I was in circle once a long time ago and our leader was called out suddenly. One of the women among us, Rebekah, began a song. One by one myself and the women lying around me on the floor began to sing along with her. Soon we were humming, and harmonizing, singing and swaying as we allowed the words of this chant to infuse our very bodies with the truth of it's words. I sing this very often to myself to bless me when I most need it.
My body is the body of the Goddess
My body is the body of the Goddess
My body is a living temple of love
My body is a living temple fo love
This song is like the soothing waves of the sea to me. I sing it over and over again until I know I am this Goddess of love and holiness, until all shame and guilt wash away, until I know beyond knowing ~ in that deep river beneath the river of my soul ~ that I am bright, white, pure, holy, blessed, sacred, Woman.
May You Know This Feeling,
Melissa
Your Body is The Body of the Goddess
"May your body be blessed.
May you realize that your body is a faithful and beautiful friend of
your soul.
May you recognize that your senses are sacred thresholds.
May you realize that Holiness is mindful gazing, mindful feeling,
mindful listening,
and mindful touching.
May your senses always enable you to celebrate the universe and the
mystery
and possibilities in your presence here.
May Eros bless you.
May your senses gather you and bring you home."
~Celtic Blessing
May you realize that your body is a faithful and beautiful friend of
your soul.
May you recognize that your senses are sacred thresholds.
May you realize that Holiness is mindful gazing, mindful feeling,
mindful listening,
and mindful touching.
May your senses always enable you to celebrate the universe and the
mystery
and possibilities in your presence here.
May Eros bless you.
May your senses gather you and bring you home."
~Celtic Blessing
Earth my body, water my blood, air my breath and fire my spirit!
The body is a sacred garment. It is your first and last garment. It is what you enter life in, and what you depart with, and it should be treated with honor."
~~ Martha Graham
Quoted in 'Divining the Body' by Jan Phillips
~~ Martha Graham
Quoted in 'Divining the Body' by Jan Phillips
Revealing Mystery ~ Pomegranate
In the ancient and medieval worlds, pomegranates symbolized birth and death, being itself capable of bleeding. It was frequently associated with maidens and maiden-goddesses, for its bloodiness was often identified with the menses of an underworld goddess. It had simultaneous positive and negative associations, as cthonic divinities, and in particular Earthmothers, were the sources of Life and of Death, of Health and of Illness, of Fertility and Infertility.
I have been traveling through my own underworld of late. Unearthing roots that have gripped the earth too tightly. Trying to dig out seeds that had been planted long ago, and continue to produce weeds that are choking the life out of what wants to be born now at this stage of my life.
The fruit of the shadow journey is juicy, beautiful, magical and so powerful. Many turn away from such a journey due to the ugliness and death that can be encounter. Its a journey that marks the transition of maiden into Mother, princess into Queen.
Quite a few of my fellow Sisters are in this journey now. I bow to you, your strength, your beauty, and your grace. May we come out on the other end having honed our skill, and mined the treasures of our inner workings.
Blessed Be.
~Above writing by Elena Rego ~ To see her art & photography, click on the Persephone picture in the right hand column of this page.
I have been traveling through my own underworld of late. Unearthing roots that have gripped the earth too tightly. Trying to dig out seeds that had been planted long ago, and continue to produce weeds that are choking the life out of what wants to be born now at this stage of my life.
The fruit of the shadow journey is juicy, beautiful, magical and so powerful. Many turn away from such a journey due to the ugliness and death that can be encounter. Its a journey that marks the transition of maiden into Mother, princess into Queen.
Quite a few of my fellow Sisters are in this journey now. I bow to you, your strength, your beauty, and your grace. May we come out on the other end having honed our skill, and mined the treasures of our inner workings.
Blessed Be.
~Above writing by Elena Rego ~ To see her art & photography, click on the Persephone picture in the right hand column of this page.
Susun Weed on The Blood Mysteries
"Tell me that you feel me reaching out to you from the deep core of your being, from time out of mind. Tell me that you feel me waking up inside you, waking you up to your beauty and your power. Tell me that you are reclaiming your truth and turning a deaf ear to the lies. Tell me that you remember that you are the Goddess. Tell me that you remember that you and I are One.
Blood Mysteries
In the beginning, according to the Wise Woman tradition, everything began, as everything does, at birth. The Great Mother of All gave birth and the earth appeared out of the void. Then the Great Mother of All gave birth again, and again, and again, and people, and animals, and plants appeared on the earth. They were all very hungry. "What shall we eat?" they asked the Great Mother. "Now you eat me," she said, smiling. Soon there were a very great many lives, but the Great Mother of All was enjoying creating and giving birth so much that she didn't want to stop. "Ah," she said smiling, "now I eat you." And so she still does.
We all come from the same mother. She is the wise woman. We all return to her embrace, her bloody-rich womb place, when we die. Every woman is a whole/holy form of her, able to be whole/holy mother of all life, able to be whole/holy destroyer of life. Her power is her blood that flows and flows, her blood which is life and gives life. Every woman's menstrual blood and birth-time blood is a holy mystery.
What are the blood mysteries? Why are they central to the understanding of the Wise Woman tradition.
Blood mysteries teach that menstrual blood and birthing blood are holy blood, power blood, healing blood. The blood mysteries teach us to remember that life and healing come from and return to woman, to the wise woman, to the woman who bleeds and bleeds. And does not die.
Blood mysteries reveal that menstrual (moontime) blood and birth blood are so holy, so full of potential, so full of the void, that they are to be used only to heal, to heal by nourishing. Holy woman-blood is nourishing blood, blood of love, blood of abundance, blood that heals the earth.
Blood mysteries recall the immense power of the bleeding woman. Power enough to share in great nourishing give-away from mother to matrix, give-away of nourisher to nourisher. When we bleed into the ground (in reality or fantasy) our power regrounds as our blood flows through the personal root chakra and into the earth.
Bleeding into the ground, bleeding freely, we know ourselves as women, as nourishers of life, as givers of nourishment to the plants, givers of holy nourishment: our moontime blood.
I am woman giving away nourishment to ensure this planet's life. With my moontime power, my blood, with my birthing power, my blood, I feed the earth who feeds us all. Every month I remember: I am woman. I am earth. I am life. I am nourishment. I am change.
I am woman, blatantly and repeatedly confronted with my changes: hormonal harmonics stirring moon time visions, ovulatory oracles, pre-menstrual crazies, orgasmic knowings, birth ecstasies, breast-feeding bliss, menopausal moods.
I am wholeness. I am woman. I know life, death, pain, and health in my marrow, in my womb. I know the bloody places: the narrow space between life and death, the bloody place of birth, the bloody mess of nourishing life, the bloody flow of letting life go. I am woman. My blood is power. Peaceful power. Peaceful blood.
My blood is holy nourishment. My blood nourishes the growing fetus. My blood becomes milk to nourish the young child. My blood flows into the ground as holy nourishment for the Great Mother, Gaia, Mother Earth.
Gaia, whose ways are bloody. Woman, whose ways are bloody. Blood of nourishment. But bloody. Bloody menstrual blood, bloody birth blood. Blood of peace, nourishing blood. Blood of health/wholeness/holiness, not of sacrifice. The Wise Woman tradition is a bloody-handed woman, a bloody-thighed woman, a woman who gives birth, a woman who sees to the other side of things.
Health/wholeness/holiness is always changing. Life is mysterious, moving in spirals of change. Spirals moving to, through, from the void. Change making the hole so we can see the holy healthy gift of our wholeness.
"Sit, sister, here on the soft green moss, and give your sacred moon blood to the earth, back again to the spiral of life. Let flow your womb's blood red to the green and brown of earth. Sit here. Relax and close your eyes and let the visions come. Rest now and give your moon blood to nourish the mother who nourishes us. Relax and let the visions come."
The time of menstrual bleeding, according to the Wise Woman tradition, is a time of visions. Any woman who pays attention to these visions will find the power of shamans, witch doctors, medicine wo/men.
"Add a bit of red leaf to your herbal mixtures, any red leaf except poison ivy. That will make the medicine strong," says a friend, apprentice to a Native American shaman. And the wise woman inside me whispers: "They do this to evoke the power of menstrual blood."
These are the natural powers of menstruating, menopausal, and post-menopausal women:
* Oneness with the earth as a responsive nurturing presence
* Communication with plants, animals, rocks
* Weather making
* Shape shifting
* Invisibility
* Communication with fairies, devas, elves, dragons, unicorns
* Foreknowledge
* Acutely sensitive senses of smell, taste, hearing, sight, touch
* Healing
The Wise Woman tradition understands healing/wholing as blood mysteries. The blood of birth and death, and the blood of nourishment, these are the natural knowledge of women, these are the things that make us wise.
For permission to reprint this article, contact susunweed@herbshealing.com
Susun Weed - PO Box 64, Woodstock, NY 12498 (fax) 1-845-246-8081
Visit Susun Weed at: www.susunweed.com and www.ashtreepublishing.com
The Goddess is Alive in Every Woman
The True Story of How She Came to Be, How She Disappeared, and How She Returned
c. 1999, Susun S. Weed
Blood Mysteries
In the beginning, according to the Wise Woman tradition, everything began, as everything does, at birth. The Great Mother of All gave birth and the earth appeared out of the void. Then the Great Mother of All gave birth again, and again, and again, and people, and animals, and plants appeared on the earth. They were all very hungry. "What shall we eat?" they asked the Great Mother. "Now you eat me," she said, smiling. Soon there were a very great many lives, but the Great Mother of All was enjoying creating and giving birth so much that she didn't want to stop. "Ah," she said smiling, "now I eat you." And so she still does.
We all come from the same mother. She is the wise woman. We all return to her embrace, her bloody-rich womb place, when we die. Every woman is a whole/holy form of her, able to be whole/holy mother of all life, able to be whole/holy destroyer of life. Her power is her blood that flows and flows, her blood which is life and gives life. Every woman's menstrual blood and birth-time blood is a holy mystery.
What are the blood mysteries? Why are they central to the understanding of the Wise Woman tradition.
Blood mysteries teach that menstrual blood and birthing blood are holy blood, power blood, healing blood. The blood mysteries teach us to remember that life and healing come from and return to woman, to the wise woman, to the woman who bleeds and bleeds. And does not die.
Blood mysteries reveal that menstrual (moontime) blood and birth blood are so holy, so full of potential, so full of the void, that they are to be used only to heal, to heal by nourishing. Holy woman-blood is nourishing blood, blood of love, blood of abundance, blood that heals the earth.
Blood mysteries recall the immense power of the bleeding woman. Power enough to share in great nourishing give-away from mother to matrix, give-away of nourisher to nourisher. When we bleed into the ground (in reality or fantasy) our power regrounds as our blood flows through the personal root chakra and into the earth.
Bleeding into the ground, bleeding freely, we know ourselves as women, as nourishers of life, as givers of nourishment to the plants, givers of holy nourishment: our moontime blood.
I am woman giving away nourishment to ensure this planet's life. With my moontime power, my blood, with my birthing power, my blood, I feed the earth who feeds us all. Every month I remember: I am woman. I am earth. I am life. I am nourishment. I am change.
I am woman, blatantly and repeatedly confronted with my changes: hormonal harmonics stirring moon time visions, ovulatory oracles, pre-menstrual crazies, orgasmic knowings, birth ecstasies, breast-feeding bliss, menopausal moods.
I am wholeness. I am woman. I know life, death, pain, and health in my marrow, in my womb. I know the bloody places: the narrow space between life and death, the bloody place of birth, the bloody mess of nourishing life, the bloody flow of letting life go. I am woman. My blood is power. Peaceful power. Peaceful blood.
My blood is holy nourishment. My blood nourishes the growing fetus. My blood becomes milk to nourish the young child. My blood flows into the ground as holy nourishment for the Great Mother, Gaia, Mother Earth.
Gaia, whose ways are bloody. Woman, whose ways are bloody. Blood of nourishment. But bloody. Bloody menstrual blood, bloody birth blood. Blood of peace, nourishing blood. Blood of health/wholeness/holiness, not of sacrifice. The Wise Woman tradition is a bloody-handed woman, a bloody-thighed woman, a woman who gives birth, a woman who sees to the other side of things.
Health/wholeness/holiness is always changing. Life is mysterious, moving in spirals of change. Spirals moving to, through, from the void. Change making the hole so we can see the holy healthy gift of our wholeness.
"Sit, sister, here on the soft green moss, and give your sacred moon blood to the earth, back again to the spiral of life. Let flow your womb's blood red to the green and brown of earth. Sit here. Relax and close your eyes and let the visions come. Rest now and give your moon blood to nourish the mother who nourishes us. Relax and let the visions come."
The time of menstrual bleeding, according to the Wise Woman tradition, is a time of visions. Any woman who pays attention to these visions will find the power of shamans, witch doctors, medicine wo/men.
"Add a bit of red leaf to your herbal mixtures, any red leaf except poison ivy. That will make the medicine strong," says a friend, apprentice to a Native American shaman. And the wise woman inside me whispers: "They do this to evoke the power of menstrual blood."
These are the natural powers of menstruating, menopausal, and post-menopausal women:
* Oneness with the earth as a responsive nurturing presence
* Communication with plants, animals, rocks
* Weather making
* Shape shifting
* Invisibility
* Communication with fairies, devas, elves, dragons, unicorns
* Foreknowledge
* Acutely sensitive senses of smell, taste, hearing, sight, touch
* Healing
The Wise Woman tradition understands healing/wholing as blood mysteries. The blood of birth and death, and the blood of nourishment, these are the natural knowledge of women, these are the things that make us wise.
For permission to reprint this article, contact susunweed@herbshealing.com
Susun Weed - PO Box 64, Woodstock, NY 12498 (fax) 1-845-246-8081
Visit Susun Weed at: www.susunweed.com and www.ashtreepublishing.com
The Goddess is Alive in Every Woman
The True Story of How She Came to Be, How She Disappeared, and How She Returned
c. 1999, Susun S. Weed
Bloody Women ~ A Magical Experience of the Menstrual Cycle
By Rachel Mayatt
For many years I have been interested in the connection between women’s menstrual cycles and the phases of the Moon.
Being a Priestess of the Goddess I have found myself working with both - and exploring the mysteries and magic of this time in a woman’s yearly cycle. I have researched ideas and activities and looked at the attitude towards menstruation generally.
Our society tends to prefer that discussions about this kind of subject are kept out of ‘polite conversation’ and I can remember as a child being told it was not a subject to discuss in mixed company! Supplies for coping with periods were kept hidden away and quietly discussed. In fact I remember my own first experience of bleeding occurred after I had been exploring my own body at about 10 years old. The next day I had my first period and was absolutely terrified I had caused myself to bleed with my clumsy childish fumbling. No one had ever talked to me with regard to learning about my own body or masturbation. When I went to talk to my mother about what was happening to me she showed me some awful elastic belts and large sanitary towels to fasten to them. Between the legs of a little girl it felt alien and uncomfortable. I was told ‘not to mention it to my brothers, and keep my supplies hidden away’. My feelings of being ‘unclean’ had begun.
My own feelings of uneasiness and discomfort had to be kept to myself and there was little support from anyone else. On TV – adverts showed young girls cartwheeling on a beach or riding horses wearing white trousers as some discarnate voice coyly assured me that ‘that time of the month shouldn’t stop me from leading a normal life’! Or they demonstrated how well the product worked by pouring blue coloured water on the pads!! No wonder I was confused and mentally rejected this awful experience.
In fact I remember before I started my periods, one of my school mates who was first to begin her cycle having notes to excuse her from our weekly swimming lesson. She was so proud of the fact she was menstruating and I couldn’t understand what she was so proud of. I’m ashamed to say I even looked down on her! Now I realise she must have had a really great family that supported her and taught her how wonderful and magical it really is.
I believe the negativity with my own first menstrual experiences caused me to mentally and physically reject this normal and natural part of a woman’s life. I had several years of pain and awful cramps with each period. I actually felt I was disgusting and it was a dirty experience for several years. It was as my spirituality developed its pagan direction that I began to look at my body and femininity from a different perspective. I had had pagan beliefs and spiritual experiences from childhood, but being brought up by a Christian mother it wasn’t until I had had my first child that I got actively involved with the pagan community.
In the early 1990s, I was reading Sister Moon Lodge by author Kisma Stephanich; about the power and magical connections of my Moon Time. She suggested we collect our blood using reusable pads and soaking them. It was an act of self empowerment to take that beautiful scarlet water each month and pour it onto Mother Earth. I also benefited from fantastic tomatoes and green beans when I used it to fertilise my garden!! Another wonderful book – Red Moon by Miranda Gray helped me look further into my own connection with the Goddess through my menstrual cycle.
Organisations such as the Women’s Menstrual Health Foundation in the US run by Tamara Slayton (sadly deceased) were encouraging women to learn about themselves through the power of our menstrual cycles. WEN – the Women’s Environmental Network in the UK was also encouraging the use of reusable pads, made with soft cotton flannel, in pretty designs. Nowadays we also have other things available – sea sponges to use like internal tampons, and of course the Moon cup. There weren’t a lot of companies selling reusable pads this at the time, and so I bought some pretty flannelette and made my own.
As a Witch I encourage my students and circle members to make many of their ritual tools and spell ingredients themselves, and I found it even more empowering to take charge of honouring my body and dealing with my monthly moon cycle by making my own supplies. I take the time to give myself a gift of what I need at this time, listening to my body and intuition. Sometimes I need solitude so may not answer the phone or go out for the first day or two.
If you read some of the many books that have emerged over the last few years on the ritual and magical work done at this time, they show evidence of women in tribal or ancient village society being able to leave normal work, childcare and dealing with the village food to enter the moonlodge or ‘red tent’ as some describe it.
Some people have suggested the reason was that it was believed to be taboo and unclean. Whereas others think it was because it was seen as a magical event; a woman bleeding but not dying - this was powerful magic that should be kept away from the normal tribal daily events. I prefer to think of it as the later explanation but there isn’t a definite answer that’s provable. And of course those of you with several women in your household; daughters, sisters or housemates will find that over the months, your menstrual cycle will change until you are all bleeding at roughly same time of the month and your cycles regulate to each other.
I know for some women that taking time out is an impossibility and so I suggest you are kind to yourselves during your cycle. When you get in from work or put the children to bed, light a candle, draw a warm bath and just allow yourself the luxury of soaking. Use some bath oil or delicious smelling Body Lotion to treat your senses. Or have an early night with a hot water bottle if you need to. Massage your tummy lightly with an aromatherapy base oil such as almond oil in gently clockwise circular strokes. Treat yourself to delicious foods and dress in comfortable clothing. Light a candle in the morning before you have to rush to the office or do the school run, and have 5 minutes of honouring your cycle and the Goddess in your life.
It’s a most magical time and I cannot think of anything more intimately connected with the Goddess than appreciating the cycle I have been blessed with that so links me with the Moon and our Mother Earth.
©Blood Mother - Rachel Mayatt
For many years I have been interested in the connection between women’s menstrual cycles and the phases of the Moon.
Being a Priestess of the Goddess I have found myself working with both - and exploring the mysteries and magic of this time in a woman’s yearly cycle. I have researched ideas and activities and looked at the attitude towards menstruation generally.
Our society tends to prefer that discussions about this kind of subject are kept out of ‘polite conversation’ and I can remember as a child being told it was not a subject to discuss in mixed company! Supplies for coping with periods were kept hidden away and quietly discussed. In fact I remember my own first experience of bleeding occurred after I had been exploring my own body at about 10 years old. The next day I had my first period and was absolutely terrified I had caused myself to bleed with my clumsy childish fumbling. No one had ever talked to me with regard to learning about my own body or masturbation. When I went to talk to my mother about what was happening to me she showed me some awful elastic belts and large sanitary towels to fasten to them. Between the legs of a little girl it felt alien and uncomfortable. I was told ‘not to mention it to my brothers, and keep my supplies hidden away’. My feelings of being ‘unclean’ had begun.
My own feelings of uneasiness and discomfort had to be kept to myself and there was little support from anyone else. On TV – adverts showed young girls cartwheeling on a beach or riding horses wearing white trousers as some discarnate voice coyly assured me that ‘that time of the month shouldn’t stop me from leading a normal life’! Or they demonstrated how well the product worked by pouring blue coloured water on the pads!! No wonder I was confused and mentally rejected this awful experience.
In fact I remember before I started my periods, one of my school mates who was first to begin her cycle having notes to excuse her from our weekly swimming lesson. She was so proud of the fact she was menstruating and I couldn’t understand what she was so proud of. I’m ashamed to say I even looked down on her! Now I realise she must have had a really great family that supported her and taught her how wonderful and magical it really is.
I believe the negativity with my own first menstrual experiences caused me to mentally and physically reject this normal and natural part of a woman’s life. I had several years of pain and awful cramps with each period. I actually felt I was disgusting and it was a dirty experience for several years. It was as my spirituality developed its pagan direction that I began to look at my body and femininity from a different perspective. I had had pagan beliefs and spiritual experiences from childhood, but being brought up by a Christian mother it wasn’t until I had had my first child that I got actively involved with the pagan community.
In the early 1990s, I was reading Sister Moon Lodge by author Kisma Stephanich; about the power and magical connections of my Moon Time. She suggested we collect our blood using reusable pads and soaking them. It was an act of self empowerment to take that beautiful scarlet water each month and pour it onto Mother Earth. I also benefited from fantastic tomatoes and green beans when I used it to fertilise my garden!! Another wonderful book – Red Moon by Miranda Gray helped me look further into my own connection with the Goddess through my menstrual cycle.
Organisations such as the Women’s Menstrual Health Foundation in the US run by Tamara Slayton (sadly deceased) were encouraging women to learn about themselves through the power of our menstrual cycles. WEN – the Women’s Environmental Network in the UK was also encouraging the use of reusable pads, made with soft cotton flannel, in pretty designs. Nowadays we also have other things available – sea sponges to use like internal tampons, and of course the Moon cup. There weren’t a lot of companies selling reusable pads this at the time, and so I bought some pretty flannelette and made my own.
As a Witch I encourage my students and circle members to make many of their ritual tools and spell ingredients themselves, and I found it even more empowering to take charge of honouring my body and dealing with my monthly moon cycle by making my own supplies. I take the time to give myself a gift of what I need at this time, listening to my body and intuition. Sometimes I need solitude so may not answer the phone or go out for the first day or two.
If you read some of the many books that have emerged over the last few years on the ritual and magical work done at this time, they show evidence of women in tribal or ancient village society being able to leave normal work, childcare and dealing with the village food to enter the moonlodge or ‘red tent’ as some describe it.
Some people have suggested the reason was that it was believed to be taboo and unclean. Whereas others think it was because it was seen as a magical event; a woman bleeding but not dying - this was powerful magic that should be kept away from the normal tribal daily events. I prefer to think of it as the later explanation but there isn’t a definite answer that’s provable. And of course those of you with several women in your household; daughters, sisters or housemates will find that over the months, your menstrual cycle will change until you are all bleeding at roughly same time of the month and your cycles regulate to each other.
I know for some women that taking time out is an impossibility and so I suggest you are kind to yourselves during your cycle. When you get in from work or put the children to bed, light a candle, draw a warm bath and just allow yourself the luxury of soaking. Use some bath oil or delicious smelling Body Lotion to treat your senses. Or have an early night with a hot water bottle if you need to. Massage your tummy lightly with an aromatherapy base oil such as almond oil in gently clockwise circular strokes. Treat yourself to delicious foods and dress in comfortable clothing. Light a candle in the morning before you have to rush to the office or do the school run, and have 5 minutes of honouring your cycle and the Goddess in your life.
It’s a most magical time and I cannot think of anything more intimately connected with the Goddess than appreciating the cycle I have been blessed with that so links me with the Moon and our Mother Earth.
©Blood Mother - Rachel Mayatt
Questions and Answers about the Red Tent Temple Movement
From www.Alisa Starkweather.com
The intention is that within the space we care for one another and are cared for with healing, song, meditation, story telling, council, quiet rest, herbs and sharing together. It is important that women remember that this is not a party but a social event where our intention is to bring in organically both the quiet spaces and the spontaneous moments where anything can happen such as storytelling, poetry, dancing and something as simple as laying a head in your mother's lap while she strokes it. Many times the women who are organizing the Red Tent Temple in their local area offer a simple form of a circle in the duration of our time together. The circle however is a part of what happens. We have learned over time that the most important thing however is to enter it for our own exhale of our breaths and finding ourselves on the next inhalation.
What is a circle?
Circles can mean many things to different people but here in the Red Tent Temple our circles respect that we enter here with many diverse beliefs and lifestyles. A circle is time for women to share what is in their hearts. We pass something that represents to us that this woman is taking her turn and we listen deeply to what she has to say whatever it is. Since we began the Red Tent Temples we have noticed that women are coming who have never been in a circle. If you are facilitating one it is important to know that our circle time can go very deep and also very uproariously high as we laugh, sing, share and revel in one another's company. And that circle is not therapy. It is a short increment of time to be able to check in with how you are feeling, share one story, an insight, a poem. We hope to make a safe place for women to share with confidentiality and compassion in case a woman cries. We listen rather than giving her lots of advice or wanting her to stop crying. We make room for our feelings. And again, it is not therapy. So women are not encouraged to go deeper than they come back from in a short increment of time. And to be aware of other women who have not had an opportunity to speak or be heard. We share the time among us depending on who is there. No one is expected to participate or to speak. You can still be in the Red Tent and not be in the circle if you choose but this seldom happens.
Who comes to a Red Tent Temple?
Women of all ages come. Women who are in menopause time of life are needed here to make our circles whole. Women who no longer have wombs are welcome. Young women are welcome if they have begun their moon cycles.
We have discovered that since we don't know what kind of things women might bring up in the circle it is best for minors to have consent by a guardian in order to be there so that we can speak freely among ourselves as women.
Women of all beliefs are welcome. This means we honor and respect the right of individuals to choose their own paths and follow what is right for them while honoring the diversity present. If we are going to grow this movement we must make room for all kinds of diversity to be in the tent with us. Our collective journey of being a woman is our common ground.
Our sisters, mothers, daughters, grandmothers, aunts, friends are all welcome. Our common ground is honoring the sacredness of our own womanhood journey.
Where are the Red Tent Temples?
They are in our own homes, yoga studios, basements of churches, and healing centers. They are in dance studios, offices, barns, and backyards. They have even been in our town commons, cities, and festivals that take place. Red Tents are being seen more and more everywhere. And at the same time, the Red Tent Temples are part of a movement among us to do this collectively and in collaboration, unity and support.... It is service. We are making it up as we go and learning along the way. Then we share what we are learning all over the country.
The Red Tent is not only a place but a metaphor of who we are as women. We are women who cycle and bleed with the moon and whether you think much about that or not, all women have shared this in common. We are women who are wanting our young women to have a positive experience of their womanhood with our support. And older women surely need that too.
Why do we cook for the Red Tent?
Somewhere a woman is cooking for you. She knows that you may not want to make food or that you don't have time after work. We recognize our need to nourish and be nourished. Food is simple but it is available in most Red Tents. You are welcome to bring food to share too. You are also welcome to cook for us when you are ready!
What is the Story Chair in the Red Tent Temple?
Anyone is welcome at any time in the Red Tent Temple to sit in the chair and tell a story of their womanhood journey. Sometimes the stories are sad and sometimes they make us all laugh. You can read a poem or share something in that moment. It is always available for you. I look forward to the day when we gather around our elders and young ones as they share with us their wisdom in a way that makes room for their unique ages.
We want many things for our world.
Our continued leadership is needed for the things that we most care about.
The Red Tent Temple Movement promotes women's empowerment.
The Red Tent is a gift to ourselves so that we remember our greatest strengths and also are kind to where we have limitations. By attending or giving yourself this time, which in the beginning is the hardest thing of all, we then make a time and place in our life to check in with ourselves and each other so that we can reenergize for the rest of the month. We will also make connections and friendships that will deepen our sense of community. When things get tough, women can brainstorm together in the Red Tent Temples. We will undoubtedly be stronger together.
Does it cost money to come to the Red Tent Tempe?
Certainly you know that everything such as this does cost money. And this movement began with an idea that it needed to be grassroots, able to be duplicated yet original to the women who are tending them, that we needed NOT to own our Red Tent Temples unless we all owned them by owning them as ours. Ownership here means to cook soup, make tea, welcome women, bring cloth, get the word out, offer up a place. It also means that if you find what is here valuable that you support it in ways that you can so that it is sustainable. The majority of the Red Tent Temples are free of charge with donations that are freely given that support the experience. There are often rental, heat and food costs. Women have given hours of their time voluntarily to build what is here so far and our vision is that with time, we will do this all together and easily. If there are costs it is because funds must be raised for space, heat and food in order for it to exist.
Why do the women sometimes wear red?
We invite women to wear red to remember the blood actually is for life and whether we talk about it or not, women are connected to their cycles, the moon and to one another. It is a way to begin to honor the deep feminine in every woman. Red also is a pretty energetic color. For those of you not wearing red, kick it up sisters. You are beautiful. Besides, you are the Red Tent don't you know?
What is the Women's Word of Mouth Board?
The most powerful information that travels is by word of mouth. In the Red Tent Temples sometimes there are boards where women can put down information for one another. It can be anything that we need to pay attention to. This ranges from personal networking, to good books and music, petitions, local recommendations, resources for our health and wellbeing. It is our hope that once the movement gets going and our interactive website takes place, we can then put this information out there on a local, state, national and global level depending on where it is needed. It acts then as a word of mouth board between us all collectively where information can get out there.
The intention is that within the space we care for one another and are cared for with healing, song, meditation, story telling, council, quiet rest, herbs and sharing together. It is important that women remember that this is not a party but a social event where our intention is to bring in organically both the quiet spaces and the spontaneous moments where anything can happen such as storytelling, poetry, dancing and something as simple as laying a head in your mother's lap while she strokes it. Many times the women who are organizing the Red Tent Temple in their local area offer a simple form of a circle in the duration of our time together. The circle however is a part of what happens. We have learned over time that the most important thing however is to enter it for our own exhale of our breaths and finding ourselves on the next inhalation.
What is a circle?
Circles can mean many things to different people but here in the Red Tent Temple our circles respect that we enter here with many diverse beliefs and lifestyles. A circle is time for women to share what is in their hearts. We pass something that represents to us that this woman is taking her turn and we listen deeply to what she has to say whatever it is. Since we began the Red Tent Temples we have noticed that women are coming who have never been in a circle. If you are facilitating one it is important to know that our circle time can go very deep and also very uproariously high as we laugh, sing, share and revel in one another's company. And that circle is not therapy. It is a short increment of time to be able to check in with how you are feeling, share one story, an insight, a poem. We hope to make a safe place for women to share with confidentiality and compassion in case a woman cries. We listen rather than giving her lots of advice or wanting her to stop crying. We make room for our feelings. And again, it is not therapy. So women are not encouraged to go deeper than they come back from in a short increment of time. And to be aware of other women who have not had an opportunity to speak or be heard. We share the time among us depending on who is there. No one is expected to participate or to speak. You can still be in the Red Tent and not be in the circle if you choose but this seldom happens.
Who comes to a Red Tent Temple?
Women of all ages come. Women who are in menopause time of life are needed here to make our circles whole. Women who no longer have wombs are welcome. Young women are welcome if they have begun their moon cycles.
We have discovered that since we don't know what kind of things women might bring up in the circle it is best for minors to have consent by a guardian in order to be there so that we can speak freely among ourselves as women.
Women of all beliefs are welcome. This means we honor and respect the right of individuals to choose their own paths and follow what is right for them while honoring the diversity present. If we are going to grow this movement we must make room for all kinds of diversity to be in the tent with us. Our collective journey of being a woman is our common ground.
Our sisters, mothers, daughters, grandmothers, aunts, friends are all welcome. Our common ground is honoring the sacredness of our own womanhood journey.
Where are the Red Tent Temples?
They are in our own homes, yoga studios, basements of churches, and healing centers. They are in dance studios, offices, barns, and backyards. They have even been in our town commons, cities, and festivals that take place. Red Tents are being seen more and more everywhere. And at the same time, the Red Tent Temples are part of a movement among us to do this collectively and in collaboration, unity and support.... It is service. We are making it up as we go and learning along the way. Then we share what we are learning all over the country.
The Red Tent is not only a place but a metaphor of who we are as women. We are women who cycle and bleed with the moon and whether you think much about that or not, all women have shared this in common. We are women who are wanting our young women to have a positive experience of their womanhood with our support. And older women surely need that too.
Why do we cook for the Red Tent?
Somewhere a woman is cooking for you. She knows that you may not want to make food or that you don't have time after work. We recognize our need to nourish and be nourished. Food is simple but it is available in most Red Tents. You are welcome to bring food to share too. You are also welcome to cook for us when you are ready!
What is the Story Chair in the Red Tent Temple?
Anyone is welcome at any time in the Red Tent Temple to sit in the chair and tell a story of their womanhood journey. Sometimes the stories are sad and sometimes they make us all laugh. You can read a poem or share something in that moment. It is always available for you. I look forward to the day when we gather around our elders and young ones as they share with us their wisdom in a way that makes room for their unique ages.
We want many things for our world.
Our continued leadership is needed for the things that we most care about.
The Red Tent Temple Movement promotes women's empowerment.
The Red Tent is a gift to ourselves so that we remember our greatest strengths and also are kind to where we have limitations. By attending or giving yourself this time, which in the beginning is the hardest thing of all, we then make a time and place in our life to check in with ourselves and each other so that we can reenergize for the rest of the month. We will also make connections and friendships that will deepen our sense of community. When things get tough, women can brainstorm together in the Red Tent Temples. We will undoubtedly be stronger together.
Does it cost money to come to the Red Tent Tempe?
Certainly you know that everything such as this does cost money. And this movement began with an idea that it needed to be grassroots, able to be duplicated yet original to the women who are tending them, that we needed NOT to own our Red Tent Temples unless we all owned them by owning them as ours. Ownership here means to cook soup, make tea, welcome women, bring cloth, get the word out, offer up a place. It also means that if you find what is here valuable that you support it in ways that you can so that it is sustainable. The majority of the Red Tent Temples are free of charge with donations that are freely given that support the experience. There are often rental, heat and food costs. Women have given hours of their time voluntarily to build what is here so far and our vision is that with time, we will do this all together and easily. If there are costs it is because funds must be raised for space, heat and food in order for it to exist.
Why do the women sometimes wear red?
We invite women to wear red to remember the blood actually is for life and whether we talk about it or not, women are connected to their cycles, the moon and to one another. It is a way to begin to honor the deep feminine in every woman. Red also is a pretty energetic color. For those of you not wearing red, kick it up sisters. You are beautiful. Besides, you are the Red Tent don't you know?
What is the Women's Word of Mouth Board?
The most powerful information that travels is by word of mouth. In the Red Tent Temples sometimes there are boards where women can put down information for one another. It can be anything that we need to pay attention to. This ranges from personal networking, to good books and music, petitions, local recommendations, resources for our health and wellbeing. It is our hope that once the movement gets going and our interactive website takes place, we can then put this information out there on a local, state, national and global level depending on where it is needed. It acts then as a word of mouth board between us all collectively where information can get out there.
The Red Tent Temple Movement is Happening ~by Alisa Starkweather
It is time to create in our local communities a place for us where we can meet each other and at the very same time take care of ourselves and one another. It is time to create change at the very fiber of our cultures that will help build good relations. The Red Tent Temple Movement raises up a Red Tent in our local villages, cities and towns for us to enter and simply “be”. Do we even remember that state of beingness? How about not do anything for a few hours? Are we keeping ourselves busy so we don't feel? Where are we hiding?
The Red Tent Temple Movement is a way for women to take our inner momentum, that feeling like the time is now and come forward with everything we are as women and give us a place to incubate, dream, slow down, and not have an agenda or plan. And simutaneously much is waiting for us in this not knowing place but we need to make time for the empty space.
We are looking for another way, a way that is more consistent with our actual rhythms, cycles and ways of being in relationship to each other that support, foster and give us strength and courage. Here in the Red Tent we can journal, rest, receive or give energy work, draw, read, share or listen to women’s wisdoms in the stories we share. We cook one another food and drink teas for our wombs and bellies.
It is a day out of the month on or near the new moon to step out of a kind of world that keeps us occupied. Inside the Red Tents we give ourselves time to remember who we are at our very core, honoring that to do that remembering we must turn from our identities and roles towards the innermost temple of our own hearts. Come into the Red Tent and stop. In the quiet and the company of wonderful women, feel. In what you feel, there is much that is waiting for you.
It is time. The women are ready to co-create a vision in the societies we live in and make a place among us where women are honored by honoring our own unique journies of womanhood. A place for our elders and our young women. A place for us to come alive. Who knows where it will lead us? Women who are part of this important grassroots movement may never know what an important role they will play by bringing this into our culture at large. Now we are learning how. Join us in a revolutionary act. It is more than a woman's circle. It is a deep learning process of unlearning the busy and finding the moment.
The Red Tent Temple Movement is a way for women to take our inner momentum, that feeling like the time is now and come forward with everything we are as women and give us a place to incubate, dream, slow down, and not have an agenda or plan. And simutaneously much is waiting for us in this not knowing place but we need to make time for the empty space.
We are looking for another way, a way that is more consistent with our actual rhythms, cycles and ways of being in relationship to each other that support, foster and give us strength and courage. Here in the Red Tent we can journal, rest, receive or give energy work, draw, read, share or listen to women’s wisdoms in the stories we share. We cook one another food and drink teas for our wombs and bellies.
It is a day out of the month on or near the new moon to step out of a kind of world that keeps us occupied. Inside the Red Tents we give ourselves time to remember who we are at our very core, honoring that to do that remembering we must turn from our identities and roles towards the innermost temple of our own hearts. Come into the Red Tent and stop. In the quiet and the company of wonderful women, feel. In what you feel, there is much that is waiting for you.
It is time. The women are ready to co-create a vision in the societies we live in and make a place among us where women are honored by honoring our own unique journies of womanhood. A place for our elders and our young women. A place for us to come alive. Who knows where it will lead us? Women who are part of this important grassroots movement may never know what an important role they will play by bringing this into our culture at large. Now we are learning how. Join us in a revolutionary act. It is more than a woman's circle. It is a deep learning process of unlearning the busy and finding the moment.
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