Seasons, Cycles, Pace….and the Spirit of Place
I’m nourished, intrigued and informed by my natural surroundings. I’m often aware there is such rich information available through the plants and other-than-humans around me that is urgently important knowledge for me as a human. So today, March 21st, Equinox, is the first day of Autumn in the [...]
Menopause- a blessing or a curse?
A woman phoned me the other day. She wanted to discuss her peri-menopausal symptoms of irregular periods. Was this normal? Exhausting heavy bleeds for several months then 5 weeks without bleeding, then a period that barely required a pad for 5 days? Normal for who? Every woman’s [...]
We Can Do It?
Artwork "Voyage" by Christian Schloe It's not easy being fourteen. Or growing up female in a culture that continues to objectify women's bodies and only validates acts of dominance as power. A teen girl agrees to go to a mother-daughter weekend workshop with her mom. [...]
Wise Women Gathering Knowledge
I recently was invited to facilitate a workshop on 'Reclaiming the Wisdom of Menopause' at the 2nd Annual Wise Women's Gathering held beside the beautiful Hawkesbury River. The natural setting in the valley was spectacular, but even more spectacular was the power of the true Feminine paradigm that [...]
Menarche and The Red Thread……
'When the red rose bloom in her belly, the doorway between her eyes shall open.' -Ancient Celtic saying Artwork: www.shilohsophia.com Ritual calls in, awakens and connects us to ancient wisdom available to us all when we stop and humbly listen. I see transitional rituals as essential [...]
Sisterhood
“Any woman who chooses to behave like a full human being should be warned that the armies of the status quo will treat her as something of a dirty joke . . . She will need her sisterhood.” ― Gloria Steinem If the purpose of my writing was to [...]
‘Mahmi’ seeks a patron and a home
This is 'Mahmi' (Bundjalung for ‘Mother’). An organic sculpture made by Australian eco-feminist artist Moana Pearl. Materials: natural fibers, banana, vines, palms, ochres and re-cycled fabrics 155 x 125 x 52 cm Originally in the 'Essence of Woman' exhibit in early 2014 in Byron Bay, 'Mahmi' now seeks a [...]
Mothers, daughters and a basket of sisterhood
Community, respect, connection, ceremony, sisterhood, gratitude, transformation, fun, authenticity…… These are the words women and young women used to describe their experiences of Pathways Into Womanhood, a 5-day Rites of Passage camp held last week in Northern NSW. As a facilitator and basket weaver it is an [...]
Women Please
Women, please help me with this research project. NOT for the sake of academia. My hope is to acknowledge and celebrate the spirit of women and girls; to provide guidance and encouragement for women today and into the future. Any one who has ever sat in a circle to [...]
‘Mahmi’ – A Woman’s Journey Home
This is a story of a woman, (many women perhaps) who finds herself at a crossroads in life after her womb no longer cycles. ‘Mahmi’ - A Woman’s Journey Home, by Moana Pearl Once upon a time the wheel of life turned, as it does. Years of hectic [...]
Once upon a women’s circle
The transporting story below is a memory from a woman of her childhood, printed with her permission. Once upon a time, not so very long ago, in a land far away, or maybe in the backyard, where women gathered every moon, where ceremony was the order of the [...]
Yoga, Grace, Soup…. Think UP
I thought I was tuned in to my body after more than two decades of yoga practice. But since I was introduced to Alexander Technique in 2005 I have changed my yoga practice radically, on and off the mat. Well, maybe I have only changed my approach to [...]