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.”

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Book Review: We'Moon Datebook 2022!

By Molly Remer

I read my first book about Goddess herstory in 2001. I bought my first copy of the We’Moon datebook two years later, my first infant son slung across my chest in a baby sling. I picked this colorful, woman-honoring, b2ap3_thumbnail_IMG_5113.JPGgoddess-worshipping, spiral-bound form out of the stacks of lesbian, feminist, witch, and anarchist literature piled in untidy heaps on a table in the small radical bookstore located below street level in the liberal college town where I’d attended graduate school. I felt as if I was doing something risky, forbidden, possibly even dangerous and I still remember how to felt to carry my datebook up to the dim counter to make my purchase, the smell of patchouli drifting in the air as I ascended the stairs back to street level, now with both hidden knowledge and a baby carried in my arms. Perhaps it was my upbringing within the subculture of religious fundamentalism—not my own family, we were agnostic—but the culture of my peers, which had taught me that to name the body as sacred, to explore one’s own wisdom and self-authority, to partake in magic, to embody and envision the divine as feminine, are all dangerous acts. In some way, somehow, I absorbed that these are the realms that are restricted and denied and with that datebook in my hands, I was daring to break beyond those rules and taste the unknown, the mysterious, the magical, the powerful. There was something here for me. Something that would last forever.

I have purchased a new We’Moon almost every year since 2003, each one still flavored with that memory of the forbidden and the wise. So, naturally, I was delighted to receive a copy of the 2022 We’Moon datebook to review. Printed with soy and vegetable based inks on primarily recycled paper, the spiral bound datebook has a soft and nurturing feel. We’Moon is rich with art, poetry, and short pieces of writing from contributors around the world and has always been willing to take a stand for justice and radical self-empowerment, as well as harmony with the natural rhythms and cycles of life. Much more than just a datebook or a calendar, We’Moon includes moon phases, astrological readings, charts and planetary positions, and insightful, juicy explorations of each of the eight Holy Days as we move through the wheel of the year. Containing over 100 pieces of art and 100 pieces of writing as well as “month at a glance” moon calendars for each month of the year, the datebook’s pages alternate between written content, art, and space to write for each day. There is enough written and visual content to create the sense of an inspirational daily reader and calendar in one, creating a richly intentional multi-sensory offering. At the same time, at 240 total pages, it is compact enough to easily travel with you.

I have a tendency to use my We’Moons for personal journaling rather than as planners or for scheduling. It b2ap3_thumbnail_IMG_5112.JPGwas a We’Moon that held my tender, vulnerable, and painful moments from the early years of mothering. In was in those small daily boxes that I rediscovered the power of daily journaling—learning or re-remembering that daily notes on the day, however mundane, hold a power of memory and record. I find there is just enough space in each rectangle to jot a few observations and experiences of the day, rather than pages of insight or self-excavation, creating a daily diary in the original sense of the word. While on some busy days, keeping a journal can feel like just one more thing to do, I find I always have time for the small observations of daily living that fit into the We’Moon and I nearly always can make time for 10-15 minutes alone with my thoughts in the soft space to land offered by these colorful, enriching pages, in this way bringing me back to being, as I make space for it each day. It has been a We’Moon that held my notes about Red Tents and rituals, friendships, and frustrations. It has been a We’Moon that holds space for my daily ins and outs, projects completed with my kids, small updates about classes I teach, check ins about my book projects, our business, and my need for more time alone, as well as cycle tracking numbers and rune readings. (I have devised various codes and symbols to get a lot into the fairly small boxes!). Last year, instead of using it for journaling, I used my We’Moon to keep divination notes for the entire year—logging my oracle cards, Womanrunes draws, and tarot cards of the day, whether one card or five. About five years ago, I integrated my word of the year into my We’Moon, keeping a daily note about my word of the year and how I lived it, felt it, or experienced it in that day. I have maintained that practice faithfully ever since, adding my new words of the year to the original practice word “Magic” and keeping a note for each word. For example, this year my words of the year are “Joy” and “Nourish.” So, each day, I jot down the words: Magic, Nourish, and Joy in a row in the daily rectangle and then connect them to something about the day. i.e: Magic: found a crow feather on our walk. Joy: saw the one-antlered deer again in the woods. Nourish: worked on crocheting a cat with Alaina. I find that keeping this thread of connection to my word, and to the magic of everyday life, is a powerful and potent daily practice.

Highly recommended and dare I say, revolutionary, the We’Moon datebook will encourage you, inspire you, re-center and replenish you as you move through 2022.

Molly Remer, MSW, D.Min, is a priestess facilitating women’s circles, seasonal rituals, and family ceremonies in central Missouri. Molly and her husband Mark co-create Story Goddesses at Brigid’s Grove (brigidsgrove.etsy.com). Molly is the author of nine books, including Walking with Persephone, Whole and HolyWomanrunes, and the Goddess Devotional. She is the creator of the devotional experience #30DaysofGoddess and she loves savoring small magic and everyday enchantment.

Note: I received a complimentary copy of the datebook for review purposes.

Collage of example pages.
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Molly Remer, MSW, D.Min, is a priestess, teacher, mystic, and poet facilitating sacred circles, seasonal rituals, and family ceremonies in central Missouri. Molly and her husband Mark co-create Story Goddesses at Brigid’s Grove (brigidsgrove.etsy.com). Molly is the author of ten books, including Walking with Persephone, Whole and Holy, Womanrunes, the Goddess Devotional, and 365 Days of Goddess. She is the creator of the devotional experience #30DaysofGoddess and she loves savoring small magic and everyday enchantment.

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