poems

Woodspriestess: Night’s Heartbeat

Posted on March 3, 2013 by Molly

Tonight the leaves were rustling very noticeably in the light breeze and I kept looking up at the trees and sky—so, I tried to get a picture of what the trees at night look like when looking up at them…

Sweet wind
geese honking
night falling
trees swaying
snow melting
planet turning
in deep black space

Hope springing
life singing
leaves rustling
seeds waiting
sap running
I hear
night’s heartbeat

(3/3/2013)

I was gone from home for most of the day and didn’t make it out to the woods until it was dusk. I heard distant geese and the dry leaves were making a very noticeable chorus. I’m interested by how the cats and dog immediately notice when I go out and come down with me and sit on the rocks too. I’m not the only one with a daily practice! I also noticed, unfortunately, how I was preoccupied by thinking about what I was going to write tonight and what picture I could take in the poor light, as well as trying to figure out if I was even going to have enough time to post before midnight. This detracts from the mindfulness practice of these woods visits…though, noticing the preoccupation itself is also a kind of mindfulness. So, since the leaves were so communicative tonight, I tuned in to what else I could hear in the nightfall space and that brought me back into a point of focus.

I also like turning to go back inside and seeing my cozy home waiting for me through the woods. Doesn’t it look welcoming? 🙂

Categories: endarkenment, nature, poems, spirituality, theapoetics, woodspriestess | Leave a comment

Woodspriestess

Posted on February 23, 2013 by Molly

Statement of Faith

I have come
Earthpriestess
woodspriestess
nightpriestess

winter’s chill
bone deep
life solid
sliding
whispering
chilling

I have come
seeking answers

I have come
seeking questions

I have come
offering service

I have come
to know
and to be healed

I have come
to commune

to speak
and to listen

I have come
to find out
that which it is I need to know

How I may best serve

and how to keep my heart open
my mind free
and my hands loving

in Her service
in this time
and in the place
on this Earth…

(12/26/12)

In late December, I decided to maintain a year-long spiritual practice of “checking in” at the priestess rocks in my woods. I committed to spending at least a few minutes there every day, rain or sleet or shine, and whether day or night. I also decided to take a daily picture. My idea was to really, really get to know this space deeply. To notice that which changes and evolves on a daily basis, to see what shares the space with me, to watch and listen and learn from and interact with the same patch of ground every day and see what I learn about it and about myself. I want to really come into a relationship with the land I live on, rather than remain caught up in my head and my ideas and also the sometimes-frantic feeling hum of every day life as a parent and teacher. I started this practice on January first and have not yet missed a day (it is only February now, so I’m not yet very impressive!). I considered making a daily blog post to go with it, whether lengthy or not, and include the pictures I’ve been taking of the ever-changing space and what catches my eye, but decided maybe that was premature and perhaps added a layer of “have to” on top of the “want to.” I also considered that it might get boring to those who follow me here—“yeah, yeah, more woods and rocks, we know, you like them.” So, after keeping up the practice for six weeks now, I’ve come up with another plan. Starting in March, I’m going to do a thirty-day experiment in which I make a daily post/picture about my “woodspriestess” experience. Then, if that works and is fun and doesn’t bog me down and readers seem to like it, perhaps I’ll continue the project (I’m going to continue the daily practice, what is up for consideration is just whether or not I’m going to write about it).

A couple of days ago, on my way back home from the woods I found a rock lying right in front of me on a patch of moss like a “gift” of sorts. I don’t usually take things from the woods, but I felt like this one was for me to take and so I did. I made it into one of my polymer clay goddess figures and today when I went back down to the woods with her in my hand, I had the strong sensation…this…this is my statement of faith…

Categories: nature, poems, priestess, spirituality, theapoetics, woodspriestess | 9 Comments

Bloodrich

Posted on February 20, 2013 by Molly

We who bleed
we who pour libation to the earth each moon,
weave toward the sea.
These are the priestesses who carry me.
Each moon, each woman
nourishes this soil that suckles us.
We the bloodrich, we the generous.

–Sue Silvermarie in Open Mind

This quote is from a thought-a-day, women’s inspiration book by Diane Mariechild. In the section opened by this quote, Mariechild goes on to talk about the power of a monthly women’s circle as well as suggesting that each woman find, “some gesture that reminds us of the power of the bleeding time and begin to incorporate it into our lives.” She gives the example of placing a red flower on your desk or altar during this time. For myself, I like to wear something red. I also have two pendants that I wear during moontime (sometimes together, sometimes one or the other).

“Honouring our menstrual cycle reminds us how sacred we are.” -Jane Hardwicke Collings in Becoming A Woman

“Childbearing is a form of power, one of the greatest powers in the world, and menstruation is a sign of that power.” -Valerie Tarico

I recently wrote more about moontime for the Pagan Families blog as well!

Categories: moontime, poems, priestess, quotes | 2 Comments

Prayer

Posted on February 17, 2013 by Molly

New custom goddess sculptures

Stars give her strength
Sun turn her eyes
Moon guide her feet
Earth turning hold her
We pray for her
We sing for her
We drum for her
We pray.

Chrystos (in Open Mind)

Categories: blessings, poems, prayers, quotes, readings, ritual, spirituality, womanspirit, women, women's circle | Leave a comment

I keep vigil…

Posted on February 2, 2013 by Molly

This post is cross-posted at Pagan Families.

One of the first Pagan bloggers I ever followed online is Teo Bishop, a solitary Druid and prolific writer. Recently, Bishop wrote about creating community poetry for use in liturgy based on the starting line, “I keep vigil to the fire in my heart” (see current contributions from other writers via this post: We Keep Vigil: Crowdsourced Poetry). Bishop started this experiment last year during Imbolc, when he composed a spontaneous poem to Brigid. As someone who frequently experiences spontaneous poetry in the sacred spot in the woods behind my house, an experience I refer to as theapoetics, I was instantly captivated by this whole keeping vigil thing. Imbolc has a natural connection to the cycle of pregnancy, birth, and breastfeeding and the fire in my own heart burns brightly for these pivotal life experiences. So, I went down to the woods, opened my mouth and this is what emerged…

I keep vigil
to the fire
in my heart.

I keep vigil
to the women
of the world

women’s voices
women’s stories
women’s lives

I keep vigil for the birthing women of the planet
whether she gives birth
at 5 weeks, 12 weeks,
15 weeks, 20 weeks
or 42 weeks

I keep vigil for the mothers
who cry over tiny bodies
of their babies
I keep vigil to
the bright hot spirit
of the newborn babies
that greet the world
with eyes wide open

I keep vigil for the woman
who cries in the night
I keep vigil for the woman
who births with joy and exultation
I keep vigil for the woman
who struggles and suffers in birth

I keep vigil to the midwives
and the women who serve each other
midwife means loves women

I keep vigil to
the breastfeeding women
of the world
and I keep vigil to the mother
whose heart was broken
in trying to nurse her baby

I keep vigil for the mothers who laugh
and the mothers who cry
the mothers who sing
and the mothers who moan
the mothers who need
and the mother give
the mothers who triumph
and the mothers who “fail”

I keep vigil for the mothers
who try again

I keep vigil for the mothers
who want more children
and who cannot have them
and I keep vigil for the mothers
who have more children
than they truly want

I keep vigil for the women
who pull their sweet, warm, slippery babies
up to grateful hearts and breasts following birth
and I keep vigil for the women
who let tiny bodies slip through their own
never to take a breath of life

I keep vigil for the women
snuggling nose to nose with their children
hugging
laughing
braiding hair
playing
reading
dancing
cooking
and I keep vigil
to the mothers driving,
transporting,
shuttling,
attending lessons,
taking movies and pictures
losing sleep at night

I keep vigil
for the mothers of the world
I keep vigil
for the women of the world

I keep vigil
to the fire
in my heart.

1/28/2013

What comes to your mind when you think about keeping vigil? This Imbolc, what fire in your heart are you tending? What burns brightly in your spirit? To what are you keeping vigil?

Categories: liturgy, nature, poems, prayers, spirituality, theapoetics, womanspirit, women, writing | Leave a comment

Breathe peace

Posted on January 30, 2013 by Molly

Open your heart to the world
open your hands to your sisters
open your life to your children
open your spirit to the Goddess

spread your arms
open your chest
lift your face to the sky

breathe deep
breathe peace

Each year, during the first week of February, I take a “computer-off retreat” (within the parameters of having a job that requires being online). That time is now and I’m so looking forward to a digital rest. I also treated myself to a Breathe Peace online class (ah, the irony, since I’m having a computer off retreat! Luckily, the online class lasts throughout the month of February, so I can take my break and still come back to it!) I also have a new book called The Magickal Retreat: Making Time for Solitude, Intention & Rejuvenation and I’m toying with the idea of doing an outdoor, all night “vigil” of sorts (maybe as a family).

(Amazon affiliate link included)

Categories: nature, poems, retreat, womanspirit | Leave a comment

Body Blessing to and from the Mother

Posted on January 28, 2013 by Molly

Feet planted solidly on Mother Earth
Drawing up
Solid
Gaia energy
Rich life
Pulsing planet
Power of being

Shoulders back
Chest open
I breathe in the Breath of Life
Wind
Air
Oxygen
Swirling
Flowing
Breathing me

Spreading my arms
Hands open
I feel the pulse of my heart
Blood flowing
Life giving
Throughout my body
The blood of my womb
Matching the tides of the ocean
And the pull of the moon
Linked in watery wonder

Breathing deep
and clearing my mind
I feel the spark of life within
Fiery
Molten
Passion blooming
Vibrantly alive
And dancing
Twisting through my spirit
With energetic ecstasy

Breathe in
Breathe out
Draw it up
Draw it in

Resting now,
In the hand of Mother Goddess
Breathing with her
Standing with her
Resting with her
Knowing her
Deeply

Blessed be.

I composed the above as my first post as a regular contributor to the Pagan Families blog on Patheos!

Alternate:

This month I was also planning our winter women’s retreat and I decided to modify the blessing somewhat to use as our opening invocation. This was the first time I’d used something that I written entirely on my own and it felt vulnerable—I had to ask, “how was that? Was that okay? Did that work?” 😉

The purpose of the invocation is to ground us in our bodies, while also connecting us to the larger swirl of energies that surround us—as I composed it, I envisioned sort of a circle, in which we are embedded and moving within. I feel as if this invocation itself creates a circle and brings the immanent and transcendent together into shared space, as it both invokes the elements and awakens your body.

In this version, the words included in parentheses are optional replacements or additions, according to your specific group’s needs.

Little herbal goddess doll we made during the retreat also.

Feet planted solidly on Mother Earth
Drawing up
Solid
Gaia energy
Rich life
Pulsing planet
Power of being

Shoulders back
Chest open
Breathe in the Breath of Life
Wind
Air
Oxygen
Swirling
Flowing
Breathing you

Spreading your arms
Hands open
Feel the pulse of your heart
Blood flowing
Life giving
Throughout your body
The blood of your womb (veins)
Matching the tides of the ocean
And the pull of the moon
Linked in watery wonder

Breathing deep
and clearing your mind
Feel the spark of life within
Fiery
Molten
Passion blooming
Vibrantly alive
And dancing
Twisting through your spirit
With energetic ecstasy

Breathe in
Breathe out
Draw it up
Draw it in

Resting now,
on the Earth
And in this circle (of women)
(In the hand of the Goddess)

Breathing with her
Standing with her
Knowing her
Deeply

Blessed be.

Categories: blessings, friends, invocations, poems, prayers, priestess, readings, ritual, spirituality, theapoetics, womanspirit, women, women's circle, writing | 1 Comment

Gaia’s Heartbeat

Posted on January 16, 2013 by Molly

Spirit of the solid earth
I draw you up
through my feet
into my legs
pelvis
torso
arms
hands
heart
throat

Gaia’s heartbeat
fills me
the rhythm of the tide
tugs at my womb
the breath of life
breathes through my lungs
the iron of the stars
runs through my veins
and the fire of life
pulses at my core

I draw it up
draw it in
breathe it out
breathe it in

I am it
and it is me
She pulses through every fiber of my being.

1/15/2013

Categories: blessings, nature, poems, prayers, thealogy, theapoetics, womanspirit, writing | Leave a comment

Mystery

Posted on January 4, 2013 by Molly

They say she is veiled

and a mystery. That is

one way of looking.

Another

is that she is where

she has always been, exactly in place.

and it is we,

we who are mystified,

we who are veiled

and without faces.

–Judy Grahn in Open Mind

Categories: poems, quotes, readings, spirituality, theapoetics | Leave a comment

Book Review: Living Goddess Spirituality, a Feminine Divine Priestessing Handbook

Posted on December 24, 2012 by Molly

Living Goddess Spirituality: A Feminine Divine Priestessing Handbook (Affiliate link included in title/image)

A woman who connects with Goddess, connects with a most vital, ancient, powerful inner part of herself and she is awakened. It is this awakened state that is so empowering to women and downright frightening and dangerous to a patriarchal society.” –B. Melusine Mihaltses

Living Goddess Spirituality: A Feminine Divine Priestessing Handbook is a wonderful book! Containing lots of good resources and thoughtful commentary, the book explores twelve goddesses and associated rituals and workshop ideas for women’s spirituality circles. It also includes a chapter on priestess initiation and guidelines for starting a Goddess study circle.

I have a couple of small critiques in that some of the print is extremely tiny, some material is repeated from the author’s previous book, there is quite a bit of repetitiveness in general, and not all suggestions are fully developed (i.e. for each goddess there are multiple “workshops” suggested which include things like making various items. However, no further information or instructions for most of these things are included).

I don’t usually connect strongly with individual goddess imagery, but the way in which Living Goddess Spirituality is written brought in the significance of many different goddess images and I found myself learning and thinking about specific goddesses in different ways. I also loved all the different chants, ritual outlines, and invocations included. Really great pictures and some beautiful art enhance the book.

Great circle resource and a good resource for Goddess Priestesses!

—

Two chants I particularly enjoyed and that were new to me:

Eight Beads Chant
Girlseed
Bloodflower
Fruitmother
Spinmother
Midwoman
Earthcrone
Stonecrone
Bone…

Earth, Moon, Magick…
In the Earth, deep within
There is a Magick, I draw it in.
In her Caves, in the Trees
Hear her Heartbeat, Pulsing through me.
When I Rise, I feel her Love
with feet Grounded, I’m soaring high above,
In the Earth, deep within
There is a Magick, I draw it in
Ancient Moon, my Soul reveres
With my Singing, I call you here.
When this flame, ignites tonight,
Priestess dancing, Under the moonlit night…
In the Earth, deep within
There is a Magick
I draw it in…
There is a Magick, I draw it in (3x)

Additional lines for a familiar, favorite drum circle song:

Mother I Feel You…

Mother I feel you under my feet,
Mother I hear your heartbeat
Mother I feel you under my feet,
Mother I hear your heartbeat

heya heya heya yah heya heya ho
heya heya heya heya heya ho

Mother I hear you in the River song,
eternal waters flowing on and on.
Mother I hear you in the River song,
eternal waters flowing on and on

heya heya heya yah heya heya ho
heya heya heya heya heya ho

Mother I see you when the Eagles fly,
Flight of the Spirit gonna take us higher
Mother I see you when the Eagles fly,
Flight of the Spirit gonna take us higher

heya heya heya yah heya heya ho
heya heya heya heya heya ho

—

(Adapted from my quick review on Goodreads)

Disclosure: Amazon affiliate links in image/book title.

Categories: chants, Goddess, poems, priestess, readings, resources, reviews, ritual, spirituality, womanspirit, women's circle | Leave a comment

A night wind woman…

Posted on December 8, 2012 by Molly

“…Look at me
I am not a separate
woman
I am a continuance
of blue sky
I am the throat

of the Sandia Mountains
A night wind woman
who burns
with every breath
she takes.”
–Joy Harjo in Open Mind

I recently made these sculptures and my mom glazed and fired them for me this week. Usually I work in polymer clay and regular clay was more difficult to work with, but the results are very pleasing. I love them!

Categories: art, poems, quotes, readings, spirituality, theapoetics, womanspirit | Leave a comment

Stand Still…

Posted on December 4, 2012 by Molly

I chose this recent picture of me listening to the forest...and, remembering not to take myself too seriously ;)

I chose this recent picture of me listening to the forest…and…other things. This is a reminder to me to remember not to take myself/my life TOO seriously 😉

Stand still. The trees ahead and the bushes beside you

Are not lost. Where ever you are is called HERE.

And you must treat it as a powerful stranger.

Must ask permission to know it and be known.

The forest breathes. Listen. It answers,

I have made this place around you.

If you leave it, you may come back again, saying, HERE.

No two trees are the same to Raven.

No two branches are the same to wren.

If what a tree or a bush does is lost on you,

You are surely lost. Stand still. The forest knows

Where you are. You must let it find you.

–David Wagoner, in Life Prayers

Categories: nature, poems, prayers, quotes, readings, spirituality, theapoetics | 3 Comments

Thanksgiving

Posted on November 23, 2012 by Molly

My life is like a flower, opening to the sun.
My life is like a fountain, spilling up from the deep.
Peace, I am discovering, is not a state of being, but a process of becoming.

–Ann Kreilkamp in SageWoman, 54, Summer 2001 (p. 50)

I have a special affinity for interfaith prayers and readings that strike the chord of the sacred within us all, without being identified with any particular belief structure, or, indeed, belief in anything outside of the natural world. So, I liked this Thanksgiving blessing from Starhawk:

“We give thanks for this good green earth and all that lives upon it.

Thanks for the air, the Great Breath that flows from leaf to lung and back again, sustaining life.

Thanks for fire, leaping flame and glowing hearth, warmth in the cold season.

Thanks for water, the life-renewing rain, the springs, streams, and rivers, the pools and lakes, the great oceans, womb of the first life….”

–Starhawk, A Pagan Thanksgiving blessing (that anyone can use)

I also really enjoyed this article by Shiloh Sophia, Ten Ideas for a Grateful Thanksgiving Day. The ideas are wonderful and I wish I’d read the article before yesterday so that I could more readily incorporate some of them into our family dinner today!

Categories: blessings, invocations, liturgy, nature, poems, prayers, quotes, theapoetics | Leave a comment

Stand, Sisters…

Posted on October 12, 2012 by Molly

Stand together, dear sisters,

arm in arm, thigh to thigh, heart to heart–

Great CD for women’s circles! Circle of Women
(Amazon affiliate link)

stand strong, sturdy, flexible.

Stand on the seesaw

and know–

it’s always moving, never still,

forever moving up and down

always rises up again.

Stand flexibly, dear sisters.

stand together, arm in arm,

and whether you’re up or down–

Rejoice!

–Barbara Ardinger in SageWoman Magazine #78

Categories: friends, poems, readings, womanspirit, women, women's circle | Leave a comment

Our Mother Prayer, version 3

Posted on October 4, 2012 by Molly

Crescent moon over our field a couple of weeks ago.

Our Mother who art within us,
Each breath brings us to you.
Thy wisdom come,
Thy will be done,
as we honor your presence within us.
You give us this day all that we need.
Your bounty calls us to give and receive
all that is loving and pleasurable.
You are the courage that moves us to be true to ourselves
and we act with grace and power.
We relax into your cycles of birth,
growth, death and renewal.
Out of the womb, the darkness, the void, comes new life.
For you are the Mother of All Things.
Your body is the Sacred Earth and our bodies.
Your love nurtures us and unites us all.
Now and forever more.

“Our Mother” by Dale Allen

Via The Girl God

Two other versions previously posted:

Our Mother Prayer, Version 2
Our Mother Prayer
I actually use a slightly modified version of these two each morning before I get up, as a way to start my day in a “tuned in” frame of mind, rather than a frantic or stressed one. Now, I want to try to memorize this new version also, which is longer and a little more complicated!