“You look like a witch,” he said. -If only! she replied. -If only? What is the merit of being a witch? -I’m going to tell you:
A witch is a woman who is connected to nature; knows the power of plants and understands the language of animals. She travels between the worlds and communicates with the great spirit.
A witch loves herself and all living beings, respects and is able to listen without judging, and heal a broken heart. Being a witch is knowing the power that is inside you, enjoying who you are without belittling anyone. The witches dance and sing without complexes, they decipher the messages of the moon and the wind and bathe naked in rivers and seas.
They do magic in their homes. With a good pot, they warm your body and soul. There are witches who sing and witches who write. Others make bread or sell their creations. You find them in all professions. Some gather around the bonfire on new moon nights, others invent rituals at home and put candles out. And do you know why? Because they are not afraid. They dance and sing in honor of invoking the ancestors who unjustly died. They raise their voices to wake up women that still suffer the spell of centuries of repression. Incantations of self-love are whispered, They pass them from one to the other and record them in their cells. Witches, wizards, and sorceresses roam the four directions healing the world with their gifts.
”“Why has the Christian tradition persisted in reading the story of Adam and Eve in ways that are to women’s detriment: misogyny, sexism, the fear that women really are powerful so they must be kept down?” asks Bird. Over the years, as my relationship to religion has changed and my belief in a Christian god has dissipated, I’ve found myself wondering about Eve.
She strikes me as a character deserving of so much more depth, a curious and rebellious young woman who was willing to test her place in the world in order to dream of a better one. Even in paradise, she knew something was being kept from her, and she was willing to break the illusion of satisfaction in complacency. It was ingrained in me that my painful periods were her fault, but I wonder if my desire for liberation from a heteronormative, white patriarchy didn’t also start with her. Eventually, I gained an understanding about what happened to me in my room with the pastor’s son. It was painful, but being able to name and condemn that behavior was so much more freeing than living with an untruthful story. Naming our monsters means questioning our place in their world. Patriarchy leads us to believe the men at the top can save us, but that’s an illusion meant to keep us underneath them. The men at the top, the patriarchs in the sky, they aren’t coming to set us free. It’s the snakes, the fruit, the trees, and each other that will.”
My grandmother once gave me a tip: In difficult times, move forward in small steps. Do what you have to do, but little by little. Don’t think about the future or what may happen tomorrow.
Wash the dishes. Remove the dust. Write a letter. Make a soup.
You see?
Advance step by step. Take a step and stop. Rest a little. Praise yourself. Take another step. And then another.
You won’t notice, but your steps will grow more and more. And the time will come when you can think about the future without crying.
“As a proponent of women’s liberation and the practice of our Mysteries, I seek to develop an identity that is whole, yet wholly female. . . . One of the ancient meanings of the five-pointed star is our own human form with head and four limbs. We are five-pointed stars or mini-universes (or goddesses) each containing within us the Air of our thoughts, the Fire of our actions, the Water of our emotions, the Earth of our bodies, and the Spirit of our psychic abilities and souls. A good exercise consists of taking the star position (either standing or lying down) with arms outstretched to either side, and legs apart. Imagine yourself whole and flowing through all the qualities that each point of the star represents. Thus we can begin to undo the restrictions imposed by socialized gender roles and affirm our potential in all areas. . . . We need our darkness, our dreams, our sensitivity, our compassion urgently, for these are some of the lost aspects of ourselves, and of our magic. But we also need to be strong, independent, and free. With the Star it becomes easier to reclaim them all in our own image. In such a universe, both women and men can be free to be whatever they are naturally inclined to be, without guilt or false pride.” ~ Shekhinah Mountainwater, Ariadne’s Thread: A Workbook of Goddess Magic, 1991 Art: Josie Wren @josie_wren on Instagram https://etsy.me/375pLpB #SacredSistersFullMoonCircle #Spirituality #WomensWisdom #WomensEmpowerment #RedTent #SacredFeminine #Goddess #GoddessCircle #GoddessStudies #CyclicalLiving #WheeloftheYear #Mythology #Magick #Folklore #FolkTradition #BeautyTruthandLove #TheStar
Crone’s Return by Kay Louise Turner Can you feel Crone’s Return?Its bubbling, swirling. On the boil.Women’s Wisdom uncoupling from silence.Hag is calling. Mighty staff in hand. Pounding the Earth. Which now quakes and shakes with her rhythmic insistence.The power of the Ancient is reclaiming its place.The symphony completed. Feminine synergy.The wielding Axe from the battle won. Laughing witches gathering again in circle,Reinstate the visibility of Medicine WomenAs integral to community’s thriving.The position of Elder is understood and revered once more. A great cleansing of the collective is underway,The disinfecting rage of the Dark Goddess WomanEradicates pathogenic patriarchal thought forms andHeals our womb from the pus of patriarchal infection. As her ferocity replaces meekness and people-pleasing passesAs she takes up space. We take up space.Biddy is back. Interfering with clear intent. Freedom. Pleasure. Embodiment. Sovereignty. Self-Leadership.Thriving Earth. From the upcoming Girl God Anthology, The Crone Initiation and Invitation: Women speak on the Menopause Journey Aleah Chapin – Artist
“When winter comes to a woman’s soul, she withdraws into her inner self, her deepest spaces. She refuses all connection, refutes all arguments that she should engage in the world. She may say she is resting, but she is more than resting: She is creating a new universe within herself, examining and breaking old patterns, destroying what should not be revived, feeding in secret what needs to thrive . . . Look into her eyes, this winter woman. In their gray spaciousness you can see the future. Look out of your own winter eyes. You too can see the future.” ~ Patricia Monaghan, Seasons of the Witch Art: Alphonse Mucha, “Winter” Tap or click on image for full depiction #SacredSistersFullMoonCircle #Spirituality #WomensWisdom #WomensEmpowerment #RedTent #Goddess #GoddessStudies #GoddessCircle #SacredFeminine #CyclicalLiving #WheeloftheYear #Mythology #Magick #Folklore #FolkTradition #BeautyTruthandLove #Winter #WinterWoman #WinterSolstice
She Let GoShe let go. Without a thought or a word, she let go.She let go of fear. She let go of the judgments.She let go of the confluence of opinions swarming around her head.She let go of the committee of indecision within her.She let go of all the ‘right’ reasons. Wholly and completely,without hesitation or worry, she just let go.She didn’t ask anyone for advice. She didn’t read abook on how to let go… She didn’t search the scriptures.She just let go.She let go of all of the memories that held her back.She let go of all of the anxiety that kept her from moving forward.She let go of the planning and all of the calculations about how to do it just right.She didn’t promise to let go.She didn’t journal about it.She didn’t write the projected date in her day-timer.She made no public announcement and put no ad in the paper.She didn’t check the weather report or read her daily horoscope.She just let go.She didn’t analise whether she should let go.She didn’t call her friends to discuss the matter.She didn’t do a five-step Spiritual Mind Treatment.She didn’t call the prayer line.She didn’t utter one word. She just let go.No one was around when it happened.There was no applause or congratulations.No one thanked her or praised her.No one noticed a thing.Like a leaf falling from a tree, she just let go.There was no effort. There was no struggle.It wasn’t good and it wasn’t bad.It was what it was, and it is just that.In the space of letting go, she let it all be.A small smile came over her face.A light breeze blew through her.And the sun and the moon shone forevermore.Here’s to giving ourselves the gift of letting go…There’s only one Guru ~ you.―Rev. Safire Rose WILD WOMAN SISTERHOOD
GreatCosmicMothersUnite 