If you've been a participant in the Goddess Pilgrimage to Crete and/or Sacred Journey to Lesvos and have a Facebook account,you're invited to join the Ariadne's Thread Facebook group.
And for any of you Facebook users who'd like another way of connecting with Karolina, please visit her there at Carol P. Christ
"Sisters! Come to Tylissos in the fall,
when the mornings are cool, and
the sun still burns at noon.
We will sit under the portico,
where the stones are cool
and the hills roll out before us. ..."
— Read more of Marty Hamed's poems "Finding Goddess" & "The Road Up Mount Ida" (October 2009).
"First of all, it is my birthday, May 22 - 55 years of life....Today, I remember all of us in Persephone's Cave wherein we sang to HER and to each other....So today, my heart is full and very grateful for the journey thus far, and for all of you who were a part of that journey that started around this time in May, 2007."
—Read more of Maryruth Bella Luna's "Kalimera Ariadne Sisters!" (May 2009).
"Nearly six years ago, I went on a "Goddess Pilgrimage to Crete" with Carol Christ.... Recently, the passage of time and the fullness of the Crete experience came together for me. While in Crete, I had casually bought a beautifully glazed red ceramic bowl to be used for my daughter's coming of age ceremony. At the time I bought it, she was a little girl, and the ceremony seemed impossibly far in the future. I bought the bowl, not knowing how I'd use it, but certain that I'd figure out something when the time came. Earlier this year, the time arrived to dust off the bowl and celebrate with my daughter and my local women's circle. I was flooded with memories from Crete, and decided to make the bowl the centerpiece of her ritual."
—Read more of Rebecca Hecking's "Crete Reflection: Coming of Age" (April 2009).
"Myrtos! Myrtos is above me...unseen like in a dream. But it is there, abandoned thousands of years ago; waiting now for visitors, waiting to be seen, touched, remembered. The gully is not steep, but at first it seems so formidable — winding up to the village at the top of the hill through dusty soil, thorn bushes, and a paradise of wildflowers. My Sisters assist me, and I ascend, slowly, but for the first time with strength and confidence. Then...the rough-hewn walls are before me, with paths and rooms, and purple sprays of beauty everywhere. The blossoms have given Myrtos life again, if only for the brief springtime. Maybe they bloom so prodigiously in honor of those whose home this once was. The sea is near and radiantly turquoise. And, the soft breeze feels alive, brushing coolness against the sun’s heat. This ancient site touches my heart: the soft buzz of bees, the scent of fragrant herbs, the blessed peace and silence, our precious altar of stones and honey glowing in the pure radiance of the sun. Little lizard, coming out of the shadows, you live here now — you and the spirits are Myrtos. Can I, just for a moment, glimpse the lives, feel the breath of those who once lived and laughed and loved and died on this hill? All too quickly we must descend and leave Myrtos to its memories."
— Gail Bartholomy (2008).
"I saw evidence in Crete that there was a time when the feminine divine was approached with awe and gratitude, when human beings lived together in peace, and without huge class differences between rich and poor, when common needs were met and creativity flourished, and when women played leadership roles in religious and communal life. I also learned of the destruction of this way of life, and how new myths were created that turned the distinctive elements of Minoan culture on their head. For the last five thousand years we have lived with war, class differences, a terrible de-valuing of women, and a dangerous disrespect for the Earth. Growing up in a patriarchal society, I had always assumed these forces to be an inevitable consequence of human nature. Now at least I know a happier alternative is possible and workable. I pray we begin to make choices that will take us in this direction. And I hope my own grief and outrage over what we have lost is channeled into productive activism."
—Read more of Carolyn Holt's "Travel Journal: Crete" (2007).
"I realize my eyes are closed and laugh that I have closed my eyes in this black dark. I open my eyes to the absence of light and ask the Goddess to show me what I need. 'Give me a vision. Show me the way.' I see a straight road before me leading through distant mountains. A long journey but the mountains await me. Hopeful. The road and horizon begins to move and the image becomes a labrys. The road the handle, the horizon and mountains the blades. My guide for the future, a symbol to hold on to. Spirals and circles dance before my eyes. Moving and rotating and then fading."
—Read more of Pat's "Into Skoteino Cave: Four Levels Down" (2007).
"What is so threatening about the idea of a feminine, or a non-gendered presence, one that honors creation of life, the beauty and harmony we can find in nature? I felt a bond to the Minoans, their reverence and joy felt for the earth. It affirmed my sense of spirituality as part of the natural order, not of a creationist deity."
"Present-day Crete is a beautiful, sensuous place. We hiked the mountains, smelling the naturally occurring sage, thyme, oregano; we swam in the indigo and turquoise-colored sea; we explored sacred caves. We performed simple rituals, honoring our ancestors, affirming our self-worth as women, feeling our place in the natural order of life."
—Read more of Cindy Biboux' "On a Goddess Odyssey" and "After a Goddess Odyssey (2006).
"The Minoans were a deeply spiritual people who worshiped not only at human-made shrines but on mountaintops and in the womb-like caves found throughout Crete. We pilgrims followed in the ancient worshipers’ footsteps, laboriously climbing mountain paths and carefully making our way down into the darkness of the earth, celebrating rituals at the ancient sacred sites. Prayer, singing, dancing and ritual were woven into the tour, at sacred sites (including an initiation ritual at a prehistoric tholos-tomb), on the tour bus, and at special celebrations at the beginning and end of the pilgrimage. At the end of each day, the pilgrims shared a storytelling time, where we reflected on the experiences of the day, and the process that had brought each of us on this sacred journey."
"A Pilgrimage is one of the most ancient and abiding rituals in all cultures. Pilgrims travel to sacred space to receive inspiration and guidance in the journey of life, to give thanks, and to pray for the healing of physical and spiritual illness.
Crete is one of the few places where a highly developed prepatriarchal culture is clearly documented. The Minoans celebrated the grace of life. We saw museums with incredible treasures, visited spiritual centers, descended into sacred caves. We climbed to the tops of holy mountain, swam in the life giving seas, visited convents, gained a renewed sense of the beauty and strength of our bodies an our souls."
—Read more of Anne Harrison's "Grace of Life: A Sharing of the Goddess Pilgrimage to Crete" (1998).
Come with us to Crete!