Who Are We?
The “Year of the Goddess” calendar, and related products are produced by Gifts of the Goddess, which is a private company owned and managed by Diana Seekers. The “Year of the Goddess” calendar is a joint effort between Gifts of the Goddess and various women artists, and others (some of whom are males! J) with specialized skill in the fields of design, marketing, promotion and distribution.
The logo of Gifts of the Goddess depicts Julunggul, the Australian Dreamtime Rainbow serpent. This symbol embodies references to the serpent of wisdom, which is a recurrent pointer to the Goddess. It is also a reference to the fact that we are Australian, and grounded in this Land of Dreaming. In the mythology of the indigenous Australians, the Rainbow Serpent created the land and waterways, bringing the blood of the Goddess to bless the country and its people. In Australia, the driest continent in the world, water is life-blood, and the serpent is closely connected to ochre, ground stone powder mixed with animal fat or water to make a paste used in ceremonial body painting. Ochre comes in shades from light yellow to deep brown-red ie. the colour of menstrual blood.
The serpent is also a symbol of the breath of creation, and represents the spaces between…. during initiation ceremonies for some indigenous Australians the serpent “swallows” the young boys and regurgitates them as men. Therefore, for us She is the wisdom for both men and women – bringing balance and harmony with the land.
We acknowledge that this symbolic reference is common to a number of other cultures, but She sits especially centrally for us.
Goddess Calendar Her Story
The “Year of the Goddess” calendar began as a collaboration between Diana Seekers (publisher) and Cernak (Goddess centered artist). The calendar is grounded in the ancient myths and archetypes of our shared middle-European and Celtic cultures - reclaimed and retold through our academic study and the wisdom of the ‘70s Feminists (with special thanks to Barbara Walker).
For Cernak, the Goddess is She and she is the Goddess. Cernak has worked for over 20 years as an artist, with a Goddess focus. From her earliest work, Cernak has combined a study of the history of religious domination of women, with the unraveling of the mysteries of time. For many years, and in many works, her focus has been on the systems used to mark the seasons, and the changes imposed since women were guided by the lunar cycle. The original concept for the “Year of the Goddess” calendar belongs to Cernak who is based in Brisbane, Australia, but who has spent time living and working in Vienna and other capital cities. Her work has been exhibited widely.
For Diana, the Goddess reconnected old paths of study with new paths of spirituality and leadership. Diana made Cernak’s private dream into a public reality to be shared by all. Diana commissions the artwork for the images contained in the calendar, and then oversees the production, marketing and distribution across Australia, and overseas.
On one level this calendar is a pragmatic collaboration between an artist and an entrepreneur. It is an exercise in finding a way to create abundance while bringing the Goddess into the lives of many who feel the need for Her touch, but who are yet blind to Her presence. The calendar is seen by us as a vehicle for individual, family, community, and global healing.
Cernak and Diana have worked together for 3 years, producing calendars ranging from Aphrodite (November) 2003 to Gaea (October) 2006. (Go to www.goddessgifts.com.au “calendar” page to view the 2005 and 2006 calendars.)
Having blazed the path, Cernak has now handed over the artist’s role to Turiya Bruce, a Goddess artist from Mullumbimby near Byron Bay in NSW, Australia. Both the Brisbane /Sunshine Coast and Byron Bay areas are centers of powerful Goddess energy – welling up from the Earth’s core through the volcanic plugs and basalt formations which are characteristic of the area. These regions are also centers of progressive and alternative communities, working with artistic and healing energies to move us forward on our evolutionary journey. The calendar is seen as a vehicle for supporting and encouraging women artists, and these community efforts.
Our efforts for peace, balance and harmony…
On another level, the calendar is an active response to the forces of war and violence. We seek to re-work the way we currently name months and days – to recall the Sacred Feminine and to honour peace. This is a small attempt to counter-balance the influences of terror and war that surrounds us . Our original deliberations were around the time of September 11th 2001, when the presence of violence and aggression was everywhere in our media and politics.
We also find echoes in some of the names that have been used to mark the seasonal months with reference to Roman Emperors or War Gods such as Mars (for March); and the days of the week eg Woden (Wednesday) and Thor (Thursday). Accordingly, we choose to rename and reclaim these labels so that we mark the days of our lives, and the passing of the seasons in honour of the Goddess.
The calendar also takes us to greater connection with the great and endless seasonal cycles of the Earth and the Universe. It is firmly grounded in our experience of the dance of the Moon, the Sun, the Seasons, and Universal Entities beyond... and our bodies and lives as women. Therefore it is anchored in the seasons with festivals and celebrations adjusted to fit the seasonal cycles. Some of these festivals are ancient and known from before the current Gregorian calendar was adopted. They contain the echoes of thousands of years of celebrations and ritual in thousands of seasons past.
The basis for the calendar...
Our Goddess calendar is grounded in the Seasons, with each aspect of the Goddess chosen to align Her to the appropriate part of the Wheel of the Year. As there is one true Goddess – so She has many faces, each telling a different aspect of the same story.
So, for the Southern Hemisphere Aphrodite begins our Calendar with the start of summer – as She represents the maiden on the beginning of Her journey to gain knowledge, understanding and wisdom. Akka marks the height of summer, with its ripening seeds and harvests of gold. Maat begins our journey into the underworld of the dark of winter. This journey is reversed when Persephone rejoins her mother, Demeter, in Springtime. So our seasonal cycle reflects our Southern Mother.
Likewise, we have chosen to begin our week with family time, and not at the start of working time. We have also changed the names of the week to celebrate the Goddess.
As many of our modern rituals and even religious celebrations have origins in the ancient seasonal festivals , we have realigned the Pagan or Wicca fests and noted the Sun Signs / Zodiacs, and the phases of the Moon. Some additional dates mark traditional Goddess festivals or commemorate meaningful events.
The colours of the calendar...
Each aspect of the Goddess has a set of associated symbolic colours often referred to in texts about gardening or choosing coloured candles for celebrations. The colours of our calendar are chosen with care and purpose. They are the colours one might use on an altar, or in choosing clothes for a specific month. They are the colours that invoke a particular aspect of the Goddess. Use them as you will, perhaps writing with that colour pen for the month or planting flowers that will bring the appropriate colour to your garden… limited only by your imagination.
There are also correspondences between the aspects of the Goddess aligned for each month and birthstones, charka energies, or essential oils and fragrances. The extent to which one allows the Goddess to guide life is up to individual choice. However colours and scents reverberate with the vibrations of the Goddess and help us harmonize with Her energy.
Bringing spirit and balance..
The calendar, and associated products, seeks to bring spirituality and balance into our everyday lives. The Goddess lives in the small daily jobs of life; therefore She happily sits on kitchen, toilet, and study walls - helping to remind us of what’s important – “Through our love for ourselves, each other, and the Earth – we invoke Her love”.
An aspect of this love is the acknowledgement that love is balance. The Goddess calendar does not seek to place the Goddess in a supreme position, but rather to counter-balance the male dominated and sometimes hate driven, dominant spirituality of our times. The Goddess is both male and female, and also neither. She is the balance and the dark between the light – She is the spirit of ultimate possibilities.
Eco-friendly as we can be…
The production processes for our Goddess products attempt to balance the need to honour and do justice to the work of our female Goddess-aligned artists, with the need to protect and cherish our mother Earth. Therefore our calendar uses the most eco-friendly inks and papers we can, and starch-based cello wrapping, which can be composted. . All materials used in our products are recyclable.
Frequently asked questions....
Where do the images come from?
All the images contained in the first three calendars are original watercolours by Cernak. Subsequent calendars feature the original works of Turiya Bruce, and other female artists.
Are these original artworks for sale?
“Gifts of the Goddess” launches each year’s calendar with an annual art exhibition of all the watercolours for the upcoming calendar, plus any unsold from previous years. Limited edition prints of some images are also available.
Who else is involved in the production of the calendar?
Diana Seekers is the publisher, and concept designer,
and owner of Gifts of the Goddess. www.goddessgifts.com.au
George Chapman and Jodie Crowther, of 3E Innovative, are graphic designers extraordinaire. www.3e.net.au
Brentyn Schubert is the Business Development Manager. bms@solution4u.com
Jean Dall'Boussard is the Exclusive Agent for Europe, USA, Canada, Asia dallboussard@gmail.com
What other products exist in the “Gifts of the Goddess” range?
We also produce a “pocket” calendar, celebration cards, journals, sketch/knowledge pads, and gift packs. |
