37: Meeting the Black Goddesses and a Decolonial Worldview with Dr. Giavanni Washington

Today’s show explores the Black Goddesses, Goddess energy, what it all means, and how this power can be used for healing. Join us to learn more about this fascinating subject!Dr. Giavanni Washington is the creator of the Black Goddess Within Oracle Deck. With over 1000 decks sold, her oracle deck is the only one featuring photos of black women embodying the Goddesses from Africa. Dr. Giavanni comes from a long line of educators, moonshine makers, and medicine women who took away pain even when rupture left them with only what was in the pantry. As an intuitive healer with a special knack for recognizing the best version of you, she fervently believes you can reach the next level, and she stands at the threshold, gently supporting your migration from one plane to the next. Show Highlights:Dr. Giavanni’s journey to her work with the Black GoddessesHow Giavanni’s religious background with Catholic, Baptist, and Methodist affiliations affected her childhood yearsWhy the Black Goddesses have a lot of potential for healingHow and why she created the Black Goddess Within Oracle DeckWhy the Black Goddess Within Oracle Deck features images of real black women with diversityHow people can recover their ancestral storylines that have been destroyed in the colonial processWhy there are other ways of connecting with ancestral storylines outside the bounds of DNAHow people repeat ancestral patterns and get stuck in them How Giavanni’s work helps people uncover their blood, spirit, milk, and martyr lines of lineageWhy Giavanni refers to her work as “ancestral restoration” (and shares the personal example of her triplet younger brothers)How decolonization and anti-racism compare and contrast with each otherWhy decolonization can be described as “a return to the old ways, the mysteries, beginner’s mind, and right relationship with Mother Earth”How Giavanni’s chart embodies mission, mystery, and transformationHow Giavanni is collaborating with a publisher to produce a new oracle deck of 44 cards with at least 30 Goddesses (Contact her if you would like to participate!)Giavanni’s new project around reparations and how you can help What it means to Giavanni to live in her purposeHear Giavanni’s answers to rapid-fire questions about helpful advice, grounding habits, favorite hot beverage, last meal on Earth, morning routine, an inspiring person, her current favorite Black Goddess, something people might not know, what she’s reading right now, and what brings her joy.Resources:More about Dr. G's program, Change The Narrative, Cross The Threshold & Meet The Goddess Within: bit.ly/ReclaimYourBirthrightConnect with Giavanni:  go.blackgoddesswithin.com Find Giavanni on Instagram and Facebook.Books mentioned in this episode:African Goddess Initiation: Sacred Rituals for Self-Love, Prosperity, and Joy by Abiola AbramsMy Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies by Resmaa Menakem