“Myths of the Great Goddess teach compassion for all living things. There you appreciate
the real sanctity of the earth itself, because the earth is the body of the Goddess.”
.........Joseph Campbell, The Power of Myth
the real sanctity of the earth itself, because the earth is the body of the Goddess.”
.........Joseph Campbell, The Power of Myth
Masks in traditional societies are viewed as liminal tools, as “vessels for the sacred powers”. After studying mask arts in Bali I returned to the U.S. in 1999 to create 30 multi-cultural masks based on feminine deities throughout the world. Inspired by Balinese sacred mask traditions, I wanted to offer the collection as contemporary "Temple Masks", devoted to celebrating mythologies of female divinity. The Collection has continually grown as it traveled throughout the U.S., used by dancers, choreographers, storytellers, ritualists, educators, and individuals.
Masks have so much transformative power. One might say that they are like cups, waiting to be filled. The Masks of the Goddesses were created to re-claim and re-invent in new ways these important stories, as well as empowering women to explore each archetype within herself. What does the story of Sedna , ocean mother of the Inuit, have to teach us about ecology and a reciprocity with the Earth? What is the Gnostic Christian "Mirror of Sophia"? How is the "Descent of Inanna" a potent story of psychological death and rebirth, the journey toward wholeness? How is Spider Woman, the native American Weaver/Creatrix, an important metaphor for our time? As I and colleagues used the collection we evolved unique ways to work with them as we told the stories of the Divine Feminine.
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Masks have so much transformative power. One might say that they are like cups, waiting to be filled. The Masks of the Goddesses were created to re-claim and re-invent in new ways these important stories, as well as empowering women to explore each archetype within herself. What does the story of Sedna , ocean mother of the Inuit, have to teach us about ecology and a reciprocity with the Earth? What is the Gnostic Christian "Mirror of Sophia"? How is the "Descent of Inanna" a potent story of psychological death and rebirth, the journey toward wholeness? How is Spider Woman, the native American Weaver/Creatrix, an important metaphor for our time? As I and colleagues used the collection we evolved unique ways to work with them as we told the stories of the Divine Feminine.
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In 2019 the MASKS OF THE GODDESS PROJECT was formally closed with an exhibit and performances at ARISE GALLERY at HERCHURCH in San Francisco, California. Where it began, more than 20 years before.
But it hasn't really ended after all - in 2023 the Collection travelled to the Parliament of World Religions with the Earth Traditions Community, and in 2024 travelled with me and Patricia Ballentine to the Women and Spirituality Conference in Rochester, Minnesota. In 2025 they were at the Association for the Study of Women and Mythology (ASWM), and again at Isis Oasis and Willits, California, where those communities used them to tell again the Sacred Stories of the Goddess.
The Circle has no end.
Lauren Raine MFA 2026
www.laurenraine.com
Photographs are by: Jerri Jo Idarius, Ileya Stewart, Thomas Lux,
Peter Hughes, Ann Beam and Lauren Raine
But it hasn't really ended after all - in 2023 the Collection travelled to the Parliament of World Religions with the Earth Traditions Community, and in 2024 travelled with me and Patricia Ballentine to the Women and Spirituality Conference in Rochester, Minnesota. In 2025 they were at the Association for the Study of Women and Mythology (ASWM), and again at Isis Oasis and Willits, California, where those communities used them to tell again the Sacred Stories of the Goddess.
The Circle has no end.
Lauren Raine MFA 2026
www.laurenraine.com
Photographs are by: Jerri Jo Idarius, Ileya Stewart, Thomas Lux,
Peter Hughes, Ann Beam and Lauren Raine