Goddess Centered Practice
In the woods behind my house rest a collection of nine large flat rocks. Daily, I walk down to these “priestess rocks” for some sacred time alone to pray, meditate, consider, and be. Often, while in this space, I open my mouth and poetry comes out. I’ve come to see this experience as "theapoetics"—experiencing the Goddess through direct “revelation,” framed in language. As Stanley Hopper originally described in the 1970’s, it is possible to “…replace theology, the rationalistic interpretation of belief, with theopoetics, finding God[dess] through poetry and fiction, which neither wither before modern science nor conflict with the complexity of what we know now to be the self.” Theapoetics might also be described, “as a means of engaging language and perception in such a way that one enters into a radical relation with the divine, the other, and the creation in which all occurs.”
Gratitude and Sustenance
I touch the earth and offer gratitude
for this land I call home.
I reach towards the sky and offer gratitude
for sun, moon, and stars.
I place my hand on my heart
and breathe deep, offering gratitude
for all that I am and all that I have
and for the many blessings of my life…
As we reach the celebration of First Fruits, Lammas, on August 1 (or August 7), it is a beautiful time to reflect on the abundance in your life, the bounty around you, and that which you are harvesting or savoring.
“Eating the first corn, cutting the first ripe tomato, grilling fresh fish in the open air: if done consciously, these can become rituals of love and thanksgiving to the earth that sustains us.”
–Patricia Monaghan, The Goddess Companion
What is sustaining you this summer?
This year I have once again created ample space for the renewal, magic, and power of regular contact with nature. We go to the river at least once a week. I go to the woods every single day. I take breaks during the work day to stand outside barefoot and lift my arms to the sky and feel the firm earth beneath
my feet as the breeze ruffles through my hair. We often go swimming with the kids and my parents in the late afternoon. These daily acts renew my spirit and sustain my soul. Listen.
My heart overflows with abundance
and gratitude.
I know the magic
of golden kernel
plump berry
rich ground.
The symphony of wheat and corn
And what it feels like to dance sunlight into wine.
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