Jade River

Head shot of Jade River happy with chin resting on hand. She wears Priestess rings and a tailored shirt and jacket.
Jade River, in Madison, Wisconsin, circa 1983, when Jade and Lynnie Levy co-founded the Re-formed Congregation of the Goddess- International.

Jade River was born July 2, 1950, and passed into the eternal arms of the Goddess on July 20, 2020. Jade River cofounded the Re-formed Congregation of The Goddess—International (RCG-I). RCG-I is one of the first, legally incorporated, tax-exempt religions serving the women’s spiritual community.

Jade also created the Women’s Thealogical Institute (WTI), the first national organization to offer in-depth, multidimensional training for women seeking education in Goddess religion and woman-centered spirituality. For some students, WTI culminates in ordination as priestesses.

Jade River authored several books, including: To Know: A Guide to Women’s Magic and Spirituality (1990), and Tying the Knot: A Gender-Neutral Guide to Handfastings or Weddings for Pagans and Goddess Worshippers (2004).

Jade River and Lynnie Levy, editor, began in 1983 to produce a quarterly newsletter called Of a Like Mind (OALM). OALM ran for 18 years, connecting women of the Goddess community internationally. Also in 1983, Jade River and Lynnie Levy started gathering information to form a congregation. They incorporated it, getting 501 (c)(3) status in 1984, as The Re-formed Congregation of the Goddess. Lynnie said that they worked in spiritual partnership within it for 37 years until Jade’s passing in July of 2020.

Jade River earned her B.S. degree in administration of private and voluntary agencies at Eastern Kentucky University. Her professional career was in women’s employment and training. She eventually became the Executive Director of Employment Options in Madison, Wisconsin. For nearly 40 years, Jade River served as a full-time Priestess for RCG-I.

See also:

LGBT Religious Archives Network, Oral History, Jade River. http://www.lgbtran.org/Interview.aspx?ID=9

Mother’s Brew, Lost Womyn’s Space, June 23, 2011, http://lostwomynsspace.blogspot.com/2011/06/mothers-brew.html

River, Jade, “Three Times a Priestess,” in Stepping Into Ourselves. Ed. Anne Key and Candace Kant. Las Vegas, NV: Goddess Ink, Ltd, 131-38.

Williams, Kathie D., “Louisville’s Lesbian Feminist Union: A Study in Community Building,” in Carryin’ on in the Lesbian and Gay South, ed. John Howard. New York: New York University Press, pp. 224-40. [Based on her thesis about the LFU.]

Jade River obituary: https://www.gundersonfh.com/obituaries/obituary-listings?obId=17508895