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Subscribe to this list via RSS Blog posts tagged in fear

Posted by on in SageWoman Blogs

b2ap3_thumbnail_Sweat-Lodge-Paola-Suarez-Goddess-Spiral.jpg

Ten years ago I had the courage to attend my first Womongathering. Womongathering was a four day women’s spirituality festival in the woods of Pennsylvania. I had been reading about it since 2001 when I found the Womongathering newsletter at a local pagan store. It was a dark time in my life. I had nightmares almost every day, suffered from panic attacks and saw my therapist at least once a week. Some times I saw her more often, especially if I had a mental breakdown that week.  Mental breakdowns consisted of me crying hysterically, afraid to leave my room, and could be brought on by almost anything. I desperately needed to go somewhere safe. I needed to find the strength to continue. I remember my now ex-husband dropping me off at the gate. I was terrified making my way into the festival without him. I was so afraid to be alone back then. All the women at the festival were so friendly, but I was too scared to notice.

 

I spent my first night at Womongathering curled up in my blankets, clinging to my teddy and crying. Here I was, twenty-five years old with my teddy bear as a lifeline. No one could have guessed that the bulky book bag I took with me everywhere wasn’t full of books-- it held my teddy bear. I was doing a lot of inner child work and dealing with the memories coming up because of it. So with my therapist’s approval I was at Womongathering looking for something to switch on inside me. I hoped that an event full of women honoring Goddess energy would give me the change I was looking for.

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Recent Comments - Show all comments
  • Ashling Kelly
    Ashling Kelly says #
    My first Womongathering was in '97 (and wrote about it for Sagewoman in '99), and while it sounds like a cliche, it changed my lif
  • Paola Suarez
    Paola Suarez says #
    What issue of Sagewoman was your article in Ashling? I have an issue with an article about Womongathering from 1999 but it's writt
  • Khrys Exposito
    Khrys Exposito says #
    I love the artwork! As an attendee of the Womongathering festival that Paolo spoke of attending, the drawing drew such wonderful f
  • Paola Suarez
    Paola Suarez says #
    Thank you for sharing Khrys! It's so amazing to have the community of womyn that we have at our beloved festival. I also feel so b
  • Molly
    Molly says #
    Lovely! I'm heading to the Gaea Goddess Gathering in Kansas in just two weeks! Maybe someday we will meet each other at a Goddess

Posted by on in Culture Blogs

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Posted by on in Culture Blogs

b2ap3_thumbnail_The-Hermit-SP.jpgMarch’s shadow card is The Hermit.  We are still in the winter months and it is the time of year where we go in and work on our inner selves.  I did not purposely choose this card but I find it fitting that it was a random draw.  This is very much a card of introspection and deep searching.  It is one of seeking guidance and knowledge and looking within oneself to uncover the truth.  The card from the Steampunk deck by Barbara Moore and Aly Fell shows a man standing on a heap of rubble holding a lantern and from it, emitting what appears to be lightening.  In the book, Barbara Moore states that the pile of rubble signifies the information and ideas that he has collected in his journeys.  He appears to be an older gentleman with a long graying beard, further suggesting a wise and sage person who has spent their life accumulating the knowledge that he is standing on.  The lantern suggests that he not only holds the answers in his hands but there are new sparks of ideas that are itching to get out.

 

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