Pagans invoke Goddess for year 2000!
A Goddess on
Every Block
The Goddess
2000 Project
by Abby Willowroot
A Goddess on Every Block
The Goddess
2000 Project
by Abby Willowroot
Art speaks the Soul of its Culture. This year it is speaking its soul in a wide variety of voices. The ~Goddess 2000 Project~ is one of those voices, and its message is one of healing, magical and multi-cultural. As a community, we have channeled a lot of creative energy into the largest outpouring of Goddess imagery to be seen in the past 3,000 years!
The
~Goddess
2000 Project~
is a healing Community Event that seeks to include all branches of
the Earth Spirit, Goddess, Pagan, Dianic, Wiccan, Asatru, Yoruba,
Heathen, Indigenous Spiritualities, and other Earth honoring
folks. Whatever our own individual Paths, we have come together
here to celebrate the return of the Goddess, focusing on our
shared beliefs, not our differences.
Joseph Campbell said, "Reality is repetition and participation." Cultures come into being when people practice a set of beliefs and participate in anchoring those beliefs through their actions, arts, values and the rituals of their daily lives. It is not enough to "see" Pagan art, if we are to be a Pagan people, we must, each of us, create Pagan art.
The Pagan community is a contemporary indigenous culture, and as such, our culture becomes richer when we all participate in celebrating it. By using our creativity to express our beliefs, we are building our culture on the Sacred. There is a power in creating art or music that represents the Sacred, this power goes beyond words and explanations. Our need to participate in this kind of creativity is as old as humankind. The experience of making Sacred art is life changing. The simple truth is, the only person who can create your tribute to the Goddess is you!
Art creates bonds beyond language and geography and we are building a spiritual web of Pagan energy and pride. "A Goddess on Every Block!" is a Grass-roots community art project. Pagan groups, circles, and solitary folks are making artwork that celebrates and honors the Goddess and the Green Man, including large Goddess statues, paintings, labyrinths, music, dance and prose.Winter Solstice 1999 c.e. will be celebrated with Goddess 2000 Project Spiral Dances and Goddess dedications in many communities. Original music and dances are being created especially for this event.
This Project is not just for artists, it is for everyone. This is not a competition; the only way to fail is to make nothing. What if the ancestors had not painted in the ancient caves? What if they had thought their art "wasn't good enough"? We are the ancestors of tomorrow.
There are over 400 coordinators and contact people in 31 countries, with thousands of participants in Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, India, Ireland, Lebanon, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Singapore, Scotland, South Africa, Sweden, Tasmania, Thailand, the Virgin Islands, Wales and the US.
The Pagan Community has grown really in the past ten years and many of us wanted to express our spirituality and connection with each other in a way that demonstrates our honoring the Earth, our beliefs and of our life choice in becoming Pagan. For many of us, that something has become the Goddess 2000 Project. As the word spreads, more and more people are joining us in this wonderful affirmation of the Culture of the Goddess. By the time you read this, many more pagans will have joined the Project.
Many communities are organizing Goddess Art exhibits, "Dancing the Goddess Home" Spiral dances, community "Craft days", picnics, labyrinth building and other ~Goddess 2000 Project~ activities.
Others are for personal use only. Goddess altars, Goddess gardens, murals, quilts and other kinds of art in private homes are helping to build an "Energy Web" that connects the pagan community around the world. Public Goddess Celebrations and Art exhibits like those recently held in Brazil and California are raising awareness and connecting us with each other. Any Goddess Art created as part of the Project, public or private, strengthens us all.
Having been a Pagan artist and Goddess maker for the past thirty years, I know the enormous empowering impact creating art has on a person. We, as a community are constantly bombarded with false and negative stereotypes of ourselves. With the Goddess 2000 Project, the Pagan Community has a positive focal point for uniting us, while still celebrating our rich diversity.
I hope you will join us in this wonderful adventure of reclaiming and discovery. Please share energy and vision with us. You can find Coordinators and Contacts in your area at http://www.goddess2000.org/G2000Contact.html
Sponsors of the Goddess 2000 Project are Spiral Goddess Grove, Circle Sanctuary and The Witches Web. Full details are available at the official ~Goddess 2000 Project~ at www.goddess2000.org or by mail at PO Box 403 Benicia, CA 94510 707-745-4470