Newsletter July/August 2006 |
How are we to transform ourselves in this time of rapid change? How
are we to find the inner resources that will see us through the pressing
challenges of an increasingly manic and despairing culture?
I’ve been feeling the need for some time to attempt to articulate in writing the significance of the sacred work I am currently engaged upon. So here is a beginning…
Why
the Goddess mysteries matter for women and the future of our world |
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Possibly we are in a phase of cultural evolution where the global impact of humanity on the natural world is accelerating towards break point. Undoubtedly as contemporary Australians we are living in a political climate of fear – the fear of dwindling resources and the pressing awareness of increasing human competition for the stuff that makes our civilisation tick. A fear fed by our political leaders for their own purposes – the will to hold on to power, to imprint their own ideologies on the face of the world. Yet the sun still shines, the ground still holds us up, the air still breathes on our faces, and the oceans’ tides continue to ebb and flow under the ancient influence of the moon. Certainly there is repair work to be done. Certainly the winds of change are squalling around our ears with the insistent message that this culture we are heirs to must adapt or die. Much changes, and with increasing speed. Yet perhaps there are ancient wisdoms that might rise to our aid, were we but still enough to listen, and strong enough to enact the deeper promptings of our hearts. |
Volume 2, No.3
Hi everyone! Following the powerful birthing energy of the winter solstice, I am currently, like many a new mother, in that slightly chaotic space of not feeling sure which way is up... I move house around 11th August, after which time I plan to begin holding a regular weekly Goddess ceremony for an hour on Friday evenings (6- 7pm). I'm still waiting for the changes at the Sun, Moon & Star to unfold. In the meantime, we'll likely be holding our next Ishtar Mystery Ceremony at the Fremantle Education Centre on the 5th August from 7 til 9pm. Please confirm with me before you come. I'm also planning to find a venue and reschedule the Reclaiming Lilith workshop for late August or early September. More soon... blessings, |
Will it be enough? I do not know. I only know that for me to give in, and allow myself to be turned aside by the fears and doubts and angry self-destructive thoughts that are the inner mirror of our outer world’s despair would be to turn my back on the sacred trust which I and every human being share – to tend the wellsprings of life within my own being and my community. To attend the mysterious inner bubbling sources of creative vital aliveness that arise out of unknowing, out of darkness, and through me seek pathways to expression in my world.
To attend: to listen, give attention to, take care of. The ever-springing life-giving waters: erotic connection, the manifold forms of human love, human ingenuity and the creative spirit, the impulse to be and to celebrate the wondrous nature of the cosmos within and without. What has Goddess to do with these? Everything!! To talk about the goddess mysteries today is to discover, invent and recreate a contemporary language to express and explore these inner and outer realities in our lives. But perhaps I mislead you, since talking about mysteries tends to leave one feeling mystified, whereas when we come together to celebrate Her mysteries, creating a safe and sacred space and inviting awareness of the Goddess in, the inward experience is uplifting, expansive, clarifying… and quite often profoundly challenging – rocket fuel for our own evolutionary journeys as individuals and as a community of women. And so we begin. With intention. By delineating a space and a time and creating an invitation to our own deep being. Simply enough done: by giving attention to how we dress ourselves, how we arrange the room, by lighting candles and incense to create an atmosphere, by intoning sacred sounds, divine names and feeling their resonance within our bodies, by giving our full attention to our breath as it rises and falls… The breath that connects us to our own depths. The recycled breath of the earth that connects us with our ancestors, with all who have ever lived within the embrace of Mother/Father Earth. The breath that connects us through time to the light of the stars and the firey beginnings of this universe… Alone or in shared space, the outward actions may be very simple. The inward intention/attention is all. |
To be continued in the next issue, when I look further at the unique gifts that the goddess mysteries have to offer specifically to women…
Knossos, Crete
The next Daughters of Ishtar
WOMEN'S MYSTERIES CEREMONY
on
Saturday 5th August
focuses on the Mystery of the Breath.
The
first indrawn breath of the newborn being signals her arrival in the world
as an individual in her own right.
And yet paradoxically the same first act of opening our lungs to breathe brings us instantly into that communion of breath in which all Earth’s living cells partake, the ultimate sacred dance of interconnection.
(left) "Breath"
by Sven Geier, 2004
If immensity had form, it would be mine.I am abundance, and as such I produce everything in nature, even you.
I am the queen of wealth, I bestow all wisdom. I come first in every ritual. I am everywhere.I give you the food you eat, the water you drink,
from me comes all you see, all that breathes,
from me comes every word you hear.
Those who do not honour me destroy themselves.Study me. Listen respectfully to me.
I am all pleasure, all life, all knowledge.
- Shakti
with Ishara
In my experience, the major challenge of giving birth/becoming a mother is allowing the body-mind to open up and let go. When I work with a pregnant woman, my primary goal is to explore and expand awareness around how this can happen.
Part of what I have to offer is practical information about helping yourself in labour and beyond, including an understanding of the hormonal reflexes that govern labour. Women may already have received some of this information through their own reading and/or hospital classes, however I can help clarify and reinforce this.
The other aspect, which most women have very limited opportunity to address elsewhere, is to uncover, explore and address any underlying beliefs, fears and expectations which might trigger an adrenalin response in labour and impede the process of surrendering and letting go.
My private sessions generally involve a combination of listening, teaching and intuitive healing work (similar to Reiki) – how much of each depends upon personal needs and wishes. I also have some journaling techniques and art therapy processes that can be incorporated into the session or given as ‘homework’.
I charge $100 ($80 conc) for a two hour private session in your own home. (10% discount when booking a series of two or more sessions. )
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Blessingway Ceremonies A special ceremony
in your own home within for
pregnant mums, ... or at any other time of transition in a woman's life *** Also Intuitive Healing for every stage of a woman's life-journey. |
| Questions or comments? Email
me at ishara@ishtarsdaughters.com
or phone 08 9494 1665 To subscribe to this newsletter, please signup online at www.ishtarsdaughters.com |