The Great Cosmic Mother: Rediscovering the Religion of the Earth

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Originally from a small dairy farm in Cornwall Deasy Bamford has worked across cultures and landscape for over 30 years, bringing peoples together through cultural sharing, music and the freedom to explore. She has established intercultural music festivals www.tribeofdoris.co.ukand youth and family projects www.imayla.co.uk that connect through culture, creativity nature and space. She is a roamer and lover of wild open spaces, mandala maker, photographer, spoken word and land artist. “I continue to delight in free education and inspiration, the meeting of hearts and minds especially through music and creativity and being an outright idealist, because what other option do we have to change the world of power and knowledge imbalances?” This exhibition a major survey of feminist art by over 100 women artists working in the UK. Monica Sjöö is represented in this exhibition with her posters and a pamphlet from the family estate and the Feminist Archive South (FAS). Angharad explores the journey of a woman reclaiming the identity of a witch in the 21st Century, whilst living in the hustle of a city. Her work is a force of dispelling, after centuries of witch persecution and the global spread pandemic of violence against women and children. Her work is confronting to many, sometimes uncomfortable, sometimes invigorating. Her textiles evoke an ancient remembering of the old ways and a connection to mysticism and unseen forces.

Watkins, June D. (Spring 2011). "REL3990 Women and Religion #2158 Special topic: Goddess Myths eLearning course 100% online" (PDF). University of West Florida. p.1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 January 2011 . Retrieved 9 December 2017. Angharad Iris is a Bristol based ritual artist exploring themes of witchcraft, ceremony and folklore. Her work closely explores the seasons and landscapes, using a range of earth materials including sheep’s wool, natural fibers, human hair, menstrual blood, wood and stone. Angharad is a ceremonial textile maker and uses her woven pieces in ritual, weaving words, dance and music into her work. She is a Flutist, Harpist and a drum beater, using sound and movement to conjure magic into spaces. How does one communicate women’s strength, struggle, rising up from oppression, blood, childbirth, sexuality – in stripes and triangles?”Raivio, Magdalena (2007). "Transforming Reality or Reinforcing Stereotypes? On the Use of Birth-Giving as Metaphor in a Spiritual Ecofeminist Context". In Stenström, Hanna; Vuola, Elina; Bieberstein, Sabine (eds.). Scandinavian Critique of Anglo-American Feminist Theology. Journal of the European Society of Women in Theological Research. Vol.15. Leuven: Peeters. p.150. doi: 10.2143/ESWTR.15.0.2022774. ISBN 978-90-429-1974-7.

A feminist book for spiritual people. The Great Cosmic Mother was a life-changing read into life before patriarchy, and how women were the creators and the originators of many inventions we believe were created by men (language, art, predicting time cycles, agriculture etc.). It was hard to read, agonizing to read, but it was also fascinating, magical, mythical. The Green Plaque is placed outside Dragon Workshop in Clifton Village. A welcome addition to mark a ’sense of place‘ for Monica Sjöö in Bristol’s Bohemia as it is historically known for its diverse and talented residents of the 1960s And 1970s. The artist, writer and eco-feminist activist Monica Sjöö lived for some years in Princess Victoria Street. The plaque we hope will then mark her residency in the city and create new conversations about Her life and work. Mor, Barbara (1981). The Ancient Religion of the Great Cosmic Mother of All. Trondheim: Rainbow Press. ISBN 82-7223-012-7.Tracing the artist’s deep commitment to gender and environmental justice, The Great Cosmic Mother showcases Sjöö’s large-scale paintings created in response to the wide-ranging feminist and environmental campaigns she was actively involved in throughout her life. Sjöö’s prescient artworks were a pioneering form of environmental activism and anticipated politically urgent debates surrounding the climate emergency today. Artist Su Fahy (MSCC) and one of our artists in residence, Patricia Brien have in collaboration with filmmaker Lizzie White, marked the 40th anniversary of Greenham Common Peace Camp in 2022 by making a short film Performing Resistance: Magnoxia a River Haunting (2022). The women’s community around the Greenham Common Women’s Peace Camp combined anarchism, eco-feminism, environmental activism and spirituality in dedicated protests, dance and singing. a b "Exhibitions". Monica Sjöö: An Online Retrospective. Archived from the original on 7 August 2007 . Retrieved 28 January 2018. Monica Sjöö Memorial Trust". Monica Sjöö. Archived from the original on 15 October 2007 . Retrieved 28 January 2018.

Sjöö, Monica. "New Age Channelings: Who or What Is Being Channeled?". Archived from the original on 8 August 2011 . Retrieved 30 December 2017. Originally appeared in From the Flames: Radical Feminism with Spirit magazine, issue 2, winter 1998/99. I am staging a work on the opening 10th of June, first made for a solo-exhibition at Växjö Konsthall 2019/20 called To Breathe Through The Bones Of The Dead. Here I researched archives of Växjö old trial books on tolvmannaed of women accused, tortured and executed as ‘trollkona’- this was about 50 years before The Great Noise explode (Stora Oväsendet). And it focusses on women in Småland. I wanted to honour these women who were killed that never received a funeral and name them out loud. I think it is important to start to say those names, to make them into individuals, not just a group. The situation was governed by a man who was an entrepreneur really – and sold his work as being trained in Germany on how to find women who were in cohort with the Devil. The accusations start from gossip to things like ‘she was seen riding on a wolf at night naked’ or her evilness made the hoofs on the animals rot etc. Some of these women were independent and owned small parcels of land to have a farm. And the process did several things- it rendered these women to lose power over their bodies, and it also enabled bigger landlords in charge of their land for use to (for example) Iron mining.” But for now… Monica Sjöö. With thanks to the Monica Sjöö Curatorial Collective and Feminist Archive South, we exhibited four of Monica’s prints and a placard used as part of the MSCC climate change protest earlier on this year. Her bold prints a striking contrast to the myriad of hues in the studio spaces – vivid colours and ancient symbols drawing in curious passers by. Monica’s work has had, and continues to have, a major impact on my life – so to exhibit alongside my favourite artist was a deeply touching and overwhelming experience. A dream of mine. To showcase the work of a woman who’s impact is infinite – just like the spiral. With continued thanks to the MSCC for their support in making this happen. Starhawk described Sjöö's work as paintings that "transformed ancient images and symbols into contemporary icons of female power." [21]MAO Late x Ruskin: Thursday 7 December, 6:30-10pm. Free, booking essential.An evening of performances, conversation, drinks and music centred on creative community and inspiring exchange programmed in collaboration with The Ruskin School of Art Through their meticulous research, the authors reveal the existence of goddess-centered religions in diverse civilizations, including Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and pre-Columbian America. They explore how these societies recognized and celebrated the interconnectedness of all life, valuing qualities such as nurturing, intuition, creativity, and sensuality. Thanks for inviting me to have this residency, I’ve enjoyed looking through my work and remembering the inspiration and courage of Monica , to be her own artist. We often fail to recognise that these creative instincts we have are such a major part of our existence here on earth and allow us to find ways to belong here . I hope that my work has reached and touched others along the way. /Deasy

a b Mor, Barbara. "The Oliver Arts & Open Press The Victory of sex and Metal". Oliveropenpress.com . Retrieved 2016-01-13. Monica Sjöö, New Age and Armageddon: The Goddess or the Gurus? Towards a Feminist Vision of the Future. London: Women's Press Ltd., 1994. ISBN 0-7043-4263-4. Reprinted as Return of the Dark/Light Mother or New Age Armageddon? Towards a Feminist Vision of the Future. Texas: Plain View Press. ISBN 1-891386-07-7.Sjöö wrote the original pamphlet [9] that, with Barbara Mor's re-write and expansion, [10] would become the book The Great Cosmic Mother (1987). It covers women's ancient history and the origin of religion, and is one of the first books to propose that humanity's earliest religious and cultural belief systems were created and first practised by women. It is currently in print and has been, and still is, a part of many women's studies, mythology and religious studies syllabi. [11] Her research and writing helped uncover the hidden history of the Goddess . Sjöö's successful use of interdisciplinarity in her research has led to its acclaim within the Goddess movement. [12] Early exhibitions [ edit ] Mor's comprehensive analysis of world mythologies traces the origin of ancient spiritual beliefs, ceremonies, and rituals as related to Women. She argues that the goddess-centered beliefs that dated from humanity's Paleolithic age were violently destroyed and replaced by war-like patriarchal cultures and religions during the rise of agriculture and the erection of the first cities in Sumeria and elsewhere. With the displacement of matriarchy by patriarchy, the foundations of "modernity" were laid down, helping explain the rise of war, the manifestation of the Inquisition, and even the Salem witchcraft trials. [7] Mor, Barbara (1991). The Great Cosmic Mother: Rediscovering the Religion of the Earth (2nded.). New York: HarperCollins Publishers Inc. pp. 501. ISBN 0062507915.