Goddess Lakshmi-Soaring on the King of Birds
Elaine McMaster
Peaceful Warrior
Arriving at the Full Moon Ceremony, we were greeted by bright golden sunflowers that formed a passageway to sweet Mary Baxter’s smiling face. She tossed fresh rose petals upon us. From there we floated up the stairs, distracted by coins of all shapes and sizes covering each step of the way.
More Moon Mothers flowed in and then joined us in our circle outside. The last rays of the sun setting, produced a light glowing radiance of calm. The air was fresh and there was the hint of a soft gentle breeze. An abundant evening of ritual and ceremony had begun. Goddess Shirley Nickolai blew the conch. The deep rich tribal sound helped anchor us as a tribe as we called in the seven directions. Each of us in turn, called in our ancestors and those that could not be here with us. Lovingly and thoughtfully , we saged each other.
Fran and Heather stepped into the center of our circle so that we could honor their birthdays. We chanted our celebratory song as we moved counterclockwise around them. This is Abundance!
Then we went inside and settled into a cozy circle. Tammy encouraged each of us to be recognized so that we may shine with more brilliance. Then she wove a web with shimmery colorful ribbons, crisscrossing the room. Each strand of the ribbon united two women to each other. The two women would then reflect and mirror each others brilliance. I sensed the energy and the inspiration of the vibrating web of life that the shimmery ribbons generated, it was also a visual delight.
Spontaneously, a joyous song broke out:
We are the weavers.
We are the woven.
We are the dreamers.
We are the dream.
Two women at a time took turns. They intuitively expressed what they saw and felt about the woman they were mirroring, as well as articulating their own brilliance. There was a sparkle in the eyes of the women as they stopped, focused and took time to reflect. Flashes of insight were revealed. The collective vital life force was palpable.
To keep this feeling of bright spirit last, we transitioned into our letter writing. Each one of us put a self-addressed envelope in a central wicker basket. The basket was then passed around and we each randomly picked someone else’s envelope. We anonymously wrote words of encouragement and wisdom to them. Then the envelopes went back into the basket. Our second letter we each wrote to ourselves. As we wrote these letters, the room was a buzz of life, bright conversations, sweet tea, treats, smiles, laughter, hugs. The Moon Mothers were aglow and energized. All the envelopes were then placed in the beautiful woven wicker basket. I admired this basket full of love letters. They will be mailed off during the darkness of the next new moon. This is Abundance!
We gathered again, Annette Ward led our closing ceremony. Nancy Hall sang an amazing and fitting song. Her voice is truly a gift.
When we called down the moon, the sky was crisp and clear and the moon was a big bright and shinning WOW! Out came an elated trill. Many wonderful connections were made. The ripple effect of this circle is growing into more women’s circles.
May we spread our love and light to encourage women near and far of their wonderful wise abundance.
A rich evening was had by all.
By Elaine McMaster
Peaceful Warrior *-*
Moon Mothers of Half Moon Bay 