The Ministry of Maåt needs your support. What does it mean to lead a committed life? When you contribute to our organization you imme-

diately join a circle of hundreds of vibrant and caring women whose com-mitment to inner growth and world peace and harmony has been ongoing for 12 years. In that time, the Ministry, already building upon 15 years of Women’s Mysteries Trainings has accomplished much. Following Ione’s two initial trips to Egypt and Morocco as a journalist, there have been six Egyptian journeys during which women re-created ancient rituals and communed with the sacred sites. In addition, we have traveled together to Greece, Crete, Hawaii, New Mexico, Canada and France, seeding our mes-sage of harmony in each land and receiving the deep blessings of the earth.

WHY DONATE?

*We have 11 Ordained Minister-Priestesses of Maåt, residing in the United States, Canada, and Italy. There are 5 candidates for ordination in 2008. Each woman has a unique approach to fulfilling the Ministry’s mandate of contributing to peace and harmony throughout the world, to bettering women’s lives through creative and spiritual processes that bring forth our inherent wisdom and beauty. Two men await entry into the Ministerial program - signaling the addition of teachings for men in the organization. (Sensei Alessandro Bovoso began this process by teaching men during two Egyptian Journeys.)

*Our very distinguished Honorary Ministers of Maåt are Dr. Amy Mindell, Dr. Arnold Mindell, Reverend Mary Thunder, and Dr. Pauline Oliveros

*Distance Learning Certificate Programs will disseminate our vision through Ministry of Maåt Virtual University (MMVU) teachings via the Internet. We anticipate launching in early 2009 the first featured courses: Women’s Mysteries Training Program in the Intuitive and Healing Arts: For Women Who Want to Go Deeper, and Memory, Secrets and Immortal-ity Writing Workshops and Seminars with Ione.

* The Ministry sends monthly ongoing support to an Iraqi woman each year through Women to Women International.

*Publications: Lightning Holds My Hand; A Woman’s Journal of Guidance by Reverend Andrea Gale Goodman, forthcoming this summer! The Minis-try’s publications seek to encourage women’s deepest experiences through literary expression.

* Women’s Mysteries- the largest program of the Ministry- features ongoing

Minis tr y of Maåt , Inc.Summer Equinox Newslet ter August 2008

The Ministry encourages the study of ancient systems of belief, particularly those related to Egyptian Cosmology and principles of other early cultures. Congregational members of the Ministry strive to live in Maåt, for Maåt

and by Maåt. In ancient Egyptian cosmology, Maåt is the principle of harmony and balance in the universe. The Ministry of Maåt, Inc. is a multi-cultural religious and educational organization with goals of fostering world community. Members are not required to

renounce beliefs, religions or memberships to other churches.

Continued on Page 2...

News, writings, poetry, photography, art and wisdom

from the women of the Ministry.

photo credit: Marine B

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Seasonal Retreats with teachings in the Intuitive and Healing Arts focusing on Egyptian Feminine Archetypes. Facilitation is by Ione, Andrea Goodman, Shirley Panton-Benjamin and Rachel Koenig.

*Workshops and Healing Circles- Telephone Conferences and Seminars: Green Dragon Circles: Support for the Interface between the Material and Spiritual Realms and Memory Secrets and Immortality: Writing the Stories of Our Lives. *Mystery/Dream Retreats in France: 2007, 2008, 2009 Paris, Normandy and Bretagne facilitated by Ione.

*Extended Community Collaborations: Pauline Oliveros’ Deep Listening Institute, Ltd., Andrea Goodman’s Ruby Throated Spirit, Rachel Koenig’s Aurora Healing Arts, Shirley Panton- Benjamin’s Ezili Arts, Julia and Steven White’s Roundsound, The Helix Training Program, Sadee Brathwaite’s La Leona Arts, Regina Weichert’s The Queen of Self-Esteem, Lydia Afia’s, AFIAAlchemy, Susan Rosen’s Miriam’s Well, Mary Thunder’s Blue Star Church, Thunder Ranch, Amshatar Monroe’s Sacred Space and Women of Spirit, Eclipse’s WomenCircles, Anne Emerson’s The Harmony Project, Donna Hennes’ Mama Donna’s Tea Garden & Healing Haven.

Scholarship and Work Study Programs to assist those with financial needs.

We invite you to make your cash or credit card donation via the Ministry’s PayPal site (www.paypal.com) and to join our vital community of women and men. Checks may be sent to the Ministry at 156 Hunter Street, Kingston, NY 12401. Your donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.

Sincerely,

IONEDirector and Prime MotherThe Ministry of Maåt, Inc.

ImpressIons of ethIopIaBy Regina Weichert

Arriving into Addis at night, the first breath is dry with a slightly burnt smell, like sun hitting a rock. Musicians and dancers greet us, 2 men and 2 women wearing cloth of blue and grey, beads, ecstatic movements! Swan-like ululations of neck, sharp jerks/twitches of shoulders, I

want to join in!

The streets are festooned with red, yellow and green lights for the 2000 millennium - as it is a different day and time here! Ethiopia keeps their own clock, and the Julian calendar of 13 months, 12 with 30 days, and 1 with 5 or 6.

Daylight reveals corrugated tin slums, shops with signs in English, people carrying fruit in wheelbarrows on the streets. Billboards speak against child marriage. The Rastafarians took their name from Haile Selassie (it was his before he became King of Kings, being the 225th gen-eration descended directly from King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba). The name Ethiopia comes from “Ethiopic” for “the Burnt Ones.”

Continued on page 5...

Impressions of Ethiopia; clockwise from left to right: 1. the church of Beta Giyorgis at Lalibela (this is I believe the most famous church at Lalibela, which symbolically recreates Noah’s Ark) 2 & 3 Ethiopian priests Photo Credit: Regina Weichert

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Notes from RoundSound, Ontario Canadaby Julia White

I was so grateful to attend the Women’s Myster-ies Retreat in France on the magical Isle de Brehat. I felt so inspired by all of the creative women; this carried forward into my art upon return. There was much talk about art and artists, life and keeping the creative flame alive. The piece on the left is called Torus 1. It is about 8 feet high, wrapped in yarn. It was inspired by the torus of the heart that Joseph Chilton Pearce coined, I believe. We speak about it a lot during our circles. The other one, in green, I created as part of a sculpture garden show. I wrapped this piece in garden hoses. It felt like I was wrestling with snakes. It was a very physical experience, making this piece, called Garden Torus. The one in the background is the one that I am working on now. I am wrapping it in blue organza with a yellowy orange sheen to it. I really like it because you can see the ‘bones’ of the sculpture and the mysterious word within. It is light and airy. They feel to me like extensions of the passion alive in my heart. On the wall in the background above the door is a sticker that reads simply, ‘BELIEVE’. To me, it says it all- when combined with the art-making in its milieu- truly, trust in the process, believe in the wisdom of the heart that speaks to us when we just listen deeply to what lies within.

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Excerpts From Nile Night; Remembered Texts from the Deep

Ione

POSTINGS FROM THE EDGE OF DREAMSEach night now,

I am once more aboard The MS Nubian SeaWhen a call awakens me

I must reassemble myself through8 thousand miles and 12 dimensions

from the red searing soul sandthe secrets of the pyramids

beyond the pyramidsthe String Theory in action

This DeathThis “us” we left behind

This Gratitude for the hauntingof my dreams

Enter: The Sound of crowsperched upon oracular pine

penetrating panes ofglass/ echoing:

“Two is one/ all is oneNever Forget

This”

THE TEMPLE OF LUXORAt night, of course.

This year the white owl who lives atop the first pylonHas a baby.

We see them both andRecognize the baby by its flighty

boldness

- Deep Listening Publications © Ione 2008

New from Deep Listening Publications

www.deeplistening.org

CD Included

Ode, Île-de-Bréhat

marine,Your sun bleached rocksdappled in the occasional bleu-vert teardrops,now gathered in the sea of yourmagnificent eyesuntil brimmingthey spill, drawnoutas tidal forceswhose secret timing,more secret than Luna,perpetually eludes.

But here,drenched in the mysteries ofYour mother,BretagneI askhow has she drawn us here? Could it be shedesired us near,nearer to herthan to ourselves? Imagineshe desired us so deeply she allowed us to movewithin her bodyat low tidewhen naked, and bone-dry she revealed her hidden spaces…and then…at high tide,shedrank, andthirstyfilled Herselfinto darkening, rhythmic and fathomless beautyand againand again,insatiably.

oh! regarde Ione! marine!our priestess, ourJulia, hailed from northern latitudehas opened herself to Bloodmysterieshigh on the seacliffs where you, Dear marine,

have led us, through your childhood,to the potent Celtic rockengraved in cryptic patterns we seem to decipherclearly, in thisDream of now.

While yonder the feathered silhouette of Great Cormorant companionsshine obsidian.the dark pair beckon, andpreside observed, yet absolutelyunthreatened.peering down over long beaks turned discreetlyto point out that oneof our flock whonow disrobesbowing naked into moss, embracing slipperyemeralds as sheimmerses her hiddeness inhidden pools,ecstatic.

embraced within the rose-goldbosom cliffs ofLa mershe leaves everything to herand the sound listens more deeplythan ever beforeas ebony birds abide as they witness, and agreeshe is new and shiveringright here, born,marine,Where women, as always, place themselves in prayer, exposed, yet concealed in the smoky veil of burning grasses…

at the towering stones We shall meet again, open to the signsto the shape of cloudsthe speech of birdsto the brine sex scent of les alguesto the patterns of Bloodof rocksof tide.

rachel ravenmay 27, 2008en route, paris/nY

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Photos from Bretagne France Retreat, Above photo credit: Jo Andres,

Middle: Sylvie Below: Terry Photo credit: Marine Bourcelot

We go to Lalibela, Ethiopia’s holiest place, where in the 11th century they dug more than a dozen churches 90 feet down through solid bedrock to defend against Muslim threats. At Christmas over 100,000 pilgrims come, sleeping on the hillside, as to touch the earth of Lalibela ensures a place in Heaven. The road to Lalibela winds past deforested hills, children waving, wiry men carrying long slender tree trunks over their shoulders, huts made of mud and wood or stone that have electricity now. Many of the people have traucoma, an eye disease caused by flies, which is curable but they cannot afford medicine.

The churches are small by our standards, worshippers seated quietly on the floor all in white, a nun in a robe and crocheted cap of brilliant saffron yellow (feeling like I am trespassing, I bow my head to her and she inclines hers back), paintings of St. George and the Dragon, old candles, dulled mosaics, ancient handmade locks on doors, patched antique chests, funky umbrellas over donation boxes, curtains draped be-hind the priest conceals what he will not show us, the “holiest of holies.”

From the air as we leave, Ethiopia is exquisite, with mountains, crevasses, chasms made out in tones of smokey blue-grey, beige and taupe. Only occasional hints of green stand out, sometimes near the rivers threading delicate silver strands out to the horizon. The peaks and valleys are shaped exotically to my eyes. One sticks up like a round top; another looks like a giant smote the earth with a triangular shovel leaving the imploded shape of his tool. Everywhere I see snakes, 96 atop the mountain ridges, in the rivers, in the markings (wind or irrigation) on the mountain sides. Over 10,000 feet now, it is vast and lofty, the rhythm of the earth mighty here, unlike anything I have known before.

From Page 2....Impressions of Ethiopia

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DRIVING ACROSS AMERICA, A GIG TO DOAMERICA’S HEARTLAND, AMERICA’S BREADBASKET, AMBER

WAVES OF WHEAT FIELDS DORMANTHOME OF FRANK AND JESSE JAMES, MID WEST ROBIN HOOD

HEROESFLATLANDS FOREVER CONTINUE BEYOND THE HORIZON

MEMORIES OF A 70’S TRIP TO CALIFORNIA, ALWAYS THOUGHTTHERE WAS NOTHING OF VALUE BETWEEN THE COASTS

BUT NOW THESE FRUITED PLAINS ALLOW MY MIND TO EXPANDINTO THE BEAUTIFUL FOR SPACIOUS SKIES NORMALLY

PROTECTED BY THE SHAWAGUNK MOUNTAINS MAJESTYMY SKEPTICAL NEW YORK STATE OF MIND QUESTIONS

“ARE THE FRIENDLY FACES AND WORDS EXCHANGED JUST MASKS OF CHRISTIAN FUNDAMENTALISM AND THE KKK OR ARE

THEY REALLY JUST DOWN HOME GOOD HEARTED FOLK ?”ONE OF THE GOOD, CROWNED WITH BROTHERHOOD, BLACK

SAINT LOUIE STEVE, HE WAS BLIND

CAROL CHAPPELL MISSOURI, LINCOLN UNIVERSITY

NOVEMBER 18, 2005America the Beautiful

Thank you to all of you beautiful souls,my house will forever retain a little piece of your spirits

laughters have imprinted the walls,Our weird bird songs and daikini dance impressed the tall pines

The rocks kept our secretsAnd my heart sings a new song

Where”waking life” has a taste of dreams....

Thank you Ione for your grace , openness and sweet guiding presence.

I wish you all the best creative achievements with daydream between the lines.....

LoveMarine

(after the Bretagne Retreat 2008)

Our fellow priestess, Laura Biagi from Siena Italy, is coming back to the

States to work in Poughkeepsie as a Visting Professor in the Italian Depart-ment at Vassar College to teach Italian

Language, Art and Folk Music and Dance for an academic year.

“I am quite thankful and content with this opportunity and I do look forward to seeing you all again and to share

our art and research.”

The photograph below: The Dance of the Sun premiered at PaRDeS, in Mirano,

Venice, in May 2008. It is a study on ritual movement based on the study of astrology

and the enneagram.

Lotus ProtectionBy Jo Andres

I lay down and put earplugs in and I can hear the sound of my heart-beat. The children’s glee is silenced; cars are muffled. I am floating away. My eyeglasses are lying on the table beside me, and so, I am in a slight fog of indistinct edges, a soft and pillowy vision.

A New and Selected Vision.

I am selecting these days, gaining control of my portals: who comes in/who stays out.

Breathe in, breathe out.

Scrape off the scales of jealousy and lotus blossoms grow on my skin. They bloom on my chest, in my heart, on my brow. Two on my back, right on each of my wings. The lotuses spread out, glorious, praising life, a delicate protection. The soles of my feet are in full bloom. The skin of my lower abdomen is in luminescent bloom and blooming even still, the stem rooted deep in my uterus.

Beautiful, glowing. I rise up and open my palms and petals drop forth, raining and resting in a miracle around my feet.

This is how I am in this world. This is how I, the fox, the elephant, am in this world.

ON PLAYING ISHTARAndrea Goodman

Goddess,Nameless and infinite,

All-powerful, all-knowing,Giver of life and death,

Creator of myriad life-forms, Joyful Mother,Source of love,

Bringer of beauty,Opener of chasms of sorrow,

Liberator of souls,Lap of comfort,

Wellspring of vision,Eternal Silence,Sacred Sound!

I call to youand I am you!

Bless my innocent audacityto speak for you, to wail on your behalf,

to offer my eyes for your gaze,and to vibrate the atmosphere

as Your voice!

Someone has to do it,for You were demeaned, forgotten,

reduced to human fantasy,and I have the role in the play!

I am not adequateyet I am, perhaps, the only one in these partswho could offer herself as your instrument, conscious of the long eras of degradation,

and devoted to its healing:the Balance restored,

Your Harmony heard,and Your Love

filling every crevice,every dark unknown—

underneath, between, aroundevery passionate quest,every violent eruption,

every tenderness.

I am Your priestess,born into a modern world,slowly building strength,

forced to find courage,walking in beauty,

learning to trust.

One foot beyond the other,I walked into a theater,

and onto a stagewhere I am allowed

to appear in Your guise.

I am uniquely prepared,with or without a play—actress and priestess—

serving many roles.

Humbled by the gifts and blessingsthat have graced my journey and led me here,

I surrender to the demandof the One and the Many who ordained this.

I open the doors of my body.I give You my form

for Your power to use.

May souls be nourished, uplifted,and illumined!

The Garden at Ruby Throated Spirit, Trevitt Maine

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The emptiness of lossis filled with prayers.

How could so many friendsbe gone this year?

Their spirits are flying all around me.

Intertwining with memoriesinspiring newness.

Their love is with mebrings me up.

May my spirit and lovebe with them in transformation.

Pauline OliverosAugust 2008

Subject: some thoughtsexistence

yesterday morning, as i reached out to open the blinds,letting in new morning light,i was suddenly struck with the question of who am i,and how did i come to be.

it was a fleeting thought/realization that i did not knowhow i came to be.i was puzzled, and a little taken aback by this feelingthat rushed through me.something knew the answer, but it was far from me.

i have puzzled over this before, but…yesterday, it struck me like a bolt of lightening.

this morning, as i started out to the back with flowers,veggies, and herbs to plant in my garden,i was joyful, and happy with the anticipation of the fruits of my efforts.

i could see delphinium, and pansies, morning glory’s

reaching for the sun, reaching for the earth.

suddenly, i saw with the same eagerness, the anticipation of my own growth...reaching out towards the sun.feet planted firmly on the earth.

i have felt lately a blooming of my self.i have felt an opening to something- more.i have felt a desire to be.i have felt a desire to do.i have felt an opening in my heart, that has somehow,offered forth glimpses of my soul.

ah, how did i get here.i bloom.

who or what is choreographing the dance of my exis-tence?

the latent beauty in seeds, that turns into broccoli, and beets.the latent beauty in a breath taken upon arrival into this world…a breath that grows me into a beautiful soul-queen of the universe.

jacqueline vogel june 3, 2008

SOON TO BE RELEASED BY MoM PUBLICATIONS

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Ministers may be reached through contacting

Ministry of Maåt, Inc.Per Ankh

156 Hunter StreetKingston, NY 12401

iodreams@deeplistening.orgwww.ministryofmaat.org

Upcoming events....

WOMEN’S MYSTERIES 2008The following are the projected dates

for Women’s Mysteries US Retreats in 2008

September 19 - 22, 2008 WOMAN OF THE STARS

At Ruby Throated Spirit Barter’s Island, Maine

Deposit of $50 is due by August 15$350 tuition plus $55 food supplement

Lodging seperate

November 13 - 16, 2008 WOMAN OF THE DUAT

Lifebridge SanctuaryHigh Falls, New York

Deposit of $100 is due by September 15$565 tuition, $550 early registration by August 30

Lodging includedLovely dinners, breakfasts & potluck buffet

Commuter day rates available.

You may register via PayPal - Ministry of Maat, Inc.or send checks to Per Ankh

mInIster-prIestesses of maÅt

The Reverends:IONE, DMS, RH

Andrea Goodman, MMSAnne BourneToni Thomas

KaSha Unger, PhDShirley Panton Parker

Ruah Biagi, PhDLee Marian Horowitz

Rachel Koenig, L.Ac, CHJudy Robilotti

Julia Whitehonorary minister-priestesses

Dr. Pauline OliverosDr. Amy Mindell

Dr. Arnold MindellRev. Mary Thunder

PROGRAMSWomens Mysteries Training in the Intuitive and Healing Arts - For Women Who Want to Go Deeper

Green Dragon Healing Circles - Support for the interface between the spiritual and Healing realms.

Young Women’s Mysteries Trainings in the Intuitive and Heal-ing Arts - for girls from 12-17 years old.

Eqyptian Mysteries Scarab Teachings - Trainings in the Myster-ies of Ancient Eqypte

Memory Secrets and Immortality; Workshops that support the process of personal writing in the fields of literature, visual arts and music

ACTIVITIESActivities of the Ministry include Marriage Ceremonies, New Born Welcoming Ceremonies, Croning and Menarch Ceremo-nies and End of Life Ceremonies. In addition, we conduct Cutting Cord ceremonies for marking new life levels and are available to devise special rituals and ceremonies as needed. Ministers, depending upon their individual specialities, may offer ongoing Pastoral Counseling and the opportunity to em-bark upon apprenticeships and Ministerial Studies.

Priestessing through Ritual and Ceremony, Excellence in the Arts, Healing, Earth Magic, Scholarship and Community Ser-vice.

To join our email group, email WomensMysteries-subscribe@yahoogroups.com www.ministryofmaat.org

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A circle of Guatemalen worry dolls. I purchased from an artisian in Belize. You place a doll under your pillow and she will help remove your worries while you sleep. They reminded me of the Ministry’s circle during our Women’s Mysteries retreats. They were bundeled tightly together like a little army. Giving them to friends and family, Releasing them out to do their good works felt so satisfying. Photo Credit: Lisa Barnard