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Subscribe to this list via RSS Blog posts tagged in practical priestessing

Posted by on in SageWoman Blogs

One truth of being human
on this small and glorious earth
is that we carry whole worlds within us,
inner realms of infinite breadth and depth.
We also hold the capacity
to bring some parts of this invisible world
from the pool of the infinite
into physical form.
We are makers and knowers,
world benders and magic speakers.
The power is within us all the time.
We carry life's original fire,
the great flaring forth,
inside us at this very moment.
I am awestruck at this magic.

I'm preparing for a "Sacred She" ceremony with my local circle on Saturday. I'm finding it more challenging than I would have anticipated to ease back into working with a larger circle. I've been holding tiny circles for the last two years, but I haven't done much larger circle work since pre-pandemic.

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Posted by on in SageWoman Blogs

Today, I gathered five candles,
some sea salt
in a small dark cauldron,
a lighter in a starry brass holder,
a rattle made of gourd,
a singing bowl,
a crow's feather,
and my determination.
I watched the candles flare
and called in inspiration,
for the faith to keep on going
in a world that too often
feels crumpled with despair.
I planted my feet,
reached out my hands,
and lifted my voice,
believing with everything
I have left
that no matter how many stories
have been told to us
about brokenness,
we're here anyway
still whole.

This past weekend I held a small summer solstice retreat with six friends. It was supposed to be larger, but people kept cancelling. It was supposed to be at the river, but risky heat indexes put us inside. It was supposed to be cooler inside, but the AC went out and we were relegated to the basement. And, it was perfect. It was just what I (and we) needed. Something that I remembered after the retreat was over was of the importance of paying attention to how you feel after something is over. Let those moments teach you.

I've been thinking and writing recently about reorienting our lives by joy and steering away from obligation. How we feel after something is over can tell us a lot about whether we are steering our lives by joy or obligation.

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  • Jamie
    Jamie says #
    Molly, So profound and relevant. Don't we all need to find that balance to live our best lives? Your verse is beautiful. I pray,

Posted by on in Culture Blogs
The High Priestess Effect

They call it the “high priestess effect."

You've been there before. It may not have been the worst ritual in the world, but it was somewhere Down There among the Bottom Thirteen. People walk out of the circle feeling bored, irritable, imbalanced.

All but the high priestess, that is. She's giddy with excitement. She thought the ritual was masterful, one of the best ever.

Premise: If you want to know how a ritual really went, don't ask the high priestess.

The sad fact of the matter is that when you're leading a ritual—especially one that you wrote yourself—your perception of the ritual will be both qualitatively and quantitatively different from those of the other folks present. You have a level of investment and engagement that they simply don't. That fact must inevitably shape the experience.

It's not quite fair to put these parallax views down to incompetency: not entirely, anyway. Perhaps it's a matter of experience, really. Experienced priestesses—priests too, of course—know about the High Priestess Effect and understand that they need to temper their own reactions accordingly. The experienced priestess (or priest) knows that, of all the people in the circle, his/her experience of the ritual is the least important. The right to your own experience is one of the sacrifices that you make when you enter the priesthood.

Moral of the Story: From inside and outside, the same ritual looks very different.

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Posted by on in SageWoman Blogs

“Please prepare me b2ap3_thumbnail_53747485_2286272294918313_8837729538982019072_o.jpg
to be a sanctuary.
Pure and holy
tried and true.
With thanksgiving
I’ll be a living
sanctuary
for you.”

Beautiful Chorus (Hymns of Spirit)

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Posted by on in SageWoman Blogs

“When winter comes to a woman’s soul, she withdraws into her inner self, her deepest spaces. She refuses all connection, refutes all arguments that she should engage in the world. She may say she is resting, but she is more than resting: She is creating a new universe within herself, examining and breaking old patterns, destroying what should not be revived, feeding in secret what needs to thrive…

Look into her eyes, this winter woman. In their gray spaciousness you can see the future. Look out of your own winter eyes. You too can see the future.”

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Posted by on in SageWoman Blogs
“The ears of this language do not often hear the songs of the white egrets, the rain falling into stone bowls. So we make our own songs to contain these things, make ceremonies and poems, searching for a new way to speak, to say we want a new way to live in the world, to say that wilderness and water, blue herons and orange newts are invaluable not just to us, but in themselves…”
 
--Linda Hogan in  Sisters of the Earth
 
You may wish to place one hand on your heart, one hand on your belly and hum gently to center yourself in this time and in space. Call yourself in, feeling yourself present in your body, on this earth, breathing in and out, in and out.
 
This past weekend I priestessed an overnight Red Tent Retreat. As part of the retreat experience, we went on a pilgrimage through the woods to a nearby spring on my parents' property. For our Creative Spirit Circle mini ritual this week, I made an audio recording describing the experience of this pilgrimage as an everyday heroine's journey, an Inanna's descent into the underworld and her return, bearing lessons for her people. The recording is available here.
 
In the recording, I also explore the cards I chose for the week ahead and also share a poem, a quote, and some additional reflections on being an “everyday Inanna.” 
 
Our card for the week from Womanrunes, was The Circle, rune of self, beginnings, and potential. How are you tending to yourself? What is beginning for you? What potential feels like it is ready for you to tap into? This card reminds us to pay attention to the everyday miracles around us, including our own breaths. Pause and witness the miracle.
 
From the Goddess Guidance Oracle, we received Abundantia, the goddess of prosperity. This card reminds us to be open to receiving. And, she reminds us of the power of visualizing and affirming our own capacity for abundance, remembering that abundance may come in many ways including time, support, and ideas. Where have you experienced abundance lately? To what abundance are you open? What types of prosperity are you experiencing? There are many ways to prosper!
 
Take a deep breath and smile. Feel yourself expand into spacious possibility and the energy of creation. Reach down and touch the earth. Open your arms to the sky. Bring your hands back to your heart and belly, centered right here on this beautiful Earth. Feel aware of the cycle of life into which we are all woven. 
 
May you make ceremonies and poems, witness many miracles, and receive abundantly. 
 
Affirmation for the week: I welcome new beginnings and I prosper.
 
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Posted by on in SageWoman Blogs

b2ap3_thumbnail_15578223_1834729116739302_478719881513104552_o.jpg

"They say the moon is feminine. What will happen to me if I bathe myself in the creative feminine?"

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