Janet Rudolph

  I have re-issued my book, Desperately Seeking Persephone under my own imprint, Flower Heart Productions.  It has a new cover and a new subtitle – The True Story of My Shamanic Journey Through the Underworld.  It is now available in both paperback and kindle on Amazon. Here are two …

  I have re-issued my book, Desperately Seeking Persephone under my own imprint, Flower Heart Productions.  It has a new cover and a new subtitle – The True Story of My Shamanic Journey Through the Underworld.  It is now available in both paperback and kindle on Amazon. Here are two …

Desperately Seeking Persephone: A Shamanic Journey Through the Underworld by Janet Rudolph weaves together a healing journey from abuse and rape, a deep personal connection with the goddesses Inanna and Persephone, and the ups and downs of a long-term shamanic apprenticeship. These strands could have easily filled three separate books, but …

Thank you for visiting my site.  I haven’t updated it in some time.  For now, I am moderating the site: /FeminismandReligion.com/ I have been working on a project called Biblical poetry. For that and to read my monthly blogposts you can click here. I invite you to visit the FAR …

  This is the 3rd in a series of Biblical poetry where I am “translating” verses of the Bible. You can read the first two here: Biblical Poetry and Biblical Poetry, Part 2. One of my primary purposes of doing this work is to strip away patriarchal veneers that have …

  Last month, I wrote about a new project I have been playing with which is to re-write biblical verses as spiritual poetry rather than follow along with stricter translations (although truth be told, my translations have never been strict). My main goal is to strip away the layers of …

      This blogpost is about biblical verses and uncovering the magic and spirit behind its words. Why, you might ask, is this a project that belongs on a blog dedicated to feminism? I believe it does because it helps us to strip away the many layers of patriarchy …

  Consider the following four birth stories: A high priestess became pregnant in a manner that was forbidden in her society. She gave birth to a baby boy. Fearing for her child’s life, she fashioned a basket of rushes and cast him into a river. He was retrieved by a …

    Even though I was a late-comer to the Netflix series The Crown, when I did watch it, I was riveted. Lots of thoughts ran through my mind at this picture of royalty. The concept of royalty in human history is vast and multi-faceted, however in this blogpost I …

  In my previous blogpost, I wrote about the Biblical tale of Samson and Delilah and why it was likely written in a manner to hide older pagan mythos. You can read it here: Delilah Lost. I promised to share my own myth about the story and tell it as …

Delilah is a beautiful name on its own merits. As a biblical personage Delilah is forever connected to Samson for their tales are intertwined. As it is told in Judges, Samson is the clear hero of the tale and Delilah is merely the temptress who betrays him. But as in …

The Bible as we know it today offers a message far different than in its earliest beginnings. What was once an oral tradition of earth-based spirituality has become codified, the original intent obscured by translation after translation. Take a shamanic quest to discover long-forgotten interpretations of some the world’s most …

The Bible is full of awe-inspiring magic while also serving to record some of history’s most human stories. Its roots are steeped in the quintessential riddles surrounding life’s origins and mysteries. When Moses Was a Shaman delves into Moses’s most famous legends to unlock hidden shamanic knowledge. This book explores …

DESCRIPTION La Biblia, tal como la conocemos hoy en día, ofrece un mensaje muy diferente al de sus comienzos. Las enseñanzas originales de la Biblia fueron orales y terrenales. Los significados originales fueron escondidos o cambiados a través de años y procesos de edición y múltiples traducciones.Cuando Eva era una …

La Biblia está llena de magia asombrosa y a un tiempo registra algunos de los episodios más humanos de la historia. Sus raíces están impregnadas en enigmas esenciales sobre los orígenes y los misterios de la vida. Cuando Moisés era un shamán se adentra en las leyendas más famosas de Moisés para develar los conocimientos shamánicos ocultos detrás. Este libro explora cómo …

This book has just been released in its revised and updated version, published September 13, 2019.  Link to purchase is below: DESCRIPTION One Gods explores a broad range of Biblical stories and offers new paradigms based on the oldest of teachings. Using cross-cultural connections, it is possible to delve into …

  As I wrote my last blog post, the Great Goddess of the Canaanites, Ashera was honored and worshipped (according to the bible) within and through groves of trees. Ashera and El, the “great bull god” were deeply connected. In fact, in Canaanite mythology, El and Ashera were married. But before …

    his is the 4th in a series of blog posts about finding goddesses in the bible who had been hidden away through translation or denigration or other means. In my last blog post I discussed Lilith as a Great Goddess symbolized by both tree and bird. You can …

  This blog post is the 3rd in a series of looking for female deities in the bible who have been translated out of easy reach or otherwise hidden within its words. In my last blog post I discussed bird imagery and the bible. It is available here. You can’t …

COMING SOON! It has been my great honor to work with Ecuadorian translator and poet Martin Mora Ortega who has created a gracious and well crafted translation of my book When Eve was a Goddess.  Watch this space for further announcements and publishing information.

  As I wrote in my last blog post, there are female deities and goddesses sprinkled all throughout the bible. They just aren’t obviously in plain sight. One example is the Goddess and Her association with birds. Many ancient creation myths have stories about life emerging from a cosmic egg …

  “Freud once asserted that mortals are not made to keep secrets; what they would like to conceal oozes from all their pores.” Psychoanalyst Theodore Reik[1] It’s remarkable how much female imagery there is in the Bible hidden within its wording. The more I delve into its passages, the more …

    The word apocalypse keeps coming up when I talk to friends about how our present times feel. We’ve all noted how cracks in our society are tearing open and fault-lines are rising to the surface. It is disorienting yet also potentially transforming. I realized I’ve felt this way …

  Sing to the LORD, all you godly ones! Praise his holy name. Psalm 30:4 (New Living Translation) Therefore I will give thanks unto thee, O LORD, among the heathen, and I will sing praises unto thy name. 2 Sam 22:50 Let them praise the name of the LORD: for …

When Rachel Pollack wrote the foreword to my book, When Moses Was a Shaman, she wrote a haunting line. She was discussing the importance of asking questions as a life practice. She wrote, “Perhaps Questions are the ultimate Homeland for all of us.” Respecting the power of the question, this …

I was so inspired by Judith Shaw’s blog post, “The Serpent and the Goddess” (Feb 26th) that I began to dust off my old notes on serpent imagery. I was reminded a concept that kept jumping out at me. In discussing the Kabbalah, Rabbi David A Cooper, writes that mystics …

This lovely post appeared on the wonderful and far ranging Religion and Feminism Blog.  Judith Shaw kindly gave me permission to repost it. I am posting the beginning of the article below (notice her spectacular artwork) with a link to the rest of it (and more of Judith’s art):   …

  “The world is full of magic things patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.”  WB Yeats I have a new definition of a shaman.  It is someone who reminds us that the world is full of magic and then guides us to develop our senses so that we …

I remember the first time I killed a living animal for food. I was a college student. I was traveling with other students on a month-long backpacking trip along the Sea of Cortez in Baja, Mexico. It was a very long time ago, yet the experience was so impactful that …

The serpent in the Bible is a symbol of multi-layered mystery.  The serpent is often saddled with the responsibility for Adam and Eve leaving the garden.  According to the Bible, the serpent tempted Eve and it was therefore its “fault” that Adam and Eve ate the fruit which caused their …

She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her. Proverbs 3:18 Trees are very important in our human mythos. In many societies, the tree is actually considered to be the ancestor of humankind with a mythological forerunner related …

The serpent in the Bible is treated as Eve’s partner in crime, a malevolent seducer who is responsible for humankind’s expulsion from paradise. But did you know there are serpents who figure positively in the Bible? There are serpent priests, a feathered serpent and a healing serpent. Check out this …

She is a tree of life to those who embrace her and those who lay hold of her are blessed. Proverbs 3:18 (Berean Study Bible) Eve’s story, as it has been passed onto us from the Bible, makes Her responsible for manki . . .ahem . . .humankind’s being cursed …

Trigger Alert:  The bible on its face is quite violent to women. Amidst the ugliness that is American politics in general and abortion politics specifically, I began to look for guidance to understand what is happening. I ended up pulling out two books that I read long ago. The first …

Visualize Your Bliss (after Joseph Campbell) I love the fierce look in the eye of the hawk.  We should all look so intensely when we are seeing and living our bliss!

Be humble, for you are made of earth Be noble, for you are made of stars Serbian proverbs

Adult Daughter (“AD”): Hi Mom, Alex said to tell you “hi.” Me: That’s nice. How is she? AD: How are “they?” Alex uses “they,” mom. Me: Oh right, sorry. I am having some trouble wrapping my head around using “they” and “them.” AD: Well mom, that is something you’re going …

The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time is now. Chinese Proverb

“If you truly love Nature, you will find beauty everywhere.” Vincent Van Gogh

“The Earth laughs in flowers.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

Who is she who shines like the Morning Star Beautiful as the moon, Radiant as the sun, Awe-inspiring as a cascade of starlight. Song of Songs 6:10

You that come to birth And bring the mysteries Your voice-thunder makes us happy Roar, lion of the heart, And tear me open. Rumi

Our task must be to free ourselves . . . by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty. Albert Einstein

Where the light inside you touches the light of creation there you will find true joy, beauty and power.

i thank You God for this amazing day: for the leaping greenly spirits of trees and a blue true dream of sky: and for everything which is natural which is infinite which is yes ee cummings

Snowy Owl at Jones Beach

  I have just returned from a most excellent trip to Africa.   It is amazing and inspiring to see and experience the varieties of life.  The collage above shows a few of the birds that I saw and photographed.  This is but a small percentage of the birds that exist …

The way that the serpent is best known in the Bible is as the cunning traitor who convinces Eve to eat the “forbidden fruit.”  But there are other representations that are less well known.   There are serpent priests, a feathered serpent, a healing serpent and a wise serpent.  (Chapter 13 …

The name Eve, in Hebrew means “life.”  There is a tree in the Garden of Eden also named “life.” In fact, its name is the “Tree of Life.”  Rather than forbidden fruit, this tree is the Tree of Eve.  It was only later in translation that humankind in general and …

Eve is the Hero of the Garden of Eden (chapter 3 from 21 Secrets of the Bible): The Hebrew name of Eve is Hawwah. This word means both life and breath. Without Eve there would not be any life (with its precious breath) here on our Earth.

Miriam Robbins Dexter, PhD in linguistics, author of the book Whence the Goddess graciously took the time to read my book and offer notes on the etymologies I used.  Her knowledge is not only vast (she found mistakes that only a true expert would have noticed) but she was extremely …

Janet Rudolph, One Gods, The Mystic Pagan’s Guide to the Bible   Janet Rudolph’s insightful interpretation of the Tanakh, the Bible also known as the Old Testament, draws on comparative linguistics, comparative religion, cross-cultural myths, and archaeology, as well as a wholesome world view perceived in the course of her …

Rachel Pollack wrote the following about ONE GODS A fascinating book. Janet Rudolph has done some strong research, much deeper than the usual deconstruction of patriarchal myths and Bible passages. I really like the respect and awareness she brings to the Hebrew scriptures, along with a strong cross-cultural approach. Rachel …

The inspiration of Susan Tapia Leon’s cover art for 21 Secrets of the Bible: Intention for The Creation The Breath . . . at the beginning of time Animus and Anima, God and Goddess blowing inside the spiral. One breath goes in . . .the other is directed at the …

ONE GODS: A Mystic Pagan’s Guide to the Bible is available at these websites: ONE GODS and at Amazon.com.

The world is what you think it is There are no limits Energy flows where attention goes Now is the moment of power To love is to be happy with All power comes from within Effectiveness is the measure of truth This is the final of the seven principles of …

The world is what you think it is There are no limits Energy flows where attention goes Now is the moment of power To love is to be happy with All power comes from within Effectiveness is the measure of truth   Sufism is the study of the inner mysticism …

The world is what you think it is There are no limits Energy flows where attention goes Now is the moment of power To love is to be happy with All power comes from within Effectiveness is the measure of truth My deepest understanding of this principle comes from the …

The world is what you think it is There are no limits Energy flows where attention goes Now is the moment of power To love is to be happy with All power comes from within Effectiveness is the measure of truth This principle is probably the most familiar to anyone …

The world is what you think it is There are no limits Energy flows where attention goes Now is the moment of power To love is to be happy with All power comes from within Effectiveness is the measure of truth I love this principle.   In fact this principle has …

The world is what you think it is There are no limits Energy flows where attention goes Now is the moment of power To love is to be happy with All power comes from within Effectiveness is the measure of truth This is perhaps the hardest of the principles for …

The world is what you think it is There are no limits Energy flows where attention goes Now is the moment of power To love is to be happy with All power comes from within Effectiveness is the measure of truth Many, many years ago I taught students preparing to …

I am delighted and honored to have been accepted as an alaka’i candidate meaning that I am now training to become a teacher of Huna. What is Huna? In brief, Huna is a form of Hawaiian shamanism that is taught by Serge Kahili King. Huna means secret, but not the …

Last week the Supreme Court legalized marriage for gay couples with all the rights of hetero couples.   HOO-RAH!  It is well past time.   In some “religious” strongholds people are resisting saying that the tradition of marriage between one man and one woman goes back to the Bible.   Adam and Eve, …

  The serpent is probably one of the most complicated and difficult spiritual symbols to understand and incorporate into one’s own spiritual life in all its multi-faceted elements.   In some stories a serpent – say a behemoth or a leviathan –  is a monster which needs to be slain.   In …

In doing research for my book ONE GODS: The Mystic Pagan’s Guide to the Bible I have noticed that many symbols of deep religious meaning are multi-faceted and have several layers of meaning.   For some the layers of meaning go deeper as one becomes more adept but for some, the multi-layers …

When the world is created at the beginning of Genesis, God begins by separating out apparent opposites.   Heaven/Earth   Light/Dark Day/Night  Male/Female.   The word used is the Hebrew word BEDEL.    The root letter for this word are the three letters examined in the previous three blogs:  B-D-L. B or Beit, Beis …

The letter dal or dalet, means door in Hebrew.   Its ancient glyph is this:  This older glyph of dal is an image of a door hanging downward, like a curtain, able to swing in any direction. The door as symbol has a long and sacred history of representing thresholds and …

Lam or lamed is the twelfth of twenty-two letters meaning that it sits squarely in the center of the aleph-beis.   As others have pointed out, this makes lam the heart of the aleph-beis just as our human heart is the center of our own bodies.   Lam is also …

Ancient Hebrew was written with pictographs much like (and sometimes the same as) Egyptian hieroglyphs. Hieroglyph literally means sacred script. Glyph means writing and hiero means sacred or holy.   In this and my next few posts I am going to look at three letters which form a very important word …

This is the cover for my book ONE GODS: The Mystic Pagan’s Guide to the Bible.   From my book: ONE GODS: The Mystic Pagan’s Guide to the Bible is a shamanic exploration of the Bible’s great journeys, struggles, quests, heroes, and heroines. Janet Rudolph’s ground-breaking book is an extra-ordinary look at …

As the days renew and begin to bring new light into our daily lives, I am posting some photos to inspire meditations and thoughts on the cycles of life.   This year the solstice lands during a new moon increasing its power of timing and beginnings.   May your life be filled …

Jerusalem, focal point of the world’s three major patriarchal religions was named for a Goddess.   It is a city dedicated to Venus in Her aspect as the evening star. As viewed from Earth, the planet Venus is special in the heavens because she exists in her twin aspects – morning …

I found this great quote in the book Urban Shaman by Serge Kahili King, Phd.   (A book I highly recommend – it is subtitled A Handbook for Personal and Planetary Transformation based on the Hawaiian Way of the Adventurer). The quote is from CW Leadbeater:  “It is the commonest of …

The world tree always has a bird in the branches and a serpent at the roots.   Look at these two images.  The serpent goddess above from the 2nd century CE, perhaps an early image of a mermaid, shows the goddess and the serpent as one.   The familiar image of Isis …

This post is a partial review of my last several posts:  It is a passage from my book ONE GODS: The Mystic Pagan’s Guide to the Bible Now that we’ve seen goddesses inhabiting trees in the two cultures closest to ancient Israel, wouldn’t it make sense for there to be a …

Now that we’ve seen goddesses living in trees in two cultures that surrounded Israel (Sumeria, Egypt), shouldn’t we be able to find a goddess in a tree in Israel.   Yes, we should!   Here is how we find Her. To find our goddess in a tree, we have to look into …

Inanna in Sumerian, from a seal ca 2334-2154 BCE.  Artist rendition: Samantha Rudolph In the last post, I discussed the images of the Egyptian Isis in the tree.   Egypt was south of the land of Israel. The land north of Israel also had a goddess who lived in a tree. …

What are the mysteries that Moses and Aaron perform “in the sight of the people?” According to Exodus Chapter 4, they are three bits of magic; throwing his staff on the ground which turns into a serpent and then back again to a staff, turning his hand leprous and healing …

There are clues in the Bible that Moses had knowledge of mystery school teachings: The first clue comes from Delphi at Apollo’s temple (photo above).   Inscribed at the temple were the words “know thyself.”  This is a hallmark of mystery school teachings.   A crucial part of “knowing thyself” is recognizing …

The Bible explains the root of Moses’ name. “She” is pharaoh’s unnamed daughter: She named him Moses, explaining, “I drew him out of the water.” Exodus 2:10 According to Exodus, the Egyptian pharaoh’s daughter drew Moses out of the water then bestowed a Hebraic name on him – mashah from …

Note: I used this image which is from Machu Picchu because it is a cave below the mountainous temple.   It was common for ancient temples that soared above the earth to be coupled with caves beneath them for ceremonial work.   It seemed appropriate in the vein of Jacob’s ladder (see …

What experiences led Abraham and Sarah to become the matriarch patriarch of a new religion? Led them to beginning  a cultural thread which culminates in a whole new vision of religion?   There were many experiences but the focus today is looking at their possible initiation into the Mysteries. In spiritual …

Arguably the most famous Mystery School came from Greece; the Eleusinian mysteries. But the Egyptian mysteries were far older. According to Plato, Solon, a Greek statesman, met with Egyptian priests in the sixth century BCE. One of the priests said to Solon, “O Solon, Solon, you Greeks are never anything …

What  are the Mystery School lessons? Below are the words of those who experienced it for themselves, witnessed the initiations, or heard about them from first-hand accounts. What does it mean to experience the lessons of a mystery school? As I discussed in my last blog, one of the primary …

Mystery schools were peppered throughout the ancient world. Renowned schools once existed in Greece, Egypt, and Mesoamerica. Mystery Schools, both ancient and modern, explore the nature of life/death/rebirth as they take their initiates through experiences of spirit.   Death and rebirth experiences are especially key to the living a rich spiritual …

I used these photos to illustrate this post because the animals are all engaged in play with obvious breath actions.   Felines do it really well.   The mama lion is playing with her cubs, the gibbon baby is playing with his father, and two baby snow leopards are rough-housing.   Breath is …

Breath and its vibrations contain power – deep, mysterious, sacred power. The animal world has its own vibratory essence as do we. In our human bodies, we can tap into this vibration of sacred mystery because of our ability to use sounds and words. Certain sounds hold uniquely powerful energy. …

As pointed out by David Tame who has written extensively about music; “Life and matter was created through a sacred word or words spoken by the first god or gods in the myths of the Hebrews, the Celts, the Chinese, the Egyptians, the American Indians and the Quechua Maya.”[i] In …

What are the essentials one needs to live? Most people would answer food, shelter and clothing. All true, but a person can go for a long time without shelter or clothing (depending on the environment), weeks without food, less without water. But the time one can go without breath is …

I used this photo with this material because of the importance of breath.   As the quote from Job that I’ve been using states:  “Ask now the beasts . . .”  This lion (also used in my header) is exhibiting excellent breath. I had material leading up to this Biblical Chant …