GODDESS PILGRIMAGE TO CRETE in the footsteps of CAROL CHRIST
Carol discusses "Imagining God as Feminine" on CBC, "Marija Gimbutas Vindicated," and "Gratitude & Sharing"--listen online
ARIADNE INSTITUTE
FOR THE STUDY OF MYTH AND RITUAL
""The Goddess is the intelligent embodied love that is the ground of all being." Carol P. Christ
Carol P. Christ (1945-2021) held a Ph.D. from Yale, was Founding Director of Ariadne Institute, and served as an Adjunct Professor at California Institute of Integral Studies. She guided the Goddess Pilgrimage in Crete for over 20 years and was an expert on the archaeology, culture, and religion of ancient Crete as well as the traditional culture of Crete today. She was a member of the Gournia archaeological study team and was a founding voice in the study of women and religion. Her knowledge, insight, wisdom, laughter, and love for all things Cretan inspired hundreds of women who journeyed with her during her lifetime.
Carol taught at Columbia University, San Jose State, Pomona College, Harvard Divinity School, and Claremont Graduate School. She was the author of Goddess and God in the World, Rebirth of the Goddess, She Who Changes, Laughter of Aphrodite, Odyssey with the Goddess (republished as A Serpentine Path), and Diving Deep and Surfacing, and was co-editor (with Judith Plaskow) of Weaving the Visions and Womanspirit Rising. A dual citizen of Greece and the US, Carol lived in Greece, spoke Greek fluently, and ran for office in regional and national elections with the Green Party in Greece. After living in Lesvos for 20 years, and in Athens before that, Carol moved to Crete early in 2020, and passed away in her sleep in July 2021. We honour Carol by continuing her Goddess Pilgrimage at her request, following the template she created and passing on the wisdom she shared.
"I could have travelled for many years and not learned as much as I did with Carol." Nancy Bakas, USA
Laura Shannon is the Ariadne Institute’s new director. She has spent her life researching and teaching traditional women’s dances of Greece and the Balkans, with a focus on their roots in the matristic Neolithic cultures of Old Europe. Since 1987 she has offered seminars in more than twenty countries, including women’s dance and culture tours in Morocco, Bulgaria, Scotland, Lesvos and mainland Greece. Laura has participated in the Goddess Pilgrimage with Carol, and feels deeply honoured to carry on the tours and help keep Carol’s legacy alive. Laura has written extensively on women’s dance and Goddess Spirituality and blogs regularly on feminismandreligion.com
Susanne Willis serves as the new Administrator and Co-Leader for the Goddess Pilgrimage to Crete, assisting with registration and questions, as well as supporting the Pilgrimage in person. A returned Peace Corps volunteer, her life has long been shaped by exploring culture and community. Based in Asheville, NC, she works with a cultural exchange program, volunteers in various aspects of her community, and cares for her family. Susanne began her journey to the Goddess in 2016, by participating in her women’s circle annually and immersing herself in Goddess literature, which brought her to the Pilgrimage in 2022 and 2025. Susanne considers it an honor to be part of the legacy and quest to understand and share women's herstory through the Goddess Pilgrimage to Crete.
Joan Cichon has a PhD in Women's Spirituality from the California Institute of Integral Studies. Her 2022 book, Matriarchy in Bronze Crete: a Perspective from Archaeomythology and Modern Matriarchal Studies, reflects her main areas of scholarly interest. For the past thirty years, Joan has spent several months in Crete each year studying, and visiting archaeological sites and museums, and exploring the island. In addition to her scholarly pursuits, Joan has trained with Kathy Jones in Glastonbury, UK, and is a Priestess of Avalon. She enjoys performing in sacred dramas written and directed by her sister, Alexandra Cichon, which combine ritual, theatre, and scholarship to reintroduce the Goddess of Old Europe to the modern world. She assisted Carol Christ on a past Goddess Pilgrimage, and has served as a Pilgrimage Co-Leader with Laura Shannon since 2023.
Mika Scott served as Co-Director of the Ariadne Institute and Co-Leader of the Goddess Pilgrimage with Carol for many years. As the Ariadne Institute office administrator, Mika answered questions about the Pilgrimage and handled payments. A licensed massage therapist, Mika lives on wild land in Oregon and has acted in, directed and produced the Vagina Monologues. She returned from her first Pilgrimage "glowing in the knowledge of a time whe women's wisdom was honored and delighted to discover that her vision of a peaceful and just world has roots in ancient Crete." In 2025 Mika began to hand over the role of Administrator to Susanne Willis.
Ariadne Insititute for the Study of Myth and Ritual, Ltd., is a 501c3 non-profit educational and charitable organization. If you appreciate the work we are doing, you can send a tax deductible (US) contribution to our scholarship fund to Ariadne Institute, ℅ Susanne Willis, 26 Rector Street, Asheville, NC 28801, USA
Ariadne Institute thanks Wendy Bardsley, Alexis Masters, and Kay Keys for website support; Michael Honegger (photo of Carol on Carol's Words) and Andrea Sarris (photo of Carol this page); Susan Conniff, Elizabeth Chloe Erdmann, Diane Gruppe Marshall, and Susanne Willis for other photographs.
Read "Finding the Goddess in Greece" on GoNomad
"Carol's tour of Crete is a Goddess education and a blessing." Mara Keller, Women's Spirituality Program, CIIS