Michelle Ruth Boyle
I am a doctoral student in East West Psychology with a strong affinity for the Women’s Spirituality program. I am also an alumna of Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness, and the Bachelor Completion program. In the BAC I focused on the impact of the physical environment on learning and transformation, and in that spirit I offer this altar to the goddess, to the earth and her kin, and to our gathering. The intention is to presence all the elements and the natural world in our conference space, to bring them to bear in our invocation of a post patriarchal culture. This photo is of the earth altar I built at last year‘s Spiral Dance and features the same statue as centerpiece, a sculpture of Gaia by Oberon Zell, who has been working toward post patriarchy since founding the Church of All Worlds many decades ago with his beloved, Morning Glory Zell. The exact nature of this altar will be revealed in collaboration with Patti Davis, and the synergy of the elemental world with the history of the Women’s Spirituality program and its scholarship.
Patti Davis
AN ALTAR OF REMEMBRANCE
I came to CIIS’s Women’s Spirituality Program In the Winter of 1996 – back when the program was on trimesters and the school was located on Ashbury St. in the Haight Ashbury District. Over the ensuing 23 years of being a student, graduate and dedicated alumna, I have taken countless photos of events the department shared as well as memorabilia from presentations; visiting guest speakers; conferences; thesis and dissertation defenses and memories of many retreats and parties. That is what my altar will reflect. The altar will also feature newsletters and early brochures. Special honor will be given to Elinor Gadon as well as other faculty and students the program has lost and a tribute to Marija Gimbutas. In calling out to alumna of WSE & WSD programs to contribute to the altar and for those who view it to also feel free to share in these experiences by sight and touch, I hope to show from where we came, where we are now and where our changes will take us into the future.
Patti Davis Altar Creatrix
WSE MA 2002