Invitation to Magoist Studies Salons, Passage 4: Meet Whales and Dragons
#9 September Magoist Cetaceanism (Magoism and ancient Korean Whale totemism)
#10 October The Cetacean Code of Korean Temple Bells
#11 November The Myth of the Pacifying Flute and Dragons as the Messenger of Whales
Mago Academy happily announces Passage 4 (the three monthly Salons of September, October, and November) of 2021 Magoist Studies Online Salon! No prerequisites are required. Each of Passage 4 Salons is open to new participants. You may take it as an independent session, if you wish to try first in or without conjunction to Mago Whale Pilgrimage Tour 1 (October 11-17).
#12 December
(4th Sunday 10AM PST)
Topic Whale-back riding homecoming journey and the Mago Time charted by the 13 Month 28 Day Magoist Calendar: Magoist Cetaceanism is highlighted by the whale-back riding journey to the Abode of Mago, the Creatrix, in the Northern Center of the Universe guided by the Northern Dipper of Seven Stars, the circumpolar asterism by which whales are believed to have made their annual transoceanic journeys to the North from the Sea of Whales, East Sea of the Korean Peninsula. We will discuss how pervasively the whale-back riding journey to Mago, the Creatrix, manifests through Korean linguistics, myths, literature, art, religions, and/or customs. Intriguingly, we have some cross-culturally related themes: The Maori and Australian whale traditions; Brendan/Brigit and the whale, Mary as the Star of the Sea whose iconography depicts her in a boat; the Egyptian Book of the Dead and Isis whose iconography strikingly resembles the Buddhist dragon ship; and the Islamic whale (will share in the next post). It is my hope that my presentation provides a background for these cross-cultural manifestations and beyond. And we will celebrate WE/HERE/NOW, as we have just entered the first round (Year 5) of the Large Calendar (four years) on December 17, 2021. Happy New Year and Happy Solstice!
Topics for 2021 Magoist Studies Online Salon
Passage I: The Magoist Cosmogony
#1 January An Introduction to the Magoist Cosmogony
#2 February Sonic Numerology (the Cosmic Music and Nine-Numerology)
#3 March The Magoist Genealogy (the Mago Triad and Eight Daughters)
Passage 2: Entering the Gate of Magoism
#4 April Mago Pilgrimages
#5 May The Mytho-history of Magoism (the pre- and proto-patriarchal mytho-history that connects all)
#6 June Goma and Magoism (Shaman Queen of Nine Hans and Her Teaching of Mago, the Creatrix)
Passage 3: Coping with Patriarchy
#7 July Chiu, the Magoist Shaman Warrior Queen, and the Nine-headed Snake/Dragon
#8 August Rise and Establishment of Patriarchy in East Asia known as Ancient China
Passage 4: Meet Whales and Dragons
#9 September Magoist Cetaceanism (Magoism and ancient Korean Whale totemism)
#10 October The Cetacean Code of Korean Temple Bells
#11 November The Myth of the Pacifying Flute and Dragons as the Messenger of Whales
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Virtual Midnight Vigil Dec. 17, 2021 at 23:50-24:10 PST
Year 5 in the Magoist Calendar begins Dec. 18 and we celebrate Dec. 17, New Year Eve. The Whale Bell Striking on Dec. 17 midnight. Bring the sound of joy to share with us and the world for all! Details TBA.
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#12 December Whale-back riding homecoming journey and the Mago Time charted by the 13 Month 28 Day Magoist Calendar
When Sunday 10 AM to 11:20 AM of every fourth Sunday (Pacific Standard Time). We will have two segments with a short break. Subject to change upon notification. All inquiries should be directed to Dr. Hwang via magoacademy@gmail.com. at your earliest convenience.)
Meeting Place Zoom Meeting URL: TBA
You do not have to have a Zoom account to attend a Zoom meeting or interview. You will be prompted to download the software, once you have clicked on the link that you have been provided. You may also wish to create an account, but that is not required to participate in a Zoom meeting.
https://zoom.us/join
Method We will have a short break in about 1 hour session per Salon.
Ongoing Discussion Venues
- A Google group classroom: You will be invited to the classroom upon registration.
- Nine Mago Celebrations (Facebook Group)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/353059021788526/
Registration Reserve your participation by emailing to Dr. Hwang (magoacademy@gmail.com) with the following information. Your questions or comments may be taken to be discussed for relevant months.
- Name & contact email:
- Topics that I am interested:
- Organization or personal info (website, blog, or a short bio):
- Questions or Comments:
Please indicate it for Magoist Studies Online Salon in the Subject, upon making a donation of $20.00 per Salon.
For details of 2021 Magoist Studies Monthly Salon, see below or continue to read:
This is our second year offering! Join Dr. Helen Hye-Sook Hwang (Mago Academy Center Director) on a series of intriguing and novelty topics on Magoist Studies on a monthly basis. What is Magoist Studies? In short, Magoist Studies is an intellectual/spiritual undertaking about Mago, the Creatrix, and Magoism, an Original (read Pre-patriarchal) Matrix of the Great Mother known through traditional Koreans/East Asians. It is a life-long learning project established by Dr. Helen Hye-Sook Hwang, scholar on Magoism and advocate of the Mago Way. Dr. Hwang practices Maternal Gift Economy in the spirit of the matriarchal whale divine.
Topics To be announced each month from the following: The Magoist Cosmogony (Creation Account of Mago, the Creatrix); Sonic Numerology (the Cosmic Music and Nine-Numerology); The Magoist Genealogy (the Mago Triad and Eight Daughters); Mago Pilgrimages; The Magoist Calendar (13 Month 28 Day Calendar) and its annual Mago Almanac; Magoist Cetaceanism (Magoism and ancient Korean Whale totemism); The Mytho-history of Magoism (the pre- and proto-patriarchal mytho-history that connects all); Goma and Magoism (Shaman Queen of Nine Hans and Her Teaching of Mago, the Creatrix); The Gynocentric Civilization of the Goma; The Cetacean Code of Korean Temple Bells; Dragons and the Myth of the Pacifying Flute; Dragons and Cetaceanism; Rise and Establishment of Patriarchy in East Asia known as Ancient China; Chiu, the Magoist Shaman Warrior Queen; Manifestations of ancient Korean Magoist Cetaceanism; Whale riding homecoming Journey; The Budoji (a full-fledged matricentric text to be known to the world), and more.
The Budoji (Epic of the Emblem Capital City) is the principle text of Magoism, the Way of the Great Mother. Why it is absolutely necessary for us to be familiar with? In a nutshell, knowing the Budoji will change you once for all! Check out more whys below!
(Online Course) Reading and Commentating The Budoji (Epic of the Emblem Capital City)
Ongoing Discussion Venues
- A Google group classroom: You will be populated to the classroom upon registration. All discussions are email to the group by default.
- Nine Mago Celebrations (Facebook Group)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/353059021788526/
Registration Reserve your participation by emailing to Dr. Hwang (magoacademy@gmail.com) with the following information. Your questions or comments may be taken to be discussed for relevant months.
- Name & contact email:
- Topics that I am interested:
- Organization or personal info (website, blog, or a short bio):
- Questions or Comments:
$20 fee in the form of a donation for the Salon is appreciated to support Dr. Hwang’s life’s mission of building the Mago Work for All in WE. Please indicate it for Magoist Studies Online Salon in the Subject, upon making a donation.
(Hello everyone, I live in Lytle Creek, California USA, wherein I am creating the Mago Academy Center. I am excited and grateful for this new venture that marks the Year 4 according to the 13 Month 28 Day Magoist Calendar. Ms. Yeshe and I look forward to this. Helen Hwang)
Monthly Topics
#1 January
Topic An Introduction to the Magoist Cosmogony: Have you ever heard of a full-fledged matricentric creation story of the Great Mother, Mago? We will explore the beginning chapters of the Budoji, the principal text of Magoism. Key terms include: Mago Stronghold (Primordial Earth), the Mago Triad, Eight Heavenly Beings, parthenogenesis, the cosmic music and the nine-numerology, self-creation and self-evolution of the primordial earth, and the onset of calendars. It is an introductory session for all 2020 sessions.
#2 February
Topic Sonic Numerology (the Cosmic Music and Nine-Numerology): Sonic Numerology is the core concept of the Magoist Cosmogony. All beings are brought into existence through the sounding force of nine numerology (the interplay of nine numbers from 1 to 9). Put differently, the sound marked by an interplay of numbers (the music of a certain frequency, for example) has a capacity to offer a form to elemental beings (from the atomic particles to the celestial bodies). Numbers are no abstract values but embedded in the sonic entity through which all beings are given materiality. Humans are born to produce, maintain and enhance seismic vibrations in harmony with the cosmic music.
#3 March
Topic The Magoist Genealogy: That the pantheon of Mago, the Great Mother, comes in the form of Nine Sisters (the Mother Triad and their Eight Daughters) is not haphazard. It precisely accords with the cosmogonic principle of Nine Numerology. We will discuss the Budoji’s Magoist Cosmogony that narrates the emergence of Nine Magos. The Mago Triad assigns their Eight Daughters to tune the cosmic music of Palryeo (Eight Tones), a representation of Sonic Numerology. Yes, the eight toned music of the spheres! Then, we will explore many iconographies of Nine Mothers/Goddesses/Sisters across cultures, which include not only Nine Muses, Nine Durgas, Nine Matrikas but eight-armed Gwaneum (Guanyin), nine snake-headed Medusa, nine-tailed fox, nine-story pagoda and more!
#4 April
Topic Mago Pilgrimages: We are entering the passage 2, whose topic will be followed by The Mytho-history of Magoism (From the pre- and proto-patriarchal mytho-history that connects all) in May and Goma and Magoism (Shaman Queen of Nine Hans and Her Teaching of Mago, the Creatrix) in June. Since 2013, Mago Pilgrimage to Korea has offered an opportunity for participants to explore the socio-cultural features of Magoist Cetaceanism collectively under the guidance of Dr. Hwang. We will have a virtual Mago Pilgrimage of the past programs visually and you will find where and how the key ideas of Magoist Cetaceanism manifest in including the Korean temple bells, the Peak of Nine Wells, the triadic deities and designs, Mago Halmi rocks and tales, sweat lodges, the serpent island, ancient cities, Korean shamanism, Korean Halmis (Grand Mothers), and the Mago Stronghold village. Preliminary reading: “What Mago Pilgrimage means to me by Helen Hye-Sook Hwang, Ph.D.” below.
What Mago Pilgrimage means to me by Helen Hye-Sook Hwang, Ph.D.
#5 May
Topic: The Mytho-history of Magoism (the pre- and proto-patriarchal mytho-history that connects all): The mytho-history of Magoism is about the story of the Mago Descent, the matricentric human kind. Tracing the lineage to the Great Mother, the mytho-history of Magoism merits the whole view from the cosmogonic beginning to this day. Invented and remembered by Magoist Koreans/East Asians in particular, the mytho-history of Magoism offers a yet-to-be-known perception of who we humans are (the offspring of the Nine Mago Creatrix) and how our ancestors cope with the vicissitudes of bliss, tribulation, and restoration to pass down Magoism throughout generations. We will explore the six periods including the Mythic Period, the Golden, the Budo, the Post-Budo, the Dark, and the Revival, a scheme Dr. Hwang reconstructed based on the two pricipal texts of Magoism, the Budoji (Epic of the Emblem Capital City), and the Handan Gogi (Old History of Han and Dan), reemerged in the 1980s among Koreans. Meet the shaman clan elders, shaman queens, shaman warriors, matricentric kings, intellectual, religious, and political leaders, and heras and heros. Find out the major events that happened in each period and how the next period was prompted according to the principle of causality.
#6 June
Topic: Goma and Magoism (Shaman Queen of Nine Hans and Her Teaching of Mago, the Creatrix): Goma is a much underestimated and misrepresented Goddess from Old Magoist Korea (the pre-patriarchal people of the Great Mother). She is the Goddess who taught us about Mago, the Creatrix. In other words, we are able to understand Mago, the Creatrix, thanks to the teaching of Goma. Goma is better known as other names, Ungnyeo (Bear/Sovereign Woman), Heavenly Queen or Mazu, Gwaneum (Guanyin), the Queen Mother of the West, Amaterasu, Jiutianxiannu (Spiritual Woman of Nine Heavens), and others. Because of her teaching on Mago (Magoism), she is often conflated with Mago in folk traditions. Thus, her divinity manifests as the Magoma divine, a merged persona of Goma and Mago. Goma was a Shaman (Mu) Queen who is attributed to the foundation of the Danguk confederacy of nine states (Nine Hans) dated 3898 BCE to 2333 BCE. Deified as the greatest deity of the world, Goma was widely worshipped in the form of Nine Mothers or Nine Sisters. Goma is the greatest teacher, civilizer, and queen. In fact, Goma is the most favored deity among those who were born of a woman. Goma’s symbols include the Tree of Life, the nine-tailed fox, the nine-suns. We will focus on the Goma Myth, which tells us who she was and what she did. In short, Goma, foreseeing the rise of patriarchy in the course of time, instated the teaching of Mago (Magoism), or the Origin Story of the Creatrix, with which we who are born under the patriarchal tribulation won’t be destroyed. She is the ultimate savior for all terrestrial beings. Her teaching is reflected in the Budoji (Epic of the Emblem Capital City), the principal text of Magoism.
#7 July
Topic: Chiu, the Magoist Shaman Warrior Queen, and the Nine-headed Snake/Dragon: Chiu is a misrepresented Shaman Warrior Queen Mother of Old Magoist Korea/East Asia, Danguk (3898 BCE-2333 BCE). As the 14th Sovereign of Danguk, the confederacy of nine states, Chiu is commemorated as the Shaman Warrior Queen Mother who invented metal armors and weapons for the first time in history and crushed the precursor of ancient Chinese patriarchal rulers, Huangdi (Yellow Emperor). She was feared by her patrilocal rebels, while worshipped as the fierce state-protector by pre-patriarchal Magoist Koreans/East Asians. Her iconography includes the nine-headed snake or dragon and the warrior mother with a fierce-looking/draconic face, often confused with “Dokkabi (Goblin).” As a successor of Goma, the foundering Shaman Queen Mother of Danguk, Chiu faced a direct upheaval from patrilocal leaders, future Chinese culture heroes, and implemented a military campaign against them. She is best noted for the classic war against Huangdi, the Battle of Zhuolu (Tangnok in Korean) in which she fought Huangdi 73 times for 10 years. In myths, she is depicted as “a giant beast” who was aided by her 81 “brothers” from Nine Hans. Chiu’s association with the nine is, although often conflated with, distinguished from Goma’s nine symbol in the manner that the former involves a battle scene, whereas the latter manifests as the non-violent merciful heavenly queen mother. Chiu holds key to the erased history of Old Magoist Korea/East Asia during the period when the patriarchal ancestry of imperial Chinese rulers took shape as well as the state-protection practice of Magoist Cetaceanism. We will examine (1) how Chiu is depicted as the fierce draconic protector in Korean culture and the nine-headed snake/dragon in Chinese myths; (2) how the Chinese mytheme of demonizing Chiu, that is, the patriarchal hero slaying the nine-headed snake or dragon, is adopted by other peoples (the Japan, the Greek, and the Christian European), and (3) how the nine forms of a fierce female deity manifests across cultures including Medusa and Ambika (Durga or Chandi).
#8 August
Topic Rise and Establishment of Patriarchy in East Asia known as Ancient China: The victory of Chiu (Warrior Shaman Queen of the Danguk confederacy) in the battle against Huangdi circa 2700 BCE was a landmark in which the forthcoming united front of Old Magoist People took arms to subdue the socio-political problems caused by patrilocal military commanders. Note that these male military chiefs were NOT set with the goal of overthrowing traditional magocracy (the confederal socio-political system administered by Magoist Shaman Queens) and establishing a monarchical rule yet during the reign of Chiu and till the end of the Danguk period (3989-2333 BCE). Patriarchy did not take place naturally or effortlessly. By patriarchy, I mean a monarchical political system backed by patriarchal ideology of male supremacy over women and the rest of all beings. The nine-fold Danguk confederacy was too adamant for patrilocal commanders to envisage a revolt against it. However, that changed with the rise of Yao, the pre-dynastic ruler of ancient China, circa 2300 BCE. What distinguished Yao from his predecessors (including Huangdi) is that he sought his own throne against the Reign of the Great Mother. The mytho-history of Old Magoism (Magoism in pre-patriarchal times) faced the establishment of the patriarchal rule, ancient China, which brought havoc to all on earth once and for all. In fact, the rise of Yao brought the second great tribulation, the fall of “the five phases,” according to the Budoji. The second catastrophe refers to the introduction of mistaken patriarchal philosophy and the 12 month calendar in support of the patriarchal rule. This is the second irreversible catastrophe that the Budoji counts after the first one, eating of living beings for food. These two are related, according to the Budoji, and these are the two roots of problems for the human kind. And the forthcoming mytho-history of Magoism is all about how to overcome these two tribulations. How is patriarchal thinking fundamentally mistaken and deadly consequential? We will discuss what his patriarchal thinking involved and how he used his intentional misunderstanding of Sonic Numerology to buttress a new convention of his own monarchical throne.
#9 September
Topic Magoist Cetaceanism (Magoism and ancient Korean Whale totemism): The bond between Magoists and whales is made invisible in patriarchy. Both the female principle and the cetacean totemism remain esoteric at best. In Magoism, whales are venerated as the paragon of Magoist Queen Mothers who administer the human world on behalf of Mago, the Great Mother. Magoist Cetaceanism, restored, tells us that Magoism, the Way of the Great Mother, has been subjected to the process of matricide, mystification, and oblivion in the course of history due not only to its uncompromising female principle but also to its espousal with the cetacean totemism. Truth is that the cetacean totemism held by ancient Magoists is antithetical to patriarchal premises. Put differently, Magoist Cetaceanism cannot be admitted in patriarchy. For the seamless unity of humans and the natural world represented by whales undermines the very proposition of patriarchy. Pre-patriarchal sons may have come to set themselves against whales (dragons) out of jealousy, as the latter were worshipped as the terrestrial divine by their Shaman Queen mothers. Our message is that we humans are here to know the nurturing power of whales and collaborate with them. In fact, I hold that whales comprise one of the three divine realms, the terrestrial divine (Nine Dragons) together with the heavenly divine (Nine Magos) and the human divine (Nine Gomas). In the three-fold reality of WE/HERE/NOW, better known as the thought of Heaven-Earth-Human, cetaceans come as the second agent who represents the earthly realm. We will discuss whales as the terrestrial divine in light of the Magoist Cosmogony and Magoist Shaman Queens.
#10 October
Topic The Cetacean Code of Korean Temple Bells: Meet the Whale Bell of Magoist Korea, one of the splendid inventions of Magoist Cetacean Korean Culture! What is the Whale Bell? What are its features that represent Magoist Cetaceanism? When, why, and how was it cast? How did it come to be born? What would be the purpose of the Whale Bell? How does the Whale Bell embody the Magoist Cosmogony? We will explore answers to those questions by using visual and aural sources. Experience how the Whale Bell commonly known as the Korean Temple Bell unfolds for the cosmogonic reality of WE/HERE/NOW.
#11 November
Topic The Myth of the Pacifying Flute and Dragons as the Messenger of Whales: The myth of the Pacifying Flute that Defeats All (Manpasikjeok) made of a narwhal’s tusk refers to a historical narrative concerning the socio-political-cultural revival of Old Magoism, ultimately the Danguk confederacy of Nine States, by the 7th century Sillan rulers. In short, the Pacifying Flute signifies a Sillan (ancient Korean) revival of pre-patriarchal Magoism. We will discuss the myth of the Pacifying Flute in which dragons are depicted as the messenger of divine whales. Together with the Whale Bell (we discussed it last month), the Pacifying Flute stands as one of the signature inventions of Sillan Cetacean Magoism. The myth of the Pacifying Flute, encoding the Magoist Cosmogony (the Origin Vision of the Great Mother or the Creatrix via Sonic Numerology, the organizing force of Life), holds the key to unlocking the nuts and bolts of ancient Magoist Cetaceanism. We will also be introduced to Magoist Cetacean architecture, placenames, and titles of ancient Korea. Questions to be answered include: What is the Pacifying Flute that Defeats All (Manpasikjeok)? How does it relate with the Whale Bell? What is the story of the Pacifying Flute? What does it mean that King Munmu the Great wanted to become a state-protecting dragon after death? How does the temple, Gameunsa, architecturally encode Magoist Cetaceanism? What and why is the dragon in Magoist Cetaceanism? How and why is a dragon associated with the number nine? How does the dragon symbolize the whale divine and Sonic Numerology (the Magoist Cosmogony)?
#12 December
Topic Whale-back riding homecoming journey and the Mago Time charted by the 13 Month 28 Day Magoist Calendar: Magoist Cetaceanism is highlighted by the whale-back riding journey to the Abode of Mago, the Creatrix, in the Northern Center of the Universe guided by the Northern Dipper of Seven Stars, the circumpolar asterism by which whales are believed to have made their annual transoceanic journeys to the North from the Sea of Whales, East Sea of the Korean Peninsula. We will discuss how pervasively the whale-back riding journey to Mago, the Creatrix, manifests through Korean linguistics, myths, literature, art, religions, and/or customs. Intriguingly, we have some cross-culturally related themes: The Maori and Australian whale traditions; Brendan/Brigit and the whale, Mary as the Star of the Sea whose iconography depicts her in a boat; the Egyptian Book of the Dead and Isis whose iconography strikingly resembles the Buddhist dragon ship; and the Islamic whale (will share in the next post). It is my hope that my presentation provides a background for these cross-cultural manifestations and beyond. And we will celebrate WE/HERE/NOW, as we have just entered the first round (Year 5) of the Large Calendar (four years) on December 18, 2020. Happy New Year and Happy Solstice!
In relation to Magoist Studies Salons, we are launching Virtual Mago Pilgrimage to Cetacean Korea (3 Tours throughout the year).
2021 Virtual Mago Pilgrimage to Cetacean Korea: The Calling of Whales and Dragons to WE/HERE/NOW
Resources include:
(Whale Essay 2) Whales in Korean Linguistics by Helen Hye-Sook Hwang, Ph.D.
(New Arrival) Mago Almanac & its Planner for Personal Journey Year 4
Meet Hosts
Dr. Helen Hye-Sook Hwang
Helen Hye-Sook Hwang, Ph.D. is scholar, activist, and advocate of Magoism, anciently originated tradition that venerates Mago as the Great Goddess. She earned her MA and Ph.D. in Religion with emphasis on Feminist Studies from Claremont Graduate University, CA. She also studied toward an MA degree in East Asian Studies at UCLA, CA. Hwang has taught for universities in California and Missouri, U.S.A. Since 2012, Dr, Hwang has founded, directed, co-edited, written for the Return to Mago E-Magazine (https://magoism.net), Mago Academy (https://magoacademy.org), and Mago Books (https://magobook.com).
She has co-edited and published Goddesses in Myth, History, and Culture, Celebrating Seasons of the Goddess (Mago Books, 2018), She Rises: Why Goddess Feminism, Activism, and Spirituality? Volume 1 (Mago Books, 2015), She Rises: How Goddess Feminism, Activism, and Spirituality? Volume 2 (Mago Books, 2016), and She Rises: How Goddess Feminism, Activism, and Spirituality? Volume 3 (Mago Books, 2019). Also authored The Mago Way: Re-discovering Mago, the Great Goddess from East Asia (Mago Books, 2016), Mago Almanac: The 13 Month 28 Day Calendar (Mago Books, 2018 and 2019). Dr. Hwang leads Mago Pilgrimage to Korea annually and gives lectures internationally.
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