September has been a month of many gifts, a harvest of treasure from work done and journeys taken, as well as a challenging time of bringing home the fully felt places of wounding and old patterns in a renewed opportunity to choose freedom, love and compassion.
With the Harvest Moon (first full moon after the autumn equinox) being a rare ‘Blood Moon’ eclipse as well, what better reminder of the ever present dance of light and shadow, fullness and hidden depths then the magic of this month’s moon?
The Autumn Equinox often offers the chance for reflection and introspection, taking stock in the season of pruning when ‘life force going within’ is about to start as the days begin to get shorter, and we enter the dark half of the year. The equinox is that perfect point of balance, when light and dark are equal, which is the still point that affords us the opportunity to re-examining our authentic choice, our desire, our giving and receiving. Perhaps you, like me have been experiencing some form of challenge that makes you question what you’re doing, what you’re wanting to harvest now or in the future and what you’d like to plant to grow into maturation. Wondering what our choices are about and efforts are for, and what you really want – especially when experiencing disappointments or setbacks that are a part of life’s flow-, are always a part of the energy of this season. After all, this is the season of the Queen and King Archetype on the wheel of the Goddess in Avalon: the one who owns their realm. ‘Realm’ meaning that which you choose to take responsibility for. The Queen or King is therefore one who owns both their creation, their shine and their shadow, who takes responsibility of their life and invite shared self-responsibility within the realm which they serve and from which they receive.
Apparently, astrologically the Sun has been in opposition to Chiron, the wounded healer, illuminating precisely the parts of us in tension; that which is asking for our attention! A time of truth telling, of clearing with clarity, of compassion, when honesty and healthy boundaries are the order of the day. This is when it is more important than ever to practise consciously staying with gratitude rather than letting life be interpreted as hard.
To stay committed to the Path of Love when things are tough is where it all gets real and where the benefits of our self-development and consciousness work can be experienced. The practises to connect to our soft power and full desire become more important than in times of easy grace. If we can hold on to our self in these moments, things can move very quickly, creating space for healing and the realignment to the concrete manifestation of our dreams.
Some of the gifts of the season have been the completion of the Sacred Sexual Priestess training spiral of this year and 14 newly initiated Priestesses of Rhiannon to serve the Goddess of Love. There is something deeply moving and very magical about witnessing the dance and choices women go through to walk this soul path as priestess. To have the privilege to hold the container for a part of that journey is very special to me. There is so much beauty and shine to celebrate and such devotion in this journey, as well as life changing challenges to really meet, own and take responsibility for. It is never easy to start to work with your shadow stuff so that you can shine more brightly (like clearing the glass of a lantern), and I am very proud of all who choose to be Her light in the world. The gifts are greater self-responsibility, true honouring of the beloved within and in others you are in relationship with, and trust in the wisdom of your body and intuition. Choosing this is very much part of the initiation commitment for the Priestesses of Rhiannon.
I’m always touched by the simple synchronicities of the weaving of Her web in which we are a thread, and which connects us all in Her field of Love. As part of the initiation weekend we process through the town and onto the sacred land dressed in red and playing our Rhiannon prayer drums. I found these special little finger drums when I was in South Africa, and find they connect us to the wisdom of our cyclical nature and sacred body through First Maiden and her sisters who whisper in our DNA.
They are our far distant For-Mothers who sat in healthy sisterhood circles and walked in the ways of Goddess on the body of Mama Africa, our first sacred land. The drums are painted white and black, and we tie the red threat that guides us through Her labyrinth of life, onto it, so that the three sacred colours are united in our hands. On the face of the drum is painted the image of a little horse/ zebra; Rhiannon as Freedom Rider, there to remind us of freedom to choose our own path as well as the feminine perpetuation of patriarchal wounding. ‘The purple zebra syndrome’, which we learn about in the training and which you can read more about in the e-book ‘teachings of Rhiannon part 1’ available on Amazon, is a strong image for us all to be reminded of. Finally, the little drum is adorned with cowries, which, when spun, create the clippety-clop horse hoof sound of Rhiannon’s prayer drum. Cowry is the globally recognised symbol of the yoni, the Feminine sacred sexual source. If you are called to the path of the Sacred Sexual Priestess of Rhiannon, see the course details for the training running through the Goddess Temple in Glastonbury UK which starts each year in October.
Working in Italy
September has also seen the continuation of my work in Italy with an evening workshop on sacred sexuality and conscious lovemaking for women in Trento and another Archetypical weekend workshop in Venice as part of the Path of Rhiannon series, this time the Deep Diver aspect of Rhiannon of Water. This workshop is an invitation to find the pearls of wisdom that our wild, authentic, free sexual self carries deep within us, and to illuminate the shadow self that would use our sexuality to entrap, manipulate and punish. The journey which guides into re-connection with our authentic yes/no boundary in the body takes courage as it requires a willingness to really dare to ‘want what we want’, to own our desire. This leads to a much greater capacity to give and receive as a part of the flow of love and life and is the source of our soft power, a lived experience of surrendered presence that is the essence of the feminine.
Soft Power, Full Desire is about allowing yourself the possibility that there is nothing to achieve, no goal, no one to get approval of or to please, and nothing to manipulate. Instead; gently held presence with our owned desire and gracious surrender to our co-created destiny. Soft power gives us the freedom to choose freely and find our empowerment, to allow the sweet dance of giving and receiving without any hooks, and to forgive with compassion the old places within us that would still rule us if we’d let them. Pleasure, supportive co-operation, love, abundance, ease, gratitude and magical manifestation through directed action are the result of being Soft Power.
If you’d like to have a taste of what this work is about
Come to the next Path of Rhiannon workshops in Rome (evening sacred sexuality workshop 22nd October 2015) and Turin (weekend workshop 24/25th October 2015), or join the Sacred Sexual Priestess training in Italy starting in December. This is my schedule with all the details. Other upcoming workshops you may like to check out are the ‘Inner man/Inner woman’ conscious sexuality workshop in Bratislava (14/15th Nov), the Crone Goddess ‘La Que Sabe’ workshop in Switzerland (7/8th Nov) and a weekend workshop on sacred sexuality in Sweden 12/13th Dec.
In the UK I run the Goddess Hall series of Tuesday evening Path of Rhiannon workshops. We will work with the Initiation Archetypes of Her wheel this year. These are ideal sessions if you’d like to experience my work and what the trainings are about. The dates for these evenings are 17th Nov, 15th Dec, 19th Jan, 16th Feb. BEGINNERS WELCOME!
You can also join my mailing list to BE KEPT UPDATED and hear about the Soft Power – Full Desire online programme coming soon which you will be able to do from the comfort of your home.
Venice
While in Italy I had the chance to visit and stay in the fabulous old town of Venice, a place that shows that with charm, dedication, ingenuity and purpose, beauty can be created in the most unlikely of places, so that even a swamp can become a desirable place of grandeur and status. Labyrinthine and mysterious, Venice is a mistress of illusion. She shines with elegance and romance and yet she also crumbles and decays openly, beautifully even. The still waters of the lagoon reflecting the sky, the terra cotta, white marble and shimmering lights of palaces dancing on the eau de Nile mirrors of the canals.
In a city of such artful elegance it was easy to feel my loneliness without giving into the temptation of the intensity in distraction and busyness. It is said that the risk of hope is heartbreak. Equally, the risk of consciously inhabiting a body is to feel ecstatically, and be fully present with that which is. What I find is that the alternative is not worth considering for me, and that I choose my ‘golden life’ and all the gifts and challenges it holds and know I am blessed and grateful for it all.
May your harvest time be filled with gratitude and the Blessings of Rhiannon, Great Queen, Goddess of Love.
Katinka