A few days ago, a Greek friend told me she was going to bring holy water from a church so that we could bless my house. Ever since I moved to my new apartment in Heraklion, I have intended to… Read More ›
Healing
Wings by Sara Wright
Early in January I discovered a chickadee with a broken wing floundering in the snow. I rescued him, providing him with a safe haven in the house, hoping he might recover use of his wing. For the first couple of… Read More ›
God’s Womb by Joyce Zonana
The first time I came across the phrase, I thought I must be making a mistake. “Que Dieu l’enveloppe dans sa matrice,” the passage read in French, “May God’s womb enfold her.” or possibly, “May God enfold her in His womb.” His womb?
How I Learned to Love Snakes (a poem) by Marie Cartier
Can I recall a time when my resilience surprised me? My mother always said, “If you feel bad, go out into the garden and eat worms.” Sigh. We didn’t have a garden. My resilience. My head hits the counter, as… Read More ›
A Handy Spiritual Practice By Barbara Ardinger
Here’s a simple spiritual practice that I’ve been doing for longer than I can remember. During the regime of the Orange T. Rex, I started doing it at bedtime to calm my mind so I could go to sleep. We’re… Read More ›
The Sacred Face of Death by Eirini Delaki
The archetype of the Weaver is being widely activated. Thousands of women and men come forth to incarnate it by creating webs of spiritual awakening, by honoring ancestral ways of being, and by promoting practical and sustainable ways of living… Read More ›
First Light: Brigid and the Bear by Sara Wright
Winter light pauses so briefly. Now Chickadees are chirping and wild doves are pairing up. Birds are starting to sing love songs to the earth as she turns towards the light. By early February light is streaming into the house… Read More ›
Homebound by Joyce Zonana
When my parents left Egypt, they left behind everything they’d grown up with, all the objects that carried their deepest associations and memories. They taught me to scorn such “things”—what others value as mementos or souvenirs—rightly reasoning they can be lost in a moment. But while we have them, it is lovely, I’m learning, to let the spirits embedded within them, the memories and feelings they evoke, surround and comfort us. As I move through this house, I feel bound to my own and others’ histories, embedded in a rich and complex life that nurtures and sustains me. And as I sit still and knit, I sense that I am knitting (knotting) up the by now long, loose threads of my own life, shaping them into a coherent and satisfying whole.
Gratitude and Hope: With a Lot of Help from My Friends by Carol P. Christ
Last Friday my oncologist gave me the best birthday present I could have imagined. (My birthday was 7:30 pm last night December 20, California time.) Without going into details, my latest CT scan was so much more positive than the… Read More ›
Altars Everywhere, Part 1 by Carol P. Christ
In a recent blog, Carolyn Boyd invited us to reflect on how our women’s spiritual power is activated through symbols that help us to remember and manifest the “deep well” of our inner knowing. According to historian of religion Mircea… Read More ›
Crow and the Pornographic Gaze by Sara Wright
Once she believed that it was her fault they came on to her, that she owed them something… They owned her? Secretly the girl was pleased because any kind of attention was better than none, or being so “different” –… Read More ›
Dancing for Forgiveness and Reconciliation – Part Two By Laura Shannon
In Part One of this article, I described dancing Jewish, Romani, and Armenian dances for forgiveness and reconciliation with groups in Germany and all over the world. I also offered danced rituals of remembrance at former concentration camps and other places… Read More ›
Dancing for Forgiveness and Reconciliation – Part One By Laura Shannon
When I first began researching traditional circle dances in the mid-1980s, I was amazed to find that the peoples who have suffered the worst of human experience – oppression, exile, genocide, war – also produce the most vibrant and joyful… Read More ›
Healing Uphill
These are trying times for all sentient beings. We are all carrying the intensity and stress in our bodies and spirits. I feel it. You feel it. In fact, we are feeling it together—sharing an experience even though interpreting and… Read More ›
Mourning with the Goddesses, Now More than Ever by Carolyn Lee Boyd
We may all remember 2020 as the year when we could no longer look away from death. Our western culture has hidden death away in hospitals and funeral homes for generations. However, in these past months we have all… Read More ›
May Her Memory Be A Revolution by Anjeanette LeBoeuf
On the eve of the Jewish Sabbath and the start of Rosh Hashanah, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg breathed her last breath. She was 87. She fought so hard for so long. She is an American patriot, hero, champion… Read More ›
ANNA’S DANCE: A BALKAN ODYSSEY by Michele Levy – Book Review by Joyce Zonana
Toward the end of her complex odyssey, Anna finds herself alone in an ancient Istanbul synagogue, where at long last she unreservedly “name[s] herself” a Jew and experiences connection with a God that “fuse[s] both male and female” and “from that wholeness birth[s] mercy and love.” Vowing to work to “help repair [the] world”–tikkun olam–she moves forward to face her life with a “sense of wholeness” that had eluded her for so long.
Women, like Goddesses, Come in All Colors, Shapes, and Sizes…by Vanessa Soriano
I wish I could have gotten this phrase tattooed on my arm when I started the serpentine journey into womanhood. Like most of us, growing up, all I ever saw in media were thin female bodies with impossible proportions. As… Read More ›
I Don’t Mean to Brag, But I Cry a Lot by Trelawney Grenfell-Muir
It’s true. I don’t mean to make you jealous, but lately, I have at least one long session of really great crying most days. What I call the “lovely cry,” where my face gets all red and swollen and puffy,… Read More ›
Living with Uncertainty by Sara Wright
I was deeply moved by Carol’s willingness to share deeply personal feelings about how her visit to the hospital , enough so that I decided to write about how the Covid virus has impacted my life and the lives of… Read More ›
Lessons From Birch & Mother Earth—Grace, Resilience, and Rebirth by Mary Gelfand
When I moved to Maine from New Orleans 15 years ago, I was delighted to discover how many birch trees were on the property where I lived with my new partner. Previously I had had little contact with these beautiful… Read More ›
Seven Days in a Greek Hospital by Carol P. Christ
I was released from a national hospital in Crete on Friday afternoon after a seven day stay. During that time, I had over fifteen tests, including several ultrasounds, two CTs, a colonoscopy, a gastroscopy, and an excruciating forty-five minute MRI…. Read More ›
No, I Don’t Fucking Need Anxiety Meds: The Covid Misogyny Epidemic by Trelawney Grenfell-Muir
“I think you should take medication for anxiety.” This was my doctor’s response when I calmly listed my Covid symptoms, which had been going on for a month and had landed me in Urgent Care twice and the ER twice,… Read More ›
The Sacred HU by Janet Maika’i Rudolph
Sing to the LORD, all you godly ones! Praise his holy name. Psalm 30:4 (New Living Translation) Therefore I will give thanks unto thee, O LORD, among the heathen, and I will sing praises unto thy name. 2 Sam 22:50… Read More ›
Forward, Upward, Inward: A Spiritual Response to Right Now by Rachel Hollander
Brother Francesco, known to the world as Saint Francis of Assisi, left us many sweet and lovely poems and songs. In “The Canticle of the Sun,” he wrote about the gifts of nature. Brother Sun, his light and radiance. Sister… Read More ›
When Life Hands You Lemons… by John Erickson
“When life hands you lemons, sometimes you have to make applesauce.”
Elder – Berry Musings by Sara Wright
I first became interested in herbalism as a young mother who kept a small herbal garden outside her back door. There is nothing better than fresh herbs to spice up any dish (as any good cook knows well) and baking… Read More ›
A Daughter’s Lament by Karen Leslie Hernandez
I still cannot speak. To the depth of the pain. The sting. The knowing My heart Will never be. Or Feel. The same. More than A year Later. And I still can barely utter To anyone. What was said. Bitch…. Read More ›
Hobbled by Joyce Zonana
My hobbling has made me aware, in a new way, of my vulnerability. When I walk down the street, I notice that very few people actually seem to notice my constraint. And this makes me feel even more vulnerable. I’ve been afraid to take the subway, afraid to be in crowds, uncomfortable even when I am alone at home. I worry about another break, a fall, a misstep—banging into something, or having something drop on my foot.
And I think, with deeper compassion, about my friends and acquaintances—and all the people I don’t know—who bravely endure even greater, often invisible, challenges.
When the Cranes Come by Sara Wright
When the Cranes Come I remember who I am – A woman with wings. When the Cranes Come I listen with rapt attention I am a woman with wings. When the Cranes Come I am pulled into a primordial field… Read More ›
