of privacy, comfort, and support. We are currently seeking locations that will provide free or low-cost accommodations so that we can select a date and begin fundraising for the costs of the weekend, so that each woman who attends is able to come free of charge.

In my last message on this subject, I also welcomed any additional ideas you might have for ways our Temple can serve our sisters of color, or any other group of women who have struggled and suffered due to multiple layers of social and institutional oppression. I'm still open to your ideas, so please reach out if you'd like to discuss a project.

But fundraising and activities alone are not going to help us cultivate the proper awareness about the racial inequality that still exists in our society. We also must educate ourselves about the ways in which we might carry oppression within, in hidden or unknown pockets of our own psyches. Many people who don't think of themselves as racist, actually still have some racism within that we have not addressed or understood. Dismantling the racist and sexist and elitist attitudes within is part of the work of the Goddess.

So, I thought that today I would share some articles of illumination, to stimulate our further exploration and spiritual healing of these issues.

For my sisters of color: you already know how hard it is, how painful it is to be dismissed, underrepresented, and ignored, so I don't think it's appropriate for me to try to educate you about racism at all. Rather, for you I am sharing this inspiring piece to uplift your spirits and give you encouragement. This Invocation of the African Goddess by Ayele Kumari, PhD, mentions many world Goddesses by name, and they all reside within you. Enjoy: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gP8zpH5SIzslor5rNEME_jmmSD4to_qKKL3q3JVhfDY/edit?authkey=COSB8ZoB

For my white sisters: we each have a personal responsibility to address racism, within ourselves and with each other. We won't always be perfect- we will sometimes make mistakes. But if we are educating ourselves and being as sensitive as possible, we can help lessen racism in Goddess culture. I hope you will join me in doing your part.

These two pieces of writing came out in 2017 from Layla Saad, a Divine Feminine Empowerment Coach and woman of color. Her words on the subject of casual racism, overt racism, and unaware racism in the wake of Neo-Nazi rallies in Charlotte, NC, are profound. I think that any modern Priestess who genuinely desires to be of service to all women, and who is of a primarily white or European background, should read these pieces as a study in basic racial literacy, for the benefit of all beings.

I need to talk to spiritual white women about white supremacy (Part One) http://laylafsaad.com/poetry-prose/white-women-white-supremacy-1 "Last year when I was moving through my Divine Feminine spiritual awakening, I remember reading about the witch burnings. And how, as women and modern day witches and priestesses, we carry this trauma of being burned with us even today. And how that fear holds us back from speaking up and being seen in our full wild mystic power. I see many women in the spiritual community who understand just how much of a trauma this is for women, and who are doing the deep work of healing the witch wound and reclaiming their right to be here in their full authentic presence.

But can you imagine how it is for people of colour?

Can you imagine the trauma we carry from centuries of slavery, police brutality, discrimination and racial hatred?

The witch burnings happened at one period of time and yet we still remember. Imagine how it is for black people and people of colour. The hateful treatment against us never ended. It just went underground. And now it is resurfacing, emboldened by leaders like Donald Trump and others like him.

This weekend the KKK marched without their hoods. Do you understand what that means?"

I need to talk to spiritual white women about white supremacy (Part Two) http://laylafsaad.com/poetry-prose/white-women-white-supremacy-2

"This isn't about being perfect. This is about being accountable and showing up to do the work. If we waited until it was perfect, we’d never say or do anything.

I myself, as a black woman, am showing up to do my own work of educating myself through reading articles, listening to podcasts, engaging in social justice education programs and watching and listening to the teachers and advocates who have been doing this work for far longer than I have. Although I do not hold white privilege, I still need to be able to identify the ways in which I oppress myself and others through white supremacist and patriarchal ideology. Also, while I may not hold white privilege I do hold other privileges (e.g. cis-gendered, straight, able-bodied, class, etc) which I need to unpack and work through.

White supremacy isn’t just about neo-Nazis rallying in Charlottesville. In fact, that’s a very extreme manifestation of this system and ideology of oppression. White supremacy (and patriarchy) is in our everyday lives. It seeps into everything that we do. It influences the way we think and see the world, and the way we interact with each other. It informs how we live and work because it is the very foundation upon which places like the USA, Canada, the UK, Europe and Australia are based on.

And it is certainly a dominant paradigm that influences the world of online business.

If you hold white privilege, then white supremacy is the air you breathe and the toxic sea you’re swimming."

I won't elaborate further here, because I think Layla says it all and I want her voice to be the one we remember when thinking about this issue. When we choose openness over attachment, curiosity over aversion, and compassion over indifference, we help to create a better world, starting within.

Thank you for reading,
Yeshe