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ABOUT
Shekhinah Mountainwater - Musician, Faery Bard, Teacher, Radical Muse, Author of Ariadne's Thread, and Foremother of the Womanspirit Movement
I seek to rebuild the ancient Rim, the magic circle that we have lost...
I am a priestess of change. I envision a world where every Being on the Rim is special, important, and necessary to the Whole.
WHAT IS MAGIC?
Magic is how everything comes to be... Magic is knowing you make a difference. Magic is working with heart and mind and psychic energy: Fire (Will), Water (Desire), Air (Thought), Earth (Body), and Spirit. Magic can be done together or alone, in a temple, at home, or in the wilderness - any place that feels special and sacred. Magic is myth and vision, casting spells, understanding herbs, trees,
planets and stars.
It is the Mysteries of Woman, our deep ties to Earth, Blood, and Moon. Magic can be done in pure innocence or great knowing. "An it harm none, do as thou wilt" is the cardinal rule of magic. Use it for good and good will come; use it for ill, and ill will befall. Magic is the oldest Wisdom - folk knowledge. It belongs to everyone.
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WHAT IS FEMINISM?
Some have a distorted view of the word feminism and we have lost a lot of support for the real needs of women because of it. It's about reinstating reverence and love, respect, freedom, and fulfillment for women, so we can bring back health and peace to the world for all: women, men, children, animals, plants, faeries... and to the beautiful earth. We are growing a strong circle of sisters to enact this change. We believe that men are women too, and if they only knew this, the human world would do a flip-flop of transformation. We're into sharing power and mutual regard, and building bonds of love and trust. It's about heart politics, ending masculation (which affects everyone), and returning to the Goddess.
I am a priestess dedicated to serving the Goddess. Priestesses keep the ceremonies and the calendars and study the mysteries of life and death. We are there for those who come for healing, support, ritual and deepening. We help with births and deaths and all life-passages, and provide leadership for major ceremonies throughout the year for the larger community. We practice Magick and offer teachings to any who wish to come and learn, or who wish to become priestesses too... we are not separate from the community. The whole life of the people is integral with this consciousness and ritual forms.
On healing... I find that people experience it through a transformation of consciousness, which sometimes takes place through ongoing interactions and dialogues... It is an exchange, and I feel healed too. So much of our thoughts and attitudes have to do with our fears. Often, just reclaiming our goddess-hood is enough in itself.
Over the years, I have come to see the links between magick and medicine, and that healing is an endless process on every level of our beings from the most physical, to the most inward or psychic.
Healing is death and rebirth... it is trance-formation, it is transformation. It is change and choice. It is the cauldron of Cerridwen, the crossroads of the Crone...
I am in accord with Sally Gearhart who says that religion is the ultimate politics, and with Z. Budapest who says that the real battlefield is cultural, its soldiers being the myth makers and poets.
Social reality stems from the symbols and beliefs of a people. In a world where women are hated, raped, robbed of their individuality and rights over their own bodies, denied an image of themselves as divine, and made to feel that their sexuality, their bleeding, and their emotions and passions are sinful and dirty... where the mysteries of birth, life and death are robbed of their numinous, sacred power... where the Earth itself is daily raped and torn... the myth of a beautiful, strong, powerful and loving Goddess is perhaps the most essential key to social change and universal healing for everyone. Men too, because they come from Her too, and need Her desperately.
I'm a cosmic cowgirl
And an Amazon
With my broad-brimmed hat
And my high boots on
But I’m ropin’ ideas
And I’m ropin' song
‘Cause the battle rages
On the psychic planes
And all the people
Playin’ all their games
Gotta got to the frontier
Where the new way reigns
ShekhinahWorks is dedicated to honoring the life and legacy of Shekhinah Mountainwater, and to making her works available to current and future generations.
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