On the first episode of 2025, I'm joined by repeat guest Joy Ladin.  Joy is a widely published essayist and poet, literary scholar, and nationally known speaker on transgender issues. From 2003 to 2021, she held the David and Ruth Gotsman Chair in English at Stern College for Women of Yeshiva University.

Her gender transition and return to teaching in 2008 made her the first openly transgender employee of an Orthodox Jewish institution. Joy's experience of being poetically mentored by the Shekinah resulted in the completion of a book length sequence, Shekinah Speaks, published by Selva Obscura in spring 2022, which she joined me to speak about on this podcast in 2023. She's published several other books, including, most recently, a new book of poetry, Family, and Once Out of Nature, selected essays on the transformation of gender. And she is the recipient of the National Jewish Book Award for The Book of Anna.

On this episode, we riff about:

• The concept of family, at both the individual and national levels
• How our personal narratives help us make meaning in our daily lives
• How Joy's understanding of the Shekhinah, the indwelling presence of God typically gendered as female, has shifted since our first conversation in 2023
• The role of gender binaries in helping us relate to divinity
• Joy's perspective on the historical need for a transcendent God, and how both Jesus and the Shekhinah were responses to His limitations
• What the Shekhinah can offer us in this particular moment in time

Notes about this episode:

• You can learn more about Joy and all her work at https://joyladin.com/
• You can watch mine and Joy's first conversation here: https://youtu.be/XYi7LUiNHJ4
• You can also listen to this episode here: https://player.captivate.fm/episode/e1b56ad3-b881-458e-a9e3-e9fb1635760c

And here are a few more details about this show and my work:

• If you’d like to know whose ancestral tribal lands you currently reside on, you can look up your address here: https://native-land.ca/
• You can also visit the Coalition of Natives and Allies for more helpful educational resources about Indigenous rights and history.
• Please – if you love this podcast and/or have read my book, please consider leaving me a review, and thank you for supporting my work!
• For more Sacred Feminine goodness and to stay up to date on all episodes, please follow me on Instagram: @hometoher. To dive into conversation about the Sacred Feminine, join the Facebook group, also @hometoher.
• And to read about the Sacred Feminine, check out my award-winning book Home to Her: Walking the Transformative Path of the Sacred Feminine (Womancraft Publishing), available on Audible and wherever you buy your books!. If you've read it, your reviews on Goodreads and Amazon are greatly appreciated!
• Visit www.hometoher.com to learn more about your host, download a free meditation and sign up for my newsletter to stay up to date on all the latest episodes.

On the latest episode, I'm joined by Sande Hart, a mother, grandmother and founder of The Global Woman's Village woman's organization, formally known as S.A.R.A.H. (The Spiritual and Religious Alliance for Hope) now in its 23rd year. She is also the Author of The Liminal Odyssey, The Alchemical Power of The Spaces In-Between, (also a Nautilus Book Awardee)

Sande is actively engaged in leadership in the peace, compassion, community building, and women’s re- and in-powerment sectors. Her most recent work is in service to the role of women in this evolutionary impulse we are in during these transitional times. She served on the Women's Task Force for The Parliament of The World's Religions and developed and produced the first-ever Women's Village at the 2023 international conference. She founded and served as Director for the international organization The Charter For Compassion’s Women and Girls sector as creator and director of the 9th sector of the international organization focused on compassion. And she is the Founder of Compassionate California, which recently became established into law by the governor’s office as the first Compassionate State in the world.

During our conversation, we explore:

• Sande's multi-decade journey toward recognizing the presence of the Sacred Feminine in her life, including the flickers of Her presence along the way
• How Sande came to fully recognize Her through her work shepherding the Women's Village at the Parliament of the World's Religions.
• The evolution of her non-profit organization S.A.R.A.H., including her more recent focus on "women who future," and what this language means to her
• The powerful message that she received while visiting Auschwitz, which brought us both to tears during the culmination of this inspiring episode

Notes related to this episode:

• You can learn more about the Global Woman's Village at https://www.sarah4hope.org/
• You can also learn more about Sande and her book at her website: https://www.sandehart.com/
• We discussed the work of Carol Lee Flinders during this episode, including her books "Enduring Grace" and "At the Root of This Longing."
• Sande mentioned the song by George Harrison "My Sweet Lord"
• I also mentioned the beautiful Adrienne Rich Poem, poem 13 in her collection of 21 love poems: https://allpoetry.com/poem/10381457-Twenty-One-Love-Poems-XIII-by-Adrienne-Rich
• We also discussed the Parliament of the World's Religions
• Finally, Sande mentioned the following quote by Henry David Thoreau: “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you've imagined. As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler.”

And here are a few more details about this show and my work:

• If you’d like to know whose ancestral tribal lands you currently reside on, you can look up your address here: https://native-land.ca/
• You can also visit the Coalition of Natives and Allies for more helpful educational resources about Indigenous rights and history.
• Please – if you love this podcast and/or have read my book, please consider leaving me a review, and thank you for supporting my work!
• You can also access the audio version of this episode here, or wherever you access your podcasts: https://home-to-her.captivate.fm/
• For more Sacred Feminine goodness and to stay up to date on all episodes, please follow me on Instagram: @hometoher. To dive into conversation about the Sacred Feminine, join the Facebook group, also @hometoher.
• And to read about the Sacred Feminine, check out my award-winning book Home to Her: Walking the Transformative Path of the Sacred Feminine (Womancraft Publishing), available on Audible and wherever you buy your books!. If you've read it, your reviews on Goodreads and Amazon are greatly appreciated!
• Visit www.hometoher.com to...

On the latest episode I'm joined by the wise and wonderful Lucy Grace.

Lucy is a mystic spiritual guide, embodied therapist and poet based in New Zealand. She mentors people in soul initiation and awakening, and is devoted to helping as many hearts as possible remember the truth of themselves and connect to the ever present great heart at the center of all.

Lucy has lived many lives, including as a television journalist for One News, New Zealand's largest national television news channel, and a humanitarian aid worker based in Europe for 15 years, working for the UN, Save the Children, Fairtrade, and Oxfam. Lucy now focuses on her work as a soul initiation, awakening guide and mentor, holistic therapist and poet.

And she's known for honoring the sacred process and the sacred mess of our humanity, while also supporting people to remember who they are outside of all roles, archetypes, identities, concepts, and teachings. Lucy is also the author of This Untameable Light, which was released in November 2023 to critical acclaim from some of the world's most loved spiritual teachers.

On this episode we discussed:

• Lucy's extremely challenging childhood and the many unexpected gifts that came from it, including a deep contentment and gratitude for all that she did have
• Her experience of God as a sense of deep, nourishing light emanating from within
• Her own spiritual initiation of motherhood, and the depths that it took her to
• The surprising way that the Goddess presented herself to Lucy, and how she knows her now
• Plus Lucy reads two of her beautiful poems aloud

Notes related to this episode:

• You can learn more about Lucy and her work at https://lucy-grace.com/
• You can find her on Instagram @gracealucy, and Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/lucy.oakshott
• During this episode, Lucy mentioned the film Once Were Warriors. She also described how the Egyptian Goddess Isis initially came to her via a stranger's dream.

And here are a few more details about this show and my work:

• If you’d like to know whose ancestral tribal lands you currently reside on, you can look up your address here: https://native-land.ca/
• You can also visit the Coalition of Natives and Allies for more helpful educational resources about Indigenous rights and history.
• Please – if you love this podcast and/or have read my book, please consider leaving me a review, and thank you for supporting my work!
• You can also access video episodes on the Home to Her YouTube channel
• For more Sacred Feminine goodness and to stay up to date on all episodes, please follow me on Instagram: @hometoher.
• To dive into conversation about the Sacred Feminine, join the Facebook group: / hometoher
• And to read about the Sacred Feminine, check out my award-winning book Home to Her: Walking the Transformative Path of the Sacred Feminine (Womancraft Publishing), available on Audible and wherever you buy your books!. If you've read it, your reviews on Goodreads and Amazon are greatly appreciated!

On this episode I'm joined by Byron Ballard, author and co-founder of the Mother Grove Goddess Temple, and Amelia "Mia" Solesky, Mother Grove's Mycelium Mama, AKA volunteer coordinator, to discuss the environmental crisis in Western North Carolina in the wake of Hurricane Helene, and what a community-centered, Goddess-inspired response looks like.

During this special episode we discuss:

• The scope of devastation in Western North Carolina, and why it's important for outsiders to stay away from the area
• How the community, including the Mother Grove Goddess Temple is organizing itself and collaborating with other community members to provide grass roots support
• Why it's important to take our responses offline and physically into our communities, however we can
• The magic embedded in a warm hat we've made for someone vs. simply buying one on Amazon
• What a mycelium-inspired volunteer effort looks like, and the impact it can have

Show Notes:

• You can learn more about the Mother Grove here: https://mothergrove.org/
• You can learn specifically about Hurricane Helene relief efforts here: https://mothergrove.org/hurricane-hel...
• You can sign up to join Mother Grove's Mycelium Network here:
• This is the quote I mentioned at the beginning of the show: "If there's anything the Sacred Feminine is, it is love in action, love birthing itself in action incessantly." It's from the book Return of the Mother, by Andrew Harvey.
• Reminder that you can find out whose native lands you're residing on at native-land.ca.
• You can also learn more about me and my work at www.hometoher.com.

What if virgin birth isn't simply a story, but a real and documented ancient phenomenon? This is the topic I explore in the latest episode with my guest today, Dr. Marguerite Rigoglioso. Marguerite is the founder of Seven Sisters Mystery School, a world-renowned teacher of sacred knowledge, and the foremost authority on the history of virgin birth. A trusted mentor to people on healing and spiritual paths, she draws on her decades-long research and experiences with Mother Mary and Mary Magdalene to help uncover their hidden, timeless teachings and apply them to our present-day needs. The award-winning author of several books including "The Secret Life of Mother Mary: Divine Feminine Power for Personal Healing and Planetary Awakening," and "The Mystery Tradition of Miraculous Conception: Mary and the Lineage of Virgin Births."

In this episode we discuss:

• Marguerite's introduction to the Sacred Feminine, first through her interest in Mary Magdalene during her upbringing in the Catholic Church, and later through classes and Goddess pilgrimages which eventually led her to academia
• Marguerite's research into the history of virgin and divine births in Ancient Greece, and how this eventually led her to studying the story and history of Mary's birth of Jesus
• Why the practice of virgin birth existed and how it was practiced by divine priestesses
• The work of the late Sri Kaleshwar and his teachings on the holy womb chakra
• Why Marguerite feels this information is coming to the forefront of consciousness at this moment in time

Notes related to this episode:

• You can learn more about Marguerite and her work at www.sevensistersmysteryschool, and follow her on social media: facebook.com/sevensistersmysteryschool and instagram.com/margueriterigoglioso
• Register now for Marguerite's Free Masterclass: What’s a ‘Mary’ Priestess? What’s a ‘Magdalene’ Priestess? And is This a Path for YOU? https://www.sevensistersmysteryschool.com/mary-magdalene-priestess-training/#masterclass
• And find out more about her Mary & Magdalene Priestess Training: https://www.sevensistersmysteryschool.com/mary-magdalene-priestess-training/
• Marguerite mentioned several people's work including the channelers Sanaya Roman and Barbara Brennan, Greta Bro and the late Carol P. Christ, Anna Maria Corredini and Drunvalo Melchizedek and the book "The Ancient Secret of the Flower of Life"
• She also spoke of the books of Claire Heartsong, including "Anna, Grandmother of Jesus" and "Anna, Voice of the Magdalenes"
• We also discussed the teachings of the late Sri Kaleshwar and the Divine Mother Center in Laytonville, California

And here are a few more details about this show and my work:

• If you’d like to know whose ancestral tribal lands you currently reside on, you can look up your address here: https://native-land.ca/
• You can also visit the Coalition of Natives and Allies for more helpful educational resources about Indigenous rights and history.
• Please – if you love this podcast and/or have read my book, please consider leaving me a review, and thank you for supporting my work!
• You can also access video episodes on the Home to Her YouTube channel
• For more Sacred Feminine goodness and to stay up to date on all episodes, please follow me on Instagram: @hometoher.
• To dive into conversation about the Sacred Feminine, join the Facebook group: / hometoher
• To go deeper in your Sacred Feminine explorations, check out the course offerings via Home to Her Academy: www.hometoheracademy.com
• And to read about the Sacred Feminine, check out my award-winning book Home to Her: Walking the Transformative Path of the Sacred Feminine (Womancraft Publishing), available on Audible and wherever you buy your books!. If you've read it, your reviews on Goodreads and Amazon are greatly...

My latest guest, H. Byron Ballard, joins me on this episode for her second visit to the Home to Her podcast. Byron is a ritualist, teacher, gardener, and author of multiple books, including "Staubs and Ditchwater: A Friendly and Useful Introduction to Hillfolks’ Hoodoo;" "Earthworks: Ceremonies in Tower Time;" "Seasons of a Magical Life;" and the forthcoming "Feral Church." Known as Asheville, North Carolina’s village witch, Byron specializes in folk magic and folkways of the surrounding Appalachian Mountains where she and her family have hailed from for four generations. Byron is also a senior priestess and co-founder of the Mother Grove Goddess Temple, a nonprofit church with a focus on the many forms of the divine feminine.

On this episode we discuss:

• What it means to live in deep relationship to place - both the gifts and the challenges
• How the work and the death of the late thealogian Dr. Carol P. Christ inspired Byron's forthcoming book, Feral Church, and why she feels it's so important that we have new books of thealogy (spelling intentional) that celebrate the Goddess
• Why it's important that we understand that the Goddess and her many incarnations represent much more than patriarchally lauded values such as softness and femininity, but also ferocity and immense power.
• The linkage between the concept of begin feral and the Divine Feminine.
• The need for "hearth church" and other homegrown, emergent practices for engaging with the sacred that can continue to exist and flourish as patriarchal systems crumble around us

Notes related to this episode:

• You can learn more about Byron at her website, https://www.myvillagewitch.com/.
• You can also find her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/byron.ballar..., and on Instagram: @byronballard5789
• Byron discussed the late Carol P. Christ, and the importance of her work. Her essay "Why Women Need the Goddess" is an excellent introduction to her work: https://www.goddessariadne.org/why-wo...
• Byron mentioned the Unitarian Universalist curriculum, "Cakes for the Queen of Heaven"
• Here's my first interview with Byron from 2022: https://youtu.be/H1uIFHqH00U?si=T5XMk...

And here are a few more details about this show and my work:

• If you’d like to know whose ancestral tribal lands you currently reside on, you can look up your address here:

On the latest episode I'm joined by Dr. Annalisa Derr, a goddess educator, Sacred Feminine embodiment teacher, and ritual theatre creatrix. Annalisa completed her doctorate in Mythological Studies with Emphasis in Depth Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute. She also holds a BA in Theater with specialized training in masked and physical theater from international master teachers in Italy, India, and NYC. Annalisa's work explores the impact that negative cultural menstrual “myths” have on women, which her forthcoming book will explore in more detail. Annalisa offers an affirming alternative in the form of an ancient myth, “The Descent of Inanna,” which she re-visions as a sacred menstrual narrative and ritual rite-of-passage.

During this episode we discuss:

• Annalisa's experience growing up in a Lutheran church, including the connection she made later between devotional Christian hymns and the Bhakti yoga tradition
• The near total erasure of the Sacred Feminine in Protestantism, and why discovering Her can feel like such a revelation for many of us
• How discovering Mary Magdalene sparked Annalisa's ongoing journey to the Goddess and led her to her current research
• What Annalisa refers to as the menstrual mysteries, and how the Inanna myth teaches us about them and the nature of the Goddess Herself - as a gateway through the lessons of birth, death, and rebirth
• Annalisa's pending move to Greece and her vision for supporting the reemergence of the Sacred Feminine in patriarchal strongholds
• And a bonus - Annalisa becomes the third guest in the history of the show to bring me to tears (in a really good way)! Tune in to find out why.

Notes related to this episode:

• You can see past episodes of Journey to the Goddess TV on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/journeytothegoddesstv
• You can also learn more about Annalisa here: https://www.journeytothegoddess.voyage/
• Be sure to check out the From the Goddess 6-part docuseries from Womenbodiment Films! This series includes interviews with 38 Sacred Feminine experts and wisdom keepers from around the world, including some amazing women you may have heard right here, like Max Dashu, Giovanni Washington, Vicki Noble, and Joan Marler. You can watch the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heTo15Fw9fU&t=10s. And you can access all six episodes here: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/fromthegoddessdocuseries/

And here are a few more details about this show and my work:

• If you’d like to know whose ancestral tribal lands you currently reside on, you can look up your address here: https://native-land.ca/
• You can also visit the Coalition of Natives and Allies for more helpful educational resources about Indigenous rights and history.
• Please – if you love this podcast and/or have read my book, please consider leaving me a review, and thank you for supporting my work!
• You can also watch episodes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@hometoher
• For more Sacred Feminine goodness and to stay up to date on all episodes, please follow me on Instagram: @hometoher.
• To dive into conversation about the Sacred Feminine, join the Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hometoher
• To go deeper in your Sacred Feminine...