You held my hand
Guided my steps
And supported my dreams.

We did not always agree
But eventually the paths
Of our divergence met at
The singular point of Love.

You possessed the wisdom of age
And experience as the power of
The feminine coursed through you as the
Elder and first Mother.

This mantle was passed to you from
Your Mother and hers from a continuous
Line of strong and courageous women.

Each passing of this Queenship
Made a little easier the road ahead
And for me that easier road stretched
Exponentially further.

Your life was hard so that mine
Would be made easier and the
Blessings I pass to my daughters
Will be ones of a newly forged strength
That has been honed and tempered in the
Fires of pain and joy of those who came before.

You have found your freedom and
In passing from this world left behind
The mantle of Matriarch that I now
Must take up as I find my way.

I am not ready but this is not a choice
And I will take on this gift wearing it
Proudly until my time in this world
Is done....

I Am the Matriarch
And in this naming I
Set foot on a path all
Women will one day walk.

Recent loss of my Mother has set me to thinking about much that I have claimed as my space of knowing about the power of the Goddess and the Divine Feminine. Our focus never wants to stray into thoughts of when the inevitable will happen, so we direct our claimings to those of identification as the lusty Maiden, the creative nurturing of the Mother and the prized wisdom of recognition as a Crone.

Becoming the Eldest Female in your family is one that does not have the chronological markers of youth, maturity and cessation of the moon cycle. This is one that is dependent upon loss, and that loss comes when it will and you find yourself, at any age, now the "one". By traditional definition a Matriarch is...

"the state of being an older, powerful woman in a family or group." I would also add that this is a title normally reserved for one who has given birth within the family group and relates back to the etymology of the word as "mater" or Mother. I believe these are some of the identifiers, but not the only ones.

All women share the lineage and power of the first Divine Matriarch; the first whose power was that of a feminine polarity and held the mysteries of creation within Her form(less) state. Each day we give birth to what becomes the legacy of our time here in this embodiment and the deeper stream that is our true place within the Matriarchal stream. 

Age is not only defined by the linear chronology we have placed upon it and power is inherent in us all. As above, so below and, when our time as a woman comes to step into the mantle of wisdom's calling as the oldest remaining female of our family, we seek the counsel of our Goddesses a the strength of or Gods to uphold this sacred transition. 

The Fates have a sweet sense of irony. I am currently teaching a workshop entitled Temple of the Divine. The intention was one of direct experience with Brighid and Lugh; Isis and Osiris and Freya and Frey. And, so I have been blessed with the healing of Brighid, the magick and gnosis of Isis and Freya's beauty of a courage that is much needed. As each day brings me a deeper sense of peace from loss, I will look to those embodied women who inspire me and learn from them what is needed to fully embrace this new journey. 

As the Sun rises at Dawn on the first and each day thereafter, that you have become the Matriarch of your family, stand and welcome the burgeoning light of your new journey. Offer up gratitude to She who came before and the intention that each day's rising will fill you with the courage, strength and wisdom to stand in the power of the Divine Feminine for those who will seek your guidance and the passing on of that light.

During this season of the Ancestors, let us honor those familial women who have come before. It does not matter what our relationship was with them in life for each left us a legacy of stepping into the mantle of becoming the Matriarch. And, for that we have much to celebrate in the life they gave us.