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Syren — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 21:02:38 CST

The Collected Teachings of
Shekhinah Mountainwater

Sisters, please leave a comment below, stating which archives you are gathering.
Thank you!

Balancing the Power -- A Reflection

'Aine — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 08:47:10 CDT

Event Retrospective - Shekhinah's Class "Balancing the Power" Presented to her son Frey Faust's Nomadic College, a summer school of dance that has until now only met overseas, and took place this year twice; in Italy, as well as: At Windtree, a country retreat space in the Santa Cruz mountains of California Windtree is an amazing place. You drive up about 10 miles of bumpy dirt roads to get there, with sweeping elevated views at every turn. Windtree herself is a sprinkling of buildings set amongst the trees, with some open grassy and garden areas here and there, and astonishing vistas one comes upon. There is a central lodge where folks meet for meals and gatherings; and it's round! A big community kitchen crescent-curves about a third of the way around one side. In the center is a kiva-like circle, stepped down a bit from the rest of the floor. Currently it is carpeted there, and makes a lovely ritual space. Huge picture windows form the outer walls, so that you can see all the glories of the mountain at every turn. It was here that I and the group I facilitated held our final ritual early Saturday evening. There are so many wonderful cabins at Windtree. The one I stayed in has been named Rosy, and is decorated inside with all kinds of rose motifs... It is just one little room, but so charming, and conveniently close to the lodge where the bathrooms are located. I took down the white lace curtains and made a screen door out of them, so I could keep the cabin door open without getting devoured by insects. It was hot hot hot up there on Mount Madonna! I replaced the curtains with my own lovely sparkly scarves from India, which I usually carry with me for my tarot setup at the bookstore where I do readings most Sundays. My experience of my week on the mountain was challenging yet fruitful... sometimes wonderfully inspiring...sometimes stressful. It was hard to leave my peaceful nest in town, and especially hard to leave Isha, my kittycat, who suffers when I go away. (He is now snugged up against me on the bed as I sit before my laptop typing away...) The heat on the mountaintop was a wipeout for me as well as everyone else up there, though the young dancing gazelles seemed relatively unphased. They continued to push themselves hard, dancing powerfully on the new platform down below the cabins. Both Windtree and Nomadic College staffs collaborated on building this platform... a monumental piece of work beneath the trees. It was also difficult coping with the food situation, as I had little kitchen access and had to rely on the hired cook and/or the kindness of Frey and friends who occasionally made up plates for me for breakfast or dinner. Since I have some digestive issues, this was stressful. The good news is that Elena, owner and community visionary of Windtree, says she is planning to install a kitchen in one of the cabins by next year. If we do this again, I could stay there, and bring my own food. That would take a lot of the stress out of things! But nine tenths of the stress was the schlepping back and forth from one building to another, carrying, always carrying stuff, always having to remember and organize... the toothbrush...the flashlight...the towel...the toilet paper...the teapot...the herbs...the materials for class...on and on. A recent injury to my right knee and ankle over uneven terrain didn't help much either, sigh. How I wished I could have everything in one centrally located building...bedroom, kitchen, bath, and ritual/meeting space! Oh but it was all so worth it, never fear. The chance to be in a magic space where I can do my true work means everything to me, and I'm willing to put up with a lot of discomfort to get there. I am grateful to Frey and his Nomadic College staff for all the effort they made to expand their dance program to include my offerings, and to Windtree staff for all their hard work to make the spaces beautiful and liveable. Lots of folks did what they could to support me... beautiful Debbie drove me up the mountain and back...Ruth did try to make food arrangements for me, however awry they went, Janet helped me carry stuff, Ofri too, and she was wonderfully honest and communicative in class which was important for the circle...Frey who -to my joy- attended the class and made himself vulnerable to the issues along with the rest of us - as well as patiently translating for our members who didn't have much English... Christien who spoke mostly German and Ofri who spoke mostly Hebrew, but hung in there anyway... Elena who gave us her livingroom space... the cook who changed his schedule on Saturday so we could have a quiet time in the lodge for the ritual...Frey, who made an extra effort to spend some time with me when he was already maxed out, and took a chance on being in a class on power with his mom as teacher, in a school where he is also teacher and director as well as founder. My class "Balancing the Power" took place in another cabin called Sunrise. This cabin is really a small house with two lovely bedrooms and a glorious spacious livingroom area, carpeted and comfy. Too bad we couldn't meet on the grass in the lovely outdoors, but heat, bugs and noisy activities made this prohibitive, and the work we were doing required quiet and a good focus. I hauled furniture around in there, so we could have a nice open circle space for our meetings, set up an altar, and with Janet's help, scrounged up a chalk board for illustrating some of my points for the class. Our group was comprised of thirteen people, mostly college staff, and some students as well. The topic was "Balancing the Power," which Frey had requested last year. He wants the college to be an alternative community as well as a place of learning and practising artistic skills, and he is concerned about the need for good communication as well as egalitarian approaches to power. At the first meeting we talked about group focus and passing the talking rattle, and how these give each person an opportunity to communicate fully, to be heard and received with love, and to be empowered from within. I shared from my articles "The Heirarchy of Voice," and "Creating an Abundance of Voice," in which I discuss societal imbalances in these areas, and search for solutions. We invoked Voc, Hindu Goddess of the Word, of Communication and Breath. I showed everyone how to draw the Rune of Power, from my Womanrunes system. Ordinarily I call this rune The Dancing Woman, and I thought how appropriate for a gathering of dancers! Since this was a mixed gender group I called her just "Dancer" this time. It is basically the familiar woman symbol, except the arms are curved upwards to show movement and celebration. I turned the rune drawing sideways so she looked like she was lying flat- changing the meaning to "disempowerment".... or upsidedown and slanted a little to show "power-over." I linked several power runes together to show shared power, community, and solidarity. I also sang my song Valentine which is about power issues in a love relationship: VALENTINE by Shekhinah Mountainwater All rights reserved (To the folktune "Pretty Flora") Take heed my love, I pray thee, on this holy lovers' day It is for that I love thee, this saying I would say: Not beneath nor yet above thee, but beside thee I would stay... You became the scowling master, who over me held sway And I the fearful daughter, who drained your strength away Yet we longed for a friend, a lover, to shield and share the way... I became the scolding mother, who over you held sway And you the mewling wee one, who in my nest did stray Yet we longed for a friend, a lover, to shield and share the way... We tried for love's perfection, instead found hearts of clay When we saw that we were human, our frailties barred the way Forgiveness is the ending to such a passion play... Take heart, my love, I pray thee, on this holy lovers' day It is for that I love thee, this saying I would say Not beneath, nor yet above thee, but beside thee I will stay... (copyright 1970 Shekhinah Mountainwater) (written in the Santa Cruz mountains) At the second meeting we did a practise rattle-passing that included feedback. This was a difficult meeting, since not everyone was accustomed to the format. (Plus, I had passed out some difficult questions for students to respond to as our rattle topics.) For the process to work, it is required that everyone give their full and undivided attention to each person as s/he speaks, and that each person take a turn to speak out fully to the group. It's also important, especially if there is to be feedback, that speakers be aware of how much time they are taking, so that there is time for everyone to be heard. For those who were shy and not used to having a group focussed on them when they spoke, fears and insecurities came to the surface. For those who were asked to speak a little less because they were tending to domininate the group, there were some hurt feelings. Everyone shared their vulnerabilities around being heard and feeling powerless or disempowered. I realized I probably should have started with a quicker rattle-pass for this group, just so they could experience the wonderful energy that can happen, without getting bogged down right away with feedback and issues. So next day we did some quick ones, keeping the rattle moving from person to person, as we each said things like "I'm an elephant" or "I'm a tree," with the group responding "Ho!" to each proclamation. Then I asked everyone to pay attention to how it felt when they were holding the rattle, speaking, and being supported by the group. Afterwards I asked them to tell us how it felt to them. One woman explained about her shyness at being focussed on when she speaks, that she fears being misunderstood or judged. She had said "I am Diana" when her quick rattle came around. I asked if the group promised to suspend all judgement, would she tell us again that she is the Goddess Diana? Everyone agreed, and she said it again. Her face completely transformed! Where she had looked pale and scared before, and her voice was barely audible, now she was flushed and glowing, and spoke out with pride and joy, proclaiming her own divinity. What a transformation! Meanwhile everyone was starting to get it that the group focus is powerful, and that when it is shared equally by everyone with acceptance and no judgements, all are empowered and expanded. At the end of all our meetings we did some nice standup circle hugs too, looking into each other's eyes (the Circle of Eyes) to see the divinity in each of us and allow ourselves to be seen... proclaiming things like "I am power!" "You are power!" and "We are power!" In the fourth meeting we started our power shadow work. I had brought charts I made ahead of time with three pentacles on each... one for the Power Shadow, one for Transformation, and one the Empowerment Pentacle. Everyone was invited to write down qualities around the five points of the first and third pentacles. In the Power Shadow Pentacle we wrote down the things that we felt disempower us. For instance, in Air some of us wrote about feeling silenced, judged, or unheard. In Fire, competition for power, or dominance/submission issues. In Water... lack of trust, fear of rejection. And so on. Some folks wrote things that they kept private too. Then we wrote things in our Empowerment Pentacles that help us to feel empowered from within, such as feeling heard, accepted, supported, expanded, joyful, fulfilled, safe, in community, and so on. Everyone brought their pentacle pages, folded up or scrolled, and placed them on the altar for our ritual. The last two meetings were devoted to the final ritual, which we did in the kiva-like circle in the lodge. The next to the last day we prepared and practised, and on the final day we did the ritual itself. We opened the ceremony with a resounding Ma chant, moving up the chakras with rainbow colors and higher and higher notes of Ma. It sounded incredible in that central part of the circular lodge, and I could feel the trance energy enveloping us all. Then we invoked the five elements by proclaiming ourselves, "I am Air!" with gestures and descriptive words about air... "I am Fire!".... and so on. The body of the ritual had two parts. The first, a guided inward journey, was carried by my song Blue Lady, which is about the Priestess card in the Tarot. I used the song, along with some verbal cues, to help everyone get into trance, so they could do the completion of their shadow work, moving from the Power Shadow Pentacle, through the Transformation Pentacle, and into the Empowerment Pentacle. The image I got was that each person had their Empowerment pentacle emblazoned on the front of themselves, and the Shadow one on their backs. The Priestess led them into a sacred temple and before a huge mirror where they could see themselves and their pentacles as they turned. They turned faster and faster until they became a blur, and when they had spun and eventually slowed down, there was only one pentacle, the Empowerment pentacle, emblazoned on their chests. They took these into their hearts. The second part was a movement meditation that I had dreamed months earlier, while in preparation for this class. Everyone began by dancing in a sort of "clump" with bodies all intertwined and stuck to each other. These folks were so well prepared for this, as they had already done lots of this sort of movement! The "clump" part represented the ways we can get disempowered in groups, feeling stuck or dependent or lost or trapped or dominated or like we have to control others to get our needs met, etc. etc. As the movement progressed people started to pull away from the clump, trying to get free. There was stress and strain as folks pulled out; also moaning and groaning and much laughter. As folks got free they careened off into the space, dancing erratically, chaotically... now everyone disconnected from each other and lost in a different way. This represented what I think usually happens in our society when folks become disenchanted with heirarchies, try to break loose, but don't have anything else to replace them with. (I had brought illustrations of this process to the first meeting. You can see them in Ariadne's Thread, page 364) Then I began to sing my second song, "Wings", which tells the story of a woman and her child who have wings. She has been forced to have her wings clipped so she can "fit in" to society, but her child's wings are still growing. She wonders if she should "make you look like me, and clip your baby budding wings," so her child can "fit in." The chorus goes: "Oh how I long to see you fly! "Up on gleaming full grown wings! "Soaring leaping in the sky.....!!! "Joyously crowing (and everyone crowed of course! :0) ) Feathers blowing..." I wrote this song to my son Frey when he was little. At the time I thought it was just a made up fantasy. Years later I realized it was our story in so many ways. Now that he "flies" so freely in his dancing, I realized this week that my wish had been granted! :0) Everyone interpreted the song with improvised movements, flying out and soaring on the soaring parts, now dancing in harmony with one another and themselves. Then we all came together back in the center for a closing. We sang "The roots of me go down and down, Oh Mother Earth in thee I ground" on descending notes of the scale, touching the earth. We hugged and looked at each other through the "Eye of the Yoni"... an honorific I invented to replace the old prayerful upraised/folded hands. Instead you open your hands a bit to form a yoni shape, and hold it up to your eye so you can look at everyone "through Her..." It was amazing how easily the ritual came together, after the struggles we had been through at previous meetings. Just goes to show, when you work through the hard parts, the rewards are great. All in all the above paragraph pretty much characterizes the week I spent for this class. Everyone on the mountain was struggling and coping, one way or another. It was Elena's first public event at Windtree and there were many new chores and expenses incurred. She and Janet, the amazing Amazon, labored hard to keep everything together. It was the Nomadic College's first attempt to set up in the U.S. They had to invest a lot of money and help to build the outdoor dance floor. We didn't have as big a turnout as we had all hoped for this first week, but since the school lasts a month, we are continuing to think positive. The college staff was working doubletime too... keeping all the organizing aspects of things together as well as teaching and taking strenuous classes! And I, beyond having to be brave to face the schlepping and the elements, also had to be brave like many times before, to bring revolutionary ideas, trance-forming original music, and my tender heart and spirit into a situation where there was no guarantee of acceptance or understanding, where only a few members attended, and many others remained distant, possibly critical, and non-communicative. Because of all the newness and tentativeness, I didn't feel as fully supported or empowered in this effort as I have at other times. Folks were often too maxed out or stressed to participate as fully as I wish, or to be there for my own needs. There were financial as well as energy constraints, and at times I felt a block in the energy. But I know we did good work, and it is likely that we will see more results unfold as time goes by. Often when I teach it is like planting seeds. Folks don't always get all the information right away; it kinda grows on them. In earlier sessions for this class I spoke some about my own power issues too. I explained that it's important to make ourselves vulnerable this way, especially if we are perceived as a "leader" or a "model" to the group. I talked about my own experiences of feeling silenced as a singer and musician and speaker... of how disempowering that feels; downright depressing actually. And about repeated nightmares I've had of trying to be heard, my voice falling on deaf ears. About how this can kill one's soul, especially if one is a singer/poet/speaker/priestess. It takes courage to speak out this way in a group, exposing one's sensitivities and wounds. I've had a lot of practise with it myself, so it came easily for me, thank Goddess. For others it was not so easy, and not everyone was able to do it. But I know from past experience that when you push through that fear and hesitation and say aloud the thing that needs to be said, transformations can happen. It is one of the roads to true self-empowerment. Some of my best singing moments happened in my cabin practising, and in the earlier classes. I felt my voice come out full, and the guitar with new strings resonating wonderfully. The songs soared and there were friendly hearts and ears to receive them. It was great having that free space for my muse to fly. She didn't fare as well during the final enactment however... the accoustics in the lodge were only best in the very center, and I couldn't get to it through all the dancing bodies. Plus I was focussed more on the group, as I directed them through the energy of the song and various verbal "cues" to help them follow the thread as they moved. Folks said I sounded fine and they heard me well, but I couldn't hear myself too well, which placed some blocks on the energy. Musicians understand these things... LOL I'm excited about being able to do a whole concert right in the center of that kiva-like circle. The roof peaks way above the spot, making it a delightful accoustical vortex. There is an upper landing where folks can play audience if they like, sort of like a Shakespearean theatre... and then the rest of the lodge space as well, down below. So pray for me dear ones, if you wish, for a beautiful magical concert on the 18th of this month, where the Muse can fly and the Goddess be adored in ecstasy by everyone there! And I'm visualizing people coming up to me when I go back up the mountain, telling me how much the class helped them to feel empowered. That will make my year! And may the magic and transformation ripple outwards from Windtree to touch the world, and touch all of you reading this. So Mote It Be Shekhinah

Darkmoon 11/11 Linkup Ritual For Healing

Lillindrian — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 18:17:55 CDT

Psychic Linkup Ritual For Healing
Darkmoon November 11th, 6PM Pacific time, 7PM Mountain, 8PM Central, 9PM
Eastern...

In preparation: Designate a quiet time and space for the rite. Phones
silenced, message machines on... "do not disturb" signs are on the door. Let
everyone in your life know you will be occupied at this time and ask for their
support in giving you space.

Decide where you will do the ceremony. Those who wish to, and who have AOL
or AIM, are welcome to join me to do the ritual together in chat. It's not
necessary, however, to be online for this, if sisters prefer otherwise. The
most
important thing is to be in synch and focussed... these are two of the
ingredients that make the magic effective with real results.

Prepare an altar with items on it appropriate to the theme of healing. Green
candles, green stones are good... green growing things... Goddesses
associated with healing and nurturance such as Isis, Hygieia, Medicine
Woman...We have
also talked about invoking Durga for the undoing of ills in our world...so an
image of Durga would be appropriate. Smudge yourself and the space with sage
or other incense of your choice.

Let us journey again together to the forest nestled into the slopes of the
beautiful Paps of Anu, the Breasts of the Great Mother, in Ireland. ---come to
Amantha's website to see a picture:
http://www.ancientgoddesspilgrimage.com/newindex.html

At the appointed time, make yourself comfortable and sit with a straight
spine...whether before the computer or indoors or outside. Slow down your
breathing and breathe deep and full. Imagine that your breath is travelling
down to
your toes, up to your crown, and out four feet into your aura. Relax and
quiet your mind. When you breathe out, let the outbreath carry away all
anxiety,
tension, distractions, hurts, negativity. On the inbreath take in Love... the
universal love of the Goddess that is all around us at all times. Breathe
Her in and breathe Her in, fill yourself, your body, your energy field with
accepting unconditional Love.

Visualize a journey to the Paps of Anu. We can go there by magical boat, if
you like. That was how those of us who met in chat last time went to the
Forest of Anu. The boat is curvacious with soaring lines and decorated with
carvings of deities and runes, mandalas and flowers, vines and trees, animals
and
mythic beasts. There are quaint cozy cabins and an open area on deck suitable
for a small circle. We embark and sail through the air until we reach
Ireland, and then gently float down til we are moving on a river that takes us
to the
sacred Grove where we will all meet in circle.

When our boat scrapes sand, we disembark and enter the sacred grove where all
our sisters are gathering from all around the world. Wave to the ones you
recognize, or have some hugs. Find your place on the rim of the circle.

In the center of the circle is a great black cauldron. Three women are
tending the fire that burns within it. It is a gentle fire, with fragrant woods
and dried herbs. Sweet smoke wafts from it and embraces the grove.

Connect with the sister on each side of you, and with the woman across the
circle from you. Join hands. Breathe. Do the Circle of Eyes... that is, meet
the eyes of each sister, briefly around the circle. Let sisters meet your
eyes and see the beauty within you. See the divinity and beauty in the eyes of
each sister. Breathe.

Breathe and ground. Feel your roots going down down into the depths of Mama
Gaia... feel how She welcomes and upholds you. Breathe in Her support,
stability, and love.

Chant:
The roots of me go down and down
Oh Mother Earth in Thee I ground....

Raising the Cone and Casting the Circle

We will accomplish these simultaneously with the Rainbow Cone Meditation.
Begin by chanting a low note of Ma. Carry your note as long as you can
comfortably...take time to breathe...then continue to chant Ma. As you chant,
make a
weaving motion with your upper body so that you are describing a circle with
your spine as axis. See how this sends the energies of your aura swirling
around you.

Still in the first low note of Ma, focus on your root chakra at the base of
your spine. Visualize the color red swirling in and around this part of you,
so that you are sitting in an energy vortex of red.

Do this with each of the seven chakras. As you rise up to each chakra, chant
a higher note of Ma. See the swirling colors layering on, until at the crown
you can see yourself in a spinning rainbow cone. See how your cone joins
with all the other cones of all the other sisters in the circle, so that we are
creating a giant rainbow cone, the peak over the center of the circle.

The Chakras:
Red...Root... Survival, Health, Grounding, Manifestation, Connection to Gaia
Orange...Belly...Sexuality, Creative Power, Fire, Blood Mysteries
Yellow...Stomach...Power of influence and
will...digestion...control...cooperation...nourishment...strength
Green...Heart....Love, Emotions, Compassion, Connection, Vulnerability,
Courage
Sky Blue...Throat...Communication, Poetry, Truth, Trust, Words, Song
Indigo Blue...Third Eye...Telepathy, Divination, Intuition, Psychic
connection...Vision
Violet...Crown... Connection to the Goddess...exit door out of the
body...door to Spirit...the peak of the cone.

As you chant hear how your voice blends with the voices of all your sisters,
until the sound of Ma is a mighty chorus of women, vibrating through our
bodies and resonating among the trees.

Once the cone is raised let the Ma sounds die down naturally.

See the rainbow cone spinning, spinning through, around and above us,
enclosing the circle in a great rainbow colored tipi of energy. Feel the energy
and
the throbbing silence.

We declare the circle cast:

The circle is cast
The spell is made fast
Only the good
Can enter herein
The magic is made
So let it begin...

We invoke the Goddesses by chanting their names... chant each for a while
until you feel She is fully present.

Durga
Hygieia
Anu

Call on any Goddesses you wish, and ask them to surround our circle with
their energy, and to help us make our workings a success.

We are here to help bring healing to the world, to our countries, to women,
to ourselves. We call on Durga, Fierce and Righteous Warrior Goddess, to help
us gently burn away all that afflicts us.
We call on Hygieia, Goddess of Healing Serpent Power, to bring true health to
us and to our world. Let all the worlds be joined in harmony. We call on
Anu, Goddess of this Mountain, to strengthen us with your Love and Support...
and we thank You for welcoming us into Your sacred forest Grove...

Priestesses approach the cauldron with bundles of dried herbs in their arms.
As each thing that needs healing is called out, they drop a handful of herbs
into the flames.

From around the rim sisters call out the Names. All in the circle repeat
each one, and acknowledge with "SO BE IT!" or "SO IT IS!" or "AS WE WEAVE IT,
SO DOTH IT BE!" "AS WE SEED IT SOW IT IS" etc

Speak out the names such as:

Let our spirits be healed from the lies that have been told

Circle repeats and affirms

Let us heal the devastation to Iraq
The hole in the ozone layer
The torture of prisoners
The tearing away of our human rights
Betrayal, Heartbreak, Abandonment
Pollution of the Water, Soil and Air
Clearcutting, murder of trees
Fraudulent governments, oppressive regimes
Faschism
Poverty
Homelessness
Sisterhood fragmented

Please also be sure to add in your own personal healing issues.

For example: "I ask to be healed of the isolation, abandonment, heartbreak,
poverty, struggle, and physical illnesses that have afflicted my life... "

Circle can affirm with "Let this sister be healed" and "So Mote It Be"

When all requests have been made and herbs dropped into the cauldron, we
chant together:

Heal my body heal my soul
Goddess Goddess keep me whole
Heal our bodies heal our souls
Goddess Goddess keep us whole...
Heal our countries, heal their souls,
Goddess Goddess keep them whole...

improvise, add on, etc.

As we sing this healing chant, we spiral dance slowly inward towards the
cauldron. As each of us arrives at the center we look into the flames and
visualize the desired outcome of our prayers. See in the flames positive images
such
as:

Talking heads in mass media telling the truth
Fraud and deception exposed as people embrace in the streets and celebratory
singing soars around the world
Cease fires declared and the bombs and guns are still
Iraquis and Americans, Israelis and Palestinians...Christians and Pagans...
agree to make peace..making friends...sharing food...shaking hands...
Sisters finding sisters and embracing and forming circles of love and trust
around the world... sister circles linking with one another around the
world...a web of sisterlove embracing the planet...influencing human
destiny...helping
to bring lasting peace...
Each of us personally healed in the ways needed... see yourself healthy and
whole, moving through your life, doing the things you want, being with those
you love and who love you, your body free and beautiful, your heart happy, your
spirit joyful...

Please add freely

We are opening up with a sweet surrender
To a woman's way of healing
We are opening up with a sweet surrender
To a woman's way of healing

We are o-o-pening
We are o-o-pening
We are o-o-pening
We are o-o-pening...

We are opening up with a sweet surrender
To a woman's way of seeing
We are opening up with a sweet surrender
To a woman's way of being

Etc Add on, improvise...

After everyone has passed by the cauldron all spiral gently out again and
return to your place on the Rim. The chanting dies down and we close our eyes
and breathe in the quiet once again.

Sisters may wish to add something to the ceremony at this point. Brief
thoughts and prayers may surface for nourishment and affirmation.

Acknowledge the deities we have invoked and thank them for their presence and
support. "Go if you wish, stay if you wish..."

Another Circle of Eyes, with the added acknowledgement to the women on either
side of you: "You Are Goddess." And to the woman across the way: "You Are
Goddess."

Then three times "I Am Goddess."

And together three times: "We Are Goddess!"

And embrace the sister nearest you as a lovely way to ground.

We declare the circle open:

The circle is open
But never broken
Merry meet
And merry part
May the love of the Goddess
Live in your heart...

Take a few moments to chat and say goodbye to sisters as the circle
dissolves, and embark on your return journey to your spot in "real" life...
give
thanks, slowly come back.

Blessed Be.

************************************************************

I hope everyone is comfortable with this ritual. If you need to add or
change it to suit yourself, that's fine too.

About Dire Prophecies

Lillindrian — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 20:01:21 CDT

I still feel the way I did when I wrote the poem below, before Hallowe'en...

Not that I think it's wrong for folks to do worldly activism... every
frontier counts now. It's true; we must act in some way, we must respond to the
wrongness in our environment. Some of us will be out in the streets.... some
will be spreading the word... some will be standing up to someone who has
oppressed them... some will be learning how to open their hearts and love...
some
will be saving planet Gaia... some will be advocating for alternative medicine
and our right to have access to healing herbs... some will be writing
letters to public officials... some will be running for office... some will be
making culture to epress the times we are in and help us all to understand it...
some will be doing magic and ritual... some will be protesting the
inauguration... some will be mobilizing to impeach... some will be organizing
locally for
human rights... for the homeless... for the local flora and fauna... there
are a thousand frontiers, and all are valid. Look into your conscience and see
if you are supporting the "evil empire" in some way. Whatever you do in your
daily life that supports it (like worshipping money, mouthing rhetoric,
despising the "other," putting down women, failing to recycle...etc etc)... be
honest...see what you can minimize..see what you can stop...see what you can
replace with life affirming, self affirming love affirming actions, thoughts,
goals. Each of us has a radical path we can take that will help to turn the
tide
of world events towards the next golden age. As the I Ching says, every crisis
is also an opportunity. We don't have to save the whole world all by
ourselves... in fact there is no way we can. But when each person does what she
can... attends to the thing that's at hand with as much integrity and love and
honesty as she can.... the world will get better. And, like Estes says, "show
your soul." That is the most important of all. A woman showing her soul is a
woman making revolution.... perhaps a quiet revolution, but nevertheless a
revolution. A woman resting is also a woman making quiet revolution.

My own frontier is about creating an alternative reality. The more the new
vibration is generated, the less energy there is for the yucky old stuff we
don't want around any more. Right, Cerridwen... evil cannot be overcome with
evil..." hatred is never healed by hatred, but by love alone is healed..."
...so whatever frontier we find ourselves on, let us act from love...with
positive motive... whether it be in resistance or in manifesting the new.

Love to all,
Shekhinah

About Dire Prophecies

There is a lot of disaster energy
around these days...
dis- aster...
means without a star...
or separated from the stars...

Volcanoes and storms are a-brewin'

Indigenous peoples cry warning

Planets are alligning

Politicians chess-boarding

Mother Gaia's rumbling shifting

The Veil is thinning thinning

To make an end

To make a new beginning

Winter Crone is shaking out Her pot

For a new spell of Transformation...

Because of this I feel

It is pivotal

To visualize the best that we can see

Make pictures of what we wish to be

Emphasize the goodness that we are

(Don't let them take away our certainty!)

-and reconnect at last with the stars...

Powerful God/desses are we

Together we can make things come to be

What new reality do you want to see?

Oh let the change, I pray, come gently gently

An easy birth, a new child come to play

In perfect love and perfect trust

up from the ashes, up from the dust

our new tribe coming on freedom's wings

"with harm to none" our spirits sing

So my soulkin hear my plea

And visualize the best that you can see

Make pictures of what you wish to be

Emphasize the goodness that you are

And help us reconnect us all

Back to the stars.

---<* ---<* ---<* ---<* ---<*

Moonspells November 10 2004

Sisterhood

Lillindrian — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 04:58:08 CDT

Thank you for your thoughts Siduri... I'm so glad sisters are talking about
this. Our loss of solidarity is a key issue, and as Jeannine Parvati says,
"the wound reveals the cure."

I think one of the reasons the things I list in my Sisterhood Rant don't
happen, or only happen intermittently, and only until they are eroded or swept
away... is because of scarcity. Patriarchy is built on scarcity...Scare City.
There is only so much access to resources, and the people "on top" of the
pyramid have the most access, while those "on bottom" have the least, yet
generally
work the hardest for the lowest pay. This model translates even into our
most intimate relationships and friendships, resources usually translating as
attention, admiration, recognition, empowerment, creative expression,
fulfillment, and so on. There is never enough, especially when the men are
getting most
of it, and sisters scrabble over the bones. Thus, competition, jealousy,
backstabbing, etc.

The antidote to scarcity is abundance. It is so amazing how simple it is to
reverse this dillemma and create a circle of abundance of all these things, so
that every member of the circle is honored, happy, feels heard, supported,
believed in. I learned about it from the experience of passing the rattle or
talking stick. Everyone had their turn to speak and be heard... there was room
enough for all. What a concept. As the rattle went round in those early
circles I was in, I saw how an abundance of empowerment, support, listening,
being
heard was being created from this simple act. I have learned so much just
from being in circles of women. I don't think it's about getting rid of the ego
at all...ego just means "I am" and is about having a Self. Women's sense of
Selfhood has been beaten down and beaten down, which is another reason we run
into power imbalances and conflicts as we start to get closer. Get rid of our
Self? I think just the opposite... let us celebrate our selves and each
other's sense of Self in the best sense... our uniqueness, our presence as
individuals in the circle... not to blow anyone up "better" or "above" anyone
else...
but all of us honored and enjoyed equally.

Simple but not always easy to accomplish. We have so many old tapes and
programs from the patriarchy. Many of these kick in when we start to open up
and
get closer to one another. We've been taught by experience that women are not
to be trusted... that some will dominate and take over...others will
disappear and not do their part...some will be too dependent... others too
aloof...
some will compete with us and try to take away what we have, some will even
tear us down instead of building us up. All these are conditioned behaviours,
designed to keep us divided. We can turn it all around if we choose to. I
don't have all the answers, but I know it can be done.

BB
Shekhinah

Moonspells November 7 2004

Discussion- Women who don't trust other women

Lillindrian — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 04:49:38 CDT

Hi Gypsearayn thank you for your honesty. I'm sure a lot of women feel the
way you do... it is typical in a patriarchal society that women are isolated
from one another and learn to put their trust in men first. Sisters are set
against sisters, as the priveleges and perks of the system are in the control of
those "on top," creating a scarcity of love, recognition, attention, support.
Some women are in easier positions than others, depending upon the men they
are connected to, and sometimes women of privelege feel they are already
liberated, and wonder what all the fuss is about. Usually they don't become
feminists unless they experience oppression directly and become awakened to the
nature of the system...

The lack of continuity and trust between sisters is an obvious sign that
something is amiss. But it's not our fault that we were born into an
arrangement
designed to keep us apart. True, lots of sisters who have no politics and no
feminism do get together anyway... for "innocent" activities like coffee
clatches or the yaya sisterhood. In older times it was quilting parties and
sewing
bees. Interestingly, such gatherings have become radicalized over time, as
women come up against things like rape, abuse, lower salaries, fewer job
options, and so on. Some women wake up as they age, and discover what happens
to
older women.

In any case it's understandable that you have little trust for sisters. In
an enslaving society, sisters can take on what feminists call "the traits of
victimization"... or "horizontal oppression," where we turn against one another,
compete, are jealous, backbiting, gossiping, scapegoating, excluding, and so
on.
All of these behaviours, usually with little awareness of the larger pattern
that put us there, are part of the design to keep us apart and disempowered.

Trust is not automatic in the best of circumstances. This is something that
must be built and earned. I pray that sisters will trust me, but I know that
it takes time and the repetition of deeds that show I walk my talk, mean what
I say, and am sincere in my advocating sisterhood. I have had sisters turn
away from me many many times in my life, so I too need time to build trust. "by
their fruits ye shall know them" is a good concept. :0)

Gypsea sis I hope we can keep dialoguing about these things and that others
in the circle will put their thoughts and feelings in too...

Blessings,
Shekhinah

Moonspells November 5 2004

*******************************************************

As some of you know, I am studying for my master's degree in social work.
One of the tasks I have, this weekend, in fact, is looking at a family
through different developmental models. Carol Gilligan, in her work, In a
Different
Voice (37th edition, 2001, Harvard University Press), reflects on Nancy
Chodorow's reconfiguring Freud's view of girls being deficient into the
following:

"Chodorow ... replaces Freud's negative and derivative description of
female psychology with a positive and direct account of her own: 'Girls emerge
with a stronger basis for experiencing another's needs or feelings as one's own
(or of thinking that one is so experiencing another's needs and feelings).
Furthermore, girls do not define themselves in terms of the denial of
preoedipal relational modes to the same extent as do boys. Therefore,
regression to
these modes tends not to feel as much a basic threat to their ego. From very
early, then, because they are parented by a person of the same gender ... girls
come to experience themselves as less differentiated than boys, as more
continuous with and related to the external object-world, and as differently
oriented to their inner object-world as well.'
".... For girls and women, issues of femininity or feminine identity do
not depend on the achievement of separation from the mother on on the progress
of individuation. Since masculinity is defined through separation while
femininity is defined through attachment, male gender identity is threatened by
intimacy while female gender identity is threatened by separation."

I see these comments as relevant to the current discussion of women
trusting other women, in that it seems evident that girls are socialized to
stick
together. But the patriarchal society in which we live forces girls and women
into the male individuation mode, and we take up that model with hardly a
blink. We become competitive with other females, as males compete with one
another.

Slowly, somewhere and sometime in our lives, we begin to remember, and
perhaps return to our roots of attachment to our gender.

This is my opinion.
Blessings,
Helen >>
******************************************************
Fascinating stuff Helen sys! It's true...female is understood as
connective... supportive...compassionate...sharing...we're in this together...
male is
understood as separate, heroic, alone, each man for himself... we are
crucified on the divide between these poles... torn between them... flopping
back and
forth from one to the other...needing both... wanting neither...

It is because of polarized definitions like this that bind us into sex roles
and limiting images of ourselves, that I came up with the five-element
approach to self-defining. Instead of seeing my qualities as "masculine" or
"feminine" I try to see them as fiery, airy, watery, earthy, and spiritual or
psychic... to varying degrees, depending on the situation at hand... and I am
comfortable embracing all five as emanating from the original womanform... we
need
a larger and more encompassing definition of "woman" that transcends
polarization and embraces the "male" within it...

BB
Shekhinah

Patriarchy

Lillindrian — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 06:54:04 CDT

There is no abstract available for this page revision.

Winter Solstice

Lillindrian — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 06:50:05 CDT

Recovering and recharging sound like great themes to me, and tie in nicely
with healing as well... I too have felt discouraged and down since election
day...

Also I just remembered the ritual for courage, sent out by our sister in
Ireland.. perhaps we could work on our own version; something simple for
strengthening our hearts and spirits for the coming year...? Courage to resist
the
infection, to speak our truth, to walk our talk, to keep putting our energy into
the things we believe in...and....?

Siduri, I'm delighted that you want to do an extended tune-in over Winter
Solstice... anyone else feel drawn to sharing this? I would have to come in
and
out of it over the 13 Days, as I may have family here, and I know I will have
work some of the time... possibly we could agree to all think of one another
for at least five minutes at an agreed upon time each night of the 13... ?

Something to look into further after darkmoon perhaps...

What is the Woman's Path

Lillindrian — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 06:53:30 CDT

A woman's path is woman-identified or self-identified... a path for each
woman to walk in her own way. It is a path of love for our womanselves, and
love
for women. It is a path of understanding and celebrating our sacredness and
our mysteries. It is a path of sisterhood and feminism. It is a path of
healing, for our hearts and souls have been shattered and torn apart by the loss
of
these things. It is a path of teaching and learning as we discover our
herstory and rebuild our connections to the ansisters. It is a path of
rebuilding
spaces and rituals and activities just for us. It is a path of adoration for
the Goddess...for the divine female roots of creation. It is sisters holding
up mirrors of recognition and appreciation to one another, that we may see how
beautiful and miraculous we are. It is a path of community, shared resources
and shared power among women. It is a path of passion, inspiration,
creativity, ecstasy, and magic. It is the source of all revolutions, catalyst
for all
improvements in the larger social body, sustainer of its life.... and the one
thing that is continually questioned and eroded. If sisters want to change
the world, then we must walk our own Womanpath, and loving sister spaces must
be preserved.

I am only one woman and cannot be the only one to define the Womanpath.
Perhaps I am the first to name it so... I don't know.... what does this name
evoke
for you, circle sisters? A true definition would be one we all contribute
to, yes?

Thank you for asking the question, Gypsea Rayn sis... you pulled these words
out of me.

Hugs,
Shekhinah

Moonspells November 4 2004

Shekhinah's Gallery

Lillindrian — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 06:39:05 CDT

Type your photo caption or credit here.	Type your photo caption or credit here.	Type your photo caption or credit here.
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About Shekhinah - written in her own words

Lillindrian — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 06:57:32 CDT

This is a spirit photo,
taken not long ago
when Shekhinah
was 58.
The image reveals
her ageless
muse-ical soul,
and the ecstatic state
that is the basis
of her
spirituality
and
life path...

Photographer Peter Hughes

Welcome to Shekhinah's Story Cave.
Here is where you can read her present
lifetime biography, learn about her training in the magical arts, get to know a little about her friends and family.

Hello! This is me at the Women of the 14th Moon Gathering in the mountains near where I live. I was there to participate in Maiden,
Mother, and Crone ceremonies, and even though I was still having mymoonflow now and then, the women there insisted on Croning me! I was in my early 50s in this photo. The following year Sumasihl, the organizer of these circles, demoted me back to Mother because I was still having an occasional moonflow... LOL! (well, not really demoted- just kidding!) Then the following year I got Croned all over again. Meanwhile I'd been getting Croned several other times in several other circles. Everybody's so excited about reclaiming the Crone Goddess and this aspect of Woman, that they want to have Cronings at every possible opportunity. :0) What's a Crone, and what'sCroning? you may be wondering... come to the Thealagie cave and find out. <g> Anyway... here's my story: (photo above by Angie Miranda)

FINDING HER

I am a muse-ical mystical magical woman who loves the Goddess and women,
a foremother of the Womanspirit movement, a teacher of Women's Mysteries,
and a priestess of Aphrodite, Goddess of Love. All the things I do- rituals,
thealagie, classes, Tarot, writing, poetry, Womanrunes, calendar
keeping, inner politics... stem from the musical ecstasies that are the soul of
my craft. I consciously received the Goddess in the mid-1960s to early '70s, when my
children were dancing to my songs. We were experiencing ecstatic trance
states evoked by the music and movement of our bodies and spirits. I had
been exploring many spiritual pathways in those years, from Hinduism to Occultism
to Christianity, to innumerable esoterica, and 'round again. My parents raised me in their Marxist/Atheist frame, and while this gave me
the vantage point of socio-political dissent, it offered no explanation for the
spiritual epiphanies I'd had from a very young age. It did, however, give me
a clean slate with none of the psychic rapes many of my sisters have had to
deal with in their conventional religious backgrounds. My Jewish roots,
Celtic affinities, red-diaper-baby beginnings, and feminist spiritual
choices have all played a part in my thealagical synthesis. Hinduism gave me mantra, reincarnation, karma, and the realization that
Self/God is All... things for which we in the States had little language
back then. Buddhism gave me meditation. The Builders of the Adytum
(a mystery school in Pasadena CA) gave me many of the principles illustrated
in Tarot and Hermetic Kaballah; the power of symbols, "as above, so below."
Jungianism gave me archetypes, the anima and the animus, synchronicity,
and the collective unconscious. Christianity gave me the seasonal cycles as
exemplified by the dying-and-reviving saviour, which I would later come to
understand as the female rites of passage of Inanna/Persephone, and Women's
Blood Mysteries. I passed through many doors in my spiritual questing, and
learned something important behind each. But always there was something missing-
the affirmation of myself as woman. Finally I arrived at the Goddess Gate, recognizing Her as a very old friend,
and have never parted from Her since. Subud in particular was to be a significant step on my path. This is a
world-wide non-denominational practise born out of Tibet, with a strong
influence from Islam. It involves a meditation called the "latihan," and an
initiation called "opening." I was instructed to surrender to the latihan,
and told that this was "God entering me." I didn't know then to call it a
trance, but I loved the blissful peace of the latihan. Eventually its energy
came into my music, and I was flying out on song and sound. Since many
of my compositions are mythic, droning, and modal, they make a likely
vehicle for this marriage. Audiences, if they were open to it, would sometimes join me in this delight.
The practise was so beautiful and profound for me, and I devoted my life to it.
Soon my children asked to dance with me, and the miracle deepened as
we created and performed together. Not that it was a "performance;" more like a sharing, a ritual.
We were sometimes compared to Isadora Duncan and her schools of dancing
children. We named our family troupe The Sybil after the oracular women
of ancient Delphi, who sat upon a tripod over a gaping hole in the earth
and breathed the trance-inducing gases that emanated there.
Priestesses (later priests) would interpret their babblings in answer to the
questions of seekers. "...poetry is the babbling of our tongues," my son Frey would explain in our
introduction, "beauty the fume that intoxicates..."

We had no idea that we were invoking the Goddess until we met a very
special woman. Sara was a closet poet and a retired school teacher who
had literally lost her voice. When she saw us "performing" at the
Troubador down in Los Angeles, she said in her whispery croak,
"You're the hope of the world!" What on earth did she mean, I wondered.
"Read The White Goddess by Robert Graves," she kept insisting, whenever I
asked, in her unforgettable croaking scratchy voice. Our little family moved north, following the fairs and our Muse, settling in
the coastal rain forested mountains. It was then that I found a used copy of
The White Goddess in a second hand bookshop. On the cover was an
ancient Greek seal, showing the Triple Goddess handing the Eye of Poetic
Inspiration to a young male acolyte. Graves taught me that all poetry, all theatre, began as invocation of
the Goddess. In our openness and innocence we had stumbled upon a
spiritual practise that had once been the sacred rites of thousands. I had always sensed a loving Source; had called Her "God" simply by
default. Upon receiving the revelation of this book, it was a small
matter to add "dess" to Her sacred Name. I took vows to serve Her forever. Soon after that women began coming to me, asking for teachings.
I hadn't much formal education except for theatre training at the
High School of Performing Arts, and a year and a half of college as a
drama major- plus extensive input from my amazing self-taught and
brilliant mom. I didn't think of myself as a teacher, but I was
channeling like crazy, and women wanted to be a part of the beauty
I was delighted to share. We were living in a yurt in the woods, while the women's movement
was burgeoning around the world. (A yurt is a small wooden
tipi-like house, originating in Tibet.) On full moon nights we would
offer concerts there, and people would either squeeze into our tiny
space, or actually watch us through the windows! Sisters would
come up the mountain on Monday nights, and since our space was
round, we of course sat in circle. I called our groups the Moonday
Circles, and our home the Moonhut. Later I found out that this name
too was ancient; moonhuts were the menstrual huts where women
used to go when their bloods came, for ritual, communion, learning,
and community decisions. Back in L.A. I had participated in feminist consciousness-raising
groups, so I knew to use their techniques in facilitation. We would
"pass the rattle;" actually a Native American tradition, and take
turns speaking our truth and listening well. I saw how circular
process could heal us in so many ways, and how it could heal the
world. The Moonhut was located in a Tibetan Buddhist community in the
woods. Everyone around there was chanting OM in their circles, so
I naturally thought it appropriate to chant its opposite; MA, for
calling in the Goddess. Ma, the universal Mother cry, is now chanted
by Goddess-lovers around the planet. I had learned at the Builders of the Adytum about visualizing the
rainbow colors in alignment with the seven primary chakras. As I
ardently pursued my studies, I found the witches' Cone of Power.
This, combined with the rainbow, the chakras, seven ascending notes
of MA, our visioning, sounding, and breathing synchronized,
became the now widely used Rainbow Cone Meditation. (See the
back of Cycle 1 in my book Ariadne's Thread.) The Cone of Power
is a psychic vortex of energy which swirls around the circle and comes
to a peak above its center. The Cone is usually used as a projector
of intention and vision, for the purpose of casting spells with real results. Most of the Moonday circles would convene for nine months or moons.
Among our varied projects was the Pact; our collective statement of
ethics, which we would compose and then sign in blood, at midnight,
on Hallowe'en. As far as I know, I was the first facilitator of Goddess
circles to emphasize the development of ethics for our current
movement. (See the Pact to Build the Temple of Trust in the back of
the Thread.) In these circles we went to the same liminal spaces as the Sybil; a soaring,
ecstatic high. We were possessed by the Goddess, in love with each
other, flying in the magic. Practical activists may think this
practice of no use in undoing real oppression, but they may not
realize it is the basis of all shamanistic powers of magical
transformation and the unification of our spirits for the building of
true community. Such years those were, as the Goddess drew me through one initiation
after another. I knew She was going to sweep the planet, but there was
still so much I didn't know. She sent me a woman lover, and so the
mystery expanded and deepened, as I saw the connections between
sisterhood, spirituality, politics, and sexuality. Our passions were
intense and soulful. That same magic appeared in lovemaking that
I had found in ritual and music. This too was a Goddess channel
and it was only a matter of time before I dedicated myself to Aphrodite,
Goddess of love, beauty, passion, and poetry. Inevitably I have had to
face Her dark side as well; the pain and death and rebirth of love, the
transformations that wrench the soul, yet bring so much healing and
empowerment, the need to be fierce and to risk much for one's Muse.
A few years ago I consecrated myself as a warrior to the Dark Goddess,
chose my magical weapon, and made my shield. For me, Aphrodite and
the Dark Goddess (the Faery Queen) are two aspects of the
same Archetypal Being. (You can see my shield on the altar at
APHRODITE'S SHRINE.) The Goddess sent me many lessons about gender, about feminism,
about patriarchy, about circle energy and sisterhood, about herstory
and history, mythology and thealagie. Yet through all my development
as bard, author, thealagian, priestess, and activist I have always sought
to maintain those early muse-ical ecstasies in my circles; to find the
language and thealagie that would get their importance across our
gaps of estrangement and unknowing. Years later I was to publish my
book Ariadne's Thread (1991), now considered a classic in the movement,
and still going strong. I am a pioneer on many fronts and so have not always been warmly
received in all Goddess venues. Having been raised in poverty with
a Marxist influence, I bring a vision of classlessness to my spirituality
and teachings. My theatrical and ecstatic beginnings take me beyond
standardized ritual. My openness to a kind of tribal intimacy brings
a special way of connecting deeply in circles of every size. My music
permeates everything I do, which makes my offerings unique. My
non-linear thealagie and politics compel me to introduce new ways of
understanding archetypes, gender, and circle work. My lesbianism and
devotion to women is sometimes challenging to male-centered or
male-identified groups. I am not a separatist, but some groups assume
that "I hate men," and withdraw. (See more on my position on this
in the THEALAGIE cave.) That I ask for monetary support for my work
has been controversial too. (See HABONDIA'S GROVE) My self-taught,
non-academic approach is sometimes unacceptable in groups that
emphasize a more conventional scholarly style. My identity as a witch
has lost me many supporters in those parts of society where the "w" word
still rankles. Feminists don't always support me because some think a spiritual,
inward emphasis is ungrounded or impractical; that it fails to address
the realities of poverty, pollution, rape, and other grim works of the
patriarch. My message to them is: The archetypes rule our fate. What manifests begins in the dreamtime,
and in our concepts of reality. Yes, of course, the outrages must be
addressed and dealt with in the "real" world. But sisters, beloveds,
please consider this- we will only make lasting change when we
change the thoughtforms and inner grids that bring our reality into
being. Many have seen the truth of our situation on this planet, many
have analyzed it well and struggled valiantly to Name it aloud and undo
it in direct action. But few have presented alternative inner systems to
address our reality at its source. This is a major aspect of my work, and
the work of others who deserve your attention and support. Remember
the teachings of Native American and Bardic wisdom: there is much
power in magical song. My priestess sisters don't always welcome me because some perceive
me as a threat to their toehold of success. The capitalist competitive
system we all must somehow survive forces us apart and onto pedestals.
My message to them is: There will always be a scarcity of recognition and support until we
step off the staircases and pedestals of patriarchy. In the circle of
priestesses there is room and time for each to be recognized, to share
her light and give of her gifts to the community. In the circle everyone
has her turn and the talking rattle is available to all. There is no
competition if we give this support to one another, appreciate one
another's gifts, exclude none. (Including ourselves.) We are the
vanguard of the movement, and the models for those who come after.
Leave one priestess out and you are playing His game, perpetuating
His system. There will be no dismantling of patriarchy without
solidarity among sisters, especially among sister-priestesses who are
accessing deep powers and are role models in our community. Many times I have received the message that I am "different" and don't
"fit in." It breaks my heart for my only wish is to mend the broken circle
and be one with our lost Goddess tribe. Standards of convention:
imperatives to be rich, fast, thin, perfectly coifed and clipped (including
our gardens!) and stay "in our place," are merely the tools of oppression.
I know the Goddess brought me in as a wild woman for a purpose. My
life is a struggle, but She gets me through, and I have seen my influence
take hold despite the resistance. And still those limerant states embrace
me when the Muse is aroused and the song is full. Now at age 66 I live in a small coastal town, in a garage and
backroom I have made womblike and sacred, with draperies, altars,
and cushions. Most of it I reserve as a temple for circles of women,
circles of women and men, (and sometimes children if they're into it),
as well as my own solitary practises. I offer ceremony, tarot readings,
consultations and music in this magic space... as well as schmoozing
with friends and loved ones. I also offer tarot readings by phone and online.
(See the TAROT cave.) I teach a correspondence course based on
the Thread, and have a few cyber students one-on-one, as well as my
online classes in the Moonspell Study Circle. When I can
raise the funds and gather the energy, I offer public rituals, workshops,
or concerts; some for women, some for mixed groups of "every gentle
gender." I'm still building this website too, as you can probably tell...
:0) Occasionally I am invited to travel and do presentations around the
planet. (Watch the CURRENT EVENTS cave for more information
on live appearances.) I'm writing several books, and completion/release
of my tarot book and deck is my current goal. My two children, Angel (now forty-something) and Frey (now also
forty-something) have grown and flown, and have children of their own.
My grandsons Max and Janiko live in Europe, so I don't get to see them much.
My grand daughter Jesse is in the Southwestern U.S., so I do get to see her occasionally.

On Dreaming

Lillindrian — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 06:58:08 CDT

Yes
I am familiar with the Eastern concept that all we experience in this plane
is illusion... a dream in the night of Brahma... the exhortation to transcend
the ego... the encouragement to get off the wheel of birth, life, and death
that must always bring suffering because it is built on the pleasure/pain
duality and "you can't have one without the o-o-ther... (music in the
background
here :0) )...

One time I was at a Satsang listening to a famous guru explain the familiar
dictum that all is an illusion, couched in the implication that then one must
let the dream go, and return to sublime Nothingness. A woman sitting near me
in the audience muttered under so that only those nearby could hear her "Well
if it's all a dream, we might as well have a good one." Right on sista!

The western mysteries and pagan beliefs look at it differently, I believe.
We see the Wheel as beautiful and miraculous, birthed from the magic and genius
of our Divine Mother... a sacred Dance that we can engage in with love, and
learn to do well, with pleasure instead of pain... to celebrate... to
co-create. To us the Self is the I Am, our sense of being who we are... the
essential
meaning of the word "ego," an individual divine presence of body, mind,
spirit, energy, and heart... to be loved and cherished. The more loved and
valued
we are, the less "egotistical" in the negative sense this word has come to
mean...

I think there is some confusion about the meaning and use of the word "ego."
It simply means "I Am" but has come to mean arrogance, and separation. To
end the confusion, I have come up with the terms "true ego" and "false ego"...
the first being the authentic loved, loving and self loving Self who flowers to
fulfill Her awesome creative potential.... and the second being the arrogant
one who has become desensitized to their connection with all Beings and Things
in the universe...

Women especially I think have been so beaten down in patriarchy, that if
anything we need to build up our sense of Self.... to learn to be good to us...
to
nurture us and heal... to find ways to blossom and manifest our dreams. For
us the Eastern teachings may not be as helpful, as they may be for people in
power-over positions in society who may have a false ego running them.

Getting off the Wheel for a time can be a good thing too... I mean if you've
done mostly suffering and agony and distress and disaster on the Wheel and
haven't been able to figure out a way to prevent that yet... well taking a break
from it all makes perfect sense. Maybe the Buddhists and Hindus have given us
a part of our spiritual training wheels so to speak... the ultimate Timeout.
<grin>

But how long does one want to hang in nothingness? Some more than others, no
doubt, but I would think that after a while one would grow bored, no? Maybe
after a few eons...? I would think at some point one would want to engage in
some dream or other... and it seems to me, if we're evolving, chances are each
time we engage we know a little more about what to do and what to avoid to
help make it a wonderous and fabulous journey...

The wheel of fate comes 'round once more
Again we join the dance
This time we know the steps by heart
No more a prey to chance...

Hallowe'en chant by Shekhinah

I do agree that there is far too much separation and isolation in our
fragmented ways of living in these times... that the old tribal ways have much
to
offer in teaching us how to live in connection with all the five worlds of
human, plant, stone, animal, and faery... witches surely have always known
these
things. How else could we do magic if we didn't feel our interwovenness with
all that is...?

So I think transcending the Wheel has a place and a purpose in the scheme of
things... or non-things as the case may be... but I am also concerned that it
tends to make the people complacent in times of political oppression in
society. I mean, well, if it's all an illusion anyway, there's not much point
in
protesting or trying to do anything to change it, or resisting it. Better just
go away somewhere and withdraw from it all and meditate oneself into neutral.
Sure, that works... here we go, off the wheel now. This is why political
feminists have called spiritual feminists "bliss bunnies" and accused us of
escapism and copping out. Sometimes they are right, I think...'cause I remember
in my youthful days when I embraced these Eastern teachings... I got that it
was best to leave the world and its troubles behind and that it was useless to
try and fix it because the suffering and injustices are part of the nature of
the beast...there's no way out except off. It wasn't until I awakened to the
Goddess and found myself in ecstatic circles of poetic bliss with my children,
and got radicalized by the world's resistance to such a woman and her family,
and got passionately involved in what we were doing... that my beliefs about
these things got radicalized...

So, while taking breaks from the great Learning Curve of life definitely has
its merits... there's much to be said for coming back and doing it
magnificently... :0)

Thanks Amy for responding to my thoughts on "the one great leader..."....
still I do feel that sisters can be inspirations to one another, and I am deeply
honored that Flora finds this in me... as I do in you, FloraSys!

You wanna speak your mind
Get a little respect
You're up on a pedestal,
Queen of the set
You're queen of the set
You get shot down
They say you should be spreadin
The power around!

So you try to be equal
Give some power away
You don't exist
And
You
Got
Nuthin
To
Say.

From "Priestess Wrap"
by Shekhinah Mountainwater
All rights reserved

Big hugs, many blessings!
Shekhinah

Moonspells November 1 2004

Dreams and Dreaming

Lillindrian — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 06:56:43 CDT

There is no abstract available for this page revision.

The Buried Moon

Lillindrian — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 15:52:19 CDT

THE BURIED MOON Once upon a midnight time
Once upon a midnight time
Moon Goddess come
Moon Goddess come
Come silvery
Come silvery
Come silvery down
To the darking sky

But got caught upon a snag
A twisting and a holding snag
A-holding her
A snag of Time
A snag of Lies
Forgotten lies
Forgotten lies Moon Goddess pull
Moon Goddess pull
Pull away to freedom
Pull away to freedom
Pull away
Pull away But snag hold her
Hold her in his power
She cannot get away
She cannot get away

Moon Goddess sad
Moon Goddess sad now
Her head low down
Her head low down

But now a human man come
Now a human man come
A good man
But he lost
He lost the way
And crazy She shine her silvery
She shake her silvery
Shimmer hair shimmer light
She show him shine
She show him ways
She show him ways He leave her there
He leave her there
Beneath a stone
Beneath a stone
And she moan lady moan
Lady Moon moan
Moan in the dark
In the darking, moan But now a new time come
Now a new time come
And the good man he no more lost
Afore he remember
He remember
Heremember
Heremember the silver
The silver shine a-lighting
Alighting up the sky He take the people by the hand
He take the people by the hand
"There is a light," he say
"A shimmering, a silvery
"She set me free
"She set me free
"She set me free!" And then the womon of the world
Rised up
Rise the daughters of the moon
All all rise up
And make a cry: "Wise woman know
"Wise womon know moon magic
"She point the way
"She point the way in
" 'Go within' she say
" ' And find the stone
" 'And find the stone...' " We go all we go
To find the stone
To find the stone LIFT UP THE STONE AND FREE THE MOON
LIFT UP THE STONE AND FREE THE MOON
LIFT UP THE STONE AND FREE THE MOON She shine silvery
She shine silvery up
Silvery up
To the darking sky
She silver fly
She silver fly
She silver fly... Poem "The Buried Moon"
by Shekhinah Mountainwater
copyright 1977
Shekhinah Mountainwater
All rights reserved
Based on the traditional
English fairytale. This poetry is part of a longer work
that includes sung verses
and has been expanded into
a ritual theatre piece
called "A Faery Ritual to
Change the world,"
designed for full group
participation.

Valentine

Lillindrian — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 15:50:46 CDT

VALENTINE Take heed, my love, I pray thee
On this holy lover's day
It is for that I love thee
This saying I would say
Not beneath nor yet above thee
But beside thee I would stay You became the scowling master
Who over me held sway
And I the fearful daughter
Who drained your strength away
Yet we longed for a friend, a lover
To shield and share the way I became the scolding mother
Who over you held sway
And you the mewling wee one
Who in my nest did stray
Yet we longed for a friend, a lover
To shield and share the way We tried for love's perfection
Instead found hearts of clay
When we saw that we were human
Our frailties barred the way
Forgiveness is the ending
To such a passion play Take heart, my love, I pray thee
On this holy lover's day
It is for that I love thee
This saying I would say
Not beneath, nor yet above thee
But beside thee I will stay...
Song/Poem "Valentine"
copyright 1976
Shekhinah Mountainwater
Sung to the tune of "Pretty Flora"
a folksong

The Star

Lillindrian — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 15:47:10 CDT

THE STAR Gently Truth will touch you when She comes
No loud fanfare blares Her forth
But in the deepest space of silence
Angels' silver calls embrace the earth... Now I lie beneath Her loving gaze
And I the open lake receive Her cup
Now I float within Her gentle heart
And I the open earth am filled with hope...

Now I take my Lady's form
And pour out all the love that lives in me
Seven temples open seven doors
And hope forever changed to certainty...

Gently Truth will touch you when She comes
No loud fanfare blares Her forth
But in the deepest space of silence
Angels' silver calls embrace the earth...
Written for the Star Card in the Tarot
(c) 1967 Shekhinah Mountainwater
All rights reserved

On Blackness

Lillindrian — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 15:45:55 CDT

ON BLACKNESS They told me black wasn't beautiful
They told me black was ugly
And I believed them

Black is evil they said
Black is hairy scary
Death
Black is frightful,
Black is dangerous. But one day I looked at the black
And the black split open
And I saw black behind black behind black
Opening opening
ad infinitem And out tumbled
naiads
and faeries
and goblins
and nymphs and maidens
With long black hair
and mermaids of the deep
and medusae
and muses
and Morgaine la Fay and out came Black Women
all dancing
and shouting
and loving
and singing

and out tumbled crones
old crones with their cauldrons
and black purring kittens
and sphinxes
and spiders
and spangled black space
where Old Spider Woman
weaves us her webs
her webs
her webs... And out tumbled death
all safe soft and cozy
a death that was sleepy
a death that was sane and out tumbled wombs
and vulva-shaped shells
and the moaning mouths of women... And black has become beautiful to me
oh
so
beautiful
and I saw that they lied
But I no longer believed them And now as I draw
My black cloak around me
And light my black candle
At the stroke of black midnight
I stir up the ashes
In my old black cauldron

And weave

weave

weave

me a

spell

spell

spell... Poem "On Blackness" by Shekhinah Mountainwater
circa 1980
(c) 1980 All Rights Reserved

For Suzanne, who pulled it out of me... :0)

Do You Use Wood?

Lillindrian — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 15:44:12 CDT

DO YOU USE WOOD? I am Tree

My trunk and my branches are my bones
Holding me erect and firm
My leaves are my hair
Whispering and flowing through the air
Telling you secrets that you can hear
If you dare... My sap is my blood
As precious and vital as your own
With my endmost twigs I reach
And touch you...
Touch sky...
Touch star...
With my roots I join the Wheeling Dance
And plug in
To the vastness
Of it all......

I am Tree
I am Treeness As precious and vital to you
As your blood and breath and bone
I am your home. Rest in me.
Take shelter
Breathe of my breath
Feed of my fruits
Take sweet inspiration from my flowers
For I am the pure love of goddess
Yours for the taking.

Take a fair share
Without guilt or shame
But remember
Respect
And give back

But most of all Remember. Poem "DO YOU USE WOOD?"
by Shekhinah Mountainwater
Santa Cruz, CA 1999
All rights reserved

On Money and Priestessing an a Modern Day Patriarchy

Lillindrian — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 15:41:51 CDT

ON MONEY AND PRIESTESSING IN MODERN DAY PATRIARCHY -The word "Money" comes from the name of Moneta, Roman Goddess of abundance. In ancient times the village shaman, wise-woman, medicine-teacher, healer or priestess was supported by her community. She was housed and fed and cared for, so that she could devote her life to spiritual service. Her people understood that she had been touched and called by numinous powers; a gift from the Goddess to help keep the well-being of the tribe. This made it possible to deepen and perfect her craft, to study, practice and develop her skills full time. She was a person of "limerance," that is, one who dwells on the threshold of alternate consciousness, committed to a lifestyle of ritual seclusion, the better to serve. Money was not an issue for her, as it is for pagan clergy today. Any person in the tribe could go to her for healing, counsel, ceremony or magical assistance, without worrying about payment. If they had the wherewithal it was customary to bring the bowl of rice, veggies from the garden, or other useful contributions. If not, that was ok too. Today we are in a patriarchal economic system based on money. The work ethic determines the way we value or de-value the energy and time we give. We prefer our money to come from doing things we don't particularly enjoy; somehow this makes it more legitimate. Ironically, the people with the most money often work the least, accessing their wealth via inheritance, playing the stock market, gambling, controlling the underclasses, and so on. They derive their luxuries from the lower-paid labor of servants and service providers. Those with less money alternately resent the upper classes and dream of someday accessing their astronomical wealth. Comes the modern day priestess who knows she is called, but in many cases appears with little or no economic backing. She is forced to market and set fees for her work by this alienating system - or divide her time between the work she loves and some form of accepted labor. As a result her gifts remain underdeveloped and she must make do with rituals hurriedly arranged in her "spare" time. A new class system among pagan clergy arises. Those with good incomes, college education and social clout can afford to be part-time practitioners "for free." Those who achieve college credentials in their field can take other "legitimate" titles like "therapist," or "teacher," and are permitted to charge handsome fees with no redress. Those with less of these privileges are out of luck and must content themselves with occasional bits and pieces of the work they love. The whole community loses out because full-time, fully developed spiritual services are largely unavailable. Everyone assumes that spiritual offerings were never meant to associate with money. An outcry naturally arises, as pagans set themselves against such "corruption." Attitudes towards money can be very confusing. While we are told that materialism is corrupt and anti-spirit, we are expected to demonstrate material well being - stable income, nice car, big house, etc. The poor are punished and blamed for their poverty, yet money is said to be corrupting. Within this framework we find interestingly varied views. To the wealthy money is power, access, and status. To the businessperson it is a "killing," quarry of the hunt, conquest. To the middle and working classes it is respectability and responsibility. To the poor it is sustenance, survival, life itself. Few seem to see the magical potential of money to be the abundance of the Goddess' unconditional love. As a full time low-income priestess, I have found myself caught in the gears of these conflicting forces and ideals. Upper class people are appalled by my difficulties, yet refuse to help, since by their estimation I have "created my own reality" and should go out and "get a job." Then along comes the angry mobility mob
With their eternal refrain: "Get a job!" "But I'm workin' so hard!" you try to point out
"You're enjoyin' it too much!" they shout... (From Priestess Wrap by Shekhinah) Lower class people may be more sympathetic, but may not be able to afford to pay for my offerings, or make donations. Sometimes those with less resent me for my chosen lifestyle, while they continue to labor at boring, underpaid, unfulfilling, high-stress or humiliating jobs. Meanwhile, mainstream religious groups and churches continue to accumulate resources. The Vatican's basement is stocked with precious artifacts looted in ancient warfare against the indigenous faiths patriarchal interests have conquered and absorbed. Congregations donate generously and churches can offer shelter to the homeless, food to the hungry, beautiful buildings to meet in, and pleasant accommodations to their clergy. I'll never forget the day Jade River drove me around Madison WI several years ago. I was enjoying the splendor of some of the churches we passed, and she quipped, "Do you have church-envy too?" A lot of pagans don't seem to realize that it costs to put on events, hold classes, publish newsletters. Halls and land sites must be rented, publicity paid for, supplies purchased. And this doesn't even take into account the enormous output of unpaid time and energy. Most presenters are lucky to break even, and many go into a financial hole to put on festivals, workshops, rituals, and other public events. The same people who "can't afford" to pay for such services will often spend as much or more on entertainment, dinner out, or other more "acceptable" professionals. Many resent the fees requested and accuse providers of violating traditional ethics. Providers are not always all that pure either. Some really are in the field for monetary reasons, prestige, power, or other irrelevant goals. Imitators climb on, proclaim questionable expertese, borrow ideas and creations from the originators, taking credit that should rightly belong to the Goddess or those who came before. ...Then along comes a sister 's maybe read one book
Says "Now I'm a priestess! Listen! Look!" The people come in droves, pay well for her class
There you are in the background picking up the trash... I am a deeply devoted muse-priestess. My services take the form of music, community ritual, classes, pastoral counsel, myth-enactment, thealagical works, and writing. I am numinously bonded to the Goddess as Aphrodite and the Faery Queen, in their aspects of limerant love, poetic ecstasy, and deep transformation. I am committed to women and the task of restoring our liberties, particularly with regard to spirituality. I have made vows to live full time in service to the Goddess and women I ask for minimal fees or donations and prefer to live modestly that I may charge less and be accessible to all. I do a lot of giveaway as well, and believe this helps to create abundance. Survival is a daily struggle, though I am rich in many ways. In the face of these social and economic difficulties it takes great courage to continue on the path. It's hard enough to endure the blind rejection of mainstream culture. Harder still the slings and arrows of my own people who may be the first to abandon me in times of need, or accuse me of unethical behavior. Despite the hardships I love my life. I feel very lucky to have channeled so much beauty and to be so blessed by my unfailing Muse. I can go at my own pace and live in tune with my sensitive shamanic nature. I can keep my Turtle Woman happy. :0) I can choose where and when to work, and prioritize as the Goddess directs me. Though the price is dear, I am free. And I am supremely blessed by the love and respect of many sisters and brothers around the world. I'm not writing this, dear reader, to elicit your pity or burden you with guilt- only in hope that in telling my truth I may win your trust. That way if you decide to partake of my offerings, you can feel good about paying and know what you are supporting. Maybe these writings will help you to look at the issues in a new way and reach a better understanding. And I too hope to learn more via your comments. Please feel free to email me at shekhinahmoon@aol.com and share your responses and wisdom. A long time ago I learned that money is magical. It is actually a thoughtform, representing the value we give it. This means that we have the power to direct its influence for good or ill, if we can agree to a common interpretation and use of money. I have explored some ideas on creating a better economic system. I dream of a world where each of us is honored and supported to give of our innate gifts, develop our talents and do the work that fulfills us. Where money is an infinite river from which we all can take what we need, as well as contribute to it our overflow for the benefit of others. Perhaps we are creating this world even now, as we wrangle over the issues and communicate our concerns. Perhaps this website will result in my own economic transformation, in which case I will have to rewrite this article and a new poem! LOL So dear ones, if you are still reading this, I invite you to keep these thoughts in mind when you go to explore the Moonspell offerings, or those of other sincere Goddess workers. Together we can heal the magic and grow a strong movement that is practical as well as solid and lasting. May the Goddess in her luscious abundant generosity - as Habondia, as Lakshmi, as Gefn, as Fortuna, as Moneta - as Demeter, as Gaiea, as Oshun and Aphrodite - bless us all with balanced prosperity. So Mote It Be!
Blessed Be. Lakshmi, Hindu Goddess of Abundance
May She shower us with Her endless golden rain...
P.S. The best feminist work I've found on economics so far is Genevieve Vaughan's concept of the Gift Economy. See her amazing book For Giving.

Habondia's Grove

Lillindrian — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 15:39:53 CDT

IF I WERE RICH If I were rich I'd have a dressing room
Where I could drape my garments night and noon
Put them away when I choose the time
Close the door, and no one would mind If I were rich I'd have a great big tub
With lion's feet, where I could rest or scrub
Fill it with warmth and bubbles to the brim
And take my ease there within If I were rich I'd keep a Temple fine
Where the Goddess-light could forever shine
And all who love Her could come and share
Their hearts and souls and loving care But alas my friends I am so poor
I must keep my bed behind the door
Sit sideways on the toilet, shower upstairs
And in a garage keep our Temple fair... In life I struggle daily to survive
And to keep the spirit-dream alive
To be a priestess, walk Her way
Come to the sacred every day But patriarchy's a swinging door
Where poor is rich and rich is poor
For Goddess has blessed me with limerance*
And the gift of knowing Her holy dance She gives me sisters and songs and myths
Through my devotion Her magic lives!

It's a complex time to be a witch
But in the deepest sense I am truly rich.

Habondia is a European Goddess of Abundance
Celebrated by some of us at "Lammas"
(August 1st and 2nd)
Photo above of Shekhinah's Habondia Altar
by Cindia Boyle