Our Mother, whose body is the Earth,
Sacred is thy being. Thy gardens grow.
Thy will be done in our cities,
as it is in nature.
Thanks be this day
for food, and air, and water.
Forgive us our sins against Earth,
as we are learning to forgive one another.
And surrender us not unto extinction,
but deliver us from our folly.
For thine is the beauty, and the power,
and all life, from birth to death,
from beginning to end. Amen.
So be it.
Forever.
Blessed be.–Henry Horton in Life Prayers
I came across the following in the book The Power of Ritual by Rachel Pollack and I think it is an excellent closing blessing for many types of rituals. I’m going to use it tomorrow!
Open your heart to the Sun
Open your eyes to the Sky
Open your ears to the Sea.
Deep love to the round Earth who has given us bodies.
Deep love to the stars for their energy and light.
Deep love to our mothers and fathers for the gene patterns of our souls.
Deep love to our mothers, for the home of our first growth.We bless each other for the truths we have shared.
We are people of love.
We are people of bone.
We are blessed.
We are people of light
We are people of words.
We are blessed.
We are people of truth.
We are blessed.May it be so.
May my feet rest firmly on the ground
May my head touch the sky
May I see clearly
May I have the capacity to listen
May I be free to touch
May my words be true
May my heart and mind be open
May my hands be empty to fill the need
May my arms be open to others
May my gifts be revealed to me
So I may return that which has been given
Completing the great circle.–The Terma Collective in Life Prayers
As women have always woven
so we weave this yarn into the circle of our lives.As women have always woven time and the fates,
so let us weave this yarn into the circle of our lives.As woman have always woven the seeds with the earth,
so let us weave this yarn into the circle of our lives.As women have always woven baskets and tools.
so let us weave this yarn into the circle of our lives.As women have always woven threads into clothing and shelter,
so let us weave this yarn into the circle of our lives.As woman have always woven words into poetry,
so let us weave this yarn into the circle of our lives.As women have always woven, so we weave this yarn
with the Goddess who is here with us.
The Goddess is always with us.As each woman weaves the yarn around the woman next to her,
let her call on the Goddess to be with her in daily life.
Let us all answer, ‘Goddess be with us.'”–Anne Kent Rush, Moon, Moon quoted in Blessingways by Shari Maser.
I’m in the middle of planning two blessingway ceremonies for friends. I’ve hosted enough of them, that I rarely look through my books anymore, but another friend borrowed the books recently and when she returned them, I skimmed through and settled on this beautiful reading. While it isn’t a match for the belief systems of the friends for whom we’re having the ceremonies, it is a match for me! At the close of a mother blessing, we often wind yarn or ribbon around our ankles or wrists as a symbol of our connection to each other and as a reminder to think of the pregnant woman as she approaches her birthing day. In our own tradition, as we pass the ribbon or yarn, rather than the reading above, we usually sing:
We Are the Weavers
We are the flow
We are the ebb
We are the weavers
We are the web.
At a mother blessing ceremony last summer.
Beautifully cloudy sky
Goddess, thank you for the rain that has fallen.
thank you for this reprieve from summer’s heat
the coolness of the air
the freshness of the breeze
thank you for the mantle of green that has settled back softly into its rightful forest home
thank you for this sacred place
where I can come to listen
and to be heard
thank you, Goddess, for these beautiful rocks on which to sit
for the security of having a place upon the earth
for being a part of the whole
thank you for the steady pulse of my heart
thank you for the easy rhythm of my breath
thank you for the endless creativity of my mind and of my womb
Goddess, I thank you for the many blessings of my life.
–Molly, August 13, 2012
Spirit of my longing heart, help me to become a force of history. Like a drop of water let me merge and mingle in the currents of my particular time and situation and not hold back, but join what nurtures the earth and soaks the seeds of justice and peace. Let me be the flash point where the light begins to travel at great speed, igniting compassion, that others might see the power of goodness. Let me rush with the winds of change across the desolate plains of greed and selfish desire. Grant me the wisdom to know that the winds of eternal hope blow through my words and deeds. Let me join the sky with its watchful eye and be a witness to life affirmations wherever I see them. Give me the strength to say yes to even the smallest act of mercy. With these powers of earth, of light, of wind, of sky, I will change myself and become a gift of love and power to the story of humankind.
–Stephen Shick in Be the Change: Poems, Prayers, and Meditations for Peacemakers and Justice Seekers
I love prayers like this–written in broad, sweeping language that encompasses any manner of belief systems and that calls upon the natural world and our inherent sense of the mystery and magic of being alive with a sense of reverence and the sacred.
Right after I originally typed this up, I came across a quote by Rachel Carson in Alexandra Stoddard’s Gracious Living in a New World: “What is the value of preserving and strengthening this sense of awe and wonder, this recognition of something beyond the boundaries of human existence? …Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.”
—
Most of this content was originally posted at Talk Birth.
Deep breath…aaaaahhhhh….
I quietly gaze into the depths of a forest
and see nothing save beauty and peace.
Birdsong fills my ears.
A gentle breeze brushes against my cheek.Seeing from inside the seeing,
I drink the dark riches of the woods.Would it be that every day
I could see my own face so clearly in these still waters,
And meet the emptiness–which is also my very own heart–
that is carried in the boughs of pines and in the gentle
music of crickets.
–Cass Adams in Life Prayers
I’ve had one of those bad days. A day in which I let myself down repeatedly, was snappy with those I love, was crabby and distracted and sometimes mean (to myself and to others). In short, I was not who I want to be, wish to be, or how I would like to see myself. I feel disappointed with my lack of accomplishments on my to-do list (that really needs to get done) and then also frustrated by my own unrealistic standards of what I “should” be able to do on any one day. I settled at my altar space for a few minutes and read the above in the book Life Prayers that I read a little of each day. I also have a nearly daily ritual of going down to the priestess rocks in the woods—though, on days like today, I don’t have “enough time” to do that, even though it is on those days that I really, really, need to go. So, I went. In truth, this time in the woods restoreth my soul, there is no other way to describe it.
I go down to the woods to pray. Thinking about the sacred way. And, we need this way to survive.
Quarterly, I get together with some of my friends and we have a women’s retreat. We had our summer retreat this past Sunday and I thought I’d share the outline and our activities as a “retreat recipe” that others may use if they wish to do so. 
Since my friends do not necessarily share specific religious beliefs, the retreats are spiritual in a somewhat generic “womanspirit” sort of way and you can obviously customize your own retreat to best suit the spiritual beliefs/backgrounds of your own friendship group.
Circle up—we stand in a circle, place our hands on eachother’s backs and hum together three times to raise the energy of the circle.
Invocation to directions. This time we used an invocation by Judith Laura:
We honor the East
Home of air
March wind
Morning’s song
Eagle’s flight
Aurora’s breath
Welcome EastWe honor the South
Home of fire
Noon sun
Flame of change
Heat of passion
Pele’s power
Welcome SouthWe honor the West
Home of water
River’s flow
Font of feelings
World’s womb
Kwan Yin’s love
Welcome WestWe honor the North
Home of Earth
Root of life
Shaded mystery
Ground of being
Gaia’s growth
Welcome North.
Light candle/opening quote
“I see the wise woman. And she sees me. She smiles
from shrines in thousands of places. She is buried
in the ground of every country. She flows in every
river and pulses in the oceans. The wise woman’s
robe flows down your back, centering you in the
ever-changing, ever-spiraling mystery.
Everywhere I look, the wise woman looks back.
And she smiles.”
–Susun Weed quoted in Birthing Ourselves Into Being
Check-in–we take turns “passing the rattle” and each woman has about two minutes to share what’s been on her mind.
Since we are close to summer solstice, I then chose to do this solstice prayer of healing from the United Nations as a responsive reading as a group:
A Prayer of Healing
From the United Nations Environmental SabbathWe join with the earth and with each other.
To celebrate the seas.
To rejoice the sunlight.
To sing the song of the stars.We join with the earth and with each other.
To recall our destiny.
To renew our spirits.
To reinvigorate our bodies.We join with the earth and with each other.
To create the human community.
To promote justice and peace.
To remember our children.We join together as many and diverse expressions of one loving mystery: for the healing of the earth and the renewal of all life. We join with the earth and with each other.
To bring new life to the land.
To restore the waters.
To refresh the air.We join with the earth and with each other.
To renew the forests.
To care for the plants.
To protect the creatures.
Guided visualization/meditation/relaxation (for this particular retreat, I used a nice full body relaxation from the book Birthing Ourselves into Being. This one isn’t available online that I can find, but you can find others online, like this one for example.)
We followed the relaxation with a muse questions and journaling using one of the questions from Shiloh Sophia’s Museletter:
Your Muse would like to show you something you haven’t been able to see.
She wants to invite you to have a thought you haven’t had yet…isn’t that an enticing thought in and of itself?
A thought that has lingered on the edge of your consciousness for maybe even a few years, or months….tell her…
I want to know what it is I am not seeing.
Then automatic write whatever comes up until you have to put the pen down.
Immediately following this question, it began to rain. Blissful, blessed, healing, glorious rain for which we were in so much need.
Discuss responses/experiences to relaxation/journaling.
Listen to songs/perhaps drum (this time, went outside together and stood in the rain)
Closing circle: Sing Woman Am I (recording of my friends singing it together is here).
Closing quote and extinguish candle
“A circle! No sharp edges, no hierarchy, just a circle of women…We are mothers. We are the portals. The next generation comes through our bodies.” –Annie Lennox
and one of my all-time favorites:
“I believe that these circles of women around us weave invisible nets of love that carry us when we’re weak and sing with us when we’re strong.” –SARK, Succulent Wild Woman
When reading a 1988 back issue of SageWoman magazine, I fell in love with Womanrunes by Shekhinah Mountainwater (originally in her book Ariadne’s Thread, which I then purchased) and so I made copies of the images to share with my friends. We are going to make some sets of runes at our next retreat. (And, after much scouring of the interwebz, I found a pronunciation guide for the runes here).
I also made a handout packet for them of various moon wheels/circular calendars for tracking your cycles, or simply for planning and thinking in circles rather than in lines. In the packets were:
And, then it was time for a craft, so as we snacked and chatted, I showed everyone how to make a small, hardbound pocket journal. You can find instructions for a simple book here, or, to make it even more simple, use this kit from Blick Art Supplies.
It was a delightful afternoon of connection and celebration—my original vision for holding these retreats was to bring some blessingway spirit into our regular lives, rather than only centered on being pregnant and I think that purpose was achieved.
—
This post is crossposted at Talk Birth.
Goddess, I enter your sacred space
space that is always there
waiting
open
welcomingSpace that I forget to touch
that I forget to drink from
space that I forget to look for
expansive space
space within
and space surrounding me
space that can be found in a group of women
and space that can be found
in a life with small children
perhaps difficult to see or grasp
but there waiting
holding
just the sameIn the quiet I can hear myself
and I can hear You
I can feel myself
and I can feel You
Breathing
resting
holding
pulsing
in an everpresent ground of relationship
and relatedness
and beingness
togetherThe great invisible web of incarnation
in which we are all
held
touched
connected
deeply, authentically
and forever.
–Molly, 7/9/12
Full moon from back deck, July 3, 2012
Wakan Tanka, Great Mystery,
teach me how to trust
my heart,
my mind,
my intuition,
my inner knowing,
the senses of my body,
the blessings of my spirit.
Teach me to trust these things
so that I may enter my Sacred Space
and love beyond my fear,
and thus Walk in Balance
with the passing of each glorious Sun.
~ Lakota Prayer
Priestess rocks behind my house
This is a place of holy beauty
This life is my prayer
I open my arms to the fullness that surrounds me
Breathing deep
Listening well
Touching softly
Tasting gently
Inhale…
Exhale…
–Molly, June 25, 2012
Spoken word poem that emerged unbidden in the woods today…
New goddess rosary from herchurch.org
New Moon Blessing
Shekhinah, we come to you at this time of the moon’s renewal,
to join you in regeneration and rebirth
to plant new seeds
to honor this time of piya wiconi—new beginnings.
As we embark on new projects and contemplate new
ways of being
help us to see ourselves and each other with new eyes
of appreciation and gratitude,
to remember to thank you, daily, for all our blessings.
Help us to reach our own fullness,
Even as we go inside,
in seclusion with Her
She Who is waiting for us
To discover divinity
in ourselves
–D’vorah J. Grenn, March 1998 in Talking to Goddess
This version of the Our Mother prayer is from Patricia Lynn Reilly:
Our Mother, who art within us,
We celebrate your many names.
Your wisdom come. Your will be done,
Unfolding from the depths of us.
Each day You give us all that we need.
You remind us of our limits and we let go.
You support us in our power and we act with courage.
For you are the dwelling place within us,
the empowerment around us, and the celebration among us.
As it was in the very beginning, may it be now.
From the book Seven Times the Sun, p. 45:
A simple participatory prayer is the circle prayer…someone might begin: ‘Spirit of Life, bless the activities of our day.’ The prayer travels around the table as each person names a special event, work to be accomplished, time with a friend, etc. For a Thanksgiving meal, someone might begin: ‘Creator, we offer thanks for the blessings of our lives.’ The prayer comes full circle as each person names a blessing from the year past for which they wish to offer thanks.
Our Mother who is within us
we celebrate your many names.
Your wisdom come.
Your will be done,
unfolding from the depths within us.
Each day you give us all that we need.
You remind us of our limits
and we let go.
You support us in our power
and we act with courage.
For you are the dwelling place within us
the empowerment around us
and the celebration among us
now and for ever. Amen
–Text by Miriam Therese Winter
via herchurch.
WoodsPriestess 