#max dashu

[kittyit]

If you missed the Lesbian Heritages show, you can still see it stream on demand til April 15. Just register and Max Dashu will send you the link.

Regular $20: https://py.pl/1zNJJD

Supporter $25: https://py.pl/1H2wsh

Low-Income: $15: https://py.pl/wkOhd

Lesbian Heritages

International view of woman-loving women, from archaeological finds of paired and embracing women, up to recent history. Khotylevo, Çatal Hüyük, Mycenae, Nayarit, Etruria, Nok, and the Begram ivories. Lesbian love in Hellenistic art, Thai murals, Indian temple carvings, and Japanese erotic books. Some called us mati, zami, hwame, sakhiyani, bofe or sapatão. Lesbians as female rebels: the Amazons, Izumo no Okuni, Juana Asbaje, Louise Michel, Stormé DeLarverie. Women who passed as men in order to practice medicine and roam the world. Punishing the lesbian: in the Bible, Zend Avesta, Laws of Manu; and demonological fantasies. Lesbian musicians (Sotiria Bellou, Chavela Vargas, Ethyl Waters), artists (Edmonia Lewis, Romaine Brooks, Yan María Castro), writers (Emily Dickinson), and actors (Garbo!) Lesbian clubs and scenes in Paris, Berlin, and New York. Lesbian feminists, and Arab, South African, Australian lesbians. And more…

"I am a lesbian, I am reality; I insist on living in freedom: --Rebeldí­as Lesbicas, Peru

[xxconnection]

text: Sapiente Sibillia ("Wise Sibyl") Memory of the prophetic sibyls of Cumae turned, in medieval Italian tradition, into a pagan mountain goddess. Wise Sibillia lived in a subterranean paradise in the high Appenines. Seekers entered it though a grotto with a magical spring-fed lake. Within were caverns full of marvels and treasures, where the immortal Sibillia and her faery women regularly assumed serpent form. They taught the arts of magic. Sibillia blessed those who visited her mountain, and when they returned to the world they passed the rest of their days in joy. It was said that whoever stayed longer than a year could no longer leave, but remained deathless and ageless, feasting in abundance, revelry, and amorous delights. Notecards by Max Dashu Painting by Max Dashu

[ancestorsalive]

Suppressed Histories Archives

dtSsnopeor1h5m12ai809mcu3ag3mthf140fh212ta87ta011g9gc6c41837  · 

The Distaff and Female Power, new open access video on Max Dashu youtube channel. Spinner's wand of Neith, the Moirai, and other ancient goddesses. The Three Wyrd Sisters, Fates, fatas and fées. Ix Chel and Tlazolteotl. Spinners of the Coast Salish. Ceremonial distaff-shaped wands of Norse seeresses Mythic spinners in folk imagination: Berthe Pédaque, the spinner and storyteller, the "swan-footed queen," who was legendarily ancient: "in the time when Berthe span"... Lughia Rajosa of Sardinia and her enchanted distaff Habetrot, the old spinner fairy, or the three fairy godmothers, who help a girl to a good fate Folk saints with magical distaffs The Distaff and the Witch: spinners riding animals throught the skies; the Baba Yaga Theme of the Emasculating Distaff, a female weapon against men, fantasies of reversed domination Women who joust with the distaff against knights or monks; or animals who joust Distaff in the Battle over the Breeches: women take over the male garment as symbol of domination, the “world upside down” The Charivari and Skimmington: public humiliation of “henpecked” husbands forced to hold a distaff, riding backwards on a mule; the ridicule of non-dominant men (and assertive women). Fates who come to spin and endow good marriages; courtship at spinning parties. Spinners around the world, with and without distaff. Spinning while walking! Modern images of Norns as spinners. https://youtu.be/UIRi_uGY_1A?si=2TjIXbYZcBaPJU75 

[kittyit]

Recordings are up! I highly recommend Max Dashu, Bess Hungerford & Katherine Acosta's presentation. Max talks about the silencing of women in the context of global women's history, Bess has a fascinating presentation on how radical feminists working with Christians on anti-pornography measures has been misrepresented and comparing it to current day working with the fight, and Katherine does an excellent job of outlining the basic pitfalls of working with conservatives.

The whole conference was less than 1.5 hours and was just really awesome.

https://katherinemacosta.substack.com/p/flaring-up-feminist-opposition-to !!

[citedesdames]

Bao Gu (l鮑姑), was a Chinese Taoist physician. She is the daughter of accomplished Taoist practitioner and governor Bao Jing and the wife of Ge Hong who is the author of Baopuzi. She is also known as one of the famous four female physicians in Chinese history, along with Zhang Xiaoniang of Northern Song dynasty, Yi Xu of the Western Han dynasty, and Tan Yunxian, who was active during the Ming dynasty. She was active during the Eastern Jin dynasty.

Zhang Xiaoniang (11th century), was a Chinese physician. She is known as one of the famous four female physicians in Chinese history, along with Yi Jia of Western Han dynasty, Gu Bao of the Jin dynasty and Tan Yunxian, who was active during the Ming dynasty. She was active during the reign of Emperor Renzong of Song.

Yi Jia (Yi Xu, 2nd century BC), was a Chinese physician. She is known as one of the famous four female physicians in Chinese history, along with Zhang Xiaoniang of Northern Song dynasty, Gu Bao of the Jin dynasty and Tan Yunxian, who was active during the Ming dynasty. She was active during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han.

Tan Yunxian (Chinese: 談允賢; 1461–1554) was a Chinese physician during the Ming dynasty in China.

[houseofcatwic]

The Goddess Remembered

35,000 years of the goddess-worshipping religions - ©2008 Max Dashu of the ancient past

[im-a-dream-wizard]

My Personal Guide to Works pertaining to German, Bavarian, and Alpine Folk Magick

This is not an exhaustive list, just a list of sources that inform my practice. Readers will benefit from being able to read German (and sometimes Bavarian/Boarisch German).

Not all works are specific/exclusive to these folk practices and may include other traditions in addition.

I will be updating this list as I recall or find works to add to it. It is not alphabetized or organized in any specific way. If you’d like to recommend a title for this list, let me know!

Additionally, I cannot speak or vouch for any of the views or opinions of the authors. Some of these sources are certainly outdated and could potentially contain content that is offensive or bigoted, which is not something I endorse. Finally, there are some sources that are of debatable historical accuracy, so take them with a grain of salt.

Books

Pow-Wows or Long Lost Friend, John George Hohman

The Secret History of Christmas Baking by Linda Raedisch

The Old Magic of Christmas by Linda Raedisch

Night of the Witches by Linda Raedisch (a great resource for Walpurgisnacht)

Mountain Magic: Celtic Shamanism in the Austrian Alps by Christian Brunner

Alpine Magic by Christian Brunner

Pagan Christmas by Christian Rätsch and Claudia Müller-Ebeling

Göttin Holle by Gunivortus Goos (also available in English)

Hausgeister! by Janin Pisarek, Florian Schäfer, and Hannah Gritsch

Queens of the Wild by Ronald Hutton

Witchcraft and the Shamanic Journey Kenneth Johnson

Niederbayerische Sagen by Michael Waltinger

Witchcraft Medicine by Wolf-Dieter Storl, Christian Rätsch, Claudia Müller-Ebeling (available in both English and German)

Der Heilige Hain by Christian Rätsch

Von Sonnwend bis Rauhnacht by Valentin Kirschgruber

Witches and Pagans: Women in European Folk Religion, 700-1100 by Max Dashu

Spirit Beings in European Folklore 2 by Benjamin Adamah (I encourage you to read their sources as well, it’s important to find primary sources)

Deutsche Mythologie by Jacob Grimm (English as ��Teutonic Mythology”) Please take Jacob Grimm with a grain of salt.

Handwörterbuch des deutschen Aberglaubens (There’s a lot of caveats to this, as it is highly outdated, but it is still a handy resource for reference. HOWEVER, good luck finding it. You might find some volumes available online but there are very few complete reprints of this encyclopedia, at least that are affordable.)

Tiefe Wälder, dunkle Legenden by Josef Probst

Malleus Maleficarum by Heinrich Kramer (This is basically a 15th century manual to “witch hunting” and contains bigotry and and a lot of factual inaccuracies. However, it has some content that can provide some insight into folk magic and superstition of the time. It is very violent and explains the torture process of those accused of witchcraft, so be warned)

Journals and Scholarly Articles

Holda: Between Folklore and Linguistics by Thomas Leek

Perchten and Krampusse: Living Mask Traditions in Austria and Bavaria by Molly Carter

Divination: Mother Holle as Goddess of Seerdom by Ullrich R. Kleinhempel

Percht und Krampus Felix and Ulrich Müller

The Distribution of The Legends of Frau Holle, Frau Percht, and Related Figures by Erika Timm

Perchta the Belly-Slitter and Her Kin: A View of Some Traditional Threatening Figures, Threats and Punishments by John B. Smith

Holle's Cry: Unearthing a Birth Goddess in a German Jewish Naming Ceremony by Jill Hammer

Content Creators

Ella Harrison

The Witches’ Cookery

De Spökenkyker: A great resource for Silesian-German folk practice!

[vvitchscvm-deactivated0666]

still waitin on that analysis kowalski

truly don't get how some radfems seem not just disinterested but outright dislike witchcraft. like, I get being atheist or agnostic - frankly, it's something I really like about witchcraft: there's plenty of ways to practice that don't require you to believe in a literal deity. you can just believe in nature & the beauty of the universe. but the existence of female-centric, & even female-exclusive, & even explicitly radfem (& lesbian co-founded with lesbian spiritual leaders etc), spiritual practice is so fucking enticing to me. the idea of gathering with other women, other radfem lesbians even!, to honor femaleness and nature together, that's everything I've always wanted. I don't get being a radfem (esp lesbian) and not just not being curious about it at all but like, actively losing respect for those of us who practice. it's saddening fr.

also me & @sappheia aka @vvitchscvm-deactivated20230666 are gonna be the creatrices of the biggest and best lesbian feminist Dianic path in modern history t b h

[gefdreamsofthesea]

Maybe I'm in the minority but if you know a historian (and I use the term very loosely) is a TERF I honestly wouldn't trust anything they say about gender in history.

Seriously everyone writing about witchcraft stop giving Max Dashu a platform.

[chihuahuagirlfriend]

On Sunday my older lesbian friend mentioned her friend Max and I had to stop her 2 sentences later when I figured out it was Max Dashu!!! Internationally known women's spiritual figure Max Dashu!!!

[lavenderselkie]

I keep trying to listen to this podcast that gets recommended on women's groups called 34 Circe salon... It has a great tagline "Make Matriarchy Great Again," and so I give it a try despite the fact they have a male among their hosts even though I'd much prefer to hear only women..

but these men cannot stop interrupting and cutting off Max Dashu, yes THE Max Dashu of Suppressed History Archives, who is trying to explain things to them. I want to go to their studio and smack the men upside the head. STFU and let her speak!! Making matriarchy great again would definitely involve you no longer being allowed to talk over knowledgeable women with your random man thoughts that literally no one clicked on this podcast to hear. You invited her to come speak but you can't let her finish a thought.

I'm going back to listening to women hosts and women guests only. I am relatively new to podcasts but I never hear a female podcaster constantly cutting off her guest like this.

[kittyit]

Silencing Women's Speech from Max Dashu, feminist scholar and runner of the Suppressed Histories Archive

LIVE EVENT, Friday, September 15th 2023 at 12 PM PST (3 PM EST)

A Sumerian law called for crushing a woman's mouth with a brick, for "disrespecting" a man. Ancient and medieval conventions ordered women to keep silent. The European witch hunts targeted women; the accusation that a woman could magically harm others from afar, by her evil thoughts, and thus deserved to be hounded, beaten, tortured, killed, or shunned. Coercing speech in the torture trials. Scoring aboon the breath: cutting a woman's face "above the mouth," so drawing her blood would break her spells.

The Witch's bridle / Scold's bridle / branks: headcages with a metal gag, for public humiliation, and also Schandmasken: "shame masks." "Swimming the witch," "ducking the scold" (epithet for an outspoken woman). Women Possessed; exorcism as a rite of male domination. Witch accusations by possessed children in the Salem hunts.

Imprisoned women who wrote or embroidered appeals for justice. Testimony of abused women from mental prisons, workhouses, and enslavement. Acts of speech as madness; inquisitors are replaced by psychiatrists, with their own forms of torture: ice baths, immobilization, insulin shock, electroshock.

Gagging, bridling, or torturing a woman's tongue in the anti-suffragist backlash. Men's words in women's mouths: media elevating select women to voice patriarchal views. Male domination of public discussions. Attacks on female journalists, internet influencers, members of parliament. Physical attacks on women who say No. Chup raho: "Be quiet."

New Left attacks on women's speech, igniting an explosion of female protest in the 2nd Wave. Rightwing backlash gains ground: Limbaugh invents the "feminazi," followed 30 years later by self-styled antifascists calling feminists "Nazis." Resurgence of witch hunt memes: "Burn TERFs," "punch TERFs," along with rape and death threats, directed at female targets, with impunity.

Threat from the far right and christian nationalists, who want women barefoot and pregnant, and back in the home, but are trying to turn feminist concerns into a wedge issue. Their long game leads to a fascist Gilead.

[fastwalker]

max dashu is a great source, she's a hisorian and has studied this subject for decades. I'v been to one of her lectures when she visited my country. it was very informative. here's her website, it looks a little weird bu her work is solid afaik https://www.suppressedhistories.net/

There are a fair few faux feminist statements I hate, but “We are the daughters of the witches you couldn’t burn” is one of them.

[gyrth780]

Weaving and Spinning Women: Witches and Pagans by Max Dashu: Reviewed by Carol P. Christ

[witchfashion]

Historic Beginnings of Modern Witch Style

We all know the archetype and style of the witch woman today, but ever wondered where does it all stem from? Here are some facts behind the historic beginnings of witch style...

Earliest coned shaped hats were found in China. The remains of mummies found there were of sisters accused of practicing magic in Turfan between 4th and 2th century BCE. 

Witches of Subeshi - click here to check out the story and the pics of the mummies. Not for the faint of heart. 

In the Middle Ages in Europe people associated pointed hats with Jewish religion and... Satan. In Hungary for instance during the Witch Hunts, Jewish people were accused of practicing devil worship and magic, and were made to wear the horned skullcap. 

In America, the Quakers were accused by Puritans of being devil worshipers even though the Quaker styled hats back then didn’t match the accusations. 

In medieval Europe, women who brewed beer were considered and accused of being witches, and they actually did wear pointed hats similar to those we see today in media.

A 16th century English prophetess called Mother Shipton wore a tall, conical hat and gave out some surprising predictions regarding the arrival of the internet. Her real name was Ursula and she had a large, crooked nose, hunched back and twisted legs. Her mother had to give her up to the local family because she was completely alone and raised the girl in a cave of all places for two years before securing her a better place. 

Since people mocked her early on because of her appearance, she went back to the forest and near the cave where she was raised and got interested in observing and studying nature. She made remedies from herbs and plants, and later on realized she could predict the future. 

She is believed to have foretold the Black Death, the Great Fire of London, the defeat of the Spanish Armada and the end of the world. And the internet. 

“Around the world, men’s thoughts will fly. Quick as the twinkling of an eye.”

In parts of East Europe before Christianity took off there, the pagan Slavs used to consider female principle of creation and death as rather important. Over time, to end the reign of old Gods and Goddesses, fear based stories and specifically made religious propaganda of women being seduced by the devil turned things around. Back then and even today, women were often called to nurse the elderly or the dying. It didn’t take much to point and accuse the women of being the ones inflicting death itself though. 

According to History.com, the earliest depiction of a witch riding a broom dates to 1451 in the manuscript of a French poet by the name of Martin Le Franc. Two women with brooms are depicted as Waldensians who were a Christian sect that accepted women as priests and were thus in part branded as heretics by the Catholic church. 

A pagan fertility ritual among rural folk in Europe involved jumping over a stick or a broom and or dancing during full moon for the growth of their crops.

Another possible reason why witches were depicted flying with brooms were some historical findings which say that witches made herbal ointments and applied them to their intimate areas or skin to avoid getting an upset stomach and to get high from it. 

“ Priests frequently leveled accusations of sexual magic at European women. The penitential books refer often to love potions. [Rouche, 523] But sexual witchcraft went beyond those, or even the dreaded (and popular) impotence magic. Early medieval writers show that women were using herbal medicine and witchcraft to control their own fertility and childbearing. Bishops in France, Spain, Ireland, England and Germany enacted canons forbidding women to undertake means of controlling their own conception, herbal and ceremonial, as well as to end pregnancies or perform abortions. 

 Though the Church described them as sorceresses, the wisewomen, herbalists, midwives and elders belonged to a spiritual tradition rooted in the land. Mother Earth gave healing herbs that restored life to the body, balanced it, healed wounds or disease, promoted conception or prevented it. Women who desired children prayed to ancient goddesses and petitioned them at holy rocks and pools. These animist divinities were invoked in childbirth, to help the mother and strengthen the newborn, for knowledge about how to conceive and how to not conceive children. (Often they ended up transformed into Christian saints, allowing a seamless transition of their rites and symbols.) The pagans knew the cycles of life's renewal to be infinite, and appealed to the same deities in death.“ Suppressed Histories, by Max Dashu.