Chiara Baldini is a raver, researcher and freelance curator from Florence, Italy. She investigates the evolution of the ecstatic cult in the West, particularly in Minoan Crete, ancient Greece and Rome, contributing to anthologies, psychedelic conferences and festivals.
Are famous Greek goddesses like Hera, Demeter and Aphrodite her descendants? What kinds of rituals, practices and myths were associated with her worship, and how long did they survive in Europe? Is there an alternate history of Europe that we can tell by following motherlines like these, instead of the fatherlines we are used to hearing about? And how is the wild, ecstatic god Dionysus connected to her, and to the memory of the matrilineal Neolithic and Bronze Age Europe?
About this webinar
In this webinar, Sylvia V. Linsteadt and Chiara Baldini will explore the history and legacy of the Ancient Mother, a term they use to describe the so-called Mother Goddess of Europe, whose origins stretch back to the Paleolithic era. Once, she was understood to be the Law of the Earth itself, the practices, beliefs and values which allowed the flourishing of all life and which were therefore profoundly revered and handed down for millennia. In these modern times of immense turmoil, we can see that it is her Laws which are being broken and the mutually beneficial relationships among all beings which are not being respected. To move past the destructive forces of patriarchy, capitalism, and colonialism, the ways of the Ancient Mother could be a formidable source of inspiration to find our way back "Home".
Together, Sylvia and Chiara will trace the Ancient Mother's lineages across the ages, to reflect on how non-patriarchal values were handed down from the Neolithic to Minoan Crete and subsequent Greek goddesses like Hera, Demeter, Rhea... and Dionysus! What are the "motherlines" and how do they contribute to a different perception of the history of the now-European territory? How can "motherlines" be traced, and which methodologies can be useful? What could this kind of inquiry reveal about a time when patriarchy was not the dominant paradigm? And how can the values and practices of the Ancient Mother rekindle our hope that a better world is possible?
This will be the first public conversation where Sylvia and Chiara share their complementary research on these topics. Attendees will gain rare insights into the history of the Ancient Mother in Europe and the enduring, though often hidden, legacies of matrilineal traditions that still linger in these lands.
What You'll Learn
An exploration of non-patriarchal cultures of ancient Europe and why we can speak of an "Ancient Mother"
An introduction to what are the "Motherlines" and how they can be used to trace the history of female deities and non-patriarchal values in the Southern European territories
An overview of the importance of Minoan Crete as an exception to the "patriarchal rule" of civilization
An understanding of how the legacies of the Ancient Mother can support us in responding to the ecological, spiritual, and political crises of our times
About your teachers
Sylvia V. Linsteadt is a novelist, poet, scholar of ancient history, animal tracker, and artist.
Sylvia V. Linsteadt is a novelist, mythologist, scholar of ancient history, and a certified animal tracker. Her work over the last 12 years—both fiction and non-fiction—is rooted in myth, ecology, feminism and bioregionalism, and is devoted to broadening our human stories to include the voices of the living land. She is the author of the collections The Venus Year, and Our Lady of the Dark Country, two novels for young readers, The Wild Folk and The Wild Folk Rising (Usborne, 2018 and 2019), and the post-apocalyptic folktale cycle Tatterdemalion (Unbound 2017) with painter Rima Staines. Her works of nonfiction include the award-winning Lost Worlds of the San Francisco Bay Area (Heyday, Spring 2017).
Chiara Baldini is a raver, researcher and freelance curator from Florence, Italy. She investigates the evolution of the ecstatic cult in the West, particularly in Minoan Crete, ancient Greece and Rome, contributing to anthologies, psychedelic conferences and festivals.
Chiara Baldini is a researcher, author, speaker and freelance curator from Florence (Italy). She investigates the evolution of the ecstatic cult in the West, particularly in Minoan Crete, ancient Greece and Rome, contributing to anthologies, psychedelic conferences and festivals. She was the program curator of Boom Festival’s cultural area Liminal Village from 2010 to 2023. She has co-curated the anthology “Psychedelic Mysteries of the Feminine” investigating the intersection between the feminine principle and altered states of consciousness. She is currently a PhD candidate at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) in the Philosophy, Cosmology and Consciousness program. She lives between Italy and Portugal and she expresses her deep love for music by often playing as DJ Clandestina.
Stay in contact with Chiara via email on [[email protected]]([email protected]) or Instagram here [@iamalwayschiara](https://www.instagram.com/iamalwayschiara/)
