Robin Morgan (1941- ), poet, author, political theorist and activist, journalist and more, reading her ovarian poem The Network of the Imaginary Mother when it was first published in Lady of the Beasts (1976). I learned so much from it back then, and often quoted whole swathes of it over the decades. the last part in particular has been a core part of the evolution of the Samhain ceremonial script for PaGaian Cosmology, 20 years ago, and ever since. I have used other sections of it in other rituals over the decades: for instance, the litany of names of some of the women burned and tortured as witches in Europe 15th- 18th century, that concludes each of the five parts to the poem. The parts are (i) The Mother (ii) The Consort (iii) The Sister (iv) The Child and (v) The Self.

If you are impatient (it is long), go straight to the last part “The Self” at about 48 mins, but it would be a shame to miss the rest. Get a cup of tea and relax

The Network of the Imaginary Mother

read by Robin Morgan