{"id":783,"date":"2017-08-30T12:45:01","date_gmt":"2017-08-30T20:45:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/?p=783"},"modified":"2017-09-04T19:26:43","modified_gmt":"2017-09-05T03:26:43","slug":"is-my-vagina-magick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/2017\/08\/is-my-vagina-magick.html","title":{"rendered":"Is My Vagina* Magick?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

*I opted to use vagina for the title since it\u2019s that nice middle bit between the vulva and the uterus, and sounds much better than \u201cfemale reproductive organs\u201d and more accurate than genitalia for the purposes of this piece. \u00a0Let\u2019s not even discuss the ovaries right now though. \u00a0They\u2019re on my shit list.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\"My
My studio in college, can you count the yonis?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When I was a Witchlet, I swung pretty hard to Goddess side of things. \u00a0Which is to be expected considering I was running away from Ye Old Patriarchal Jerk God<\/a> as fast AF.<\/p>\n

While Catholicism has the Virgin Mary and a plethora of interesting female saints, there\u2019s a lot left to be desired in recognizing the feminine divine there. \u00a0But that\u2019s how it goes: you grow up with one extreme, and you swing to the other to spite it, before finally resting somewhere in the middle\u2026or better yet, finding an entirely new Venn diagram to live in.<\/p>\n

This time overlapped\u00a0with my college years at the Rhode Island School of Design. \u00a0I read pretty much all<\/strong> of the feminist meets goddess literature crafted in the 70\u2019s-90\u2019s (including a lot of Dianic books) as well as absorbing as much woman-made art as possible. \u00a0This resulted in me making a lot of artwork exploring the female body (particularly all of the reproductive organs and sexual bits), goddess imagery, and women\/women relationships. \u00a0Yonis galore.<\/p>\n

\"In The Arms of the Goddess\" monotype, circa 1998.
\u201cIn The Arms of the Goddess\u201d monotype, circa 1998.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Some day I\u2019ll write up for y\u2019all the time of my life I like to call \u201ca Horned God comes knocking.\u201d \u00a0But that is not this post, so it\u2019s best to say, I did find a new version of the masculine divine, and my art expanded out in multiple ways and subject matters. \u00a0I moved elsewhere on my path.<\/p>\n

But in the last year or so,\u00a0\u00a0a series of unrelated\u00a0experiences and encounters made me think back to those times and that artwork. The somewhat newly discovered fact that my uterus is somewhat defective (only been seeing a GYN for 18 years, not sure why it took so long to discover it is tilted and that I have PCOS.) \u00a0That my period has a thing for full moons when left to its own devices.\u00a0A friend talking about Red Tent circles and\u00a0inviting me to a part of it sometime.\u00a0The fixation some traditional witchcraft practitioners have with using bodily fluids in spellcraft \u2013 particularly menstrual blood and its powers.\u00a0Controversy over who gets to be a woman<\/a>. \u00a0Bullshit legislation regarding reproductive rights and abortion. It\u2019s enough to make a vagina scream.<\/p>\n

\"Mokosh\" - etching, circa 1999
\u201cMokosh\u201d \u2013 etching, circa 1999<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

And amongst the many long hours I spent in the van this summer,<\/a> I came to some current conclusions regarding my body and magick. \u00a0My ability to create and my propensity to work magick is not subject to or empowered by my vulva, vagina, or uterus.\u00a0 Or anything that comes out of it, sentient or otherwise. Nor should my (or anyone else\u2019s) rights or classification as a human being be determined by the function, state, or presence of reproductive organs.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s absolutely nothing wrong with practices and beliefs that revel in the sacredness of vulvas, vaginas, uteruses (uteri?), or penises for that matter. \u00a0As long as it\u2019s not coupled with the belief that you\u2019re somehow a better or more special human being because of it. \u00a0Sure, you can work certain kinds of magick with those parts. \u00a0But those parts aren\u2019t that much different than the specialized group of cells that came together to form your brain, or your liver, or your hair. \u00a0The magick resides in the energy of all cells and matter \u2013 living or otherwise. \u00a0Your power resides in you, not just your parts.<\/p>\n

\"Baubo\" mixed media monotype, circa 1999.
\u201cBaubo\u201d mixed media monotype, circa 1999.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Being a VaginaOwner(TM) doesn\u2019t give me exclusive powers of magick or creation. \u00a0I want to be recognized as a human and spiritual being, not categorized by what\u2019s between my legs, or the working state of it. \u00a0I think deep down, that\u2019s what most of us want, but we get caught up in a lot nuances seeking to separate us out.<\/p>\n

It seems we spend a lot of time focusing on those parts and what makes us different. \u00a0We could move along a lot faster as a culture and society if we can give more attention to what unifies and connects us. \u00a0If we can recognize and honor the power the resides in each of us as human beings.<\/p>\n

So to answer the question of the title. \u00a0Of course it is. \u00a0Because I am magick, so it wins by association.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When I was a Witchlet, I swung pretty hard to Goddess side of things. Which is to be expected considering I was running away from Ye Old Patriarchal Jerk God as fast AF. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2676,"featured_media":784,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,15,12,13],"tags":[91,336,335,52,337,333,4,334],"class_list":["post-783","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-art","category-metaphysics","category-modernpractice","category-myth-and-folklore","tag-art","tag-dianic","tag-feminist","tag-magick","tag-menses","tag-vagina","tag-witchcraft","tag-yoni"],"yoast_head":"\nIs My Vagina* Magick?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"When I was a Witchlet, I swung pretty hard to Goddess side of things. 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