Honor the Women: Goddess Bless Me Too.
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The Goddess saved me from the relentless demons that told me I was broken, never to be whole again.
I was a nine-year-old with a burning secret when we moved out of the barrio into a nice neighborhood. I don’t remember if I suggested the game of Truth or Dare or if it was Mindy’s idea. In reconstructing my memory, I would say that I planned the game so I could get the words out of me, so I could cleanse myself of the incident in the hope my new friend would tell me I was still whole.
Certainly, talking can turn the lies inside out. To speak of the misplaced shame and call it by name shatters the power of darkness and its hold. But in our male-dominated society, we must either find safe places for this conversation or set the stage properly with great intention and care.
I was afraid to masturbate. Afraid to touch my breasts and awaken my sexuality. I counted date-rapists as if they were consensual sex partners. I bragged about my numbers as if that meant I was empowered.
But ritual and calling down the Divine Feminine created the path to discovering my true power. I embraced the Goddesses through study and ceremony — Freya, Aphrodite, Venus, Inanna, Magdalene, Lilith. Knowing the Goddesses of Sacred Sex, Desire and Beauty established in me a love of self, confidence and empowered my sexuality.
For centuries, the people revered the Goddess so that violation of Woman, the Giver of Life, would not be considered any different from destroying a holy temple or a church. The Lord bowed to the Lady. Mother Earth, Mother Nature, Mother Ocean were respected, honored.
We must teach that our sacred origin is both male and female, regardless of gender. Our female power is soft, ubiquitous, enduring, inward. Our Divine Feminine is the feral, gentle, wild, fierce compassionate power. Let us embody this wisdom.
Let us stop the demonization of wise women who have knowledge of profound mysteries, healing, and the Earth. Let us welcome the witch in every woman who seeks to know her own power and share it positively, mightily in the world. Let us recall the Red Tents, the places where women on their menses come together and are attended to by men and children.
Let us have large, sacred gatherings where we celebrate the young women who have begun their menses and welcome them into the great and powerful Circle of Woman. Let us honor the women who hold their blood and are now crones, sages.
Grant us the understanding that PMS is nothing more than the outward sign of a woman who is finally feeling her power, the power of Life-Giver. Clarity is there, but often Grace is four counties over because the woman doesn’t know how to speak up without being called a bitch, and she isn’t taking time to integrate the female powers of reflection, rest, and recovery.
Let us follow our instincts, for those instincts are the voice of the Goddess whispering in our sacred ears. Reminding us to howl at the moon. Showing us how to rediscover herbal medicine as the people’s medicine. Rejoicing in the power of Sacred Sisterhood. Let us remember our Feminine Divinity.
As my light grew, the darkness fell away, including people and thoughts that no longer served my highest good. The Power of the Goddess illuminates my path to sexual freedom. I can see the boundaries and danger clearly. I know how to draw upon the universal sacred energy which simultaneously protects me and emanates purity so that goodness is all anyone will ever see of me or themselves.
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Jamie Della has a writer’s soul and gypsy spirit. Her essay ‘The Wild Feminine Freed #Metoo’ appeared in Riverdale Ave Book’s anthology of #MeToo stories. She is the author of eight books (published as Jamie Wood), a blog, ‘Herbal Journeys’ column for Witches & Pagan magazine, and articles for several magazines and destinations. When not writing, she’s at her potter’s wheel, teaching at women’s retreats, guiding Goddess rituals, backpacking, road-tripping, or hosting AirBnB guests. Sometimes you can find her in the hammock by the creek running from the Eastern Sierra to the Quaking Aspen grove in her backyard.
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