I went to Daughters of the Moon for the third time this year. Daughters is a festival for women and shares Goddess Spirituality principles, craft classes, yoga, swaps crafts that you make, re acquaints you with old friends and introduces you to new people. Daughters calls down Avalon for a weekend, or lets you dance with Artemis, you can learn about Sexuality and creation from Isis, or you can Realize you are Hathor, you will learn how to be by yourself, like yourself, and respect yourself. You will come to realize all people have body issues but in the eyes of your sisters you are not criticized but glorified and blessed.
We all stay for three nights in the woods in various cabins that look like Lodge halls. You decorate your room if you want (because some women just love doing this) or you can just decorate your whole Lodge hall like we Temple women did with Columns of Goddesses and the Temple Flag whipping in the wind. Most likely you will stay within your comfort zone in your cabin and get to spend the night with your girlfriends laughing and talking all night like you were 8...but sometimes you venture out of your box and stay with complete strangers I have done both.
We do zany things like decorate discarded bras and then make them beautiful again so we wear them. We sing "I got the Maiden Mother Crone in my bra!" We go on journeys to far away places and meet places inside ourselves we are too busy to acknowledge most of the time. You take part in workshops about scrying, learn how to puuja (a beautiful prayer opening ceremony led by Leela our Hindu Crone Priestess). You walk in a labyrinth sometimes, or learn how to read tea leaves. One year we had a discussion about organic foods, and every year we have fun with henna! There are drums, and singing...and dancing spontaneously breaks out. Every woman brings something for lunch, something for breakfast, some snacks...and Steak Dinner as a feast is provided on the last night.
When it is time to leave, we pack our things, sweep out our cabins, take turns cleaning out bathrooms and dining halls. Then we gather together for closing ritual thank our ancestors, mark our faces with women symbols then take a picture so that we know that for posterity this gathering is important. We all leave crying, hugging, laughing, and promising to call or text...but we know there will never be another time for us like this until Daughters rolls around the next year.
I am sure we all have fun in the workshops painting our nails, or giving facials. I am positive we all like buying new blue clothing for the weekend; confidentially I can say decorating ourselves in bold and courageous ways we could never don in the corporate world makes us all glow....BUT what makes DOM special is everything all wadded together wrapped with the bodies of all our various sizes, colors and personalities, and donned with the bow of the Goddess.
IF you have a chance to ever go to a women's only retreat dude you should so go! If you want to start something small like this in your little town...YOU should do it! This started 13 years ago with about that many women and this year we had over 80!!!
Women need women, to share everything with good and bad....Women need encouragement and to realize that they share SO much and can learn and laugh with each other so much better than they can alone.....
Thank you ISIS for a wonderful year, and thank you Daughters of the Moon for feeding my soul for one more year.
We do zany things like decorate discarded bras and then make them beautiful again so we wear them. We sing "I got the Maiden Mother Crone in my bra!" We go on journeys to far away places and meet places inside ourselves we are too busy to acknowledge most of the time. You take part in workshops about scrying, learn how to puuja (a beautiful prayer opening ceremony led by Leela our Hindu Crone Priestess). You walk in a labyrinth sometimes, or learn how to read tea leaves. One year we had a discussion about organic foods, and every year we have fun with henna! There are drums, and singing...and dancing spontaneously breaks out. Every woman brings something for lunch, something for breakfast, some snacks...and Steak Dinner as a feast is provided on the last night.
When it is time to leave, we pack our things, sweep out our cabins, take turns cleaning out bathrooms and dining halls. Then we gather together for closing ritual thank our ancestors, mark our faces with women symbols then take a picture so that we know that for posterity this gathering is important. We all leave crying, hugging, laughing, and promising to call or text...but we know there will never be another time for us like this until Daughters rolls around the next year.
I am sure we all have fun in the workshops painting our nails, or giving facials. I am positive we all like buying new blue clothing for the weekend; confidentially I can say decorating ourselves in bold and courageous ways we could never don in the corporate world makes us all glow....BUT what makes DOM special is everything all wadded together wrapped with the bodies of all our various sizes, colors and personalities, and donned with the bow of the Goddess.
IF you have a chance to ever go to a women's only retreat dude you should so go! If you want to start something small like this in your little town...YOU should do it! This started 13 years ago with about that many women and this year we had over 80!!!
Women need women, to share everything with good and bad....Women need encouragement and to realize that they share SO much and can learn and laugh with each other so much better than they can alone.....
Thank you ISIS for a wonderful year, and thank you Daughters of the Moon for feeding my soul for one more year.
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