Theos-Talk Archives (March 1996 Message tl00039)

Mark,

If you're doing women's spirituality from a Catholic college, you probably
know about this one, but just in case you don't, one of my favorites is
"Illuminations of Hildegard of Bingen" Text by Hildegard of Bingen with
commentary by Matthew Fox. The illuminations are gorgeous. I have some of
them on slides, & also her book on healing. The latter was translated from
Latin to German. H. wrote in Latin. It's fun to go through. I also have
(somewhere) a tape of her music. I think it's pre-Gregorian Chant. Anyway,
it sounded god awful to me, so I listened to it once & stored it somewhere.
This abbess lived almost 1000 years ago (1098-1179).

Liesel



>Hi, all,
>
>      Thank you for your responses to my inquiry.  FYI, I am in Pasadena,
>just a few short blocks from the Theosophical Society Library. The fact
>that so many women have been leaders in the theosophical movement is what
>drew my attention to it.  I've recognized a number of themes in HPB's works
>that could be considered "of the feminine," as Ms. Deutsch verified.  HPB
>herself did not seem to be involved in feminist social justice, as were
>others who assisted poor women, etc.  Her research seems to be remarkable.
>One of my interests is a tracing of sources or thinking that may have
>influenced "New Age" feminism, particularly "secret" teachings or
>philosophical ideas that appear to be emerging in ritual, practices and
>ethics of late 20th century witchcraft and eco-feminism.   Wicca and
>Theosophy have obvious differences, but practices such as magic, and ideas
>such as immanence, inter-relatedness and personal experience seem to be
>more clearly articulated in theosophical studies rather than in anything
>passed down from ancient folk-practice or Goddess worship.
>     I'm in the last third of a masters program in Feminist Spirituality at
>Immaculate Heart College. This little paper is a 15-pager for a Historical
>Perspectives on Feminist Spirituality, so it's primarily a secondary source
>paper that hopefully can open some doors toward original research.  I'm
>just barely scratching the surface of "women and theosophy" in this case,
>but hope to develop a thesis of some sorts for continuing independent
>study.  I appreciate hearing about people doing research in this area, and
>should this paper develop into something, I'll be getting far more involved
>in the future. Thanks!
>
>
>-S. Gegenhuber
>
>