From this context (their motivation) we can understand why they did not view sexuality with reservations, prejudices, nor did they abused it; they considered sexuality worthy of celebration. You may enjoy warming up sesame oil with some essential oils or rose oils and massaging your whole body before getting into a bath in the evening. We hope you found something here that sparked your interest and assists you in your awakening journey. Before Marinas first period arrived, I contacted all the people who cared deeply for her and requested that they write a few sentences about what they wished they had known at her age. The magical rituals of pagan traditions are surrounded by mystery and some are considered by religion as harmful, for they take away the power of the church and put it back on the hands of each person; hence respecting free will. This was a person in whom they could confide all of their inner struggles, someone who would help them find their path and who could midwife them in discernment. This is the time when her unique, inborn gifts and talents are ripe for recognition and in-depth development. I AM Creativity that feels nourishing rather than depleting can be a very helpful way to ease some of the grief and sadness that can naturally accompany the death cycle of shedding our menstrual blood. For the high kings of Ireland, this ritual took place at Hill of Tara. Our indigenous Celtic Calendar was infused with ritual. Halloween has its roots in Samhain, but they are not the same thing. Just as God can speak through the words of the scriptures, so can we hear the voice of the divine in the elements and in creatures. It could even be one of the suggested texts in this article. WebMenstrual blood is perfect for charging sigils and servitors in Chaos Magick. This is the immense gift, honor, and privilege weve inherited as women at this turning point in humanity. Matthew 2:13. In the month after a girl gets her first period, her entire extended family gathers together for a ceremony that takes place over four days. Yes! By offering our blood we communicate, Thank you for all you give me, thank you for my life, and now I give my blood back to you. Prayers were said by the living to the Celtic gods, and food, weapons, and precious goods ritually offered to them. Not only was it supposed to ward off Make time for contemplative walks outside in your neighborhood. On the other hand a healthy fantasy rises out of love, as such we can play out our fantasies with our partner, so long asLoveis the key motivation. YES YES YES While the Irish monks are known for their illuminated sacred texts, books were rare and valuable, so they would have had to learn many scripture passages by heart to be able to pray with them. There are pattern days associated with different holy places and a set number of rounds to walk in specific places along with certain prayers. In the first dream, I was in a bungalow in the countryside. Ritual is a conscious act or performance that transitions us from everyday life into a world of possibility, where the limitations of the everyday can be renegotiated and transformed. This time the creatures were nowhere to be seen, and so I followed the hare. Become aware each time you cross a threshold. QUANTUM KEY For this reason, while drinking menstrual blood was once a common practice among womb priestesses, yoginis, and tantrikas, I recommend proceeding with caution and only after some time with yoni steaming and womb healing. The views expressed in the articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the perspective or beliefs of the Era of Light staff. If on the the other hand you fantasize with your partner about something you both would like to try out or if you are single about someone you feellovetowards, then you will attract loving people into your space. Then the dream happened again. As we are. Colman and Kevin, who both lived in caves and had animals as their companions. They are taken from the encyclopedia of Wicca and witchcraft as well as other sources.. Then extend this by finding a whole morning or afternoon to go to a nearby retreat center or monastery and listen deeply to the sacred stirrings within. There are many sacred places in Ireland and Wales with the word dysert or disert in the name. St. Columba of Iona asked God for three things: virginity, wisdom, and pilgrimage. QUANTUM Give thanks to your womb for restoration, healing, and new life. Enter your email to receive notifications of new posts. THANK YOU ALL and your God my God. Chris ,read your new book in less then an hour loved it and laughed out loud many many times you are a true inspiration as well as a charactor must be the mainer that comes out in you! Sex is the X factor in witchcraft. I soon realised I had been practising ritual my entire childhood spent going to mass in a Catholic church. Before she committed to this ceremony, the sovereignty goddess often appeared in different forms using her shapeshifting powers to test the worthiness of a prospective king. You can plan this ceremonyor a special mother-daughter trip or eventanytime between the ages of eleven and fourteenyou dont have to wait until she gets her first period. Both are required to know the fullness of the divine presence. And so, I decided to take it out of my dreamworld and into my awake time, creating a ritual around it. I wrote to my circle of female friends and family, asking them each to help me celebrate Molly from afar by sending a card, note, or reading that they would want to share with her whenever the day came. Down the passageway and into the burial chamber. I found them tedious and long. WebDance, prayer, music, chanting, eating, and drinking take place. You can extend this circle beyond yourself to include your family, your community, your country, and the earth. Samhain is a pagan religious festival originating from an ancient Celtic spiritual tradition. Indulging in cacao during your moon time can help you invoke the spirit of Ixcacao as well as nourish your body with magnesium and antioxidants that pure raw cacao is rich in. As we are. Then God spoke all these words: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me. The Celtic monks sought out places in the wilderness to receive this gift of revelation. Each time I contemplated stepping on to the grass, strange jurassic creatures would run across my path, teeth chomping and snarling. After that, she was recognized as a woman who had demonstrated her capacity for patience and perseverance. To cook ourselves nourishing foods as an act of self love and self care. Closed down my eyes, connected with my breath and began the journey to my inner-world. You who live in the shelter of the Most High, In the absence of culturally approved vision quests, meaningful coming-of-age ceremonies, or genuine tests of physical and psychological strength, too many young teens fill the void with drugs, alcohol, dangerous relationships, or compulsive consumerism. One of the most beautiful, sacred, and ancient ways we can prepare for releasing our moon blood is through yoni steaming. There is a unique term for this wandering: peregrinatio pro Christo, or the call to wander for the love of Christ. Ninth-century Irish theologian John Scotus Eriugena taught that there are two books of revelation: the book of the scriptures and the book of creation. Genesis 17:12. The menstrual period is no sin; it is, in fact, a purely natural process. (More on forming a red tent with your sisters below.). According to menstrual researcher Lara Owen, this is considered to be the most important of all their rituals because it brings new life to the tribe. This might be across a doorway, in moving from one activity to another, or the thresholds of the day, especially at dawn and dusk. I thank you for your continued efforts in teaching all of us the joys that can be had in our lives if only we take the time to learn how. We can begin to see the everyday things of our lives as openings into the depths of the world. NOW A nuisance? Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The comments in your blog about shame and loss really rang true for me. Why dont we. I was studying Medieval Irish and Celtic Studies at the time and so, began to recognise that any exposure to the rituals of our pre-Christian, Celtic ancestors were not alive in my body. On one of my retreats years ago a woman asked me how she could see visions during our shamanic trance dance journeys to receive guidance from her intuitive self. Sign up to join thousands of women in our sacred sisterhood and youll receive free resources for divine feminine embodiment, early access to our online Goddess temples, and priority registration for our live immersions in stunning locations across the world. What ideas, attitudes, beliefs, and awarenesses could have made a big difference to their adolescence? On the last night, all the people, led by their shaman, stay up all night praying for the girl and her family. Especially if you have children or live with a partner or roommates, its important to create a sacred private space only for you. Your womb is an oracle and while menstruating the crimson tides that govern our emotional and creative selves are at their peak. You could also simply bleed freely while swimming naked in the water and recite any blessings or prayers or invocations that come to you. Weddings are one of the most important of rituals of Celtic life. The essential ritual in Celtic Weddings is the handfasting ceremony The handfasting ceremony involves 13 ribbons, each with their own symbolic meaning. The hand fasting ritual is a physical bond which unites a man and a woman when getting married. Communing with the lunar self and the night time self, the dark yin qualities of life, is equally as important as connecting with the sun self and the day time self, the yang qualities of life. Pour the blood into ground and offer prayers and blessings to our earth and our humanity. How many times have you wasted your energy fantasizing about a damaging image or scene on TV/Computer? A step-by-step guide to the ancient tradition of sex magic as practiced by generations of Celtic Druids. This article is meant to help people understand the power of their sexuality and to learn to differentiate healthy from unhealthy within the same spectrum, for example: A potato can be healthy to eat, while potato chips are notthis example will make more sense as you read what is to come. Ritual is a conscious act or performance that transitions us from everyday life into a world of possibility, where the limitations of the everyday can be renegotiated and A marriage between the king who represented people and culture, and the sovereignty goddess who represented nature and the land. Already. To feel your primal wildness in union with your pristine holiness. Although the sexual abuse of a fewshould; according to societya common misconception; have eradicated my desire to understand the power of sexuality, life granted me a rebellious spirit, which understood my power lay not in giving in to the trauma but on rising above it and that is what I try to do each and every day. Menopause is similarly Owen. One way to do this is to imagine you are at the end of your life looking back. In the Celtic monastic tradition, wandering was a powerful practice inspired by the biblical story of Abraham. Traditional Samhain Rituals Dating back over 2000 years to Ireland, Samhain ( pronounced Sow-en) was the pivotal point of the Celtic New Year, which marked the end of the summer and the beginning of winter. Honoring menstruation: a time of self-renewal. Do deeper desires come through more strongly? Where have you felt nudges to move forward? Exodus 20:13. Perhaps the most important and healing thing we can do during our moon time is simply that. How do you honor your moon time each month? There is a beautiful book of Scottish blessings called the Carmina Gadelica, collected by Andrew Carmichael in the 19th century in Scotlands Outer Hebrides. We would start out with a special morning together at the house, lounging around and taking our time getting ready. WebBeing raised Catholic, I never understood the rituals and ceremonies in church and all the mayhem around them. Thresholds are the spaces between when we move from one time to another, as in the threshold of dawn to day or dusk to dark; from one space to another, as in times of pilgrimage or in moving from secular to sacred space; and from one awareness to another, as in times when old structures start to fall away and we begin to envision something new. Reading your book, experiencing the wonders of the Islands, and truly connecting with Mother Earth provided a great comfort and, in turn, has helped me to understand the importance of creating pleasure in the second half of my life. honestly chris you are to me as maya angelou is to Oprah. Like all rituals, Sexual Magick is performed in two stages, one is the stage ofPreparationand the other is the stage ofExecution. The landscape can become a theophany, or place of divine manifestation. What a reward I had received. Invoked a prayer to my ancestors for guidance and protection. Music, dance, breathwork, yin yoga, laying on the earth, these are all ways we can tap into our deeper emotions in safe spaces and allow them to purify us. But others will want to create a more female-focused ceremony that might include more Goddess energy. Thus says the Lord: NOW Otherwise, as I mentioned above you can soak your cloths in a jar of water and then offer your blood this way. IMAGINE Blessing is an act of acknowledging the gifts and graces already present and offering gratitude to God for them. To write our stories and our poetry and our visions that help us to heal. During this time the girl wears a traditional buckskin dress and her hair is braided in a special way. Choosing to simply be enough, as you are already, is a radical act of feminine empowerment at this time in our herstory. Share with us in the comments below. LOVE MASTERY Bonfire Sacrifice Ritual and Costumes Maev and the High King by Courtney Davis. It differs from pilgrimage and is a phrase without a precise English definition. I instinctively knew this was one of those dreams. When you fantasize you attract, which means if you fantasize over empty animalistic things or people, you will not attract those specific people, instead you will attract worst; people with horrible energy who will come into your space and who will most likely just use and discard of you. One of the most important rituals was preparing a drink of immortality made from menstrual blood, which is full of healing stem cells, which can actually activate our cellular capacity to regenerate and transport us to endocrine states of rapture. During the renovations of the house and estate, another passage tomb was unearthed. Christ behind me, Christ in me Often we simply need to create an environment for ourselves that feels safe, and then the emotions can move freely and reveal to us their deeper wisdom and power. This is a neo-pagan and pan-Indianist movement in the Americas. Owen, Many Navaho people still practice their puberty ritual for girls, the kinaalda. To paint our dreams without it needing to be anything for anyone but us. Matter is infused with the divine presence and offers glimpses of the world behind the surface of things. Like our moon we are feminine beings that move through phases of expansion and contraction. (Again, this was a luxury, as we werent the type of family to buy everything we wanted.) On the first day of your menstruation, go into your garden or out into the forest, and bleed directly onto the earth as an offering of that vision from your womb to the great womb of the Mother where it can be made manifest. Required fields are marked *. In the pre-Christian tradition there are significant feast days aligned with the equinoxes and solstices. What many of us may forget in the busyness of our lives and the normalcy of menstruating monthly, is that each time we bleed it is a birth. The big ones. This is a potent time to journal the visions, images, and messages that come to you, especially in your dreams. According to menstrual researcher Lara Owen, this is considered to be the most important of all their rituals because it brings new life to the tribe. http://www.kayajewellery.co.uk/mother-daughter-jewellery/mother-and-daughter-necklaces-silver/. Create a Womb Cocoon in Your Home. Most of the time such power is lost and rather than being incorporated and used for our own health or to achieve a purpose, we simply expulse it without gathering its many benefits. In addition, the ritual provides stimulus for the emotions, because the mind understands rituals and parables, their emotions feel more concrete and elevated; adding more energy which makes the spirit feel good and stimulates the imagination helping picture in detail the goal at hand as if it was a real thingall this works as a great bridge of additional energy which adds power to the ritual and therefore to the goal at hand. Each evening reflect on the previous day and notice the signs of the divine presence. If it feels right for you, you can begin to place small drops of your own blood (when it is fresh and a bright red color) under your tongue like taking a homeopathic medicine (which you are.) I seed my intentions into your soil and as I watch you cycle the seasons I blossom through the seasons of my womb. Terms of Use.*. When she returns, an older female relative, taking the role of Ideal Woman, teaches her the Beauty Way, massages her body, and also instructs her in tribal wisdom about male-female relationships. Where have you turned away from these? That intention is going to have to be formulated in words, those words are going to be formulated as what is commonly known the enchantment. Hares are not burrowing animals and so it is believed the skull and claws of this hare were placed in the tomb in ritual. If you desire to drive deeper into your dream realm, dreamwork is a core component of both my Mythic Body and Sovereignty Goddess Incubator programmes. One of the best ways to remember your dreams is to place a journal and pen by your bed at night and then ask God for a dream before sleep. NOW The When she arrived onshore, she was greeted by her entire village. Travelers especially faced dangers at night from thieves or wild animals with only fire and prayer as protection. This also has other implications because it means the more energy we can produce, gather and channel, the more effective the magick ritual is going to be in reaching its goal. Both serious practitioners and characters in witchy lore are known for their abilities to unleash primal desires. or is it that our subconscious knows there is more to the story? something beautiful and powerful meant to help us transcend when properly used. Mary Magdalene knew she was an apostle. Then, from the shadows arose an enormous figure who I instantly recognised as Queen Medb. These places, as well as some urban sites, often had purpose-built temples, shrines, and sanctuaries. Here, druids performed rituals and prayers while votive offerings of precious goods, as well as animal and human sacrifices, were given to the Celtic gods to gain their favour and ensure the continued success of the community. To Celtic magicians, these types of rituals are ideal when they are done or practiced in a group. REPEAT you can bring fire If you are easily offended by the subject of sexuality and its powers, please do not read any further; this article is instructional, it is not meant to offend anyone and you have choice to simply stop reading and walk away. It was the only time my mom allowed me and my two sisters to take the day off of school. When we celebrate Halloween, or All Hallow's Eve, we are continuing the ancient tradition of Samhain, the Celtic festival of the dead. Camille is the founder of Earth Daughters and a woman devoted to reviving the ancient wisdom of nature and the wild voice of the feminine. What tools and strategies had they learned from life? where the good way lies; and walk in it, These words resonated with me deeply, and I often feel when I am bleeding onto the earth that I am planting my own roots deeper down into the ground, reaffirming my right to be a daughter of nature. Thanks to the fundamental principle on which Celtic magic is based, the ritual not only uses as advantage the energy of the people involved but also the energy of the objects and symbolism being used; despite being inanimate, just like living beings they are formed by the same cosmic energy (something modern science has already proven) which can be activated and used when incorporated into a ritual. Owen,L. For more on this, and instructions, click here. Dreams play a significant role in scripture, with guidance and direction often arriving in these night visions. All indigenous people on earth provide their young people with specific rites of passage to signify their change in status from child to young adult. These days it is considered important for girls to feel positive about their bodies so they can grow up feeling comfortable in their own skin and making empowered decisions about their sexual and reproductive health. This ceremony is the beginning of a long period of mentoring that includes information about sex, intimacy, and the special healing powers of the menstruating woman. Its important to be on the same page when working with a partner, to communicate step by step and its just as important when youre flying solo. Druids were also called upon to impart justice and to counsel monarchs. If your daughter agrees and is enthusiastic about it, I recommend some kind of planned coming-of-age celebration for her (although some girls wont want this coming-of-age ceremony to have anything to do with menarche). Samhain The Celtic Origins of Ask to be guided, to enter into the deeper realms of your womb, and then simply trust and allow what you see. Getting your first period was a big day in our house. During climax, t is very easy to lose the objective and waste the moment, so rituals fulfill several functions, one of the main functions is to structure the mind- organizing thoughts and ensuring focus, helping the participants of the ritual to beawarethe whole time as to the goal they want to achieve. I lay down on the cold ground and she on top of me like a thin, translucent veil. 2. Celtic rites were often granted by elder women in the community due to the belief that being post-menopausal made you the wisest as you had permanently retained your wisdom blood. When I was in Italy this spring, I met my first Black Madonna in person. She was in a church (Santa Maria Assanto) in the steep cliffside fishing town of Positano. On one hand, our blood has been labeled and demonized as impure, while on another the way in which we live in modern society as well as stagnation accumulated through trauma has added toxicity to our bodies and in turn all of our fluids that we release. Ancients understood frequency and energy better than we do nowadays; as such, they understood the great power we emit when we orgasm. When I asked my newsletter readers for coming-of-age memories, the responses I received were a wonderful testament to the mother-daughter bond at menarche. God said, This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. My first acknowledgement of the word ritual was when, as a young anthropologist, I took a course in the Anthropology of Religion. To offer your blood back to the earth, go somewhere that feels sacred and intentional to you. In doing so you are wasting energy and depleting the brain of its natural resources. Micah 6:8. Ritual is an integral part of the Celtic School of Embodiment because when performed as a self-honouring practice, it can bring us home to our bodies, to the essence of who we are. Then a month after that on October 14th, one day before my husband and I were to leave for our Hawaii trip (which has been planned for a year AND 10/15 happened to be our actual 25th), my father, who had been on Hospice due to renal failure, died. They likely would have memorized all 150 psalms, as their days were intertwined with their imagery. Details a wide range of sex magic rituals that The following list is comprised of words used by Wiccans in their theological descriptions, use of magic, and nature worship. The Celtic imagination considers sacred places to be thin, or places where the veil between the worlds, meaning heaven and earth, seem especially near to each other. By clicking Submit below, or otherwise using or visiting www.DrNorthrup.com, you hereby agree to all of the terms and conditions set forth in Christiane Northrup, Incs Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Genesis 9:1213, Another key practice for the Celtic saints was having a soul friend, inspired by earlier desert traditions. You may wish to go around in circle and share from the heart while practicing compassionate listening without feedback, to draw oracle cards, to massage one another, to drink cacao, to gently and sensually dance, or simply to rest in a cuddle puddle and receive the physical coherence of community.
celtic menstrual rituals