Photo Diary: Goddess Embodiment Collage
Women are warriors. We bleed, create life, nurture, love and take care of those around us. We have been given special skills as women; softness, sensitivity, compassion and strength to endure pain. Through the study of the goddess embodiment Mary Magdalene I discovered that society has chosen to paint women in many ways. Just as Mary Magdalene was painted to be a prostitute, Jesus’s wife, and/or also a crazy woman who had seven demons exorcised from her. One example: society has painted women as being “emotional”. But, what is wrong with being in touch with your emotions? It is a strength to understand yourself and honor true feelings rather than hide them. Honor your body, and the cycles and process we all go through.
The Goddess Embodiment Collage is inspired by a book purchased in Hawaii called ‘Embracing the Goddess: A workbook of the Divine Feminine‘ by Silence McCready. Each chapter has projects to connect the reader with their inner goddess, through the study of embodiments of goddesses throughout history. The project I chose from the first chapter, ‘Birthing the Great Mother,’ was to “find a person in your life that you think embodies the fullness of the Great Mother”.
At Shangri-La Music Festival, during my month spent ‘Birthing the Great Mother’, a group of women at the Red Tent, held a circle to sing together. The Red Tent is hosted by Dallas based women collective, Goddesses of Light. The intention of the red tent and the Goddesses of Light is to empower women to “move from a place to pain to power” through workshops, music, teachers, meditation, yoga, and compassion.
I was fortunate to be welcomed to the circle that morning. Singing with other women was freeing and left me with an after-glow. We sang songs about being a migration of birds, “women with wings”. We also sang about honoring the mother earth and our connection to her. A song I will never forget was about witches being wise women who used herbs as medicine to help heal their communities. The way it felt to proudly sing this with each other was something I can not put into words: truly magic.
I decided to make a collage of polaroid photos of ALL the everyday women in life who embody the goddess.*
There are so many goddesses in my life and at Shangri-La that it was an easy task to capture their beauty. Qualities embodied through the collage include artistic, motherly, creative, healing, beauty, personality and actions. Many women in the photos were stunningly beautiful externally and internally. It was their smile, the sparkle in their eye and the uniqueness each one has.
With personality, one woman, in particular, had such a down to earth vibe. She truly listened as I spoke, not once interjecting. She listened patiently, smiled, and laughed so genuinely. She was not overly showy, but rather very beautiful, humble, and cool.
Two women I captured in the college give such a fun, lively, good time vibe. They were so bright and beautiful I had to include them in the collage. Before taking the photo one throws a colorful chandelier over her shoulder while the other laughs: a perfect moment captured.
Maretta, a woman I personally know, is perfect for the collage. She has such a light-hearted, silly personality. She is always joking and perfectly comfortable being herself.
Actions also shine through in the collage. One woman threw her arms out wide as I took her photo: fully embracing the moment.
A woman holding up her art, with a camper in the background. She lives her life traveling and doing what she loves.
A personal friend of mine with her pregnant belly made it into the collage right before having her baby this month. A soul sister is captured in front of a crystal grid she created.
One woman I met at the Red Tent circle is photographed giving a chair massage reading the book ‘Awakening Shakti’.
Overall the insights I have discovered over the past month have allowed me to open my mind and heart in new unexpected ways. I am incredibly thankful for the opportunity to share this collage with the world. I hope to empower women to honor their true beauty and recognize the power within all while honoring the Sacred Relationship of balance between the feminine and masculine qualities within yourself or within a relationship with another.
Written by Kathryn Stomps.
Photographs by Kathryn Stomps.
* With written consent from each goddess for permission to use photos in the collage. Also states Kathryn Stomps has the legal right to use the image with or without identifying the model. I own all photos taken for the purpose of commercial publication or personal use. Each goddess photographed is 18 years or older.
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