Mama Donna Henes's Page

Being an urban being, I have never had a garden where I grew food. My terrace is devoted exclusively to flowers, food for the soul, for sure, but with the exception of the day lilies they are not edible.

My container garden gives me immense pleasure. I love digging in the dirt with my bare hands. No gloves or trowels for this Queen, thank you very much. I cherish the feel of the earth on my skin and don’t mind getting it under my nails. That is why the Goddess invented scrub brushes and soap, a… Continue

People everywhere seem to have regarded themselves as sufficiently ridiculous as to require some serious comeuppance, judging by the universality of Festivals of Fools. The special Fool Days are dedicated to a ritualized recognition of our all-too-human folly. On Days of the Fool there are no intermediary clowns. Everybody gets to play the fool.

Within this ceremonial context, we can act out an upside-down idiot reality with absolute impunity. We are free to tease and taunt, safely flaunt our f… Continue

I am writing this in the dark. It is Earth Hour, a rolling blackout around the world intended as a visual, visceral vote for increased awareness and concern about climate change. In fact, it is the first-ever global vote on anything.

All of my lights are out. I can see the Manhattan skyline from the windows in my loft in Exotic Brooklyn. It is eerily dark. Landmarks and iconic buildings everywhere from the Empire State building to the Eiffel Tower, to the Golden Gate Bridge to the Great Pyramid… Continue

When the 13th day on the month lands on a Friday, the culturally unfavorable attributes of each are multiplied by infinity. Friday, the day of original sin, the day Jesus died, the day of public hangings, in combination with 13, the number of steps on a gallows, the number of coils of rope in a hangman’s noose, the number of the Death card in the tarot deck, is indubitably designated as a day of portent and doom.

The pitiful suicide note of a window washer that was found with his body in a gas-… Continue

When Kate Clinton invited me to conduct the purification ceremony at a public event she organized for the eve of the inauguration called, Sage the White House, I was delighted. Certainly, after eight long years of dirty deals, dirty politics, dirty wars and dirty little secrets our country was in need of a deep cleansing. And I have a lot of experience as a public blesser.

But focusing our purification intention on the White House was too narrow, I thought. So I was pleased when we were forced… Continue