4SJ2014 | Opening Gathering

About the Opening Gathering (OG)

The Opening Gathering was about connecting with my fellow Mermaids, creating a stable foundation and feeling out my intentions for the year ahead.

My Thoughts

“I had the most AMAZING time at the Opening Gathering to my Four Seasons Journey! There really are no words to explain how blissful and safe I felt when I was there and how calm I feel now.
Change is coming and I’m totally OK with this ❤ ❤ ❤
BRING IT ON UNIVERSE.”

I have this image in my head of sitting in The Grove next to the creek whilst I was creating my drum. I’m surrounded by my fellow Mermaids, in this contained space. Someone is humming gently whilst she weaves. I smell sage, Earth and raw deer hide. The air is warm and every now and then a cool breeze caress’ my face. The stream gently weaves itself through the Earth and around rocks. Frogs and small birds are speaking to one another. The sun streams down through the leaves of the trees, creating patterns of shadows on everything around me.
I feel completely safe and calm in this moment. I have the quiet support of everyone around me – someone starts to play a flute softly.

I left feeling revitalized and content with my lot in life. My fear of vulnerability was something I really needed to overcome to get the most out of it all and once I did that, I began to learn a lot about myself.

…and it’s just the beginning!

What I Learnt

I learnt about vulnerability and how to hold space for someone else to show their vulnerability.
I learnt how big of a role my birth plays in how I process and how I create.
I made a drum out of raw deer hide and learnt how to get past my negative self talk regarding my creative process.
I learnt about altars, rituals and cycles (foundational knowledge).
Most of all I learnt about myself and I got regular glimpses of who I really am.
I learnt how reluctant I am to share things with others; how embarrassed and awkward I get when I do share.

Course Work

• Formulate my intentions for the Four Seasons Journey year.
• Bring my awareness to my menstrual and/or luna cycle.
• Identify my dominant Goddess archetypes: Artemis and Persephone
• Have an in depth look at my Moon Sign and Sun Sign.
• Map my birth and reflect on how it effects the way I process and engage.
• Post about:
  – Altars
  – My Drum (coming soon!)
  – Ritual/Ceremony
  – Smoke Cleansing (coming soon!)
  – Invoking the directions and elements.
• Research Different Cultures:
  – Aboriginal Australian (coming soon!)
  – Ancient European (Celts, Picts, etc) (coming soon!)
  – Native American (coming soon!)
• Drum Journeys:
  – Inner Journey Walker: Wild Witch Woman
  – Power Animals: Brumby and Rabbit
  – Guide: Kookaburra (coming soon!)

School of Shamanic Midwifery – Four Seasons Journey 2014

I’m excited to announce that I’ve begun my Four Seasons Journey (4SJ).

What is a Four Seasons Journey (4SJ)

The 4SJ is a year long course beginning in November facilitated by the School of Shamanic Midwifery.

During my 4SJ I will learn about the cycles of moon, earth, life and death and the menstruation cycles. I will learn heightened self awareness which will allow me to heal myself and in turn heal other people. I will learn about MoonTime and practice MoonLodge, I will get to practice shamanic journey work and make a drum and medicine bag.

What’s the Importance?

I’ve talked previously about the wounded feminine in my “D is for Doula” and “The F Word” posts and I still truly believe that a lot of the world’s problems could be eventually resolved if we stopped demonizing feminine attributes (such as creativity, intuition and empathy). On a more personal level, I would like to get more in touch with my own innate feminine nature.

As part of this journey I will also learn how to facilitate women’s and maidens circles which is one of the main reasons I’m doing this course. I would really love to hold space for young girls who have just gone through or are approaching menarche as part of a sexual education course through primary schools (obviously still a dream but a reasonably realistic goal none-the-less!).

Please Check out my 4SJ2014 Category for more information!