April 9th, 2004
Nations Hall Theatre, Tucson, Arizona

RESTORING THE BALANCE was dedicated to celebrating the Sacred Feminine throughout all spiritual traditions, with Inuit "Story of Sedna" as our theme. Erica Swadley wrote the "Invocation to the Great Mother" with which we opened the ritual, narration was by Paul Fisher and Sammi Alijagic, and original music by Allen and Audrey Smith, Jeff Greinke, Will Clipman, and Kathi Huatahluta.

Our cast included:

Sedna and Her Shaman from the Inuit (Erica Swadley & Katherine Josten), Kali from India (Quynn Elizabeth), White Tara from Tibet (Mana Youngbear), Amaterasu Omikami from Japan (Mana Youngbear), The Virgin of Guadalupe from Mexico (Valerie James), Selu/Corn Mother from the Cherokee (Kathi Huatahluhta), and
Spiderwoman from the Navajo (Morgana Canady).

We closed with Spiderwoman, who wove a web with the audience to symbolize the unity of all life on our Mother Earth.

Afterwards, strands of these cords were scattered throughout the desert, releasing them into nature, so the spirit of the "Web of Interconnectedness" could symbolically extend beyond our small community to the world. Documentation, video, and photographs were then sent to a participating group in Cameroon, Africa as part of THE GLOBAL ART PROJECT, created by Katherine Josten, MFA, who also performed the role of Sedna.

INVOCATION OF THE GREAT MOTHER
by Erica Swadley

O Great Mother Goddess, we call on you now.

We invite your presence.
Surround and encompass us.
Rise up from your roots.
Hear us, our our voices of pathos.
See our dancing feet, how we beat out your rhythms. With our hearts, we drum you back.
We are staggering toward you.

Will you run one hundred steps to us?
Will you spread your mantle of peace?

This is the sack of our offerings:

We give up our greed to feed the needy.
Here is our lust to restore compassion.
We release our hatred to stop the killing.
We forego our vengeance to discover balance.
We scorn our fears, to rebirth love.
We tread softly to bring back forests.

And Mother Answers:

No more no more no more!

I have sent you shining planets to help you remember.

Mars and Venus beg you to reconcile.
From the depths of space, Sedna appears,
a planetary avatar to stop you in your tracks.Time is ended, truth be told.

Release, forgive, restore.
Remember Me in all of My forms.
I will bring light to your shadows and make you whole, if you will call on Me.

April, 2004

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