Your Feminine SOUL-Know Your Women’s Rites!

 

As we discussed in earlier posts, the idea of ritual is nothing to be scared of. It’s not some spooky, occult mumbo jumbo (unless you want it to be!) Nowadays it’s an acceptable psychological practice used by all sorts of people for all sorts of reasons, from those who want to create a sacred moment in their lives, to those who want to say goodbye, to those who want to improve their work or athletic performance.
The beauty of working with ritual whether it be through visualization, meditation or affirmation –or all three at once- is that you are the conductor of your own symphony. YOU can remove anything you don’t feel comfortable with, or include anything you find meaningful.
Here are a few ideas concerning ritual that you may like to consider before you begin, and following are some simple ritual suggestions for women that you can adapt or use as they are. Have fun with them, along with the other exercises in this book. If you want, create your own!
In my experience, the best way to begin your practice is with unencumbered or simple ritual, so that is what I will outline here. All ritual involves working with energy, whether you perceive it as your own, or the universal energy or a spiritual energy of some kind. I was taught that activating our own energy through ritual causes a resonance in the universal energy, like throwing a pebble into a pond causes ripples.

Firstly we centre energy, in the case of the ritual given here, by taking a few deep breaths with eyes closed, or while focussing on a candle, in order to create a clear space to throw our pebble. If you are doing a ritual with more than one person, it’s helpful to breathe in unison for a few moments.

Next we raise energy, by repeating affirmations, chanting, singing, dancing or other movement, visualizing and becoming emotional about what we require.
When the energy reaches it’s peak ( which is sometimes difficult to gauge when you first begin but will become easier the more familiar you become with this practice), it is directed toward your objective ie- you may imagine or visualize your raised energy in some form, for instance a ball, a cone or even a balloon, that you release and send out into the universe with your request ‘attached’. In effect, we have now ’thrown’ our pebble.

Finally, we ground the energy that is left over. This is a very important aspect of ritual. Not grounding your energy can result in dizziness, headaches, nightmares and all other manner of problems. My favorite technique for this is to imagine myself under a waterfall, that washes down my body and soaks into the earth under my feet.
This is the basic structure of my own and most other kinds of ritual that I know of. There are an infinite number of ways that performing a basic ritual can be personalized, by adding transition between ‘your time’ and the rest of the day. As you can see, it’s totally up to you!
When you finish your ritual, again it is customary to ‘open’ your sacred space, and give thanks to whatever energies you invoked at the beginning. This provides, if you like, a ‘full stop’ to your ceremony, marking the transition back into everyday life and seals your intention. But again, this can be as simple as washing your hands, or blowing out a candle.

SOME WOMEN’S RITES FOR YOU TO TRY….

A Daily Rite For Unconditional Love.
This simple ritual/affirmation can be performed each morning for nine days, and then whenever you
feel you need it.
You will need- A pink candle
Rose or lavender incense or oil in water for oil burner.
A mirror big enough to see your torso in.
The ritual;
Light the candle and the incense or oil burner.  Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths to centre your energy. Then look into your own eyes in the mirror.
Say “ I welcome unconditional love and peace into my life. I welcome wisdom and understandingle is traditional- either by walking around the perimeter with incense or salt water and concentrating on purifying and consecrating the area within to your purpose  or by marking the boundary points with flags, staffs, rocks, crystals, or some other specific item of your choice, again affirming your intention. One example of a verse you might like to use or add your own preferences to is :
“In all the worlds, between the worlds, I purify this space. In all the worlds, between the worlds, I am safe and protected. I work for love and the highest good of all concerned.”

It is customary when performing ritual to acknowledge the directions, and the elements of earth fire air water and spirit, since these are the building blocks of which our reality is made, but if you don’t feel comfortable with this idea, simply acknowledging the four directions- north south east and west, plus the other two, up and down, is a good place to begin if you feel you’d like to give this a try.

Your Feminine MIND-A Process of Becoming.

 

Anais Nin- “Life is a process of becoming, a combination of states we have to go through. Where people fe with the same people and have the same job, but you have had 365 days more experience and opportunity for personal growth, so you are indeed a different person. Rather than coming back around to exactly the same point, as if you were on a merry-go round, you have changed and developed, as if you were going up a spiral staircase. Even your body has changed. The oldest red blood cell in your circulatory system is only going to be about 120 days old, and every three days we have a new intestinal wall!
For a woman, cyclical hormonal and emotional changes occur within the body all the time. Over the course of our lives we change from children to young women, then experience the transition into the ‘mother’ years (even if you choose or are unable to have children- your body and hormones will still be in this cycle) and then we change again, experiencing the process of menopause-which incidentally has a beginning, a middle and an end of it’s own. Eventually, we become post-menopausal women.
Unfortunately, this particular change is not often honored in our society, making it difficult for many of us to really benefit from the rray, changes are occurring. How often have you heard someone say, “Oh it’s my birthday again and everything’s still exactly the same as it was last year.”
Well, just look closely at your life for a moment. Maybe you’re still living in the same place with the same people and have the same job, but you have had 365 days more experience and opportunity for personal growth, so you are indeed a different person. Rather than coming back around to exactly the same point, as if you were on a merry-go round, you have changed and developed, as if you were going up a spiral staircase. Even your body has changed. The oldest red blood cell in your circulatory system is only going to be about 120 days old, and every three days we have a new intestinal wall!
For a woman, cyclical hormonal and emotional changes occur within the body all the time. Over the course of our lives we change from children to young women, then experience the transition into the ‘mother’ years (even if you choose or are unable to have children- your body and hormones will still be in this cycle) and then we change again, experiencing the process of menopause-which incidentally has a beginning, a middle and an end of it’s own. Eventually, we become post-menopausal women.
Unfortunately, this particular change is not often honored in our society, making it difficult for many of us to really benefit from the lessons we can learn if we are allowed to explore and develop our personal power, but we’re starting to get there.
To make this process of life and change feel more natural and desirable, we need to begin accepting and honoring change. We need to realize thaasy, but life is a ‘work in progress’- and we can be the artist.

Perimenopause? Who, Me?

Although I’ve been planning to begin this blog proper since January 2012 the Universe /Goddess, call the Source power what you will, has had other ideas.
Issues around breast health and many other serendipitous occurrences have conspired to hold up actually starting. I’d finally been kind of waiting for a sign to say “This is it…. get going!”
So this month I experienced my first moon time in six months. If that’s not a sign I don’t know what is! Synchronistically I also started reading “The Wisdom Of Menopause” By Dr Christiane Northrup. I can’t recommend this book highly enough. For those of us going through the Climacteric, a.k.a Perimenopause (meaning that I haven’t yet gone a full twelve months without a period but I am experiencing many symptoms such as hot flushes, vagueness, breast changes, difficulty losing weight and emotional fluctuations) it is a touchstone which reassures that others are experiencing the same issues and still thriving and flourishing, in fact sometimes living the most positive, healthy, juicy and fulfilling part of their lives to date.
When I was writing Moon Rites originally ten years ago, obviously I had to rely on the wisdom of more experienced mentors like Susun Weed (Mistress of Herbal Lore and Women’s Wisdom par excellence- author of Menopausal Years The Wise Woman Way) and the wonderful Elaine An (a VERY weird situation for me!) Instead, aseling as well, a technique I’m still learning and will talk about later. I’m not my normal self yet, by any stretch, but I’m coping pretty well to date.
To me, it seems like even though this transition is as big and important as becoming pregnant, our society does not acknowledge it as such- in fact, quite the opposite.
So even though it’s quite a challenge, I’m in a privileged position where I can hopefully put everything I discovered ten years ago together with what I’m experiencing and discovering now and act for others like you as the touchstone you need to navigate your own transitions. We all need a touchstone and we all need to know we are not alone!

Your Feminine BODY- Spice it up with GINGER...

Traditionally, the cooler months of the year offered people the opportunity for rest and reflection. After all their hard work of harvesting and preparing food for storage over the more barren months of winter, it was time to sit around the fire , enjoy what bounty had been gathered and tell stories before preparation for Spring planting and hunting began the whole cycle again. In the Southern Hemisphere winter approacheth and temperatures are dropping.
These days though, no matter what the temperature is outside we tend to stay busy. So all of us, but especially active women need to incorporate these times of rest, renewal and reflection into our lives more regularly.
Cyclic awareness is like a circulatory system, with an ebb and flow, a rhythm of it’s own. As it changes, we need to change with it. For example, we need to be aware of seasonal changes and how these affect our bodies and the delicate balance of our overall wellbeing. Competing in a triathlon in the dead of winter for instance is a totally different ballgame to doing it in the heat of summer! And even those of us who are simply trying to get through the day need to take steps to ensure that we support and nourish ourselves in the way our bodies minds and spirits need it according to our outer environment.
However these changes don’t have to be threatening or difficult. They can be as simple as following our own instinctive desire to eat salads in summer, and more warming, heartier foods in winter.
One food that’s particularly appropriate for this time of year - let me be honest, it’s a personal favorite of mine too!- and a great addition to a healthy lifestyle in all it’s many forms is GINGER.
I was thrilled when I discovered all the health giving properties of ginger, because I love it anyway and I’m now even more keen to make it an integral part of my diet.
Ginger has powerful anti-aging and anti-inflammatory properties making it a perfect tonic for general well-being. It is reputed to lower bad cholesterol and support heart and circulatory system health. Traditionally used for travel sickness, morning sickness and any kind of nausea, it has recently been discovered that ginger contains a protein digesting enzyme called zingibain which is similar to that found in papaya.
However, according to some experts ginger contains about 180 times more of this enzyme than papaya and is significantly lower on the GI index so the” old wives remedy” which has advocated the use of ginger as a digestive aid has been well and truly proven.
Ginger is also useful when we have colds and coughs, to remove stuffiness and soothe and calm inflamed mucus membranes. Ginger essential oil, diluted appropriately in a carrier or base oil makes a warm, soothing and anti-inflammatory rub for stiffness and/or rheumatic discomfort, as well as menstrual aches and pains. If you have irregular periods or are late, drinking ginger tea is said to help. As a flower essence, ginger releases anger, irritation, frustration and subconscious trauma.
Ginger is a wonderful addition to fresh juice. My current personal favourite blend is apple, beet, ginger and lemon. Fresh ginger is excellent grated and added to fruitcakes, and if you ever see a pumpkin and ginger cake recipe, give it a try- you won’t regret it.
We all know of ginger’s affinity with Asian and Indian cooking such as stir-fries and curries, and it makes a wonderful cordial base when a chunk is mixed in a blender with a few lemons and honey to taste. Strain and bottle- then add this syrup to soda, cold or hot water, or add to other herbal tea infusions for an extra kick.

So there you have it. One spicy way to enrich your life, nourish your body, uplift and warm your spirit. But don’t stop there! Why not use a bit of your own personal reflection time to discover your individual preferences and whether or not they’re actually good for you too? I can’t think of a better reason to curl up by the heater with a good book…