Red Tent Temple ~ JULY 6 ~ Bloomfield, CT

It’s time again!

To gather in honor of the feminine divine in our magical Red Tent Temple.

Please join us. Bring a Sister, a Mother, a Grandmother, and most importantly, YOU.

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Red Tent Temple ~ JULY 6, 2008 ~ Bloomfield, CT

Please read this invitation thoroughly so you know exactly what is happening and how you might participate. Each month there are variations. Founder, ALisa Starkweather has recently updated much information on this Movement, be sure to visit her site and read all about it!
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The Red Tent Temple of the Spiral Traditions Chapter.

~Recreating the Women's Moonlodge for today's culture~

Please forward this to anyone you wish to be invited. Last month's gathering was beautiful; we created a group Mandala and planted it with song and chant in the children's Garden. This month Margot will be Priestessing for you, holding sacred space, sharing, and of course passing the talking bowl. Virginia will be taking over my role for the day (thanks V!) but all rsvp information can still be emailed to: spiraltraditions@gmail.com.

~ It is scheduled for Sunday July 6, 2008, from 11 am to 5+ pm.
~ Set up will be from 9-11am.
~ A brief opening/orientation circle will be held at 12 noon.
~ 11-12 am and 12:30-3pm will be free-form, organic time, where you can do what you wish in the space.
~ Formal Circle will be held from 3-5pm
~ 5-7 pm will be community time (farewells, hugs, networking, resting after circle..) and break down of the space.

Located on the beautiful land of Auer Farm we will be held in the arms of Mother Earth while we retreat safely and honor the feminine spirit. The Red Tent will happen every month, on the Sunday closest to the New (dark) Moon.

Inside the Red Tent .........you will find a space to heal and be heard. To be your whole self. To go within and tap into your divine creative source. There will be space to rest, journal, cry, connect with sisters, breathe, meditate, and reconnect with what ties us all together: being woman. Womb or not, bleeding or not, all women from all walks of life are welcome.

Suggested Donations of $10.00 to $20.00 are requested but not mandatory. We do have to pay for the space.

There will be a beautiful storytellers chair, a greivance altar, a community altar, herbal teas and homemade soup. It is sacred space to go within and honor your divine feminine being. A place to remember.

Young women of Menarche age are welcome for all of the day except the formal circle at 3:00 which is adults only.
Nurslings are welcome until walking age.

This vision is held in the spirit of community and collaboration. Everyone who sets this up is working on a volunteer basis, which makes your attendance and contributions integral. Please take a look at the share list below to see where you are called to collaborate to keeping this vision alive and well. On the side bar to the right, there is a donation button you can use to make financial contributions if you are not able to attend but would like to help.

It is vital to our culture and to our next generations that we reclaim our innate Spiral Traditions. We are a culture starved for authenticity - but we don't have to be. The Red Tent Temple is a transformational and Global movement.

RSVP's are important. We need to know how much soup to make or request, who can Priestess, and who can bring what. When you refer to the share list below - please email us on what it is you are called to bring or do, so we can keep this day organized and wonderful.

Set up -
Break down -
Providing Soup/s-
Breads -
Providing herbal belly tea/s-
Priestess for Circle - Margot
Welcomer, Greeter -
Drumming, music,
Cloth bringers (Collective: We really need more than one woman for this. It will take a lot of cloth to paint the room)
Red Tent Journal - Katy
Pillow, backjack, mat bringers,
Altar objects -every woman is encouraged to bring something for the altar, to be charged up with energy while she attends. Taken home after.
Candle provider-
Talking Bowl/stick bringer -
Healers; energy healers, body workers, oracles, wanted to serve either for free or at lowered cost.
Massage Table -
Markers - Katy




Love and Light,
The Red Tent Temple Team

http://www.spiraltraditions.blogspot.com/
http://www.blissfulbotanicals.com/
http://www.auerfarm.org/
http://www.elandraarts.com/
http://www.walkinbeautyct.com/

Original Red Tent Information: http://www.alisastarkweather.com/

Maidens Blossoming

When Women gather in sacred space and welcome in their entire self; whole, unedited, authentic; it invokes the most powerful resources for magic and transformation. More and more important is it becoming to welcome our young maidens into this way of becoming, where they can grow into themselves through trust, truth, awareness, and deep support. In a world which simultaneously forces us to hold a facade, yet rips away our original rights of emotional and social protection, we are left with a world of lost and angry adolescents. Even with our loving family homes, there is a social aspect completely missing. Where are they allowed to safely break the rules to find the right boundaries? Express creativity without working for approval? Where are they allowed to question injustices in order to cultivate understanding and innovative solutions? Where can they learn a deep sense of self... in order to become resilient, self-guided adults? Where can they cry about losses and fears ... in front of friends who hold the space for them?

When we create sacred space, and we peel away the bitter human rinds, we find sweet common grounds. We find humans striving for real interdependence. Humans ashamed at careless action ..... and humans with an intrinsic drive to move towards love.

Young Maidens learning about their emotional and physical landscape need a place to usher them in. There are more and more of these circles being formed. There are more mentorship services, and more schools and parents asking for dynamic action toward integrating self-awareness activities and programs for our youth. We must start earlier, with preventative emotional and spiritual health, if we are to raise the next generation in a way which will sustain both human and ecological balance.

On a personal note .... a toast to the beautiful Spiral Tradition Maidens!
To changing the world one spiral at a time......

Red Tent on YouTube!!!

This is so great .... word is spreading, fast!

Watch DeAnna L'am's presentation about Menstrual Monday and the Red Tent - it's lovely.

Thank you DeAnna!

Red Tent Afterglow

Greetings on the day after our gathering. I sit in fullness in awe of the day's events. I am grateful, filled with love and renewal. " thanks yours" to all who came, to ALisa who has inspired such returns to women's ways, to Ananda for her ceaseless caring and holding of this RTT, to Lucy for being the welcomer, to Audrey for Priestessing, to all those who brought food and themselves into circle, and to Katy and the Auer Farm for having the glorious space for us to just simply BE.

I walked into an exquisite gathering of intimate sharing in the afternoon after having spent the morning volunteering doing art with cancer kid survivors and their families for the CCMC Cancer Survivor Day "Cycle of Life". An amazing morning of excitement and bussiness was balanced with the quiet and intimacy of our RTT. The smaller circle lent itself to group discussion and a fullness of being welcomed into the fold. Ahhhhhhhh, breathe, slow down, sit and just be and allow all that is there and in here to simply BE! As the afternoon drew us closer to our ceremonial time, a few other women joined us and were graciously welcomed by our sister wisewoman, Lucy. Audrey led us in a most powerful opening and circle ceremony that brought us inward into a fullness and sharing that was amazingly profound through the creation of a Mandala. The day ended as perfectly as it began with the sacredness of letting our creation be returned to our Great Mother. - Into the earth it went ( literaly and figuratively) as it was buried in a garden corner with each of us digging and then covering it with soil as we sang Monica's circle song led by Ananda - Yes, Monica, Katie and all of you wonderous goddesses were there with us in spirit as we sang and gave the mandala back to the earth. Whew! the spiral continues to spin and to weave as we return to our individual but not separate ways of being in this world.


We have a priestess for next month's gathering!!! Our beautiful sister and wisewomyn, Margot (I am so horrific with names, so I hope I have that right).


We have wonderful opportunities to gather in community between now and then as well, so I invite all of you who were together on Sunday and all those who were there in our hearts to join Kathy Gillane and me at the upcoming

North East Hand Drumming Expo.

It is on June 8th at the East Hartford Community Cultural Center on Chapman Street from 1-4PM .
There will be handdrumming workshops facilitated by amazing drummers, a 3 hour long community drum circle and my husband, Craig and I will be guest facilitators for a portion of that. (www.ctdrummingnetwork.com)


Auer Farm is hosting a beautiful day for the public the day before Father's Day, It is the farm's community service day and takes place on June14th from 9am to 11pm . Craig and I will be leading a community drum circle as a FUN raiser / gathering funds for RTT in the morning from 11am -12:00 pm
Donations are gladly accepted as you are able to give ~ $10 pp or with family groups $5 pp.. gratefully accepted. (www.jestplaytivity.com) (www.auerfarm.org).


Last but not least, I invite those who are called to join me in Bloomfield at the Enlightened Professionals Center for the "Celebrate The Feminine day" where I will be leading the opening circle. It is on June 28th from 9-7, cost is $45 pp and there will be 6 glorious women providing workshops, vendor tables anad lots of sharing. Details are attached and will be on my website, as well as on the spiral traditions blog calendar. (www.EPLLC.ORG)


Spread the word, come and play, and I look forward to meeting and greeting those of you who are able to join me in the various events in June.


May the Peace that Surpasses all Understanding awaken in us ALL.
Namaste,
Virginia
www.elandraarts.com