About Me

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About Me

Bright Blessings! I'm Kelli, an unschooling mom of these four beauties

Rhanna (14), Thane (8), Emrys (4), and Gwyneth 14 months)

Raven Moonshadow interviewed me for the December 08 issue of Pagan Moonbeams and it answers some

relevant questions so you can get to know me a bit better. :)

Raven, thanks so much for your warm introduction!

Local Pagan Spotlight

Kelli Lincoln

By: Raven Moonshadow

There is no doubt that the Goddess and God are ever present in our lives. They are in everything and everyone. Sometimes we feel an affinity to a specific God or Goddess and maybe we want to show our association to that God or Goddess, but realistically there may be reasons why a statue may not really work for each of us. Since prehistoric times, dolls have been a part of humankind. Dolls have been used by children as playthings or been used to depict different times, cultures, religious figures, etc. Dolls have been used for all sorts of things. There are many types of dolls all over the world. In Greece and Rome, girls even dedicated their wooden dolls to goddesses after they were considered too “grown-up” to play with dolls. Dolls have been made of plastic, wood, clay, porcelain, as well as soft cloth material. There are god and goddess dolls as well, of all varieties. They can be used during High Day and Low Day rituals, Esbat rituals, as your representation of the god or goddess of your choosing, as an addition to your altar, or any other way you wish to incorporate Him or Her into your life.

I have had the opportunity to get to know Kelli Lincoln, creator of some beautiful goddess dolls. Kelli’s style of doll makes them usable for anyone and everything. She works with each person on an individual basis to be certain that your goddess is truly your own. Below is the interview that I had with her regarding her path, her dolls and the inspiration behind them. For more information, go to www.dancinggoddessdolls.com. The Goddess truly speaks through Kelli’s work,

and it is easily seen.

1. How long have you been pagan and how would you describe your path?

It was in 1987 that I was made aware that there was a name for the type of person I was, and that there were others like me, so I have been lucky enough to be a part of the Pagan community for 21 years now. I would say that I have

been Pagan all my life, though. My father (who would NOT describe himself as a Pagan) used to say that the forest was our church, and I took it to heart. I remember as a young child talking to the Moon (and She answered!), and

kneeling in front of a particular statue of Mary (one of the only living Goddesses in our American culture) on the way to school and having long talks with Her, too. I would describe myself as Goddess-centered, since that is where the

majority of my energy goes, but I do honor the male divinity all around us as well, since that feels balanced to me.

2. How do you use goddess dolls in your everyday life?

Well I have Goddess dolls in my everyday life because I create hundreds of them each year, lol, but I think you are asking about the ones I keep for myself. Those I use both to honor the seasons as well as to honor different facets of

myself, as a way to remind myself that I, too, am an aspect of the Goddess.

3. What inspired you to begin using them?

I believe the inspiration for my dolls came from the Goddess Herself! I remember the night vividly; I was in a meditative frame of mind late at night when it occurred to me that the Waldorf dolls I had been making for my children could be adapted into Goddesses, and I had a vision of many children cuddling their Goddesses for comfort as well as lugging them on errands with their moms. I believe strongly that our spirituality can be mundane (part of our normal daily routine) as well as something higher, and I love how my dolls blend the two sides. It has turned out that adults love the dolls as much as children, so they also allow us to honor the child within!

4. Can you tell us about your specific style of doll and how you came up with the design? What kind of special touches go into your dolls to give or add to their magickal properties?

My dolls are an adaptation of the traditional Waldorf style cloth doll, where the face is embroidered on deliberately with no expression, so the child can decide the mood of the doll (which is better for imaginative play). I used the Egyptian River Nile Goddess design for the doll's body, a design I love for its simplicity, but also for its contemplative nature. Arms raised to the heavens in prayer or in celebration – again, you decide, based on your mood! Some of the special touches I put into the dolls are obvious, like the individual embroideries, or necklaces, or hair

ornaments, but a big part of it is the energy I put into each doll, which is more subtle. Nothing is mass produced, and because almost every doll is custom-ordered, for the most part I know where every doll is going, to whom, and why it

has been requested, so I am able to focus on the right sort of energy to put into the doll. That's the magic!

5. Who is your favorite goddess and why? What makes her different than the others?

Oh, well, choosing one is nearly impossible, with the thousands and thousands out there from which to choose. I tend to be drawn to warrior Goddesses, but I do love Persephone. She was the first Goddess in my life; I found her in the

Childcraft Stories of the World encyclopedia as a very young child (I was about 8). Oh, the illustration of her was so beautiful, and I looked at it so often the book naturally opened to that page. Hers was a story unlike anything I had ever read, and something in it called out to a place deep inside of me. What I love about her as an adult is that her story is one of growth and self-acceptance; she illustrates the story every woman lives, from maiden to Queen, and

shows us how to do it with wisdom and grace.

6. Can you tell us what type of effect creating goddess dolls for others has had on your life?

Creating these dolls has changed my life in ways I could never have imagined. When I first had the inspiration, I planned out about a dozen dolls and hoped to try to sell one of each. There are now about 1200 of them out in the

world, and each one has brought with it a new friendship. I have created around myself a community of Goddessloving people from many, many countries, and learned that we are all on the same path, looking for similar enlightenments.

This aspect of the doll making is my biggest blessing.

7. Do you share your knowledge of the goddess' with your children? If yes, in what ways?

Oh, yes, of course! In the first place, they are surrounded by baskets of Goddesses on a daily basis, and I always have some sort of project going on, so they hardly have a chance at NOT being a part of it all. They (the two older ones, ages 12 and 7) ask a lot of questions and we do a lot of the cultural research together, so they are actually pretty knowledgeable about different Goddesses of the world. Aside from the dolls, we've used different Goddess cards,

choosing one from a variety of decks I have, and talking about Her message for the day. We also sing a lot of Pagan songs, which I think is one of the best ways to incorporate Pagan themes into our lives in a very normal, celebratory

way. But in the more over-arching sense, too, the Goddess is in our home life, as we celebrate the seasons and Sabbats, and live in a mindful way on this Earth.

8. In addition to the dolls, what other goddess-inspired creations have you made?

I started off with ceramics, actually, creating Goddess statues and painting pottery with the images I now use as embroidery designs (the wonder of technology!) I also use my Goddess embroideries to make quilts, cloth toys, purses,

baby slings, and fun things like cell phone and credit card cases. I enjoy having reminders of the Goddess all around me, and I especially love sharing personalized versions of these things with other Goddess-loving friends.

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Other issues of major importance to me and my family are homebirthing (specifically unassisted homebirthing), homeschooling (specifically unschooling), attachment parenting, children's rights, and putting family first.

Some links you might enjoy:

Liberty, Non-Conformity, Changing the world!

The Ishmael Community

(And read Daniel Quinn's books!!)

Dispelling Mother Culture's Myths from Unhindered Living

Homeschooling / Unschooling

Unschooling.com

Articles by unschooler Sandra Dodd

Articles about homeschooling

Taking Children Seriously (TCS)

Underachievement From the Inside Out (article)

One of my favorite articles about unschooling by Daniel Quinn