Sunday, April 30, 2023

Of Goddesses



In “Secret Engine of the World” (2021), I spoke of 3 doom-defining or doom-defying deadlines: the US elections in 2022 & 2024, & a 2031 drop-dead deadline for any significant mitigation of Anthropogenic Climate Disruption (ACD) & the Sixth Great Extinction.

In 2022, I chronicled the run-up to the first of the 3 deadlines w/ a series of monthly updates from July to November. In 2024, I will chronicle the run-up to the second deadline, similarly.

A series of talks & writings on the third deadline is also underway.

"Of Goddesses" is the third in this series of Gaia Talks.

The first, “Gaian Poetics & Gaian Politics,” was delivered in November 2022 & the second, "The Emerald Tablet: 21st Century Insights on Its True Nature” was delivered in March 2023. 

The full text of each talk, along with accompanying PowerPoints & embedded videos, are available here. The videos also reside on my YouTube channel, "Spoken Words of Power."


God Is A Concept, God Is Dead

In the 1970s, rock star, political dissident & eventual martyr John Lennon declared "God is a concept by which we measure our pain." A century earlier, in the 1880s, Friedrich Nietzsche, tortured genius, true giant of Western philosophy, had already declared,"God is dead." 

From very different vantage points, both of these magical beings were actually, albeit unconsciously, heralding the collapse of the patriarchal narrative. This has been a painfully slow & dangerous process. And now, at long last, we are finally nearing the denouement.


God Is A Woman, God Is A Black Woman

On Friday the 13th, in July 2018, Ariana Grande released her "God is a Woman," a song that celebrates both female sexual power & feminist liberation. 

"When all is said and done, You'll believe God is a woman ..." 

In February 2022, Christina Cleveland published her "God Is A Black Woman," a book that deconstructs the “whitemalegod” & reveals the Sacred Black Feminine. 

“Imagination is theology; we can only believe what we can imagine. And our cultural landscape hasn’t given us many tools to imagine a non-white, non-male God.”

Grande's song and Cleveland's book epitomize vital new cultural memes.

The "God Is A Woman" meme is more accurate mystically and cosmologically than dominant "whitemalegod" thought-form. Furthermore, "God Is A Woman is perfectly calibrated for this critical juncture in the evolution of our species, i.e., the end of history and the beginning of herstory, the end of the patriarchy and the beginning of what evolves even beyond matriarchy.

The "God Is A Black Woman" meme is even more apropos for the personification of this great shift.

Cleveland explains.

“We are unable to imagine a God who is with us while we wonder if our beloved sister will survive the night. We are unable to imagine a God who proclaims #blacklivesmatter, a God who says #metoo, a God who stands not atop the social hierarchy, but at the bottom with the people who have been cast aside, silenced, and forgotten. When god is solely male, he can only show up as fatherskygod who is nowhere near us.”

“Indeed, social science scholars agree that what’s good for Black women is good for all people. The liberation of all Black women requires the dismantling of all systems of oppression—white supremacy, patriarchy, capitalism, Islamophobia, homophobia, transphobia, and more. These systems harm all of us. So, if Black women are thriving and free, it also means the oppressive systems have been eradicated and we are all thriving and free."

Clockwise from Bottom Left: Venus of Dolní Věstonice, Artemisia Gentileschi - Sleeping Venus (1630), Kali Yantra, A golden statue of Durga slaying Mahisasur. Delhi (Oct 22, 2004), Kiki Smith - Lilith (1994), Andres Zorn - Freya (1901),  Ekajat, the Blue Tara, Ferocious, Single-Breasted, One-Eyed, Single-Toothed Protectress of Nyingmapa Lineage, Painted by Shri Ram Bahadur Lama, Kathmandu

Pantheon

A pantheon of Goddesses smuggled Life, Nature & Reality through thousands of years of metaphysical misogyny & gender slavery providing cover for actual, literal misogyny & gender slavery, & some of these Goddesses could stand as the divine power behind the next civilization:

The Celtic Triune Goddess in the West, Durga Ma in the East, both all-powerful representations of FULL EMBODIMENT & FULL INDIVIDUATION

 Freya the Nordic Goddess of BOTH Love & War. 

Venus Aphrodite of course, expressive of the Ultimate Power, D-E-S-I-R-E. 

The incomparable Tara, in all her 21 flavors, offering, oh, boundless compassion, salvation from suffering, & so much more, e.g., Ekajat, the Blue Tara, Ferocious, Single-Breasted, One-Eyed, Single-Toothed Protectress of Nyingmapa Lineage

In the East, the indigo blue skinned Kali, in the West, the raven winged Morrigan. Holy ferocity, primal security. Self-defense. War of liberation. Sacred rage.

 Lilith too. Like Daath, the abyss at the center of the Tree of Life, Lilith is the Shadow of them all.



Gaia

All of the Goddesses in this global pantheon are of the Sambhogakaya, they are like the rays of the Sun (Dharmakaya) warming & nurturing those human incarnations who open to them (Nirmanakaya). They are Mythoi, they are not unreal, they are realer than real, they are Supra Real. They feed the psychological body, the Manamaya Kosha, with the stuff of the Vijnanamaya Kosha, the Intuitive Body, The Jungians would say they are from the realm of the archetypes.

There is one Goddess who pre-exists the Pantheon, that pre-exists our species, that pre-exists all but herself, because all else is her creation. She is the ONLY truly IMMANENT Divinity, she was the forging of oceans, the flow of lava, the bacteria in a dark crevice organizing itself into the first neural network, & now many billions of years later whoever you are, when you look in the mirror you are seeing only Her. She is the Divine Intelligence. She is both the Temple and the Oracle within it. Yes, Her name was taken from the ancient Mythoi by a 20th Century scientist. But only Her name, The rest of Her new narrative is composed of scientific fact, corroborated by shamanic vision. In the South of the Americas, She is known by another name, Pachamama. Gaia-Pachamama is the only Divinity which offers direct, irrefutable proof of Her own existence every moment of every day in every place in all the world.

For those with eyes to hear and ears to see.

Without her you would not be, no five bodies, no incarnation, no path of individuation, no psyche, no soma, no karma, no you. Without her you would never have felt the sun rise from inside the stillness of your meditation or heard the coyotes massing for a hunt in the hills on a moonless night. Without her, no Iceland, no Uluru, no Kahlo, no Coltrane, no Amazon, no Congo, no Lana Del Ray.

If we are going to overcome the folly of our genius & survive the pathologies that poison us, we need to rapidly retool this scarred & conflicted civilization into a green, feminist world in which altruism & sustainability are the defining imperatives of governance. Gaia is the Goddess to place at the center of all you do to pursue this new beginning.



Thursday, April 06, 2023

Words of Power 2023-2024: The End of A Cycle, & the Beginning of the Next

San Francisco Theosophical Society Lodge, 6/16/17

"Thank you for being everything you are and upholding this world, you secret tsaddik ...
Deep bow to the living mystery school that you are, Richard Power.
Such a blessing to the world.” - Vera de Chalambert (@vera_de_shalom)"

“These books by Richard Power are portals of mythic truth and transmit Sovereignty Codes. I highly recommend reading them as you navigate all the changes - whenever I open the pages, it's like sitting at the feet of a great Oracle. Thank you Richard."
- Rhiannon Seraphine Morgana (@awakeningavalontemple)

The Center, San Francisco, 7/23/18

At 2:00 a.m., sometime after Yule 2022, before the end of the Muggle calendar year, I picked up “Wyrds of Power” to look up something for someone. Flipping through, searching for the passage I wanted to reference, I kept running into whole chapters I hadn’t laid eyes on in several years. I was awestruck by the sweeping scope of my work.

That same month, a close friend and ally chose to no longer be a friend or ally. It happens.

Both experiences left me NOT in the mood for having my work forgotten or my life disappeared.



Curating Legacy & Legend

To further the curation of legacy & legend, first, I released 3 series of Instagram and Facebook posts (IG/FB) that underscore the scope & depth of the creative cycle stretching from 2010 thru 2021.
  • Gatherings for the Spoken Word: 10 IG/FB posts featuring 10 photos each from some of the 25 in-person talks that were foundational in the shaping of these 3 books
    • 2010: "User's Guide to Human Incarnation: Yoga of Primal Reality" (series of 3)
    • 2012-2013: "Mapping Primal Reality: Further Notes for A User's Guide to Human Incarnation" (series of 7)
    • 2014: "Planetary Emergency, Personal Emergence (series of 4)
    • 2015: "Cauldron Yoga, Gaian Poetics & the Way of the Ancient Future"
    • 2016: "Wyrds of Power: New Language for A New Reality"
    • 2016: "Matrika, Midi-Chlorians & the Mysterium"
    • 2017: "7 Beasts, Tale of the Mysterium"
    • 2017: "5 Survival Tips for Your Journey into the Wilderness"
    • 2018: "I, the Dragon"
    • 2018" "Dragon Medicine: A Journey into Healing & Redemption"
    • 2019: "Dragon Bone Broth"
    • 2019: "Legends of the Ancient Future: Cauldron of the Dark Goddess, Secret Engine of the World, & the Riderless Horse that Crosses the Himalayas"
    • 2020: "Pandemic 2020: Dreamtime Dweller"
    • 2020: "Straw Dogs, A Mysterious Valley & the Power of Nothing"
    • Many of these talks on my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@rgpowerIII/videos
  • Readers Testify: 7 IG/FB posts enshrining 39 rave reviews from friends & allies, e.g.,  
    • “With his feet rooted firmly in the earth and his head in the Mysterium, Richard Power has written a dazzling book of great scope and meaning. It is a literary Ouroboros - Power’s extraordinary experiences, confessions, insights, revelations, and epiphanies unite to serve his fearless pursuit of truth and his inspiring vision of the infinite. Having just finished it, I am starting it again." - Susan Gammie 
    • "I'm so moved by your transparency... Your book is a gift. It will help heal many hearts. Including mine." - Kim Amadril (@undertherug)
    • “Truth infusion that feels like time travel through mystical traditions. Richard Power brings these ancient tools to our modern day ground zero so we might remember who we are.” - @RobinGorn
    • For more, see below.

San Francisco Theosophical Society, 9/20/19


“Wyrds of Power," "I, the Dragon," "Secret Engine of the World" were not brought forth from my mind, in a seated position, at my laptop. They arose exclusively from talks & walks, from what yoginis call “the Throat Chakra” & from what Gurdjieff called “the Moving Center.” 

The talks were delivered over the course of 11 years (2010-2021). Many at the sftslodge, some online, late at night, from an urban cave. The walks that led to what I call the “Epiphanies” (some might call them poems or prayers) took place over that same span of time. Some in a lush, deeply magical forest (incinerated in the Climate Catastrophe of 2021). Some in the City of the Golden Gate, on the high hills or amidst flocks of pelicans at the ocean. 25 talks & 156 epiphanies. 

The talks formed the skeleton & the nervous system of this body of work, these epiphanies shaped & animate its vital organs & 6 senses. These  galleries of images offer powerful witness: magical beings coming together in celebration of the Mysteries.


"San Francisco Theosophical Society Lodge, 9/23/16


"I, the Dragon" Audio Book Released

On the Spring Equinox, with the help of friend & producer Harrison Nir, I pushed out the audiobook version of “I, the Dragon.” (A project that had been halted during the pandemic.) 

Available now via Audible, iTunes & Amazon.





The Three Deadlines & The Taxonomy 

In “Secret Engine,” I spoke of 3 doom-defining or doom-defying deadlines: the US elections in 2022 & 2024, & a 2031 drop-dead deadline for any significant mitigation of Anthropogenic Climate Disruption (ACD) & the Sixth Great Extinction.

In 2022, I chronicled the run-up to the first of the 3 deadlines w/ a series of monthly updates from July to November. In 2024, I will chronicle the run-up to the second deadline, similarly. 

A series of talks & writings on the third deadline is also underway. Most recently, “Emerald Tablet: 21st Century Insights on Its True Nature” (@sftslodge 3/26/23), & before that, “Gaian Poetics & Gaian Politics” (@mpowerdanceproject 11/13/22).

This narrative tracking of the 3 deadlines will be incorporated into my next book.

The centerpiece of this new work will be the full text of “Taxonomy of Magical Beings: Field Notes of An Occult Anthropologist.” I offered a glimpse into this research in the talk “Dragon Bone Broth” & included that transcript and accompanying illustrations in “Secret Engine.”

The full “Taxonomy” will detail the characteristics of the magical species we have identified so far, it will also offer examples of how we determine a being’s species classification & examine the complex interrelationship of the magical & muggle worlds.



San Francisco Theosophical Society, 10/24/14


Rave Reviews from Readers

"Reading Richard's words while in college supplemented a kind of learning, of growth that I wasn't finding in my assigned work, but so desperately wanted. His was the first language that worked on my body like yoga, a poetry that explained little and somehow still delivered me to heights of feeling! Reading 'I, the Dragon' is an experience of transformation, not just a retelling but an active process of reliving. Within its pages, Richard gives us the greatest gift possible: his life." -- Harrison Nir (@just_a_har

Still the greatest book I have ever read. You have never read anything like it. The format is like no other ... Richard Power is one of the most relevant writers of our time. As the world moves deeper into chaos, Richard presents his personal saga, 'I, the Dragon,' as proof that one can come from complete madness, see how madness is effecting humanity politically, economically, environmentally, and yet still find healing and the ability to love unconditionally." - Brenna Geehan (@brennageehan)

"I’m not sure how else to tell you this. You must read this book. An essential artifact from the Ancient Future ... A necessary survival guide for humanity and where we are going... Written by one of the greatest living writers Richard Power @rgpoweriii Genius dragon devotee of the Dark Goddess, channel of a new language for a new reality. Weaver of the anthropological spiritual political arc of human evolution at this critical juncture on planet earth. His writings are water in a desert. Inoculations against spiritual delusion. Seeds planted in the heart that awaken the reader to their own depth of wisdom & direct knowing ... You know where to find it. This is a must, required reading for incarnated beings." - Maya Luna (depravedanddivine)

"Richard Power is magnificently depicting the jagged layers of our underworld and the absolute and fucked up perfection of everything. The ugly, disorderly, unforgivable … He shamelessly offers truth. Uncensored … His heart wide open in this book. His knowledge & experience vast, daring & evermore melding into the holy, deep, dark & feral beauty of this world …” - Aurora Rose @aofthisplace

How genuine, honest, authentic and whole ‘I, the Dragon' feels. With all the facets, ebbs, flows, textures and malleability of a human being, with a gift for sharing life and truth in a way that is so relatable. Touching, moving, and inspiring!! Your book is like advice that is neither unsolicited nor unwelcome! It is just magical, intuitive, deep, personal connection." - Jenn Jackson (@lovejennik)

"Reading 'I, The Dragon' I was struck by the tests, trials and tribulations Richard has endured that began as a young child and have woven throughout his life. And I sense the hero’s journey he has lived, learning to rely on his intuition ... To forgive is not to forget. The true hero must undergo a death and resurrection in order to progress. Richard has achieved this multiple times within his life, emerging each time to a higher level of understanding and release. His story is raw and penetrating and touched me at the depth of my being." - Wendy Ellsworth

"Richard Power is a dear friend, soul brother, true blue ally, real-life magician, 21st-century bard, fountain of authentic wisdom, and all-around extraordinary human. I am blessed to have him in my life and now the world is blessed to have his memoirs in the collective consciousness. 'Epic Life' is not an exaggeration! Richard's life and work is a channeled articulation of the most profound Truths about the human experience, conveyed with wit, brilliance, poetry and pathos. I love this man SO MUCH. THANK YOU, dear wizard, from the bottom of my heart, for existing and for delivering this gift to a planet in desperate need …" - Sarah Hendlish

"Into the Sublime. A Must Read." - Terence Smith (@Callmenadu

"’I, the Dragon’ is more than an incredible work of art. Richard Power delivers a personal nakedness never before shown, one that breathes healing into the deepest shadow of torture and survival. A most important work, masterfully written in three styles: porn cult-classic, polished blade of a global security expert and literary philosopher-poet. An undercurrent exists throughout this book, taking us beyond the desolation of his experience. Power never fails to find a way that leads us all into a new green oasis." - Mary Power (@mpowerdance.project

"I, the Dragon is equal parts intimate memoir, zen treatise and firsthand historical document. Across a life filled with both trauma and triumph, Richard Power has traveled the world, witnessed extraordinary things, met an astounding list of fellow travelers and emerged with a story—many stories, many of them remarkable—that is both resonant and beautiful." - Kali Holloway (@kaliholloway

"’I, The Dragon’ is a book of healing. There is vast tenderness in the transformative journey that this hero took upon himself as he embraced his power. The journey & the tenderness are gifts of Great Medicine from a courageous soul. The magic of this unique epic is that it can uplift anyone ..." - @rosalynvintageshop

“No words to describe what your words do to me. Thank you. You changed my life." - Maya Luna (depravedanddivine)

"Summer is almost gone except here in the SF Bay where winter happens in July and summer happens in October. I am thoroughly immersed in "I, the Dragon" this powerful page-turner that chronicles the extraordinary life of the incomparable Richard Power. You will be entertained, you will be dazzled, inspired and magically transformed through these pages." - Courtney Wynn Sheets @eyesofcourtneywynn


San Francisco Theosophical Society Lodge, 2017


"This book has a hypnotic effect that pulls you deeply inward into the most subtle spaces that typically can only be felt versus read, but Richard has the ability to successfully convey these inner landscapes in such a way through word that I gained much personal insight and clarity as a side effect of the read. His personal stories have transpersonal gifts and the tone of mystery painted throughout the book way-showered me into a deep sense of the familiar. This multi-dimensional book led my psyche into an awareness, as if inner doors kept opening into a homecoming of mysterious revelation. On the same note, the aha! moments I received when reading were inspired from the book's great practicality, rawness, and depthful wisdom that is acquired through direct experience, age, and the courage to embrace the full journey of a mystical, inter-dimensional life." - Maalika-Shay DeviDasi

"Reading & re-reading Richard.... what has struck me most strongly about 'I the Dragon' is the beauty of the lyricism in some of the narrative passages... the content is yours (you lived it) yet I, the reader, own the breath, joy & tears that all rise with each turned page .... it's a staggering work of memoir and literature, so much so I want to take this copy to Sligo, place it on W.B's grave stone, photograph it and send it to you...." -- Kevin McLaughlin (@thesolarboutiq)

“With his feet rooted firmly in the earth and his head in the Mysterium, Richard Power has written a dazzling book of great scope and meaning. It is a literary Ouroboros - Power’s extraordinary experiences, confessions, insights, revelations, and epiphanies unite to serve his fearless pursuit of truth and his inspiring vision of the infinite. Having just finished it, I am starting it again." - Susan Gammie

"I'm so moved by your transparency... Your book is a gift. It will help heal many hearts. Including mine." - Kim Amadril (@undertherug)

"Richard Power your words infuse my soul with Musings of the worlds unseen.
I can’t seem to put this book down ..." - Alita Arose (
@alitaarose)

“Truth infusion that feels like time travel through mystical traditions. Richard Power brings these ancient tools to our modern day ground zero so we might remember who we are.” - @RobinGorn 

"This book has rocked my world on so many levels! The story pulled me in and wouldn’t let me go! An amazingly honest, personal account wrapped in revelation, wizardry and mystery. This intensely heroic life is written with poetic mastery ... Inspiring medicine …” - Kate Henke

“‘I, the Dragon’ brought me on a journey into a very profound life. It aligns with anyone searching for their truth in healing & becoming Self. It is honest, deep, & tells a wonderful story of a life well lived. Thank you Mr. Power for your strength, compassion & words.” - @lucienshapiro

"This book ['Secret Engine'] is a treasure for humanity, an experience to be lived, a download of love filled with remarkable insights and visions written by a poet. Richard Power, a modern mystic, is gifting us an unusual yet practical life raft for our times. If I were you, I would reach out and grab it.” - Courtney Wynn Sheets (@eyesofcourtneywynn@outriderart)

"Captivating, riveting. A wild ride of a read. The wisdom of an incredible man whose precious l
ife was recovered from the heart and soul of a young boy." -- Helena Zera (@helenavyana)

 

San Francisco Theosophical Society Lodge, 9/25/15

“What a gift you are to this world.” - Allison Hodge (@kalikscollective)

"This novel has me engrossed. The title alone set me into a completely compelling desire to get absorbed in the secrets of each page. Richard Power your words infuse my soul with Musings of the worlds unseen. I can’t seem to put this book down. Thank you for your honesty, your courage, your truth. I’m honored to know you." -- Alita Arose (@alitaarose)

"Yes, 'I, the Dragon' arrived just in time to begin savoring it in conjunction with blood blue moon. Which as we know is as it had to be. It is remarkable and anchoring and fracturing, all at once. A shard of reality in these illusion-filled times." -- Jennifer Ruth Keller (@aplaceapart)

“The book that I cannot put down and at the same time I have to put down to catch my breath. “The sands are spilling through the hourglass for all of us. There is a finite number of grains. Don't waste your time in this world." - Lalyn Curtis @breathingskyhealingarts

"Your words pierce my heart. Your exquisite words, You vast ocean! So much wisdom - all alchemized within." - Lauren Searles (@loveangelcoach)

"Into the Sublime. A Must Read." - Terence Smith (@Callmenadu)  



Emily Shurr is a gifted poet whose work I have encouraged. Her review of my book is itself a work of utter brilliance:

"A short review of I, THE DRAGON is like a week in Paris. Overwhelmed with beauty and majesty, art and revolution, with just enough squalor to keep it really real, you just have to hit the high points and promise to come back soon ..."

 "It’s ecstatic, it’s bizarre, it’s frantic, it’s tender, it’s like Whitman gone wild ..."

“It takes the form of a complex chronicle … including a historic timeline of world events alternating with deeply personal narratives, often in footnotes that go on for pages. Our story begins with tales of horrific abuse and exquisite transcendence, told in waves and incantations. Statues and stones speak from across aeons, pouring the Presence of Archetypes into author and reader alike ... This is deep and high, this telling. This is a wild, precise, elegant rampage of the Goddess Herself through a single man’s life -- a man who has carried fire for the whole world ..."

"These blessings are unending. Each one contains myriad others. They open into themselves in a fractellating way. So many, so thick, pouring like complex spiced honey, I obviously can’t address them all here. Tackling the nature of Evil, page 395. Obviously a gigantic topic, one which most professional ethicists actually avoid. How to access Grace in no uncertain (deeply uncertain) terms, page 400. A closing Feast with goddesses Grace and Gratitude, guests Anger and Bitterness, the 7 Beasts and the 5 Richards, page 404. Nothing like it in all of literature …”

Full text of "This Eden Does Not Tolerate Cowards -- A Personal/Universal Review of Richard Power’s "I, THE DRAGON" (NSFW)"