PaGaian Cosmology

A Poiesis of the Creative Cosmos: Celebrating Her within PaGaian Sacred Ceremony

by Glenys Livingstone Ph.D.

may be purchased at Girl God Books, 2023.

or signed copies as below.

This book is the documentation of a poetic ceremonial process practiced over decades, which has been the making of a world, a creative  context in which She could be expressed and heard. This ceremonial practice is based in the Seasonal Moments of Earth-Sun relationship: that is, specifically the Solstices, Equinoxes and cross-quarter transitions of the Old European indigenous traditions. This has been synthesized with a scientific understanding of the unfolding Cosmos, and with female metaphor for the sacred: named as a “PaGaian” cosmology. The poetic process of ceremony described, over the year long cycle of Earth-Sun creativity is a Geo-therapy, a placing of self within a womb of creativity, a microcosm of the Womb of the Cosmos, the habitat of all being, in which we dwell. This documentation was enabled and enhanced by the author’s academic doctoral work which allowed organic and transpersonal research methods, wherein ceremony, meditations, and intuitive cognitions were part of the learning. The circle of stones on the front cover represents this devotional practice and is reminiscent of the great stone circles built by ancestral peoples, which were ceremonial sites celebrating relationship with the beauty and terror of being alive in this awesome universe.

For a signed Colour copy within Australia: $AUD57.95 plus $15.50 post

For a signed B&W copy within Australia: $AUD37.95 plus $15.50 post

If you are in lands other than Australia, you may still buy a signed copy via PayPal but you need to contact Glenys  directly, to get the cost – it’s just that postage is more, depending on where on Gaia you are exactly,

Endorsements:

“This is a deeply spiritual work, beautifully articulating the sacrality and the profundity of our lives and of the cosmos. Glenys Livingstone writes of communions, celebrations, wonderfully creative ceremonies, the continuity of life: our turns around the Wheel of the Year.”

-Miriam Robbins Dexter, Author of Whence the Goddesses: a Source Book and  Sacred Display: Divine and Magical Female Figures of Eurasia

 “This book is a blessing! Bestowing knowledge, wisdom, and beauty, it presents new possibilities for a greater felt connection with the cosmos. The ceremonies for a PaGaian Wheel of the Year will surely inspire spiritual creativity.”

-Charlene Spretnak, Author of Lost Goddesses of Early Greece

“In order to enter A Poiesis of the Creative Cosmos, begin the night before. Go out under the stars and let their beauty soak into you. Bring to mind the 320 million Earth-like planets sprinkled throughout the Milky Way galaxy and imagine there are other beings out there who are, simultaneously, trying to imagine us. As you climb into bed, reflect on the stunning truth coming from both the ancient ones and the contemporary scientists, that you are at the center of the universe, at the very center along with everyone else. After a deep sleep, you will be ready to enter the PaGaian wheel of ceremony which has taken Glenys an entire lifetime to create. She has had to struggle out of the unconscious arrogance and profound ignorance of industrial society in their dismissal of the wisdom embedded in Goddess-based cultures. Working with other poets of the cosmos, she has constructed a spiritual practice that enables us to root ourselves in place and celebrate the sacred annual journey about the sun. By releasing ourselves into the wisdom of her ceremonies, we find our creative energies reinvigorated as we set forth to give poetic expression to the divine presence in which we live. Glenys Livingstone, the author of this cosmological poetry, is a planetary treasure.”

-Brian Thomas Swimme, Author of Cosmogenesis

“In these times we need to remember our cosmic origins, the organic power we have within us collectively and personally. Glenys’ book offers inspiration for such a journey which is both in and out at the same time: it presents an action that may be entered into to enable our atrophied sensitivities to our Earth, our place of being. The process described in this book helps us remember how old we really are, and also how young and vibrant we may be. As Joanna Macy says: it’s time for us to act our age.”
-John Seed, deep ecology activist, co-author (with Joanna Macy, Pat Fleming, and Arne Naess) of Thinking Like a Mountain: Toward a Council of All Beings.

oOo

And a word of appreciation from Dr. Danica Anderson:

Exploring the ancient concept of #kolo, a term that predates even Sanskrit and signifies ‘wheel,’ unveils the deep roots of rituals within our #oralmemory traditions, carrying epigenetic and transgenerational significance. Dr. Livingstone shares her journey through the Wheel of the Year, revealing how it led her to a profound realization: we are creators of the Cosmos, intentionally or not. Initially unaware, her understanding blossomed through the ritual engagement with Gaia’s creative cycles—embracing the dance of visibility and invisibility, light and shadow, becoming and transforming. This journey illuminated the way seasonal ceremonies foster a conscious communion with the Cosmos, thus framing our celebrations not just as acts of acknowledgment but as duties towards the universe itself. It’s about grasping the grace inherent in the Cosmos, deeply connecting with the mysterious web of life and spiritual forces that animate existence, and aligning our lives to mirror this sacred interconnectivity. love your work Glenys Livingstone.

A Review from Hollie Bakerbolijkovac, founder of Institute for Self Crafting:

This is a review of my friend Glenys Livingstone‘s latest book. Note, I don’t get anything special or any kickbacks for writing this review and sharing the book with you. I simply believe Glenys’ work is great and is worth looking at if you’re interested in creating ceremony and meaning in your life.  

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Glenys Livingstone is a deep thinker, a prolific writer, and an Earth Woman who I’ve had the pleasure of knowing for at least 15 years. Over the years she has continued to inspire me through the sharing of her contemplations of how creativity proceeds.  

Glenys’ latest book, A Poiesis of the Creative Cosmos: Celebrating Her within PaGaian Sacred Ceremony is a treatise of earth based spirituality that provides a way to work with The Rhythm of Life in deep realationship. It will appeal to anyone who likes a bit of structure and form with all the mystery and magick of deep sacred ceremony, and without the woo of WitchTok.

Poiesis, a Greek word meaning “the activity in which a person brings something into being that did not exist before” is perhaps the most elegant word to describe the act of creating ceremony for understanding and connection. This book encourages authenticity in creating meaning-full seasonal ceremony in realationship to land and kinship, in this time and space, right here and now. 

This is an academic work, with references and footnotes and such. But don’t let that put you off! Glenys’ work is a collision of ideas from Land-based thinking, Eco Philosophy, Cosmological History and Feminist Spirituality, and in merging these unique concepts, she presents a story of the seasons that’s accessible to anyone who’s willing to be your own research subject. Glenys models the commitment and deep appreciation that comes with creating meaningful personal ceremony with land, water and sky. 

Her practise; many times round the year; connecting and committing to realationship with the seasons gives Glenys a credibility that can only come from lived experience. She’s not just telling you how it ‘should’ be done. Glenys is showing us how she came to do it. She didn’t get a book offer just because she has 10,000 followers on Instagram, and a podcast (she doesn’t have either of those). Rather, Glenys is writing this book to share the synthesis of a decades-long practise of active meditation on the cycles of our Universe. She says “The Cosmos is a ceremony, a ritual. Dawn and dusk, seasons, supernovas – it is an ongoing Event of coming into being and passing away.” 

Amidst the ongoing barrage of how-to books and self-help fads, Glenys’ work is an active invitation to Self Crafted empowerment. She looks at knowledge from both past and present, to make meaning for now. Through sharing how she has come to her own cyclical celebrations, Glenys shows how the seasonal story can be made your own … in this time and space, and your particular life and community. 

PaGaian Ceremonial practise leans into the deep roots of where we’ve all come from (the Land) and enables a pathway to bring the innateness of this wisdom into the present moment, in ways that honour your way of being in the world, wherever you are. Unlike many of the books that show up on the topic of Seasonal Ceremony and Pagan(esque) Ritual, there’s just no bull shit here. Glenys looks at out of date concepts and reshapes them to the sacred for now. By blending historical, present ideology and thought-full Ceremony, we are given the tools to encounter our “own new cosmological understandings.” 

This is a book of relationships… with the seasons and cycles as they manifest and are manifesting… 
Glenys takes the woo out of Ceremony by describing it as “a space and time given to expression, contemplation and nurturance of depth.” She says, “Ceremony may be both an expression of deep inner truths – perceived relationship to self, Earth and Cosmos, as well as being a mode of teaching and drawing forth deeper participation.” 
In my own experience teaching from Ceremony and Ritual, engaging in ways to understand and express our connections to the natural world, enables people to create meaning in even the most mundane aspects of life. As we consciously mark special days through the year, whether they be anniversaries, seasonal shifts or life’s transitions, and link those days to stories that are bigger than our own experience, we open more to find deeper understanding and expression. For me, Glenys’ work is a supportive reminder that indeed, Creating Ceremony is a key piece in the journey of Self.