prayers

Happy New Year!

Posted on January 1, 2014 by Molly

On New Year’s Eve even though I had a horrendous migraine and family due to come over for a party, I took some time in the early afternoon to go down to the woods for a review of the past year of my Woodspriestess experiment. It felt really important to me to spend some good time looking over the past year and what I’ve learned in and from the woods. I ended up recording 15 minutes worth of reflections and I’ll come back to them later—I think they will come in handy for the conclusion of my thesis/book project. (One of my reflections was that this year was a complete thesis project and it just needs to be shaped and refined into an integrated document now.) After recording, I decided to try out an exercise I’d read about the night before in In the Shadow of the Shaman. It was essentially about going to a special spot in nature and walking no more than 12 paces in each of the four directions. At the twelfth step, or when felt called to stop, you are supposed to look down and find a gift. This felt like a very fitting ritual to conclude my year in the woods and so I did it. And, at the twelfth step in each direction, I did, in fact, find something waiting for me. To the East I found a piece of a hornet’s nest (I also see this as a helpful reminder from the woods to take a much closer look at the hollow tree nearby, because I think I was being told that it is harboring something stingy!). To the South I found two acorns joined at the caps. To the West I found a mossy piece of fallen branch. To the North, I found a small square rock. I laid them out on the stone to look at as a whole…And I picked up a message that felt like the closing thoughts for me from the land itself in terms of this year-long project. The message was this:

things change and decay and pass away (the branch), new things grow (the acorns), sometimes the world is sharp and stings you and it hurts (the hornet’s nest), but it is possible to discern clear edges and find a solid core (the rock)

This afternoon my husband and I worked on the New Year Intention candles that we’d started as part of the simple New Year’s Eve ritual we did with our family last night. These were my idea to be a combination of a vision board and an altar candle, with each lighting of the candle throughout the year serving as a reaffirmation of our intentions for 2014. I had a wonderful time creating mine and it felt like just the right project. We then lit the candles and spent some time on the Biz section of the Amazing Year workbook and it had a really incredible time of synchronicity and clarity about the direction in which we will be going in the year ahead.

Happy New Year!

Categories: art, blessings, family, holidays, prayers, resources, ritual, spirituality, woodspriestess | Leave a comment

Gratitude’s Song

Posted on December 30, 2013 by Molly

Thank you sacred one
thank you sacred ground
thank you Ancient Mother
thank you sacred womb

Thank you loving family
thank you sacred ground
thank you sacred body
thank you healing sound

Thank you sacred one
thank you sacred ground
thank you Ancient Mother
thank you sacred womb

Thank you loving family
thank you solid ground
thank you sacred body
thank you shining moon

Thank you solid stone
thank you sacred oak
thank you ancient wisdom
thank you sacred hope

Thank you ancient rhythm
thank you song of blood
thank you holy hour
thank you holy wood

Thank you sacred one
thank you sacred ground
thank you Ancient Mother
thank you the world around…

The day after Christmas I took some of the books I’d received as gifts down to the woods. I laid them out the rocks and felt so appreciative of having a family who cares about me and what I’m interested in. I got a selection of priestess books, other books from my Amazon wishlist, and the Amazing Year workbook from my friend. I felt so grateful to have a mom who looked at the picture of the pottery elemental altar I showed her in a magazine at some point this year and then worked and worked to make one for me as a surprise. I felt grateful that she comes to my rituals and reads my blog. I felt grateful for other family members and friends who read my blogs and cheer me on when I make new things and try new avenues. I felt grateful for parents who will hold candles in the darkness on solstice night with me, for a husband who will make a drum and cast pewter with me, for friends who support and encourage me and are able to accept when I need to make changes or let go of things. I felt grateful that I live in a beautiful place and that I have woods to go to and rocks to sit on. I felt grateful for the small adventures of the past year and even for the losses and the lessons of grief and change. Then, I picked up my drum and I sang a song. I feel like acknowledging that yes, I can see there are flaws in my lyrics in that they are perhaps roughly patterned and could be reworked into something smoother, but when I listened to the recording of it again I heard something authentic and something that worked for what it was, when it was. And, I decided I like it just the way it is.

And, then, just now as I type…I felt grateful for myself-–that I will sit in the woods with a drum and sing spontaneous things and write blog posts about it even though maybe I could be embarrassed or self-conscious instead and hide my song away instead of posting it for people to read and possibly feel critical and judgmental of, but I do it anyway and I own it and I keep trying…

(and that is a run-on sentence and I’m not going to edit it either)

Today, I hung up the new goddess-ful Good Karma flags that my mom gave me for Christmas. They’re gorgeous and I loves ’em!

I’m working on making a “Temple” workspace for myself instead of just huddling in a corner with my computer…

(my new little altar goes in front of the Cretan priestess figure here, but it is still on the living room floor waiting for me to finish my life-and-biz-planning session)

BOOKS! Oh my first love, I will never forsake you!

Categories: blessings, chants, family, friends, holidays, moontime, music, nature, poems, prayers, readings, spirituality, theapoetics, woodspriestess | 1 Comment

Drum Dedication

Posted on December 24, 2013 by Molly

May this be the beginning of a beautiful relationship
a harmonious partnership
a potent sense of connection and rhythm
may this drum keep time with the heartbeat of Mother Earth
may it honor, respect, and do justice to the skin of the elk it wears
and may it be tuned to the hoofbeats of the open plains, grassy hills, and deep forests.
may it hold sacred rhythm
may it keep sacred time
may it guard sacred space and ritual energy
and may it dance with joy and wild abandon
may it draw out the wildness of our heartspaces
and may it echo through the woods with its own true song
may I do it justice
may I guard the rhythm
and may I align my own heartbeat
with the pulse of the Mother
of our home, the Earth.

May it be so.
May it be blessed.
With the earth, the trees, the rocks, the sky as my witnesses
I bless, consecrate, dedicate, and honor this instrument of peace, healing, and celebration.

I like how, depending on the location of the sun, light shines through the back and creates these silouettes.

Used my timercam app on my phone and put it down on the rocks.

This morning I carried my new drum down to the woods to bless it. I took with me the remaining scraps of rawhide from the lacing to leave in the woods. I became so entranced with drumming there that it was hard to pull myself away to come back to the rest of the busy-ness of the house and holiday preparations (as well as car repairs). The night after we first made the drum, we got a little concerned because the top started to feel kind of wobbly (after having initially felt tight), but by the time it finished drying it had become, well, tight as a drum. It is amazing really to see how this worked. I love it! When I spoke the dedication I offered, I kept my hand on the surface and could feel each word vibrate lightly in the skin.

After I offered my dedication, I intuitively sang a repetitive, wordless tune and was surprised to find tears come to my eyes.

Categories: blessings, music, nature, prayers, spirituality, theapoetics, woodspriestess | Leave a comment

Winter Solstice Meditation

Posted on December 22, 2013 by Molly

Winter solstice
deep, long, dark night.
Cold cracks
brittle branches
icy stone.

Winter’s song
echoes in skeletal treetops
and crackling leaves.
Rest time.
Hibernation.
Silent watchfulness.
Waiting hope.

Sink down.
Open up.
Receive and feel.
Hold peace.

Pause and check within
for that glowing emberheart
in your soul.
What purpose calls your name?
What seed incubates
waiting for the breath of hope
and the breath of action
to coax it into life?

Winter Solstice.
Time for your light to shine
from within the sheltering dark.

If you pause in darkness what does your body have to tell you? What do your dreams have to tell you? What does the frozen ground have to tell you? What do the spirits of place have to tell you?

What song can only be sung by you?

What emberheart can only be ignited by your breath?

What path have your feet found?

What messages are carved in stone and etched on leaf for your eyes and in your name?

What promise are you keeping?

—

This afternoon my husband and I worked together on the drum kit he gave me as a solstice gift. It is still hanging up to dry, so I don’t know if it completely worked yet, but it was fun to do together and I’m extremely pleased with the result. I love it so much! It is elk hide and the kit is from Centralia Fur and Hide. I felt very mindful while working on it that this was a creature’s skin and I both felt disturbed or guilty, as well as respectful of that.

Categories: art, blessings, endarkenment, family, holidays, nature, poems, prayers, retreat, spirituality, theapoetics, woodspriestess | 2 Comments

Winter Solstice Ritual Ideas

Posted on December 20, 2013 by Molly

Inviting Our Light to Shine

When you celebrate the winter solstice,
May your light shine.
When you share love,
May your light shine.
When you work for peace,
May your light shine.
When you teach a child about justice,
May your light shine.
When you comfort someone who is ill,
May your light shine.
When you grieve the loss of a loved one,
May your light shine.
When you are challenged to change,
May your light shine.
When you (add your own intention here),
May your light shine.
Bless yourself with the light.
Your light will shine.

via December Ritual: Winter Solstice by Diann L. Neu | WATER – Women’s Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual.

I have not yet finalized my own plans for our family’s winter solstice ritual tomorrow night. I feel somewhat paralyzed about it and I think I’ve finally figured out that it is because I have too many ideas. I have so many saved plans and possibilities (a 32 page word document to be exact) and I’m having trouble choosing and thus forming a coherent ritual structure that will appeal to everyone. I’m trying to keep clearly in focus the fact that my kids need to enjoy this too and I know that that means more doing and less talking. But, dang it, I want to do some soulful year-in-review reflection and new year planning. I’m going to save some of those ideas for New Year’s Eve, I think, even if I have to complete them alone and maybe save some for our women’s retreat in January. (Note to self: this is a lot of stuff to be working on once. Duh. No wonder you feel a little fried!) I don’t want to do “too much,” but I also want to do “enough” (and enough means to me that I feel satisfied and fulfilled with the experience and not like I’m cutting corners because I’m worried about boring the kids and not frazzled because I’m cramming in too much…hence, my paralysis, because I’m not sure these are compatible wishes!)

So, I thought I’d share my collection of resources that I’m using to prepare for this ritual. I’m posting early today, because I want to make sure anyone who is interested knows that there is a free online solstice ritual tonight from Shiloh Sophia (there is a cool little workbook that comes with it and it is full of the kinds of things I think I envision my own ritual holding—the year-in-review stuff—but that I know from past experience is too much for kids to handle without getting bored. Maybe I can accept that this is something I work on alone at night, instead of expecting it to be a community/family experience): Winter Solstice Super Power Ritual LIVE Event | Shiloh Sophia Studios

I’m also excited about this free, downloadable meditation (which may again be best for my solitary self rather than sharing with ALL THE PEOPLE): Winter Holiday Transformation Guided Journey

And, a lovely short ritual from WATER, already excerpted above: December Ritual: Winter Solstice by Diann L. Neu | WATER – Women’s Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual

My own She is Crone poem appears in the Winter Solstice edition of The Oracle from Global Goddess: Winter Solstice 2013 | Global Goddess

Some assorted other delicious links for you (and me):

I previously shared this helpful link for family celebrations: Pagan Family Sabbats and Esbats | Rituals for moms, dads, and kids to celebrate the 8 Pagan Sabbats and Esbats

I love this exploration of the symbolic meaning of the winter solstice from Glenys Livingstone:

Winter Solstice is the time for the lighting of candles, for embracing the miracle of being, for choosing a joyful response to the awesome fact of existence, for celebrating the Gift of Birth. Birthing is not often an easy process – for the birthgiver nor for the birthed one: it is a shamanic act requiring strength of bodymind, attention and focus of the mother, and courage to be of the new young one. Birthgiving is the original place of “heroics” … many cultures of the world have never forgotten that: perhaps therefore better termed as “heraics²” . Patriarchal adaptations of the story of this Seasonal Moment usually miss the Creative Act of birthgiving completely – pre-occupied as they often are with the “virgin” nature of the Mother being interpreted as an “intact hymen”, and the focus being the Child as “saviour”: even the Mother gazes at the Child in Christian icons, while in more ancient images Her eyes are direct and expressive of Her integrity as Creator.

Winter Solstice and Early Spring rituals may be a contemplation of the Creativity of the Cosmos – Cosmogenesis … how it All unfolds. When told from within a “Mother-mind” – a mind that connects the biological creativity of the female body to Cosmic Creativity, to our “Navel” lineage, to the Nativity of every being, then we are all the Holy Ones. And we all – female and male – may know the skill and care required for “birthing” the New, whether that is physical, psychological or however one categorizes it. In Earth-based religious practice, the ubiquitous icon of Mother and Child – Creator and Created – expresses something essential about the Universe itself … the “motherhood” we are all born within (not simply a “brotherhood”). It expresses the essential Communion experience that this Cosmos is, the innate and holy Care that it takes, and the reciprocal nature of it: that is, how one is always Creator and Created at the same time. We cannot touch without being touched at the same time. We may realize that Cosmogenesis – the entire Unfolding of the Cosmos – is essentially relational: our experience tells us this is so.

The Early Spring/Imbolc celebration is traditionally a time of dedication to the nurturance of the New Young Being. Once again, this is no wimpy task: it is for the brave and courageous, whether one is committing to the new being in another or in one’s self. The Great Goddess Brigid of the Celtic peoples is traditionally invoked for such a task. She has been understood for millennia as the One Who tends the Flame of Being: a Brigid-ine commitment is one that is unwavering in its devotion to the central truth of each unique particular self. The stories of Old speak of Brigid in three primary capacities – that may need spelling out in our times, as they are almost forgotten skills: She is imagined as Blacksmith, Physician and Poet … all three.

Blacksmith is one who takes the unshapely lump of raw metal, melts it, then takes the fiery hot form and shapes it … this is no stereotypical “feminine” act: the Goddess of Old is not bound by such patriarchal dualisms. She is spiritual warrior, shaman – this is Her eternal Virgin quality, never separate from the Mother quality or the Old One quality, and no need to characterize such power as “masculine” or dissociate it from “nursery” activity.

Physician is one who understands the “physics” of being, of matter … how a body relates within itself and within its context, functions harmoniously and thus may heal/whole. In this role, Brigid is scientist, healer … none of it separate. Her physics is biologically connected – an understanding of dwelling within a whole and seamless Universe.

Poet of Old is one who speaks the metaphors, the stories of cultural knowledge, the sacred language of Creativity – one who “spells” what may be so. It is a power of spirit: the voice enabled by air, resonant with the winged ones – the birds – whose perspective transcends boundaries. The ancients knew Poetry as a sacred and powerful task – that with our words, we do create what is so. Brigid’s “motherhood statements” are statements of the Mother/Creator, Who once again is never separate from Her whole self – the Young One and the Old One – represented in the Triple Spiral dynamic.

The coming into Being that Winter Solstice and Early Spring celebrates, is an awesome thing. It takes courage and daring. It has taken courage and daring – always. In these times of change, it is perhaps particularly so. Our times require the melting down of so much that no longer works, that will not carry us through. These times require the re-shaping and speaking of new realities – an aboriginal magic of new connections, with what is already present within us, if we can but plumb it, open to it deep within. This is a great seasonal moment to get with the plot of Creativity, to align ourselves with our Native Wisdom …the Wisdom that in fact brings us all into being. We may re-spond to the gift of being by receiving it graciously – and thus become re-sponsible. Though we may feel inadequate, we are not – and we need to begin…

Winter-Spring Earth Wisdom | PaGaian Cosmology

And, I breathed deeply when I read this great suggestion from Tracie Nichols:

Get back in your body. I use this meditation to do that.

Listen for which part of your body would like to speak. If it doesn’t show up immediately, listen some more. Still got nothing? Stop checking your phone and listen again. It WILL make itself known.

Open with a kind and loving statement (see mine above for inspiration) so you are consciously committing to listening and letting your body know how much you love and respect her/him.

Record your conversation with whatever method of creative expression you like best. Journal. Poetry. Art. Dance. Music. Whatever works for you.

Say “Thank you!”

Decide if any action needs to be taken, and take it.

via How not to implode during the holiday chaos… » Tracie Nichols.

My “productive” mode says: keep working, design a fabulous ritual! But, my hungry belly that hasn’t yet had breakfast says: feed me. Please! So, that’s what I’m going to do 🙂

May you enjoy a rich, peaceful solstice with your own family and loved ones! May you be blessed by light and may you find wisdom and solace in dark, deep, places. Do not get so distracted by the promise of the light that you forget the great value in endarkenment as well.

Categories: blessings, community, endarkenment, family, holidays, liturgy, parenting, prayers, priestess, resources, ritual, self-care, spirituality | 2 Comments

The Warrior-Priestess

Posted on November 1, 2013 by Molly

The last glory of my beautiful late October roses!

“We do not become healers. We came as healers. We are. Some of us are still catching up to what we are.

We do not become storytellers. We came as carriers of the stories we and our ancestors actually lived. We are. Some of us are still catching up to what we are.

We do not become artists. We came as artists. We are. Some of us are still catching up to what we are.

We do not become writers, dancers, musicians, helpers, peacemakers. We came as such. We are. Some of us are still catching up to what we are.

We do not learn to love in this sense. We came as Love. We are Love. Some of us are still catching up to who we truly are.”

–Clarissa Pinkola Estes

On my other blog this week, I wrote:

When I attended the GGG this year, one of the realizations I came home with is that sometimes I feel like people are trying to get me to be less (more about this some other time). And, I remembered a session I had with a healer who did a somatic repatterning process with me—one of the beliefs she tested on me was, “I am not enough.” It got a marginal response, but then she tested, “I am TOO MUCH.” And, THAT is the one that tested as true. I wonder how much about myself that I try to change or that I struggle with actually comes from the fear of being, too much. Too intense. Too active. Too talkative. Too much thinking, too much writing, too many ideas, too many projects, too much waving of my hands and pacing when I talk. Too, too, too, too much.

via Blogging, Busyness, and Life: Part 1 | Talk Birth.

After writing the post above, I tuned in to ALisa Starkweather’s free call about embracing your fierce, feminine life. In a very poignant moment of synchronicity, she was talking about being “big” and “small” and that we are all both and can be both, but sometimes we are scared to be “big.” I also recently finished my final paper for my The Role of the Priestess course at OSC. One of the things I realized in the process of writing the three lengthy papers required for the course was that I’m still struggling with issues of insecurity and perfectionism. I also need more approval that I’d like to need and I am less self-confident than I’d like to be. I very often place pressure on myself to be perfect and I’ve noticed that accepting the priestess call has added another layer of something-at-which-I-try-to-be-perfect-and-when-I’m-not-I-feel-like-a-terrible-person-who-doesn’t-deserve-the-name. After having a slightly-insecure conversation with a friend a couple of weeks ago, I returned to a quote from Judy Harrow in an article we read for the Role of the Priestess course:

Mentors must never come to need our students to idealize us. As frightening as the pedestal is at first, it’s also frighteningly easy to get used to being up there. Whoever carries the idealizing projections of others can begin to believe in them and to enjoy the deference they elicit. If we succumb to this temptation, we put our own spiritual health in danger along with that of our students. Needy mentors will probably develop patterns of people pleasing and codependency. They will find it difficult to confront students on inconsistent or inappropriate behavior. They will be weak, and come across as weak, depriving students of exactly the perception of safety and security that they so need… –Judy Harrow

Oh no! I thought. I’m weak. Letting someone else see the self-doubt I tend to experience makes me a bad leader. ::::sob:::: Obviously, since I’m now writing about it, I’ve had a change of heart—while I don’t want to be so needy that I appear weak, I also don’t want to pretend to be so in-the-know and confident all the time that I prevent or inhibit authentic connection and shared human experience. When ALisa got ready to start the call, she posted on FB that she was “shaking in her skin.” That didn’t make me think she was weak, that made me think she was real and I heard that.

A lovely video from ALisa’s call is available here:

(Loved the song!)

The other thing I realized as I wrote my papers and pondered my lack-of-adequate-perfection, was that I really struggle with permission to be irritable/angry sometimes. That is one of the things that to me is just not allowed. Must always be nice and calm. However, since I do actually get irritable and snappy and critical and stressy-wigged out, I’ve then failed. Not good enough, again, dang it. And, I’m back to “who does she think she is” and “I don’t deserve this title/role/calling.”

<should I even write this, she thinks. Weak?!?!>

So…I went back to my saved recordings, since my inner machinations seemed very familiar, and I listened to a recording from several days prior:

A priestess does not always have to be nice
good
perfect
serene
calm.

A priestess can be fierce
she can be sharp
she can be a warrior
she can guard the temple
she can stand up
speak out.

A priestess is powerful
she is a woman who owns her own power
steps into her own life
and her own destiny
wearing the mantle
until it settles so deeply around her
that it becomes rooted in her bones and belly
as who she is
in every moment of every day.

One of my Halloween costumes this year. I was carrying my son’s toy sword for him at a party and a friend said, “warrior priestess!” And, I thought, *exactly*! 😉

A priestess will not be run over
she will not be downtrodden
she will not be oppressed
she will say NO
she will speak firmly
she will draw boundaries
she will hold space
with both tenderness and ferocity.

She will defend
she will build up
she will protect
she will guard
she will lead
she will serve
she will teach
she will share
she will not be silenced.

She will not stuff down or deny her own rough edges
in favor of a myth or a mystique
she will DO IT
she will keep trying
she will stand tall
she will lift her head
and she will say yes when she hears the call…

Then, I did one of the online free readings from Gaian Soul Tarot and I got this:

Unbelievably exact and what I needed to hear. The instructions say to trust your own intuitive reading of the cards before reading the text and I got it. I really did. 🙂

I offer what I offer
I give what I give
I share what I share
I am who I am…

Categories: poems, prayers, priestess, spirituality, theapoetics, women's circle, woodspriestess | 7 Comments

Moonpriestess

Posted on September 26, 2013 by Molly

Moonmaiden
Moonmother
Moonpriestess

She tilts her face to the sky
she opens her arms wide
she draws it down
clean
healing
holy moonlight
enlivening her being
lightening her footsteps
and guiding her path

Moon guide
moon guardian
shining one
sacred spirit
we call upon you
for healing
for wisdom
for inspiration
for guidance

You connect us
in sacred rhythm
to the heartbeat
of the planet
the pull
of the tides
the pulse
of our blood.

We hope
we laugh
we sing
we pray
we dance
by your light
in your rhythm
we drum
in your sacred power

Keeper of ancient wisdom
witness to unfathomable eons
may we be forever
inspired by our connection to you
enlivened by your wisdom
and guided by your truth

Moonpriestess
Moonmama
Moon maiden

Thank you
blessed be.

This was the second of two poems/prayers that I wrote before leaving for the Gaea Goddess Gathering. During the festival the moon was full and beautiful and as it crested over the trees at the top of the ridge where the main rituals and drum circles were held, it literally felt like it was energizing the circle. We also noticed a cool morning effect during which the full moon and sunrise could be witnessed at the same time.

And, the following morning I took a misty morning, sunrise stroll around the lake with my sister-in-law. During last year’s GGG, I was too focused on recovering from my hornet sting to really connect to the land. This year, I didn’t expect to connect with the land, since I’m already so connected to my own land, but I connected anyway. The lake is beautiful in the morning sunrise and so was Venus Sanctuary (a little meadow near the lake).

Categories: blessings, GGG, Goddess, invocations, liturgy, moontime, nature, poems, prayers, priestess, spirituality, theapoetics | 1 Comment

Woodspriestess: Brigid

Posted on September 25, 2013 by Molly

Brigid
She of the Sacred Oak
She of the Sacred Flame
She who ignites our creativity
and who forges our passions.

Sacred smith
shaping lives
in the cauldron of destiny
healing
tending
guarding
loving

She who spills forth
in the language of poetry
and falling leaves
She who flickers from the candle’s flame
and the blacksmith’s coal
She whose hands open to receive new life and new ideas
She who can be called upon
in any hour
of any day

Brigid
Sacred Guardian
keeper of flame
hope and hearts.

You are summoned to us
to enliven our work
to guide our steps
and to inspire our message.

May it be so.

Brigid is a Triple Goddess of Fire: the fire of poetic inspiration and creative voice, the fire of health and fertility, and the fire of metalwork and crafts.

Brigid is an ancient Irish goddess later syncretized into the Christian saint Brigit. Her abbey was referred to as the Church of the Sacred Oak, the word for which later evolved into modern day Kildare. Her sacred wells are usually located near sacred oak trees, sometimes referred to as “clootie” trees, in which pilgrims hang prayers, blessings, wishes, and requests for healing. When I decided to be a merchant at this year’s Gaea Goddess Gathering at Camp Gaea in Kansas, I knew I wanted to have something affordable to offer at my booth that would connect to Brigid, the honored Goddess this year. I decided to make a simple “Sacred Oak” pendant with the idea that it would help the wearer to carry her healing presence throughout their day and “hang” their wishes upon her sacred oak whenever they want! The red cord represents her sacred flame.

I’ve started a new etsy shop with a broader focus than the birth/motherhood oriented focus of my original Talk Birth shop. I’ll be maintaining both shops as sister shops though and migrating some of the items from it into my new one.

I have quite a bit to say about this year’s GGG, but I’m saving that for another post! (which will hopefully take less than a year to write…)

Brigid’s Temple at the GGG

Categories: blessings, GGG, Goddess, poems, prayers, readings, spirituality, theapoetics, woodspriestess | 2 Comments

Woodspriestess: Sweet Breeze

Posted on August 16, 2013 by Molly

Sweet breeze
kissing my neck
like a prayer.

Lift this anger
rising in my head
where it has ignited
in righteous indignation.

Blow it away
and sweep up my spine
with the breath of compassion.

Solid rock
draw this tension
from my shoulders
so that it may seep away
leaving me flexible
and free.

Let it all drain away…
frustrations
ruminations
recriminations
interpretations
filtering through bedrock

Leaving behind
a chalice of being
receptive
open
welcoming
embracing
hopeful
able to fill
and be filled
able to share
and be lit from within.

Sweet breeze
smooth the wrinkles
from my brow
and from my thoughts.

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

Woodspriestess: Shakti Woman Speaks

Posted on July 30, 2013 by Molly

A special gift from Paola of Goddess Spiral Health Coaching

Shakti woman speaks
She says Dance
Write
Create
Share
Speak.

Don’t let me down
I wait within
coiled at the base of your spine
draped around your hips
like a bellydancer’s sash
snaking my way up
through your belly
and your throat
until I burst forth
in radiant power
that shall not be denied.

Do not silence me
do not coil my energy back inside
stuffing it down
where it might wither in darkness
biding its time
becoming something that waits
to strike.

Let me sing
let me flood through your body
in ripples of ecstasy
stretch your hands wide
wear jewels on your fingers
and your heart on your sleeve

Spin
spin with me now
until we dance shadows into art
hope into being
and pain into power.

7/1/2013

A couple of weeks ago, I published a Shakti Woman poem and the above is the companion piece that I actually wrote first. For the picture to go with it, I just had to share my recent gift from Paola of Goddess Spiral Health Coaching. Isn’t she lovely? Earlier this year, Paola offered to send a gift to the first several responders on her Facebook page and I was one of them 🙂

I love the Willendorf Goddess and consider it almost a personal “totem” of sorts for me. I love that she is so full-figured and not “perfect” or beautiful. I like that she is not pregnant (there is some disagreement about this, I guess) and what I like best is that she is “complete unto herself.” She is a complete form–not just a headless pregnant belly, etc. I just LOVE her. As I’ve written previously, I have a strong emotional connection to Paleolithic and Neolithic figures. I do not find that I feel as personally connected to Egyptian and Greek and Roman Goddess imagery, but the ancient figures really speak to something powerful within me. I have a sculpture of the Goddess of Willendorf at a central point on my altar. Sometimes I hold her and wonder and muse about who carved the original. I almost feel a thread that reaches out and continues to connect us to that nearly lost past—all the culture and society and how very much we don’t know about early human history. There is such a solid power to these early figures and to me they speak of the numinous, non-personified, Great Goddess.

Categories: Goddess, poems, prayers, spirituality, theapoetics, womanspirit, woodspriestess | 2 Comments

Group Blessing for Full Moon

Posted on July 22, 2013 by Molly

Tonight is the night of the full moon
The night of Selene–wise and knowing
Tonight we connect with her power and it is ours
Tonight we vibrate with the pulse of the moon
Knowing, sensing, and feeling our connections
We flow in many dimensions.
Our eyes are opened and we see with clarity in our visions
Our ears are opened and we hear the voices of our souls
Our mouths are opened and we are filled with love
Our wombs are opened and we are in touch with the source of our creativity
Our feet are opened and we walk on our own true path
Our hands are opened and our power is manifest.

–Diane Mariechild (MotherWit, page 30)

—
Taking a photo of the gorgeous full moon last night, yet again demonstrated to me the truth in this Facebook meme…

Categories: invocations, liturgy, moontime, prayers, quotes, ritual | 2 Comments

Woodspriestess: Shakti Woman

Posted on July 17, 2013 by Molly

Shakti woman
coiled within
fiery voice
running snakelike up my spine
bursting free
in the language and poetry
of leaves and stones

Poems gather within me
coiled at the base of my spine
stirred in the cauldron of my belly
cradled by the bones of my hips
waiting until such time
as they spiral upwards
through my chest and throat
and past my waiting lips
speaking words
in patterns I’ve never heard before
and yet that waited inside me to be born.

Shakti woman
unfurling
speaking through my mouth
caressing the planet with her breath
divine union
oracle
open heart
open throat
sweet
rich
biting
burning
energy of creation

Shakti woman
I honor you
I carry you
looped loosely
like a belt around my hips
shining from my eyes
tasting your words on my tongue
and in my heart.

For several days after I wrote my Outraged Ancestral Mother poem and prayer other specific “character” poems kept coming to my mind. Prophet Woman was the first, but she was followed by several others, like Shakti Woman. For some reason, I felt like I needed some distance before they felt “safe” enough to publish.

Categories: Goddess, invocations, liturgy, poems, prayers, readings, spirituality, theapoetics, womanspirit, woodspriestess | 4 Comments

Carpriestess: Prophet Woman

Posted on July 10, 2013 by Molly

She’s been waiting
curled up
knees to chest
head to arms
sleeping
thinking
biding her time
but her eyes have flickered open
she’s stretching her arms
unfolding her legs
wriggling into her purpose
until it fits like a glove

She’s opened up her heart
and her throat
and her voice comes pouring forth
like a swirling river
her ear is tuned
to the hopesong of the forest
her heart is tuned
to the rhythm of the earth
she feels the Goddess sing through her
alive in her blood
and she steps forth…

She rattles cages
she stirs the pot
she shakes things up
she asks hard questions
she refuses to accept no
and you can’t.

She digs deeper
she twists harder
she wonders more
she speaks her truth.

Soon cages bend and open
veils fall away
fires of curiosity are lit
in hopeful breasts
and wisdom no longer belongs to secret places.

The world is reborn
knowing love as the ground of being
and the source of all creation.
and refusing to kill anything
but illusion and despair.

Prophet Woman
she’s a warrior
speaking now
her voice is quiet
in this moment
but I hear
the distant thunder
and I feel
the breath of change
against my neck.

7/3/2013

On the way home a couple of days ago, I was listening to Matthew Fox and Karen Tate speak on the Voices of the Sacred Feminine talk show (see: Mary Magdalene & Matthew Fox on the Vatican, Pope & CIA 05/22 by Karen Tate | Blog Talk Radio). At the end of the show, Fox said that a spiritual presence that needs to be “brought back” and that is of vital importance is the “prophet warrior.” This archetype is that of a loving spiritual activist. Immediately after hearing this, some lines about “prophet woman” came floating into my mind. I was thinking about all the people who are “re-birthing goddess” on the earth or who are raising awareness of the “sacred feminine” or “divine feminine” or God-She or just about women—their bodies, minds, and spirits. I thought about my favorite Facebook presences: The Girl God, Journey of Young Women, The Gypsy Priestess, and Goddess Spiral Health Coaching, as well as many authors and publications that I so enjoy and I realized these are the prophet women speaking. I spoke aloud into my little recorder and when I got home, I typed up my poem and sent it to The Girl God: Prophet Woman.

She speaks! 🙂

Categories: invocations, poems, prayers, readings, spirituality, theapoetics, womanspirit, women | 4 Comments

Woodspriestess: Ovulation

Posted on July 7, 2013 by Molly

A woman in one of my Facebook groups shared this picture from her garden. This Goddess tomato even has a perfect belly button! 🙂

Ovulation
egg coming
ripe
fertile
creative
waiting
wanting.

Round with possibilities
plans, ideas, and determination
permeable to enlivened truth.

Shared wisdom
from the ages
womb tug
from the moon

Heart beating
in Goddess time

An egg rests
in dark safety.
A woman waits
filled
with curled up potential
and the ability to dance
a new way of being.

Pain, hope, promise, joy
listen to your body
all will be well.

6/14/13

Categories: blessings, poems, prayers, womanspirit, woodspriestess | Leave a comment

Priestess Prayer

Posted on July 1, 2013 by Molly

Here I am
this is me
I am woman
giving birth to myself.

The priestess within
is shrugging off old ideas, old habits, and old patterns of behavior.
She’s stepping out, stepping strong, standing tall
lifting arms to the sky
gathering women
drawing down the moon
visioning the future
priestessing the temple
of her own hearth and woods.

I actually wrote this immediately after my little “pregnant with myself” poem from a couple of days ago. That post got long and so I saved the addendum for today, which is the one year-anniversary of my ordination as a priestess with Global Goddess!

Wireless meets woodspace for my ordination ceremony last year.

A couple of months ago, I wrote another priestess prayer and I saved it to offer on this day:

I walk a priestess path
may I walk with presence
may I walk with purpose
may I walk with potency
may I stand in my personal power
may I protect
may I make possible
may I trust the unfolding of the path in front of me
the pattern of my days and life
the people I love

may the past inform me
and may I greet the present
with patient participation

may I protect the web of life
may I pay careful attention
may I pace myself
may I plan and pray
may I play and persevere
and may the plain promise of priestesshood
remain planted firmly in my person.

So, I didn’t fully get it until I got to “past,” but then I had to keep going with the “P” alliteration 😉 This morning on Facebook I coincidentally read the following quote:

A priestess has a foot in each world. She works with the *as above, so below*…*as within, so without* mysteries. She works ceaselessly to balance humanity and honors Nature. A priestess is not a witch, yet honors those who practice their craft with true integrity. A priestess is sovereign unto her Self. She is the female counterpart of priest…a holy woman who officiates sacred rites. She is an emissary of the Divine Feminine here on earth. And so it is. ♥

WellSprings Women added: “I like to think that each one of us is a priestess as we each help to hold a part of the space open for the others. Can you own that for yourself no matter where you are in your journey?”

I liked this reminder, because I so very often place pressure on myself to be perfect and I’ve noticed that accepting the priestess call has added another layer of something-at-which-I-try-to-be-perfect-and-when-I’m-not-I-feel-like-a-terrible-person-who-doesn’t-deserve-the-name. So, I liked this quote also:

“She walks not away from the fire…but toward it…because not only can she handle the HEAT…she contains it…and her fire wills forth the work that is meant to be in the world…” ~Anni Daulter

I have a dear friend who is is wonderfully creatively gifted and she made me a new goddess priestess robe recently! You’ve already seen it featured in recent posts. I love it! She recently opened a new online shop called Goddess Garb and another friend (who is also creatively gifted) did a photo shoot to model the robes and sarongs last week (along with another friend who is graceful and lovely and who looked wonderful in the robes—you can see her in the gallery here :)). I got some of the pictures and thought they went well with this priestess prayer priestess-aversary post. My goddess-garb making friend is really important to me and was actually very instrumental in helping me feel I could “own” the priestess role and that I could step into it fully—she believed in me and saw me and what I was trying to do for our community of women and offered me reinforcement and encouragement when I needed it that what I’m doing for women matters and is worthwhile. So, when I wear her artwork, I feel that affirmation and encouragement. I also feel magical!

Happy Priestess-aversary to me!