An Ireland Shamanic Priestess Process: Brighid and St. Brigid

Ireland, Part 2: Brighid and St. Brigid

from http://introverthitsthestreets.blogspot.com/

“A river of tears is one of the strongest evidences of a ‘crash and burn’ initiation into the Scar Clan.”–Clarissa Pinkola Estes

Priestess Glenys of the glacial river valleys of the Pacific Northwest greets you. Glenys is my new name, by the way. It’s Welsh and means from the glen. A glen is a narrow valley, sometimes a river valley. Baby name sites insist that Glenys also means fair, clean, and holy, but I just discovered that this morning when I woke up at 2:00 AM, still on
Ireland time, and can’t be held responsible for it. Keep all this under your hat for now, until I get used to it.
I am also one of the Daughters of Danu, the name my fellow initiates and I gave our circle, but if tears shed are proof of membership, I might also claim a place in Clarissa Pinkola Estes’ Scar Clan.
I’ve been through something in the last year or two that recently culminated in a dismantling or even a disintegration. I’ve been sharing my efforts to renew myself in this blog. This time they’ve led me pretty far from what I know, into things I can’
go to http://introverthitsthestreets.blogspot.com/ for the rest of the blog!

Women Awakening through the Priestess Archetype by Anyaa

YURT Altar

Initiatory ceremonies are the domain of all religions and spiritual paths. The path of the female mystic, or priestess, can be seen in its own light in these times of great turmoil and change at the “Turning of the Ages.” It is unique not only because it is a feminine path, but because it has been absent from our psyches for thousands of years. We have witnessed the shadow side of the Divine Masculine, the Patriarchy, gain ascendancy and foster many forms of oppression, including the suppression of women’s rights, Holy Inquisitions, and the negation of feminine mysticism. Over millennia we’ve had priests but no priestesses; a male God, but no Goddesses. It has been out of balance, but things are changing.
One of the features of Patriarchy has been an emphasis on “solar initiations” or those that focus on transcending the body to join with Spirit. Fire-walking, warrior sweat-lodges, the Sun Dance, mental meditations, some martial arts, and many forms of vision quests use the mind and endurance to reach out of the body and thereby elevate consciousness. By contrast, the Divine Feminine employs “lunar initiations,” or those that call Spirit into the body, a welcome alternative to jettisoning out into the universe to make a connection! The feminine loves the sparkle of life, the senses, getting down into body, the pleasures and pains, joys and tears of earth.
Another feature of Patriarchy is our loss of soul connection to our bodies. The result is that most of us center ourselves from our neck up, denying the life-force energy that enlivens us and makes life worth living. We identify heavily with our thinking and action based on thought alone. But as women reclaim their Divine Feminine natures, the true feeling function of femininity gets to play and be re-membered. Shakti dances into ecstatic bliss. Aphrodite revels in sacred sexual pleasure. Pele fully runs the life-force energy of fiery passion. Inanna consciously surrenders to the death-rebirth mysteries. Baubo laughs her bawdy belly laugh. Kuan Yin cries her tears of compassion for all living things, while Gaia pours forth her infinite abundance. Priestess consciousness allows the many faces of the Goddess to be soulfully expressed, as the human woman learns to step into her spiritual power.
After a long suppression, the Divine Feminine and the priestess archetype are returning to cultural consciousness and acceptance. Women walk differently on a spiritual path when they are fully encouraged to express their soulful nature. They are wild, willful, chaotic, earthy, sensual, sweet, empathic, merging, deeply emotional, passionate and compassionate. These natural soul qualities are the qualities of the Divine Feminine seeking to awaken the priestess within the woman. Through our wild desires and intricate passions, we find our soul stirring and our spirit calling. We stop silencing our deepest dreams and allow the voice of the Goddess to come through as our own. This awakening, can result in the full empowerment of a woman as a priestess whose temple is the everyday world. She exerts her influence in all of her roles—as daughter, mother, lover, career woman, neighbor and in every interaction she has, moment to moment. The divine feminine and the divine feminist are joined. We can embrace a movement of soul and spirit, human and divine. We can experience the sacred in our daily lives and express our life force energy in everything we do. We can include the essential factors that make the new feminine mysticism, the priestess within, grounded and practical, yet imaginative and sacred.

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The Shamanic Priestess Process is Coming to Central Florida!

Sun in the hands

WHAT IS THE SHAMANIC PRIESTESS PROCESS—AND WHY SHOULD I BE INTERESTED?
The Shamanic Priestess Process is a life-changing initiation & spiritual process for women. As the Shift of the Ages progresses, as the Feminine is called to take the stage, we… as sacred women walking a spiritual path… discover that indeed, We Are The Ones We Have Been Waiting For! The Divine Feminine is returning, and women are called to participate in the healing of ourselves and our planet.

We learn that the old “power over others” patriarchal model has kept us from discovering who we really are. The Shamanic Priestess Process empowers women to walk through their own fears to gain their own personal power, magnetism, and explore their passions.

Shamanic Priestess Circles become catalysts of change in the lives of every woman in Circle.. We awaken, enliven and integrate the priestess within. We find our own sacred work, and bring forth our unique gifts to serve ourselves and the world in a bigger way.

WHEN IS THE SHAMANIC PRIESTESS PROCESS COMING TO CENTRAL FLORIDA?
This month, from November 14-16 2014, we’ll do several previews around central Florida, to “gather the women.” We’ll be doing them in New Smyrna Beach, Deltona, Casselberry, and Kissimmee/Celebration.

The preview will give you a “taste” of what the Shamanic Priestess Process is like. If it resonates for you, we’ll invite you to join us for the FIRST Central Florida Shamanic Priestess Process Circle, which will begin in January and complete in July. (More details on the below and on our Facebook page.)

I hope you’ll be able to join us in November; below are the dates/times of the gatherings. Please choose one you prefer and email Melody or Roxanne, our coordination team, immediately to confirm. We have limited space and it’s first come, first in.
1. FRIDAY NOVEMBER 14, 2014 from 7 to 9:30pm in New Smyrna
2. SATURDAY NOVEMBER 15, 2014 from 11am to 1:30pm in Deltona
3. SATURDAY NOVEMBER 15, 2014 from 7 to 9:30pm in the Orlando area
4. SUNDAY NOVEMBER 16, 2014 from 1 to 3:30pm in the Kissimmee/Celebration area
YES, you may invite your friends! And YES, teens are invited to attend with their mothers!

The 2.5 hours we’ll spend together at the preview will answer your questions and allow you to feel your resonance with the Process. We’ll connect via phone or Skype with Anyaa McAndrew, our facilitator, who has been seeding the Shamanic Priestess Process around the U.S. and Canada for the past 14 years. Find more about Anyaa on this website.
The power of our gatherings won’t always be immediately felt, so we also have a Facebook page for women to post questions, ideas, insights and allow the energy to build.

WHEN WILL THE FIRST SHAMANIC PRIESTESS CIRCLE IN CENTRAL FLORIDA BEGIN?
In 2015. On Jan. 23-25, we’ll experience our Shamanic Priestess Introductory weekend retreat. You can register and attend the January retreat (which is only $260) without committing to the entire Shamanic Priestess Circle. After the January retreat, only women who are committed to the Circle will be able to attend the remaining sessions.

Our first central Florida circle will have 20 women and will run from January 2015 to July 2015, meeting every other month. In these gatherings, we’ll explore:
• The New Priestess & Women’s Mysteries
• Initiation of the Priestess Within
• Enlightening the Shadow Between Women
• Telling the Stories of Our Spiritual Journeys
• The Archetypes We Carry
• Sacred Marriage with the Inner Masculine
• Conscious Death of the Old Self
• Sacred Rebirth of the Shamanic Priestess
• Emergence & Ordination

I’M INTERESTED. WHERE CAN I GET MORE INFORMATION?
Go here for the flyer, and for more information about the Process go here, for audios describing the Shamanic Priestess go here and for what women who have done the Process have to say, go here. You can also read interviews here and articles here!

Priestessing During Gaia’s Dark Night Before the Dawn

Anyaa McAndrew, MA, LPC, NCC, Ordained Priestess

What an amazing time to be alive! What is occurring on the planet these days is moving us at lightening speed. Can you feel it? Depending upon who you talk to, listen to, and read, you may feel depression, anguish, grief, anger, hope, inspiration, and upliftment all in the same day, or even in the same hour! Are we all becoming bi-polar, or is something else happening?  We are collectively finding ourselves faced with some of the most difficult situations, circumstances, challenges and patterns, depending upon what it is we need to move us into a place of surrender. For me personally, some days life is magical and grace-filled, and some are filled with complete disillusionment and frustration.

Would it make a difference if you knew that every day you are living the equivalent of 274 days? That every month you are living the equivalent of 8,000 years? The Pleiadians, keepers of the 5th Dimension, and through teachers like Barbara Marciniak and Barbara Hand Clow, tell us we are now moving at a frequency of 100,000 years per year! We are clearly at the Great Shift, the Turning of the Ages, the Collapse, the Planetary Dark Night of the Soul, the end of Patriarchy and the Mayan Calendar, and the end of time as we know it. We are also in a process of Ascension, moving into Unity Consciousness, and birthing a New Earth. That is a lot to hold spiritually, as tiny 3-D beings.  We are asked to do just that, to hold this vast terrain of consciousness within our consciousness, to hold the tension of the opposites, so that we can come all the way through these times into a new world on the other side. The more beings that have eyes to see, and ears to hear what is happening, the closer we get to the Tipping Point that gives us the momentum we need for the ride through to the other side. And what a ride it is!

 

Graphic by Prescott Hill

Sometimes I imagine that I am in a room filled with clocks and calendars. There are sundials, and grandfather clocks and pyramid calendars, alarms, timers, astrological wheels, and dates of all kinds floating around in this room. All of the clocks are going off at the same time and the calendars are all marked with intersecting dates and timings. The sense I get in this imaginary room is that I am here for a reason, a really important reason, and I am a part of this Great Timing. I have a part to play, and so do many others who are here with me or come and go from this place as I do.  I and We, are the Ones We Have Been Waiting For, but not quite as simply as it sounds. The We is bigger than our egos, or even our soul’s plan. Our bigger multi-dimensional Selves are here with us and they have all signed up together for this Divine Appointment. What a party!

If Gaia is birthing into a new dimension, then I am going with her. Unity Consciousness implies that we are all in this together, aren’t we? Another way I imagine these times is that we are traversing a very narrow passageway as a Planetary Being, like going through the black hole that so many talk about at the center of our galaxy, the place where the Winter Solstice Sun has been rising for the past several years. In order to move through such a dangerous passageway, we must deconstruct, purify, dissolve, surrender and totally trust the Great Spirit. I imagine it getting very dark in some of our lives and on the planet as we move through this collective Dark Night of the Soul. On the other side is the Great Unknowable Mystery of a New Time on Planet Earth.

The Truth is, none of us knows what the future holds. Those who say they do, are just projecting one of many possible scenarios that are reflected back to us: good guesses and calculated scientific possibilities all the way to ancient prophecies and present channelings. Will we experience more earth changes, solar flares, a polar shift, 3 days of darkness, ETs walking among us, or Mother Earth continuing to give us really clear messages that she will no longer tolerate the rape of her land and the destruction of her species? As a woman of consciousness, perhaps a woman who carries the priestess vibration, what do you intuit about these times? Do you know that you are here for a good reason? Your life purpose has called you here. You have a front row seat in this theatre of Great Change. You have a place on the wheel of time as it ends, and then we start anew.

The calling to the Feminine is very loud these days. One of my favorite teachers, Lucia Rene, says that the Patriarchy has already been unplugged and now is the time for women to stop running away from what scares us. It is the time for us to step into our personal power, and our spiritual authority. Lucia calls this the Solar Feminine, the One who will step into leadership through feminine values like Economies of Care, Networks of Grace, and Communities of Compassion.

The Shamanic Priestess is one who understands that to die and be reborn many times in one lifetime is the hallmark of these times. She is a being who has walked on the edge and lived to tell about it. She is learning to confront her fears, to move her past through her, to a place of peaceful resolution, and to help others do the same. She knows the value of priestessing others. She sees and feels the pain and suffering in the world, and practices transmuting and blessing as much as she can, so that all of life on earth can shift. And she is the woman who knows she is Sacred and that everything she sees and everything she does can be Sacred. Making Sacred is also to bless, to sanctify, to honor, and give thanks for all the life forms that are leaving us, including many of those close to us, including people, animals, land masses, the great oceans, the rainforests and plant life, and all the old patterns that no longer serve us. The Sacred Woman has done this through the ages. She understands that these times call for ritual and ceremony because we are going through the biggest Rite of Passage this planet has ever known!

The Shamanic Priestess is also learning to be a midwife to what wants to come into life. She downloads the light, radiates compassion and love, and tells the truth, to shine on what we all really want to co-create. She learns to draw on the ancient wisdom in her DNA, in her bones, in her lineage as a sacred woman from the past, to inspire and enliven the new visions. Some call these codes of light that are now being activated by the intense astronomical activity happening on our planet. I feel it as subtle knowings that I am shifting my perceptions and things that used to be important to me are falling away. Time is speeding up and my consciousness seems to amp up, and I want to slow way down. I want to savor every moment and live in the NOW, not the future or the past. The teacher of my lineage Nicole Christine used to say “The Hopis tell us that when the world speeds up, slow down.”

We are slowing down so that we can really feel all the ways we exist in every dimension, every space and time, to merge in this time, the end of time, into a new way of being.

This article is written to be a call to the Shamanic Priestess, because her time is NOW.

If you have an inner priestess that wants to come forth into the world of the Shift, now is the time. If you already claim yourself as priestess, then you know the value of holding the field for others, because others already come to you for counsel. You are not afraid of your power and you feel it is part of your Sacred Work to serve in these times. You are in good company with thousands of other women on the planet who are waking up to the Priestess Within.

 

Claiming Your Shamanic Priestess Self

I recieved this today, and it is so precious, I had to add it to my blog site!

You might think I’d say… “This course is awesome, you should take it!”… That’s totally an understatement! This is truly a ‘PROCESS’ of transmutation, which has totally amp-ed up my self-esteem and self-worth big time! It has birthed a new level confidence. Anyaa and her amazing Apprentices Kristina & Zanzara, reflected to me, who I truly am (each one has their own special gifts… just like other leaders & apprentices of the SPP). They acknowledged my power, love, and truest essence, right to their core. That kind of reflection, made me feel nurtured in the most comforting way one can possibly imagine.

Yes…they pushed my buttons, but in a good way. They lovingly reflected what I needed to learn most, and what I need to let go of, etc. They also acknowledged what gifts I offered them, that they found valuable. So there was a sense of equality as Sisters, rather then a hierarchy.

This is a beautiful experience for all ages of women. We all just honour each other, as adoptive-spiritual Sisters. We’re like long-lost Priestesses that have finally found each other again, that hold sacred not only the upper chakras, but also the lower chakras. We honour the teachings of our light-side, but also honour the teachings of our shadow-side.

The initiations I hold most precious. They are spiritual acts in the moment that always bring out the Divine. I understand old ancient pagan rituals now, as the SPP has taken it more into an up-to-date version of ceremony. This totally resonated for me, in that we had a basic template, but each used our own imagination about how the exercise related to ourselves. It was so much fun, and truly transformational! This is more of a modern creative way of “Shamanic Journeying”. It’s not strange, but actually really fantastic!

I must say that I can’t believe how much ‘living ceremony’ meant so much to me during this ‘process’! I always thought ritual was weird. Now I see that there is some form of ‘magical alchemy’ that creates transformation. I think taking a sensitive topic, and then mixing it with creativity, fun, and theatre, makes a sacred space for metamorphosis to occur.

There were many highlights. I really enjoyed all the prep-work for each event. Each time I went, it felt like going somewhere really magical (ie: like the ‘Mists of Avalon’!)… our retreat centre was actually on an island with real mists!

Each event I wanted to look my best, share my best homework attempts, and bring the right ceremonial supplies, including the joy of finding accessories to accentuate my Goddess/Priestess makeshift outfits… so I got to be a Princess for the day, several times throughout the process… thank-you very much! The little girl in me that still loves Disneyland, also still believes in… fairies, unicorns, magic, Gods & Goddesses… which was a wild fantasy come true!

The SPP creates a sacred space with lots of fun activities (ie: dancing, meditation, tarot cards, sacred talking circle, feasts, writing assignments, creative projects, etc), that’s accentuated with the most beautiful modern Goddess music! It’s also incredibly feminine and loving, as it feels like being tucked away in a ‘receiving blanket’, being re-birthed as a true Priestess to myself, and to the world… however I choose to express that gift the process gave me. There’s no dogma, so my own spiritual belief viewpoints are totally honoured, just like everyone else’s. It’s also an excellent opportunity to become an ‘Ordained Minister’, if you choose (an additional exciting option… which I took!
… now I can minister weddings, funerals & births!).

The Shamanic Priestess Process ‘naturally’ instigated a ‘mid-life’ crisis that I’m presently in. I wouldn’t have done it, agreed to it, or have moved through so much in one-year, had it not been for the amazing leadership, and wonderful circle of sacred women.  Since the official process has been over, the transformation seems to have amplified pending changes (…I’m still in the process ~ which is more then wonderful J ).

I need to let go of the old that no longer is serving my life, in order for my new dreams and goals to manifest and come in. The SPP helped give me the nurturing love and care, to make all of that possible… which I’m truly grateful for… more then words can possibly express!!! Even leaders can benefit greatly from the program.

Now I have a wonderful group of Sisters not only in my circle, but previous ones (and future ones), as well as a larger network on an international level. There are many Priestesses, as our sacred circle is growing! This kind of continued support after the course is over, is such a joy to be part of, to allow further growth on my journey, creating a sacred space for my higher-self to manifest into my life as a reality, rather then a dream… in more deeper, and subtle ways.

This process makes your dreams a reality. Because of this, all of the commitments involved are totally worth it! I dare you to feel that worthy, to treat yourself with that much respect and care, to get all of the nurturing support, with TLC and a little tough love that you need; to make that shift in your life, so you can truly soar!

I dare you to allow yourself to be that great! This process has the most amazing support system and tool set, to fully claim your true-self, as a Shamanic Priestess to the world!

Love & blessings,
Priestess Sahara

A Canadian Priestess Emergence

Submitted to Sunstream Magazine

June 13th, 2009

By Kristina Violet & Kelly Ann Woods

Our community was blessed recently with its first Priestess Ordination after a profoundly intensive 9-month process.  This is a great time of awakening and transformation on the planet. As stewards of these changes, a circle of 15 women journeyed through several initiations, rituals, ceremonies & celebrations, culminating with Sunday’s (June 7th) Emergence.  An Ordination occurred for many of them, giving them the title and responsibility of a Reverend within the Madonna Ministry, a-global Spiritual Community, a Church without walls.

Women from all walks of life came to the Shamanic Priestess Process out of a deep desire for greater balance, purpose, connection and inner spiritual authority, as well as activating the return of the divine feminine, walking in harmony with the masculine. The Priestess archetype is a vehicle of that return and union.  She lives her life in a sacred way, connecting her human self and her goddess self at the same time.” says Anyaa McAndrew, the group’s facilitator.

The course also offers a greater understanding of archetypes and how they live within us, often influencing and directing our thoughts, feelings & actions. One may move through the Amazon, the Vision Quest Heroine, the Courtesan, for example, the goal being to acknowledge, accept and integrate these energies?, thus reducing fears of the shadows which lurk within each of us and bringing the gifts and light to the surface.

One of the participants, Reverend Kristina Violet expresses, “This transformative journey equated to a 9-month gestation of giving birth to my authentic self, allowing me a deeper sense of purpose, spirit and connection to all.  Although being in the womb and giving birth wasn’t always easy, I feel reborn, recreated and ready to serve my community in a more unconditional loving, playful way?.  As a circle, we shared deeply, danced daily, laughed and cried loud and clear each time we came together. I know that we will always be friends, and bringing more spirit, ritual and service to the Sunshine Coast, the lower mainland and the world at large.”

“Upon completion of the nine month process, each Priestess proclaimed their personal intentions and gifts they bring to their community in the presence of over 75 guests, allies and those who’ve shared their journeys.” claims McAndrew.

A new circle commences June 27th as an intro weekend for the next Shamanic Priestess Process.  Women interested in stepping into their power, to share their gifts and contribute more fully in their home and community, are welcome to join in this profound journey. More info can be found at www.goddessontheloose.com or call Kristina at 604-885-6688.