In 1966 Barbara Jordan became the first black woman to win a seat in the Texas Senate in 1968 Shirley Chisholm became the first black woman elected to the U.S. We founded the women’s liberation movement, consciousness raising groups, and the National Organization for Women (NOW). The women’s spirituality movement (also called feminist spirituality or spiritual feminism) began in tandem with the second wave of feminism in the late 1960s, when women finally noticed how patriarchal and filled with war most of the world is and nearly always has been since the peaceful Neolithic civilization of Old Europe was wiped out. There is also an appendix with thirty-eight illustrations. Part 5, “Philosopher and Humanitarian,” is Genevieve Vaughan’s essay about her work, which includes building the Sekhmet Temple in Cactus Springs, Nevada, and establishing the International Feminists for a Gift Economy network. In Part IV, “Artists and Activists,” Judy Grahn, Cristina Biaggi (another fascinating artist), Donna Read (her films are, alas, available on Amazon only on VHS), and Lydia Ruyle (have you seen her Goddess Banners?) write about their work. Budapest (her story is especially germane today), Mama Donna Henes (whose website is inspiring), and Ruth Barrett (the best ritualist I’ve ever worked with) write about their work. In Part 3, “Ritual and Ceremony,” ritualists like Z. Part 2, “Indigenous Mind and Mother Earth,” presents seven essays by women like Luisah Teish (her chapter will break your heart), Starhawk, and Glenys Livingstone, who lives in Australia. Christ (I remember swapping horror stories with her about being young and female in academia in the 1970s), Elinor W. Part 1, “Scholars,” gives us ten essays, including chapters by Carol P. The body of the book presents thirty-one personal essays by women of significance today in the community of the Goddess. Next come introductory essays by the book’s editors, Vicki Noble (co-creator of the Motherpeace Tarot) and Miriam Robbins Dexter (a protégée of Marija Gimbutas). The book opens with a list of fifteen of our foremothers who are no longer with us. Foremothers of the Women’s Spirituality Movement: Elders and VisionariesĮdited by Miriam Robbins Dexter and Vickie Nobleįoremothers of the Women’s Spirituality Movement: Elders and Visionaries is a valuable historical document on whose cover is a beautiful painting of Xiwangmu (a Queen Mother and one of the eldest Chinese deities) by artist and historian Max Dashú.

Sacred Display by Miriam Robbins Dexter