02-21-10 Out With the Old

Out With the Old…February in the Red Tent

On a February day so beautiful it seemed to promise that Spring is not far behind, the women came from the Four Directions. Women of the Elements they are - Earth and Air and Fire and Water – and they carry those elemental gifts within and without. On this day they brought their diverse and unique spirits to the farm to join their sisters in the Red Tent Temple. As if some tribal drums had broadcast the message, they continued to come until hearts and spirits and the tent itself was thrumming with the energy of good women.

For several hours, we relaxed. Some wrote in journals, did artwork, or rested. Others shared stories, sought counsel, offered counsel, bore witness, and welcomed newcomers. There were tears and laughter and learning and love. We all nourished ourselves on wonderful soups – I think I counted six different pots – teas, fruit, salads, and finally, one amazing woman’s amazing fudge. Our special thanks to the Soup Artists and all the cooks as well.

Jaz brought an art project for us and we each made a heart card for ourselves and then wrote wonderful, magical messages in each other’s cards. It was good, loving fun and I’m pretty sure I wasn’t the only one who sniffed the construction paper to be delightfully brought back to a childhood where making cards was a frequent, joyfully uninhibited, and creative activity.

When it was time, Jaz, a princess of light and laughter, also our Priestess for the day, called the circle together. We began by naming into the circle our ancestor-women and any others we chose to place and hold within the rim of our sacred space. Jaz then led a meditation in which we identified, honored, and then released anything we had been holding within us that happened in the last year, in order to make space and new energy for the fresh life experiences to come in the current year. It was a moving and healing journey, and a powerful privilege to be a part of that circle. It was clear, as we then passed the talking bowl, that the women had felt the magic and gained much insight and gratitude from our circle that day. We ended in song and couldn’t help but notice that, unlike last month, it was still light outside, and just like last month, there was much light inside of each one of us.

After a bit more soup, much more laughter, always, much more laughter, and finally, cleaning up, the women said their goodbyes with hugs all around, and headed back out into the Four Directions to return home until the next Red Tent. Please join us there on Sunday, March 14^th at 11:00 a.m.

Special Request: We ask each woman to bring one red column candle in a glass container to help us replenish our supply. A fun prize will be given to the woman who finds the lowest price. Grocery stores often carry these candles for relatively low prices. Thanks. If you haven’t got time to pick up a candle, do not fret.... come anyway! See you on the 14^th.

The Red Tent

by Diana Powers

Today we came together in a specially blessed place,

for laughter and for wisdom, for sisterhood and grace.

Some came with long-felt longing, some, curiosity;

but each was drawn to be there in sacred trinity.

Our trinity, the Feminine, of Maiden, Mother, Crone;

so powerful, it helps us know that we are not alone.

We shared in conversation, and caring company,

and filled again our well of love with sweet community.

We drew the sacred circle and filled it from the heart;

the bold, the shy, the in-between, we came to do our part

to send the power up and out while healing from within,

and this bright ring of healing is where we all begin.

We bless each other with our trust, respect our right to be,

because we understand the gift that’s given when we see

that every path is sacred and every walk is true,

and so we honor our own paths and all those others too.

~

Red Tent Temple, February 21, 2010, Bloomfield, CT

Greetings Wonderful Women!

Soon, again, it will be time to gather in our Temple to rest and replenish our energies.

Before I list the standard information, I'd like to bring your attention to our current needs.

Our Red Tent is in need of more support around supplies and monetary stability. Please consider contributing in one or more of the following ways, so that we can continue this vital work of healing and reconnection.

We need donations of:

~CANDLES. Tea lights are too little to work for the day. We need larger ones that are contained in a holder or jar. They should be unscented. We need many.

~BACK JACKS. only two of our women own these floor chairs, and bring them when they can, but sometimes they cannot attend, and often there are not enough. This would be an exceptionally helpful and generous gift that we would be immensely grateful for.

~LARGE RED CLOTHS. For the floor covering, the larger and sturdier the better. We spend a little too much time on many small cloths.

~STORAGE BINS with LIDS. Our things are stored graciously by the farm, but often get dusty or stale in between tents. We need to store them in covered bins, to keep them protected, and so we can easily stack them.

~PLASTIC WARE - Either re-usable dishware for those who need it, and/or tupperware to pack extra foods to go home. Some need this bounty and we would like to be able to give it.

~SIGNS - some have trouble finding the building we are in due to lack of markings. If you can provide us with a large self standing, weatherproof sign, that would be awesome!!!

~MONEY - Obviously a cornerstone of any organization, we need to stabilize ourselves with at least a little bit of a safety net. If you don't want to bother with material items, or you have had some abundance as of late and are called to contribute to our cause, we would be so grateful!

Money is needed not just for supplies (as you see above) but to help provide for the rental fees of the space, and to begin to plan the future of our Temple.

DONATE ONLINE - using the easy Pay Pal button on the right sidebar of the blog!

*** If you desire to be honored or recognized in some way for your contribution, please LET US KNOW *** As such a new movement, we will begin to find the right ways to do this; for now you will be recognized and thanked verbally on the day of the Red Tent, following your donation, unless you specify another preference. Thanks!

See you on the 21st!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

RED TENT TEMPLE

February 21, 2010

Auer Farm, Bloomfield, CT

11 am - 5 pm

RSVP: spiraltraditions AT gmail DOT com

Formal Circle at 3, with the vibrant JAZ as our Priestess!!!! (pictured above)

(What IS the Red Tent Temple? Read HERE, or HERE. )

Shield Workshop 2010

When: Friday, March 19th

Time: 9:00am – 5:00pm

Where: Virginia’s home

-contact for address-

West Hartford, CT

Cost: $75.00 per person

Includes materials for a 12 – 18” shield. Lunch provided

Bring feathers, crystals, and beads for decorating your shield

RSVP: Virginia 860- 523-8943

www.ElandraArts.com ~ 860-523-8943

Create your own personal power shield, family shield, or gift shield.

During this full day workshop of interpersonal exploration and creative adventure, Virginia will guide you using Native American techniques that have been passed down to her to share. Connect with your own personal power animals, guides, totems and sacred symbols through guided journeying. We will create sacred space together and receive inspiration from Spirit on this special day. You will be creating the hoop with branches or vines and painting your vision and inspirations on leather that is strung onto the hoops. The shield will then be decorated with sacred objects that will be provided, or that you choose to bring from home. Together, we will share our shields, and ceremony with them to seal in the energies.

No art experience is necessary, only the willingness to fully participate in this Sacred Hoop of Life…come and let Spirit lead the Way!

After registration, you will receive instructions for creating your shield hoop from a branch or vine. Please register no later than March 12th by mailing full payment to Virginia.

Maidens, Mothers, and Crones – Januar...

Maidens, Mothers, and Crones – January in the Red Tent

It was a silver gray day, clouds pregnant with something, Mother Earth at rest in the winter deep. The naked limbs of the trees seemed to beckon the women, “Come in, come in, and we will watch over and bless you.”

And come in they did, to the first Red Tent Temple of the new year and the special occasion planned for the day. The women were looking forward to this tent even more than they usually do as it would be a day that we would honor one of our daughters whose Moons have carried her into her Maidenhood.

Joy and anticipation informed the creation of the tent. Many hands made light work of draping fabric, lighting candles, creating altars, heating soups and water for tea. Every woman looked forward to providing McKenzie and Mia, friends and goddesses-in-training with the honoring that few of us were blessed with when we began our Moon times.

Once the tent was ready, we relaxed into our soothing communal energy and shared with the girls what the Red Tent is and what it means to each of us. Some drew, some told stories, others read cards or wrote. Throughout this time of peace and laughter, warm, winter food, and sharing, the girls and the women – maidens, mothers, and crones alike – received the gifts of the Red Tent community, creating an easy comfort and a soft, gentle magic away from the cares of the world and our daily lives.

As we gathered in circle, we passed the talking bowl and offered our gifts: gifts of advice, of elder-wisdom, of gratitude, and of prayers. The women also shared some of their stories and feelings that are always spoken among us into the safe container of the circle. The girls listened carefully and we know they will remember what they heard that day. Their shy, simple “thank you” was enough for us to know.

As our time together came to a close – how does a whole day go by so quickly – the rains came. The cleansing, healing waters were the closing sacrament as the Earth Mother took part in all the blessings of our very special day.

Please join us at the Red Tent Temple on Sunday, February 21^st, and help us to rest and rejuvenate, explore, and create yet another very special day for women. The trees wish it to be so and have promised to continue to be our welcoming guardians.

~

To My Daughters

by Corey Alicks

I’ll tell you about power:

We are born with the potential

for every daughter we will ever have

embedded like pearls in the dark flesh of our ovaries.

You were already there, in me,

while I was yet curled within my mother, as she was,

inside my great-grandmother;

each mother birthing her grandchildren, through her pelvis,

ivory cradles protecting secret worlds within our own seas,

worlds of fierce hearts and minds beyond knowing.

Is there a greater power than holding the entire

universe in your belly?

All of Creation? What about our own galaxies pouring forth?

The summoning of all that is love

and alive into our very breasts, our marrow,

our coursing blood, a luminous milky way

so bright it blinds, with all the power and force of life,

heaven meeting earth, giving to those worlds we hold,

that we see in the irises of our daughters’ eyes.

~

Red Tent Temple, January 17, 2010, Bloomfield, CT

Welcome to your new year, dear women, It's your time!

Let us 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.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Red Tent Temple ~ January 17 ~ Auer Farm, Bloomfield, CT
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~Recreating the Women's Moonlodge for today's culture~

Please forward this to anyone you wish to be invited!

~ It is scheduled for Sunday, January 17, 2010, from 11 am to 5+ pm.
~ Set up will be from 9-11am.
~ A brief opening/orientation circle will be held at 12 noon if there are more than a few new women attending.
~ 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 to help pay for the rental fee and hopefully create some funds for Red Tent supplies and future needs.

There will be a beautiful storytellers chair, a grievance 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 and community - 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.

Priestess for Circle
Set up -
Break down
Providing Soup/s-
Breads -
Providing herbal belly tea/s-
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 -
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 -

Belly Blessings,

The Red Tent Temple Team

Origins of the RTT Movement: ALisa Starkweather

Walk in Beauty ~ Women's Empowerment

~Walk in Beauty~

Dear Beautiful Womyn,



First of all, New Year Greetings to you all! I am excited to start gathering in the name of sisterhood, as we get deeper and deeper into this winter season.



I feel the pull to go inward, to nurture and love myself and put self care first and still find the time and motivation to keep Walk in Beauty gatherings going during these very cold months. I find this to be a difficult balance to achieve because my energy is hard to muster at times, and my reserves are a bit low these last few weeks.



The lodge feels like a burden this time of year, yet she stands tall and sturdy even while being pelted with such severe weather… there she stands in all her glory, rising up to meet the morning sun in spite of what she endures…a beautiful message for all of us. She needs some TLC and warmth but I find it difficult to make time for her, to tend to the fire that warms her womb and brush off the cold hard snow that settles on her skin. I welcome anyone who has the desire to visit and commune with her as it would be a beautiful thing for her and you! Please let me know if you feel called to stop by and start a fire, and sit, relax and just be in the sacredness of her belly.



With all that said, thank you to the handful of womyn who check in with me frequently and gently nudge me in keeping these circles and gatherings going! Because of the cold weather, the next few gatherings will be in my living room, unless the weather is somewhat warm and there is a good supply of wood on hand, we can switch back to meeting in the lodge. Circles are $5 donation, unless otherwise stated.



Here is what is coming up:



Open Womyn’s Circle, Friday, January, 15th, 2010, 9am-11am

I am excited to announce that Fran Corona will be leading this circle and the theme will be “The Blessings of Being Womon”. Fran would like the participants to bring a token of womonhood to symbolize the wonderfulness of a woman to validate the celebration!



Imbolc Celebration, Monday, February 1st, 2010, 9am-11am

I am also thrilled to share that Vix Church will be our Priestess for this wonderful Earth-based celebration! More information to follow….but here is a brief explanation of Imbolc….

Imbolc literally means “in the belly of the mother”, while its original Celtic name, Oimelc, translates as “ewe’s milk” or “the feast of ewe’s milk”. Both refer to the turning of winter to spring, as marked by the first milk of ewes as lambs begin to be born.

Imbolc is the special day of Brighid, the Celtic goddess of fire, and therefore is deemed a fire festival. Its transformative powers of the flame signify change and the setting of new goals. As the Crone of winter gives way to the Maiden of spring, this festival of light cleanses to make way for the new. Nature starts to come back to life, and the new agricultural season begins!!

Sacred Supper, Thursday, February, 4th, 2010, 6pm-9pm, $25 includes vegetarian meal!

A holistic version of a Girls Night Out! You're in store for a special evening of great food and feeding your soul. Join with fellow sisters for a special night of sitting in circle, sharing, laughter and dreaming together! Dinner will be prepared and served up by Stephen Tarver, Holistic Health Counselor and Vegetarian Chef Extraordinaire! Recipes and nutrition advice will on hand if you would like to chat with Steve prior to circle! The circle is open to all womyn, (Steve will be not be joining us for circle!) so please pass this information onto friends and fellow sisters!

Also, I am happy to announce that I am doing Life Coaching and am offering up a free session to anyone who is interested in meeting to discuss the role of a Life Coach and the multiple benefits you can achieve with having a personal motivator and mentor! We will work together to identify ways in which you can move ahead by getting into your own life’s flow with the help of varies techniques and personal ceremony! Start off 2010 by eliminating the binds that keep you stagnant and learn new ways to call in JOY, PASSION and PURPOSE!! Please contact me if you are interested in getting started!

Please RSVP!

Walk in Beauty,

Monica

From Artisans’ Bazaar to the “Next St...

From Artisans’ Bazaar to the “Next Steps Journey” - December in the Red Tent

On a day that began in sunshine, the clouds and the grey came in quickly, but they could not dampen the glow emanating from the heart of the farm. The women had gathered again and their love and light can illumine even the darkest of days.

There was a lighthearted and joyful energy as they went about the business of creating and decorating their Red Tent. And because the day’s activities were to begin with a Sacred Artisans’ Bazaar, the women turned their attentions and their energies to helping each other set up their displays. The day was to be a special one, although every tent is special, and the women felt it.

It was exciting to see the fruits of the creativity of so many talented women. There were jewelry and greeting cards, fine art and poetry, herbal skin products and elixirs, all crafted by our very talented and creative women. Several members donated prizes for which a raffle was given to raise expense money for the Red Tent. And all that was only the first part of our day.

When the bazaar was over and the women had shared their soups and teas and company, they began their circle time together.

Virginia led a journey meditation in which the goal was to find one’s “next steps” on the path, in her life, in this world. The drum accompanied us on the journey and, when the meditation ended, we shared our experiences, where we had each gone, and what we had learned. The talking bowl was passed again and again as story led on to story and shared experiences resonated around the rim. On a very dark and rainy afternoon in December, the light glowed brightly as it emanated from within the heart of each woman and out into the circle and then the world, so in need of more illumination, more love.

In the Red Tent, we are learning how to nurture that love and light and share it with all who seek it, for we know that it is in this way that we can help to save ourselves and the Earth, and so we will continue to gather and shine that light and contribute all we can to the healing so needed by each of us and all our relations.

Please join us at our first Red Tent of 2010, on January 17^th, and see what new magic we can create together. Aho.