The Goddess Temple Of Orange County

2/5/2012

I have only been able to visit the Temple once, as I live in the Bay Area and travel to the south doesn't happen often for me.  However, I cherish every moment I've spent with the women of the temple.  They are kind and welcoming, the ritual I was able to attend was beautifully done and I left feeling like a goddess.  The temple is a wonderful space where women are made to feel welcome and safe.  I value the teachings of Rev. Ava and deeply admire the priestesses for their dedication to the goddess and to other women.  

Blessed Be the Goddess Temple of Orange County!

8/8/2014 Updated review

Since my reviews are always buried, reported, etc, here's another one for the benefit of all humanity.  

THIS PLACE IS NOT A CHURCH, IT IS A CULT.  If you're interested in giving up your rationality, compromising your beliefs, allowing others to browbeat you into activity or non-activity at will, and the blackmail that comes with being involved in a cult, this place is for you.  Just carefully read all the five star reviews here and you will see a laundry list of unstable, manic, indoctrinated new age swindlers who enjoy the comfort of each others psychotic company..... unless of course you're reading the review of an easily duped little lamb that's walked straight in to the financial and emotional slaughter that often occurs as a result of associating with this toxic filth.  

I am no longer afraid.  Don't be a fool like I was.  

Oh, if you know me personally, and feel uncomfortable about this without also feeling the need to disassociate yourself from this place, do me a favor and remove your sickness from my life.  Thank You.

9/12/2014

Horribly Transphobic!!  From their website:
goddesstempleoc.org/gend…

It's pretty horrible.  Read it if you dare.

4/14/2015

I came here with my best friend over the weekend, and really enjoyed it. I could have stayed in Dianna's Grotto forever! The music and incense is really soothing and calming. Tracy is the coolest person ever, she showed me around and made me feel right at home! I really enjoyed this place. We went for Venus Hour, got to talk and drink wine, which was really nice. I haven't been to an actual service yet, but just the set up of the place and everything about Tracy makes me want to come back all the time!

4/26/2015

Wildly transphobic. How can a place that claims to elevate women put down other sisters (when trans women need the most support in a world where they're more likely to be killed than cis women)? Their gender rules are archaic, and it drives away people in the area who would otherwise attend services. They really need to rethink their gender essentialism based on genitals.

6/12/2011

As soon as I walked in the doors three years ago I felt right at home, finally a place where Women can share sacred space in Orange County. A place where Clarity, Vision and honoring of Women's Sacred journey's are of upmost importance.
  Ava's Queen teachings have changed my life for the better in such a profound manner . . .  completing the cycle Maiden, Mother, Queen and WiseWoman Crone.
   Throughout the years  many great teachers come and present workshops & rituals  . . . The Amazon Tribe, Z Budapest, Barbara Biziou, Max Dashu, Anique Radiant Heart and many more.
   Thank you Ava for building this sacred space!

1/11/2012

I have been attending the Goddess Temple of Orange County for 4 years now, and it has been a great blessing to me. The Temple, Ava, the Naiads and the Community Priestesses are amazingly dedicated, welcoming, and impressive in their ritual skill. I learn so much and grow so much with every visit!

The teachings offered at Sunday Services are timely and relevant. The energy of the ritual changes depending on the topic they are exploring: playful, serious, scholarly, passionate, graceful, funny, reverent. Attending Sunday Services there is a gift. The Services offer a refreshing drink of woman-centered knowledge you rarely see or hear presented anywhere else with as much detail, solid references, and thorough research as you do here.

I admire the wit, authenticity, and skill with which Temple Presiding Priestess Ava brings everyone of all ages and backgrounds together in her Queens teachings; she is truly a visionary and I can honestly say that these teachings have changed my life for the better. By rising to the occasion of my own inner power, I claimed my inner crown.  I really think this work could help so many women: maidens seeking a refuge from the constant denial of their freedom, mothers who need a break from family obligations so they can get a little "me time" and catch their breath, women in their third and fourth quarters of life who are so often silenced and treated as second-class citizens. I encourage any woman who might be curious to attend one of Ava's Queens workshops or sessions, and hear what she has to say. I feel much more open, free, and powerful in my own life because I did.

The Naiads and trained Temple volunteers are exquisitely sensitive to what any attendee might need: music, cleansing ceremonies, water, snacks, a clean, beautiful sacred space, well-tended altars, thoughtful rituals. Whenever I have been there for an event, my every need is anticipated and taken care of ahead of time! They work really hard, and yet make it look so easy because their joy shines through their every action.

The space itself is glorious: the result of ongoing attention to the altars, and heart-centered creation of new sacred spaces as needs arise. I have spent many peaceful moments in Kwan Yin's Place of Peace, and Diana's twinkling Grotto.

I regularly bring my group, the Bloodroot Honey Priestess Tribe, to visit the Goddess Temple and host events there. We are always received with such love and appreciation, our events are well-attended, and we have made some wonderful friends among the priestesses and Temple members. If you are thinking about booking the space for your event or ritual, be prepared to be impressed with your experience!

I send all love and blessings to the women of the Goddess Temple of Orange County. Long may she stand!

***UPDATED 11/30/12***

I thought I loved this place before, but it has just gotten better and better! As of my last visit, many changes have taken place in the Temple and the energy has raised to an even higher, more loving, more spiritually-connected level. I love to see organizations like this growing and changing to meet an even wider variety of needs in the community, and more than ever I feel like this is the Temple of my heart. Great work, sisters!

12/4/2011

NEW INFO! I've heard disturbing news that I'm being maligned as "crazy" within the Goddess community. You don't become a top lifestyles journalist, fine dining restaurant critic, automotive journalist, anti-corruption activist and Hollywood publicist unless you are not only sane, but completely brilliant. Please Google me, Goddess folks, to see my work for top publications, companies and entrepreneurs.

What IS "crazy"? At the end of this review, Ava blames ME for neglecting to watch my child. THIS IS A LIE. I have the email that says ALL children under 13 were banned. And, of course, I was the only parent who watched ALL kids in the library during service. Blaming the victims again, Ava?!

Original review: To all seekers who consider crossing this threshold: BE AWARE!! I attended this "temple" for three years. I also attended with my daughter who was three at the time. I was fooled by the illusion that this place is really a church when in fact it is a CULT run by an abuser. I first noticed big problems when I decided to get involved with priestess training. During "training," Ava Park was dismissive, rude and did not teach me anything about Goddess spirituality that I didn't already know. When "first priestess" Morrighan (Desiree McGill Rozenberg) came along things went from bad to a complete disaster. Morrighan started kicking out anyone who dissented with her changes, vision or anyone who wasn't happy with Ava's abuse. Next, the two women pushed the board of directors to ban children. They relented. Tell me this Goddess folk: HOW CAN YOU BAN CHILDREN FROM A MOTHER-CENTERED SPACE?? My daughter was devastated as she was literally banned from what she considered her spiritual home. She was only six years old at the time and still shows the scars of her emotional abuse at the hands of the "temple leaders." And let's not forget that a former temple priestess recently WON a tough and long-fought defamation lawsuit against Ava Park. Part of the lawsuit's resolution involved Ava having to write an apology letter to those women she had LIED to about this former priestess. She also had to pay a settlement. The "temple" is a cult and the leaders don't seem to care about anything except their egos and their reputation within the larger Goddess community.

And this is my reply to Ava Park's comments below. The "facts" about the lawsuits that you made below are completely and utterly simplified and do not even come close to expressing all the horrors that a former priestess went through after Ava had defamed her to her employers and to other "leaders" in the Goddess community. This is the first I've heard that it was MY fault children were banned at the temple. That's pretty hilarious (sarcasm) since I was the only Mother at the temple who brought her child their regularly, who watched her kid like a hawk, who taught her how to priestess the temple itself and who offered to watch their children during services in the library. And, if my child was four years old when the bad behavior was happening, why did it take two years to ban children? We were banned when she was six years old. Your "facts" don't even make sense. You got a negative review BECAUSE YOU ARE A CULT LEADER!

Just in case she deletes this inane comment below, which she posted May 8, 2012: "Unfortunately anyone can post anything they wish whether it is true or not. No one has ever won a lawsuit against the Temple. A woman sued us for burning herself on a candle. That suit was dismissed by the judge after a two year investigation as being "without merit." The woman was awarded nothing. Our second lawsuit was a defamation suit. That resolved in a private agreement, which both parties agreed not to speak the particulars of. No one "won." It did not go to court, but was settled privately in a lawyer's office. The third suit (by the same woman who brought the first suit) was in small claims court for about 3,600 and the judge ruled in our favor, and awarded the woman nothing. These are the fact that are documented in the public record. The ruling we made on "no children under 13" was made specifically because of this woman writing this negative review against us. She refused to supervise her )then four year old) child when at the Temple. The child was left alone in rooms and was not attended well. This endangered the child and created a potential liability situation for the Temple. After great consideration, and considerable pain on our part, we came to the conclusion that the only solution was to not permit children under thirteen any longer. One great benefit to this is that women with children need a space "for themselves," where they are not "always on duty," caring for children, but can receive the spiritual nourishment of the Temple without distraction. We wish this woman writing this negative review very well in her positive actions in the world and hope t

1/10/2012

This is an Amazing Temple. The energy is wonderful, the Priestesses in the temple are delightful and make you feel like a Goddess (because you are!) I love the many different altars and prayer space that is inside. You can tell that much love and dedication have been put into this Space and it really is a Pleasure to walk within it! And when you walk back out into the world, expect to find blessings round every corner! I also recommend Avas' Queen workshop ! Lots to learn and be inspired by!

1/26/2012 Updated review

The Goddess Temple of Orange county is a beautiful and truly empowering sacred space. and there is truly no place like it in the world. Their rituals are deep, unique, and meaningful. You walk into their doors and are able to just be you, with no mask. The women of this Temple are truly amazing! They work to make sure that you know the space, how to work with the many altars, and so much more. The also work to make sure that each women is welcomed. The Leadership of Ava and Lady Morrighan is incredible! They compliment each other soo well. And they lead with amazing integrity and wisdom! Each time I enter their doors I am reminded what Sisterhood truly is, and just how imperative that is. Not only just to me, but for the world at large. These women are truly changing the world in truly power, great, and positive ways!

6/26/2011

I love the community of women here, everyone has always been kind and supportive, and the teachings are really fantastic. They make a point to create an experience that is non-denominational - truly, every woman, and her beliefs are welcomed.

1/18/2012

I was a priestess there for several years, before any serious issues arose. I always kept back a bit due to my busy life outside of the temple, but was involved with several of the ritual circles for quite some time. As a member, I did experience a great deal of spiritual empowerment, but I am smart enough to take out of my experiences what I need and toss away the rest. I learned alot there, and I will never ever forget it.

I give it three stars (and not five) because of the drama that always seemed to circling the "inner group" of women/preistesses and the effect it had on the rest of the women who chose not to be part of it. I used to give tidings at first, but I couldn't continue and eventually I got a letter in the mail asking me if I still wanted to be a member. About the same time my best friend got the same letter and she left because she was insulted.  Personally, I never felt any pressure to give them money. The events did cost money, but if I didn't have the money, I simply didn't go and that was OK. I am aware of the lawsuit situation, and I was priestess there when the incident happened years ago. Both parties are at fault in their own way, but that is based on what I witnessed. I will not discuss it any further. I will not contribute to the raging debate it has caused.

When Morrighan came on, it did change (I had already stopped going regularly by that point), and at a particular halloween event I was highly uncomfortable in the ritual. I was able to sit out, but the ritual was not a ritual - it was basically an AA meeting without the alcoholics - choose your bad emotion you want to conquer (an elder represented each one), talk about it in a group with that elder and others who had the same thing (who said I want to vocalize this!) and then ritually cleanse it away by an appropriate method in alignment with that emotion. As an empath who picks up on emotions, it created a whirlwind of negative emotion swirling in the room making me very sick and i was not allowed to leave because they had closed the doors and I knew that I could not break the sacred space (I was a trained priestess after all). I sat out to the side and had a full emotional breakdown. The original group of priestesses who created such beauty is now gone, I had discovered, and sadly I walked away knowing that part of my spiritual quest with the goddess temple was now done.  What I learned there set me on my path today, and I don't regret it, but I don't really want to go back as a member.

I will be back for only isolated events (I will be there next week for something special) and the drum circles from time to time. They are awesome, and the facilitators rent the space for the evening, so it is something unique to the group, and not a goddess temple sponsored event. I highly recommend it and you won't encounter any of the issues discussed by other people if you avoid the sabbats and Sunday services.

6/6/2011

I went twice here while on vacation in Orange County and was hugely disappointed with the program and manner of the women and being asked for money at every turn.  I was considering joining at a later date when I relocate to OC but after these two experiences I won't waste my time. Also the women were unpleasant and cliquish as if strangers did not belong there and only those who have large wallets belonged. I left feeling hurt and disgusted at such blatant disregard for a newcomer's feelings and obvious donation gouging. I did give a donation but it my $80.00 was sneered at and I was made to feel unwelcome on top of that. I certainly won't pay money to be mistreated by people who call themselves "goddesses". The Temple also discriminates against men. One of the events posted for July mentions that the founder Ava Park has a goal of "bringing down the entire modern patriarchy!". No thanks. Not the kind of "spirituality" I was looking for.

1/13/2012

We have very few Goddess temples around the world and I am very grateful to have one within driving distance of where I live.  I remember when this was simply a dream - but  Ava made the dream come true and now with the help of many dedicated women, it continues to be a reality!  My personal experience of the Goddess  Temple of OC and all the women who serve here has only been positive, uplifting and supportive.  Quite frankly, I am in awe of the effort it takes to provide this place for the community 365 days a year.  The fact that this place has growm and thrives without the backing of some religious organization with deep pockets is a testament to the hard work and grace of those in service here.   I would encourage anyone to stop by and marvel at the beautiful sacred space that has been created here.  Check it out.  Attend a service, a class or drumming circle or any of the numerous events that go on constantly.  Like with all things, you must see and experience it to know if it speaks to your own heart and mind.  Stay around if calls to you and provides spiritual nourishment.   When it no longer works for you, that's usually Goddess telling you she has something else in store for you!  Look for Hecate shining her light for your fresh, new path!