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 Ra - Priestess of
Moon Magic, Visionary of Sacred Space
Introduction—the beginning
February, 1986
Tonight I have gathered pastels and paper
Collected my thoughts and headed for the roof
I’ve
decided upon a new art project
One
which conforms to a cycle of nature
Choosing the duration of thirteen months
And
the simplicity of the moon when full
A
cycle I can remember
A
drawing every 28 days
Observed from my studio rooftop
A
unique perspective of downtown LA
A soft
blush casts a spell as I watch
Dusting over this industrial landscape
The
glow immersing the functional buildings
A
sense of anticipation reaches upward
Revealing new outlines and mystical shadows
My
blood quickens—I wonder what this is about
I’m
simply here to draw the circular moon
But
the air seems to swell with enchantment
Sending this atheist mind into chaos
My
insides respond without hesitation
A
mysterious unspoken knowing
Archaic memories long since forgotten
A
sense of futures now altered forever.
Full Moon,
February, 1986
All of my art, since
the time I entered graduate school, was committed to creating environments.
So it was only natural that when I entered my path as a Priestess that this
would include creating sacred space.
My transformation
actually began in October of 1985 when I had a one person exhibit in Santa
Ana, California. For that exhibit, I covered the gallery floor in sand, half
white, half black with stepping stones down the middle. Figurative
sculptures emerged out of rock form and earth to create a sense of
connection. It was then that I began to question my atheism. Raised in a
fundamentalist preacher’s home, I had turned to atheism in my late twenties.
Then, as I agonized over the meaning of this October 1985 exhibit, I began
to see that I still valued the importance of the spiritual connection of all
of life. That December, a friend gave me “The Mists of Avalon” to read.
The next month, I
found Lucy Lippard’s book, Overlay which is a book that deals with artists
who work with the earth as a major element of their materials. Inspired by
these artists, I decided to create an art project that would be based on a
cyclical element of nature. The Full Moon seemed the easiest and so I
committed to drawing the milky orb every full moon for a year. That was
February of 1986 and so it began: with a simple art project in February of
1986. It became a way of life—honoring the moon and, unknowingly, creating
ritual.
In February of 1987 I
was the Director of the Orange County Center for Contemporary Art. We hosted
an exhibit curated by a Los Angeles artist, Cheri Gaulke. Cheri titled her
show “Between the Worlds: The Art of Women’s Altars”. A woman named Susan
Gray exhibiting in that show put out a flyer announcing a Spring Equinox
workshop. My Exhibitions Director and I decided to attend laughingly
announcing that we were going to learn how to become witches. At the end of
that workshop, I felt I was home.
Later that Spring, I
was involved in the Southern California Women’s Caucus for Art. We staged a
performance at City Hall in Los Angeles to bring about visibility for women
artists. It was through this event, creating and building a 16 foot Goddess,
that I became friends with Sue and Cheri who soon easily enticed me into
joining their coven Nemesis. That was twenty years ago. . .
Now after years of
active participation as a witch, priestess, artist and teacher of pagan
spirituality, co-leader of an annual women’s weekend in the mountains that
focuses on spiritual retreat, writer of women’s spiritual community and
creator of annual journals with meditations of the moons, agricultural
cycles, drawings and writing space, I felt ready to take the next step—to
officially become ordained.
Truly my art led me
back to my roots of spiritual engagement and it is through my art that I
serve the earth as my Goddess, my Mother and my Guide. For me, the moon is
her messenger. I envision my path to continue to create sacred space for
women, community and public ritual. |
