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Subscribe to this list via RSS Blog posts tagged in Pagan Parenting

Posted by on in Culture Blogs

 

 The Power of Lightning

 

If it isn't my earliest memory, it must be at least one of the earliest.

It's night. The summer thunderstorm has waked me out of a sound sleep, and I'm sitting in bed crying, terrified. Our house is near the top of the hill, and the crash of the thunder and irregular strobe of lightning seem to come from all around.

The door opens, and my father comes in. He scoops me up into his arms. I have a distinct visual memory of moving from the darkness of my room, through the hall, and into the kitchen, where the lights are on.

My mother—entirely understandably—is saying: Russell, what are you doing? Russell, what are you doing?

Dad opens the back door and steps out into the rain, which is bucketing down. (We must both have been drenched to the skin in seconds, though I have no memory of it.) He snags a lawn chair in one hand, goes out to the center of the yard, and opens it. He sits down, and sets me in his lap.

The storm's initial front has moved on. Together we sit in the rain, listening to the grand rolls of thunder and watching the play of lightning on the horizon.

That's all I remember, but—as dad had intended—ever since then I've loved, not feared, the beauty and majesty of thunderstorms.

Some years ago, having belatedly had some experience in the field myself, my father and I were discussing the fine art of parenting. I cited this story as one of the wisest examples of creative, proactive parenting that I could think of.

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My specialty is small group rituals and retreats for women. However, a primary reason behind having women-only rituals at this point in my life is purely logistical. I find it nearly impossible to have a complete “retreat” experience with kids also present! Someone has to take care of the kids during said retreats…hence, single-sex rituals/ceremonies often make the most sense for my local community. However, shorter and simpler rituals are possible with kids, though they have a completely different feel and even function and so that energetic output needs to be balanced with the renewal and restoration we often need as parents, mothers, and women.

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Recent Comments - Show all comments
  • Lizann Bassham
    Lizann Bassham says #
    Love this post - just makes my heart happy thinking of your family and families all over the world doing this...
  • Molly
    Molly says #
    Thank you! Me too.

Posted by on in Paths Blogs
Losing Persephone. Becoming Demeter

The room is mostly empty. A strand of Tibetan prayer flags dangles listlessly from a single thumb tack. The white walls are punctuated with tiny pinhole dots, the last reminders of where posters and photos once lived. A thrift store desk, repainted many years ago, sits empty. The lack of homework and hair scrunchies and change hurriedly deposited there makes it seem even older and somehow smaller.

The offering bowl filled with cleansing herbs floats alone on a sea of beige carpet. The charcoal is lit. A single, curling tendril of smoke rises from the center, and I close the door.

...
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Recent Comments - Show all comments
  • Courtney
    Courtney says #
    This was good for me to read. My oldest is 14 and I'm already freaking out about the day she leaves. I'm only 34 so I can imagine
  • Gwion Raven
    Gwion Raven says #
    Hello Courtney, I remember being in my early 20's thinking about how young I would be when my kids hit 18 (ish) and were likely t
  • Gwion Raven
    Gwion Raven says #
    I imagine that we all get to be Persephone and Demeter at some point in our lives, whether that's with children or a business or a
  • Annika Mongan
    Annika Mongan says #
    This is not an experience I will ever have, but you wrote it in such a way that it becomes real and raw and relevant to me nonethe

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