Embracing the Fire Within: Women's Wisdom and Priestess Magic at the Summer Solstice

As the sun reaches its zenith and the day stretches into the longest embrace of warmth, we stand at the threshold of the Summer Solstice – a celestial event that marks the beginning of summer (around June 19-22) in the Northern Hemisphere.

Beyond its astronomical significance, the Summer Solstice is a powerful time for women to tap into their wisdom, celebrate their creative energies, and honor the transition from Maiden to Mother Goddess.

Inspired by the rich traditions and insights from Ruth Barrett's "Women's Rites, Women's Mysteries," this article explores the magic of the Summer Solstice, the fire element, and the profound connection between women, creativity, and fertility.

The Season of Action:

Summer, often associated with the Full Moon, beckons us to step into the world with purpose and vitality. It's a season of action, where the dreams conceived in the quietude of winter start to blossom. The Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year, symbolizes the peak of this vibrant energy. As the earth becomes fertile, the Goddess pours forth her creations – fields, trees, flowers, and animals – in a magnificent display of life.

From Maiden to Mother:

The Summer Solstice marks a sacred transition from Maiden to Mother Goddess, a reflection of the lifecycle that all women embody. Regardless of physical motherhood, every woman becomes a "mother" as she nurtures, sustains, and protects life through her endeavors, be it for the human species or other beings. This symbolic shift is a celebration of the diverse ways women manifest their creativity and fertility in the world.

Harnessing the Fire Element:

At the Summer Solstice, women work with the fire element, symbolically strengthening and forging their will in the world. The communal fires, a tradition in some cultures, bring communities together for music, dance, fire jumping, and ceremonies. The power of fire cleanses negative body images and ignites the creative spark within. Journaling becomes a tool for self-reflection, asking questions about life force energy, creative fire, and the transformative journey into the new season.

Journaling Reflections:

• Where is the fiery life force energy in my life? How is it manifesting?

• How will I feed my creative fire? What is its fuel?

• How am I a mother? How do I nurture, sustain, and protect my creations?

• What wisdom am I bringing from the spring?

• What am I leaving behind?

• Who am I becoming?

• What is awakening in me now?

• What seeds am I planting?

• What am I transforming?

• What is my intention for this new season?

Ways to Honor the Summer Solstice:

1. Jump a literal or symbolic bonfire, symbolizing the leap into a new phase.

2. Create an altar to honor Mother Goddesses worldwide, expressing creativity through hands, writing, or voice.

3. Acknowledge and celebrate women who choose not to be mothers, channeling their creativity into other impactful works.

4. Explore passion, creativity, and growth in alignment with the fire element, daring to live life according to one's values.

5. Celebrate fertility in all its forms, acknowledging the abundance and vitality of life.

6. Make love and dedicate the energy to a specific creative focus.

7. Light candles or bonfires to infuse energy and abundance into desires and aspirations.

As the sun lingers in the sky, casting its warm glow over the world, let us embrace the fire within.

The Summer Solstice invites us as women to call upon our inner Priestess, to stand in our power, celebrate our creative energies, and honor the cycles of life. By harnessing the fire element and reflecting on the profound journaling questions, this sacred time becomes an opportunity for self-discovery, transformation, and a joyous celebration of the divine feminine.

Embracing the Divine Feminine: Spring Equinox Sisterhood Event Ideas for Rebirth and Renewal

As the vibrant energy of the Spring Equinox sweeps in (around March 19-21 each year in the Northern Hemisphere), we honor the balance of day and night and find ourselves standing on the threshold of renewal and rebirth.

This time of year, also called Ostara, is when the air is charged with the promise of new beginnings, making it the perfect time to gather with sisters and celebrate the divine feminine. I wanted to bring together some of my favorite sisterhood event ideas inspired by the wisdom of Ruth Barrett, author of Women’s Rites, Women’s Rituals: Intuitive Ritual Creation. This is a time where we will focus on the themes of balance, empowerment, and the awakening of the maiden goddess within.

Prepare your spirit for the wild dance about to begin with the rise of the mating season and the call of your dreams. All of life is bursting with fertile energy: birds singing, eggs hatching, spring flowers blossoming and Spirit ready to run free again after the contractions of the colder months. Consider how you are cracking open out of your shell and ready to spread your wings into new territory. Be ready for a bold leap and actively co-create with the Universe to bring your dreams manifest. Unite the opposites, especially Fire & Water, which is the fusion of Spirit & Fertility. Ostara initiates a time of empowerment where you are encouraged to take more risks, be more wild, believe in your dreams, and make things happen with your wild freedom and full abandon. ~ Ruth Barrett

Journaling Questions for Self-Exploration:

• What wisdom am I bringing from the dark of winter?

• What am I leaving behind?

• Who am I becoming?

• What is awakening in me now?

• What seeds am I planting?

• What am I transforming?

• What is my intention for this new season?

  Meditation and Ritual Ideas for the Season of Emergence

1. Make flower crowns. All you’ll need is some wire and lots of flowers

2. Create an “Angel Wash” where women stand on either side of a “birth canal” and sing as each woman steps through the threshold to be witnessed, caressed, and celebrated

3. Cover yourselves with a dark cloth, then emerge into colorful, open spaces symbolizing the transition from winter's darkness to spring's vibrancy

4. Dance and sing, celebrate the interconnectedness of sisterhood

5. Paint and decorate eggs as symbols of fertility and new beginnings

6. Share garden ideas, or start planting a garden together to honor the Earth's cycles of growth and transformation

7. Honor the connection between mothers and daughters, acknowledging the generational ties of strength and resilience, invite mothers and daughters into the center of a circle to be sung to

8. Create a symbolic hatching ritual, simulating the breaking through a seed's shell casing under the weight of the earth

9. Bake a birthday cake to celebrate the birth of spring and the renewal of life

10. Share or read stories about courageous young girls, inspiring empowerment and resilience

11. Dance and move in a circle formation to honor the cycle of rebirth and return, fostering a sense of unity and connection

12. Find creative ways to remember and honor the young girl within yourself and others. Host a sharing circle where women can share about their first menstrual cycle, or how they felt becoming a woman. Listen and honor each others stories of youth

13. Spend time with a young girl or group of girls, nurturing the seeds of strength and wisdom, especially sharing education about women’s cycles and fertility

As the wheel of the year turns and the Spring Equinox ushers in a season of growth and renewal, may more and more women gather in sisterhood to honor the Priestess within. Through reflection, meditation, and shared rituals, we can honor the divine feminine within and around us, embracing the empowerment and balance this season offers. May our celebrations be filled with joy, connection, and the sweet promise of new beginnings.

Five Core Wounds of the Priestess & How to Heal Them with Meredith Rom

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*Enrollment is Open for the Rising Women Leaders Priestess Initiation

While I was preparing for my recent webinar, The Role of the Priestess in the Modern Age, it became clear to me that there were 5 core wounds that have consistently held back the women I’ve worked with from activating their soul gifts and creating world change.

This conversation was originally aired on the Vital Mother Podcast with Jillian Anderson.

What came through in our conversation felt so powerful that I wanted it to reach more women and decided to share it with you today on Rising Women Leaders.

In this episode we discuss:

• How Jillian and I met

• The importance of not giving an F or shrinking to keep others comfortable

• What is a Priestess? What does it mean to be a Priestess?

• The 5 Wounds of the Priestess and how they may be affecting how you’re showing up to and for your calling

• What EFT is, and why it’s effective at healing unresolved trauma

• How to navigate the fear of being seen, the fear of being judged, and more!

• A gift I received from my motherline

Enrollment is now open for the Rising Women Leaders Priestess Initiation

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5 Core Wounds of the Priestess

The Fear of Being Seen

For many women, the fear of being seen lives in our cells, in our DNA, from our ancestry and from past lives when it literally was not safe for women to be seen as powerful.

From the witch hunts across Europe, to the days of Jesus and Mary Magdalene for women of the past who were healers, natural born leaders, or those who chose to speak up for change, there was a very real threat of being stoned or killed.

In the past, it was not safe for women to shine their light, to be powerful, or to speak up.

Even though for many of us now, it is safe to share our voices, this wound can activate any time we try to public speak, record a video, make a post on social media, or be seen in the public eye.

So how do we heal it? I’ve found again and again, for this wound, the healing balm is sisterhood.

To have women in your life who have your back, to feel the support of your sisters behind you, really makes a woman feel safe to take a step forward. Because then, even if she fails, she will have a team of sisters ready to love her, support her and encourage her to stand back up and try again.

The Fear of Being Judged 

There’s a lot of stigma around the word Priestess, I even felt a visceral fear before sharing publicly that I was one.

Being a healer, being different, or even just being spiritual can often feel ostracizing.

Whenever someone stands out against the social norm, there is the fear of being judged, and losing love from others.

Think back to what it was like in high school, that deep desire to want to fit in, to conform to a mold, it’s very painful to be different and go against status quo. 

The healing balm for this wound: to call upon the fiery goddesses of Kali and Sekhmet.

When we activate our energy of fire, cut away what is not serving and create strong boundaries, we are able to care less about what others think of us.

It also helps to ask, “What’s really more important to me?” When we feel deeply connected to our dharma and mission, it’s so much easier to stay clear and focused on our goal.

Isolation & Feeling Alone

Another wound so many women who feel called to the Priestess Path carry is the fear of being alone.

The feminine is collaborative. It is all about community, and working together. And look what has happened in our modern society - so many of us are alone in our homes, working to further our own individual goals rather than working towards a greater good of the whole.

But we are meant to be together. To work together. It can feel so painful doing it on our own that we don’t even take a step forward.

The healing balm for this one of course, is community. 

In the Rising Women Leaders Priestess Initiation I’ll be guiding each of the women to begin women’s circles in their communities. We’ll also be joining together in likeminded community support online over ten months, and then together in person for our closing retreat.

We need more safe spaces and community for women to be joining together, and sometimes we need support in order to make it happen!

Feeling Unworthy or “Not Enough”

This is literally what the patriarchy and capitalist society wants you to feel in order to sell you things. 

When we feel unworthy or not enough, we most certainly won’t be able to believe in our power. We most certainly won’t feel that our voice matters enough to speak up and create change in the world.

Recently I got a text from a dear sister sharing photos of a speaking engagement she did about climate change. However, after sending the photos, before I could even celebrate her accomplishment she said, “I shouldn’t have worn that, I look fat.”

We have been so indoctrinated to feel bad about our bodies. To feel unworthy. To feel “not enough”

Think about how much of an energy drain that is.

What if we devoted even a sliver of the energy we spend feeling bad about our bodies to meditation, service or activism…?

How much do you think we would be able to shift? 

Society telling us we are unworthy or not enough is just another way to hold back the feminine, suppress our voices, and make us feel small.

Do you want to play into that old story?

To heal this old story it’s helpful to let the voices come to light in a safe space, where you can have your greatness reflected back to you from a friend, mentor or guide.

It’s also so helpful to rewire core beliefs around unworthiness with Tapping/ EFT, something I share in my work with my clients.

Being Too Highly Sensitive

In truth, being highly sensitive is a superpower.

But the shadow side of it causes us to feel stuck, stay in bed, and maybe not be able to move forward at all. For many being highly sensitive can feel like a wound, but it doesn’t have to be this way.

Feel it all. Feel the grief of the world, but don’t wallow in it. Then it becomes self-absorbed. When we shift our focus from being so much on ourselves and our grief, we can take action on what really matters to us.

It also helps to know how to create energetic boundaries.

Grounding Cord:

To begin, imagine sending a grounding cord from your root or sacral chakra down to the center of the Earth. Notice the color, the texture. Imagine the grounding Earth energy helping you feel more anchored.

You can send anyone else’s energy you may have picked up down the grounding cord, imagine the hot, molten core of the Earth transmute the energy immediately.

Golden Egg Meditation For Cleansing Your Aura:

From the top of your head, imagine a golden stream of light down the front of your body and up the back of your body. Imagine it continuing to cycle. Then from the top of your head imagine a golden stream of light down the back of your body and up the front. Do this again for moving down the right side and up the left. And then from the head down the left and up around the right. Notice if you feel any places that have been compromised.

Then send a golden stream of light from your heart around the right side of your body, to the left. And again from the left to the right. Now imagine these golden streams expanding and merging with each other until you are completely contained within a golden egg.

Imagine a golden rain shower over your whole aura to cleanse it.

For Boundaries:

After completing the golden egg meditation, imagine a royal blue color surrounding your golden egg. Royal blue is the color of protection and boundaries. You can then place a violet flame around the royal blue, and declare out loud that any negative energies that are not yours will be instantly transmuted in the violet flame.

A more quick clearing exercise I use often is below:

Simple, Quick Clearing:  Repeat this out loud, “When I take 3 deep breaths and clap my hands 3 times I declare any energy that’s not mine will leave me, any energy that is mine, that I may have lost will return to me.” Then take your deep breaths and clap your hands 3 times.

Feeling the call of the Priestess?

Rising Women Leaders Priestess Initiation

If any of these “core wounds” resonate with you, we’d love to hear in the comments below.

094 | Shakti, Devotion & Tantra with Halo Seronko

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*Enrollment is Now Open for the Rising Women Leaders Priestess Initiation ~ we begin March 11, 2020 and there are still a few spots left in the Wild Heart Retreat on the Big Island of Hawaii, April 17 - 22, 2020. We hope you can join us!

Since having this conversation with Halo I have shown up first thing in the morning to my meditation seat for 20 minutes a day. Something about her presence, devotion and knowledge of Taoism and Tantra reinspired me into a consistent daily practice. (Thank you Halo!!)

In this conversation we discussed feminine and masculine polarity, as well as how to harness those energies for greater balance, ease and grace. When we set in place a structure (the masculine), our more feminine qualities can be more fully expressed... This conversation is full of gems, especially if you wish to deepen on a devotional path.

In this episode we discussed:

• How Halo was led to the path of Taoism and Temple Dance

• What is Tantra? And how does it apply to our Modern World

• Halo’s Daily Sadhana

• Devotion & Discipline and the Value of Both

• The Role of the Priestess

• How to Activate Your Inner King and Queen 

• Halo’s upcoming India retreat and online programs

Stay in Touch with Halo:

• Website: http://www.shaktitemplearts.com/

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shaktitemplearts/

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Shaktitemplearts

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvREoXBsC8MDUqclkClXmZQ

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Halo Seronko is the founder and lead instructor of the international and online school Shakti Temple Arts; a school with the mission to re-awaken the feminine traditions of spiritual pursuit such as Temple Dance, Classical Tantra Yoga and the Taoist Feminine Arts.

Living between the holy land of India and the USA for the past 10 years, Halo has been bridging the worlds by bringing ancient traditions of Shakti embodiment to the West. While in India she studies Classical Indian Temple Dance, Tantra, Yoga and goes on extensive pilgrimages to sacred sites of the Goddess. The mysteries of the feminine and of the womb have been her guiding lights upon her quest for deeper and deeper embodied understanding of the Goddess, and thus she has been diving deep into ancient practices of Shakti cultivation from various traditions for the past decade.

Shakti Temple Arts is Halo’s offering to the rise of the Divine Feminine. Through time tested lineages of embodiment, consciousness, health and beauty practices, Shakti Temple Arts offers keys to unlocking the soul's yearning for expression of it's innate divinity in THIS life, and in THIS body.

Halo believes that Temple is a vessel for the divine be it an ancient architectural structure, or our very bodies, breath and consciousness. Temple is a way of life that acknowledges the sacred in all that is, and offers reverence and awe in the form of beauty, and the cultivation of awareness.

 Halo has brought these sacred arts around the globe online and in live retreats in India, Guatemala, Australia, Greece, Costa Rica and the West coast of the USA.

093 | Magdalene Rising with Michele Bumbier

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*There’s still time to join us on the Big Island Retreat + for our new free webinar, The Role of the Priestess in the Modern Age*

It’s been so incredible to have access to all we do in this era of technology…. I’ve met so many women through instagram and podcasts who are doing such profound work to restore the balance of the sacred feminine. Michele Bumbier @magdalene.rising is one of those women, who I’m so honored to introduce you to today.

Michele is a researcher, Earth-based educator and devotee of the Great Mother. She feels there is a strong resonance between women's work and Earth work, and focuses her heart in devotion to these areas.

In this episode we discussed:

• The legacy and life of Mary Magdalene

• How Michele came to find Mary and research her life

• How we connect with Mary Magdalene as a guide and mentor

• The importance of contemplative practices

• Tending the Earth as devotion

• The role of the Priestess in the modern age (also the topic of my upcoming webinar)

Links in this episode:

• The Meaning of Mary Magdalene: Discovering the Woman at the Heart of Christianity

• The Gospel of Mary Magdalene

• The Goddess in the Gospels: Reclaiming the Sacred Feminine

Stay in Touch with Michele:

• Follow on instagram, @magdalene.rising and @the.earth.student

• 'The Earth Student' : website on permaculture, herbalism, deep ecology 

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Michele Bumbier is a Nature-Based Educator, devotee of the Great Mother, researcher, and gardener living in the humid sub-tropics. She works to benefit all beings by bringing humans into right relationship to the land through regenerative gardening. She also spends her time researching and studying the Sacred Feminine, particularly the life & legacy of Mary Magdalene. She feels there is a strong resonance between women's work and Earth work, and focuses her heart in devotion to these areas. You can usually find her 

propagating rare plants with her beloved or contemplating the lives of the women she holds dear to her heart. Find more of her Earth work at @the.earth.student on IG. For more on Michele's musings on Mary Magdalene follow @magdalene.rising.

Music in this episode from bensound.com

059 | In Honor of Mary Magdalene with Meredith Rom

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Some of you may know that two years ago Mary Magdalene was honored by the Pope and Catholic church as The Apostle of the Apostles.

After centuries of being seen as a prostitute and sinner, Mary Magdalene's legacy was honored and recognized by the Church as the incredible teacher, healer and priestess that she was.

She was given a feast day in her honor, which happens to be this weekend: Sunday, July 22nd.

This means so much for our awakening collective consciousness, that this powerful woman would no longer be shunned or shamed by the church, and on a larger scale I really believe speaks to how women are being recognized in reclaiming their power.

Six months ago while I was in India I read a profound book by Mercedes Kirkel about Mary Magdalene and her core teachings.

It was like every page spoke directly to my heart as truth.

For a week I was staying in a cottage in a small mountain town by myself, reading the pages, and when I finished, I felt inspired to create recordings of what I had learned.

As of now I've only ever shared these recordings and teachings with my private clients, however in honor of Mary Magdalene's Feast Day, July 22, I'd like to share them with you.

I've gathered together the Rose lineage teachings that have most impacted my life:

1. Feeling Your Pain & Emotions - How to navigate difficult emotions as they arise and use them as a pathway to your own source and divinity
2. A Guided Process on Forgiveness - Feeling your own pain is a key teaching to be able to authentically forgive
3. Tapping into Abundance Consciousness - Embodying a state of enough & looking at the world from a lens of abundance
4. Honoring your Body & Sexuality as Sacred Portals to the Divine - Including a few of my favorite practices

This recording is available *For Free* this week only at risingwomenleaders.com 

How will you honor Mary on her Feast Day?

Here are some ideas:

• Gather with women in an intentional space ~ hold a circle where each woman shares her voice and truth of her emotions
• Listen to the Recording on the Process of Forgiveness and Journal about who you are forgiving in your life
• Create a ritual to honor your body ~ a luxurious bath, and self body oil massage

Or create something unique of your own!

Love, 
Meredith

058 | The Art of Allowing & Priestess Rising with Marin Bach-Antonson

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It is a great honor to introduce you today to a personal guide and mentor of mine, Marin Bach-Antonson. 

For the last year I have been participating in a 13 gateway Priestess Initiation Program led by Marin. It has been a truly transformational experience to embody principles of the sacred feminine in every area of my life. 

In this conversation, Marin shares about the role of the Priestess, the rise of the feminine in our collective consciousness and one of the most simple and profoundly life-changing practices we can bring into our life right here and right now.

"When you allow those feelings to be exactly as they are, then you have access to the feelings. You are not pushing the feelings down...you aren't trying to make them different,  yoga them away, journal them out, or juice fast them into dissolving. You're just being with them because you are allowing them. The only way out is through. It's the feeling of our feelings that ultimately gets us to the other side of them."

In this episode we discussed:

• How Marin found herself on the Priestess path
• The 4 stages of feminine awakening
• Allowing: why it's the highest expression of the divine feminine
• A key secret to manifestation
• Marin's personal practice for manifesting abundance
• The archetype of the Priestess and how it is showing up in the collective
• Marin's experience with Mary Magdalene
• How to connect to your Dharma

Stay in touch with Marin:

• Website
• Facebook
• Instagram

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Marin Bach-Antonson is a women's spiritual coach, soul catalyst and creator of the Priestess Rising Initiation Program, a leadership program for women ready to embody their radiance, lead from the heart and claim their role on the forefront of the feminine awakening movement. She has over 20 years experience crafting ritual, leading red tents and bringing women together in sister circles which she believes is part of the new paradigm and how we western women are meant to change the world.You can find her at www.priestessrising.com

056 | Angel Guides, Motherhood & The Modern Magdalene with Lisa Devine

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For all the women feeling called to rise and honor the sacred feminine within themselves, this episode is for you.

Lisa gives us beautiful reminders around seeing the sacredness of life in every moment... She helps us remember to ask for help from the higher forces, to embrace the magic in life, and find the gifts in our challenges. 

I learned so much from her powerful story of motherhood, a near death experience, and her connection to Mary Magdalene. I'm honored to be sharing her wisdom with you all today...

In this episode we discussed:

• Lisa's story of healing from childhood trauma ~ letting go of victimhood, and spiritual awakening
• Instantaneous healing ~ how the time we are in now it is possible!
• Angel channeling and how to connect with our personal angels
• How the angels respect our free will and what we can do to invite in the support of these higher forces
• Embodying the Priestess in our daily lives ~ how we can make the mundane sacred
• Mary Magdalene ~ who she is and how she is supporting us at this time
• The journey of being a mother and the challenges Lisa has faced in motherhood

“Our children also need us to fail… a part of mothering is not doing it perfectly because if they see you perfect all the time they will wonder if something is wrong with themselves…”

Stay in touch with Lisa:

• Website
• Instagram

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Lisa Devine is a wife, mother, spiritual counselor, and owner of The Modern Magdalene. She offers angel intuitive readings and past life regression sessions for clients around the globe. She considers it her great honor to assist those who are ready to birth the next chapters of their lives, and to awaken their natural gifts of prophecy, healing, and supreme manifestation.

Simple Pleasures

There was a time when I dreamed of being famous, taking the stage as a speaker, inspiring millions, facing all my fears, starting a revolution...

But lately, that's not my dream.

I've been exploring the question, "What brings me true joy?"

The last few years I've been exploring facets of my own leadership, teaching, and being seen.

It's been transformative, eye-opening and has certainly brought deep soul-growth to my life.

But these days I'm finding pleasure in the most simple moments.

Walks with my cat in the vineyard. Making sushi with my love on a Sunday night. Going to the ocean on a whim to watch the sunset. Remembering the beauty of a flower. Going deep with clients one-on-one.

Slowing way down. 

I'm realizing I'm totally ok with being ordinary. And that actually feels like a huge success.

So today I leave you with a question: Where do you find your true joy? and How could you bring more of THAT into your life today?

I hope you enjoy our new podcast with Rosalie. In the latest episode we explore the meaning behind tantra and how we can use it to experience more joy and pleasure in every moment, whatever life brings our way.

Sending love,

Meredith

048 | The Art of Feminine Abundance with Meredith Rom

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Special Announcement: The Sovereign Circle begins on May 2, 2018: A 9 Month Feminine Leadership Initiation + High Priestess Sisterhood. Only a Few Spaces Left! Find All the Details At Risingwomenleaders.com

If you find yourself drawn to my work I imagine you have a calling to share your gifts and use your voice for the purpose of uplifting others.

I imagine you desire to birth something and be a part of the awakening of a new paradigm.

I also imagine you desire to be financially empowered AND have the time and space to do what you love ...

Most likely you are tired of pushing, forcing or sacrificing in order to get there.

I believe in you stepping into your fullest potential.

Financial empowerment. Thriving in your life’s work. And creating space to do what makes you come alive, everyday.

I believe this is possible for you.

In the last year the qualities of the feminine have been my greatest teachers... The qualities of BEING, FEELING, SURRENDERING, ALLOWING, MAGNETIZING, and stepping into greater TRUST.

I know it is not always easy to honor these qualities in a culture so focused on achievement and doing, but I believe the feminine is rising, calling us back into balance as a collective.

There are so many of us that are waking up at this time and many of us are feeling called to let go of the old paradigm of pushing and forcing. Many of us are quickly ascending beyond that.

The new way is seeing abundance as a state of being, an embodiment we can cultivate within ourselves...

So...I've decided to re-release of my most popular webinars from last summer on the Rising Women Leaders Podcast.

My intention in sharing this wisdom is to help you reconnect to your innate feminine essence and rediscover the innate abundance within you so you can begin to reflect that in everything around you...

In this episode you'll learn:

• 10 Feminine Practices for an Abundant Life
• Ancient Body Wisdom Teachings to Increase Your Magnetism
• How to Clear the Space for What You Truly Love 
• The Role of the Queen and Higher Self 
• A Feminine Approach to  Manifestation
• A Look inside my Upcoming Program The Sovereign Circle

"In the feminine model, it's all about responding to life with love. And with that we can take the art of manifestation a level deeper, using practices that involve not only our mind, but also our body."

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As an added bonus, I'm including notes from the webinar for you below!

Opening: Deep breaths and welcoming you into the art of receiving. Receiving your breath. Receiving this moment. Femininity and abundance are so much about opening ourselves to receive. 

Imagine the web of other women here with you tonight. Beautiful women who are here to support you in stepping into your greatness. Women who are invested in you becoming the best version of yourself. 

We welcome our guides and teachers, anyone that has been important to you in your life.  I will call in the feminine teachers I have been working with Amma, the divine mother, Quan Yin, the goddess of compassion, Mother Mary, she of a thousand roses and Mary Magdalene, she of a thousand angels.

For the last few months I’ve been going to women circles with a mentor of mine where we hold hands and from woman to woman we Imagine as we gather we are turning to each other and holding each other’s hands, and we go around the circle and say to each other “Sister, I see you, I honor you, and I welcome you to this circle.” 

This space is now declared as safe and as sacred, a space where we can open to our highest callings and join in sisterhood in support of becoming our highest selves. Aho

I’m going to share:

• Feminine Practices for an Abundant Life
• Body Wisdom Teachings to Increase Your Magnetism
• How to Clear the Space for What You Truly Love 
• The Role of the Queen and Higher Self 
• A Feminine Approach to Manifestation

But since you’re taking the time to be here:

Close your other windows, close the door, be fully present and stay the entire time…Because: At the end I’m going to give you a practice that you can start using in your life right now that will help you begin to create huge shifts in your life related to inviting in more abundance. 

WHY: 

If you’re here today, I imagine you:

Have a calling to share your gifts and use your voice for the purpose of uplifting others, a desire to birth something, the new paradigm,  Desire to be financially empowered  AND do what you love everyday

Are tired of pushing, forcing or sacrifice and are ready to let it be easy

I believe in you stepping into your full potential. Financial empowerment. Thriving in your life’s work. And creating the space to do what you love, everyday.

And I believe this is possible for you. And you can do it with ease and with grace, Honoring a feminine way of being and living.

So, a little about me:

Growing up in New York, I naturally followed a more masculine model of achieving and doing. I loved the feeling of checking my next “to-do” off the list, getting that A+ on the test I stayed up late to study for, and often sacrificed self-care in the name of “getting it all done.” 

While I do feel there’s an important place in our lives for structure, action and achievement, if our body starts sending us signals to slow down, I believe it’s important to listen to them. 

When I found myself with stress, exhaustion, and chronic pain as result of being overworked, I began to reevaluate my life. The yoga classroom became my sanctuary, a space to just be through feelings of stress, difficult emotions and pain in my body. Through allowing myself to feel, and to breathe, without the immediate need to fix or change my life, everything began to shift. 

Without knowing it, this was my first moment of discovering the sacred feminine, which has become a great teacher to me in this life. Just being, holding, loving myself as I am is such a powerful way of being in the world.

Through being, I discovered my intuition, my inner guide, who led me on my path to California, soon after to India, and back to California where I live today. 

Now living in California, my life’s work is of a coach and a yoga teacher, and I found that my masculine model of pushing and forcing really did follow me even though and there were some challenging moments in my business especially in the beginning.  

Recently I heard a metaphor, of a woman giving birth - when it is time for her to birth her baby - a universal force moves through her and she just needs to surrender. The more she can surrender the easier it will be - 

This is what I believe for our creative gifts, that when we honor the feminine we can be patient and surrender, wait for our ripeness, and allow our creative gifts to be birthed through us. 

I believe…

The feminine is rising, calling us back into balance as a collective. There are so many of us that are waking up at this time, and we feel a deep calling to join together as a sisterhood in love and support of each other. 

We are feeling called to let go of the old paradigm of pushing and forcing. Many of us are quickly ascending beyond that. 

The new way is Abundance is a state of being within ourselves and when we begin to live and breathe it, everything outside of ourselves will mirror that. 

My Intention today is to help your reconnect to your feminine essence and rediscover the innate abundance within you so you can begin to reflect that in everything around you. 

In our culture we have faced some challenges and conditioning around money and abundance:

~ How we are raised - all the conditioning we are given and how that conditioning created limiting beliefs in our psyche 

~ Many of you are probably familiar with the teachings of The Secret and The Law of Attraction - it’s based on the idea that your thoughts become your reality, and if we shift our thoughts to think more positively we will attract more positive things in our life.  

This helped me a lot in my life, but as a culture we have actually accelerated past these level of teachings that are all about the mind - which is very powerful but it does not take into account the power of the womb and the body.  These teachings were mostly about enforcing our power of will to command the forces of life to work on our behalf - what it doesn’t take into consideration is life is co-collaborative we are not always responsible - if something bad happens we think somehow we created it and are getting it wrong - we can actually feel ashamed like it is our fault which can lead to shame and self-blame.

The truth is life is always in every moment happening for us, not to us. And when we look at the model of the feminine  it is very cyclical — we are living a human experience - there are times of expansion and contraction - your spiritual path is not about how great you are manifesting but how you are responding to life. 

How you respond to what you are presented with. Sometimes bad things happen. But if you can really truly love yourself through those hard times, that is going to evolve you so far and you really open yourself to miracles.  The feminine model of manifestation the power of our thoughts are helpful, but it actually goes beyond into using your body, your womb and responding to life with love. 

The Solutions:

I’m going to share with you as much as I can today, and for those who want to go deeper, you’ll hear more about how you can do that at the end of the call, so be sure to stay for that.

Take a moment to meditate/journal - what is it I truly desire? What does my heart really long for?  Who is my higher self? 

1. Connect to Your Higher Self - Higher self meditation - how can I be more of this person right now?

When I first did this meditation I imagined the kind of home this woman lived in, I saw that she wore organic clothing, lots of light colors, she meditated in the mornings, her home was minimal. I began making decisions based on what my higher self would do. What she would buy.  And at the time it felt really far off but little by little I have been watching myself become more and more of her each day. 

Tip: Connect to your higher self and ask how you can become more like her

2. Tell the Truth:

What is not working for me? 

The moment you tell the truth to yourself - it sets you free

As soon as we tell the truth there is more space. 

When we bring your shame into the light - fear, rage, the moment those truths hit the light they can instantly transform, truth sets us free from the prisons we live in

Accepting our truth - we create the space for something new. 

Story - Last spring I wrote a letter of acceptance. I wrote out all the things that were not working in my life and I started it with I accept. I was having health challenges, some relationship challenges, money challenges, and I just wrote it all out. I accept that this is going on.  

I actually found this letter yesterday, and so much of what I was writing there has transformed. Taking the space to acknowledge and accept what was not working in my life was incredibly liberating, and taking that step actually created the space for everything to change. 

3. Clear the Space to Receive: 

Around this time, I found the book the Life changing magic of tidying up and I went to work. 

When we declutter our lives we actually create more space to receive. 

Face yourself with everything you own and ask - Do I love this? Does this spark joy? Does this represent who I am today?

There is a true alchemy that happens when we let go of what no longer serves us in our surroundings. It clears stuck energy and frees up space. 

Clothes, Books, Papers, Miscellaneous & Kitchen, Mementos

The funny thing is before I found this book I kept telling myself - I need a bigger home - I don’t have enough space, and I was driving myself crazy looking for a place to move. Now actually when I went through this book and cleared out so much, I suddenly stopped feeling that aching desire to move to a bigger house. My house transformed so much. It created new possibilities and my partner and I actually created an outdoor bathtub which we have been using so often. My home has been becoming more and more of a sanctuary. 

Another tip: Receiving compliments - a way you can practice opening yourself to receive - For example usually when we receive a compliment it can be so easy to deflect and immediately compliment the person who is giving it. it can actually feel uncomfortable at first to simply say thank you

4. Set Your Lens for Abundance:

• Making more money is not necessarily going to make you feel abundant however, feeling abundant will very likely lead to you having and making more money …

- The feminine is so much about trust. Trusting; Money comes when we trust money is going to come - the universe truly wants us to be abundant, but life isn’t all about getting our way, it is a co-collaboration it’s about how we respond

Let money flow - Find a balance of saving and giving. Connect with your body and spend money on things your heart lights up about. That money will come back. TRUST.

- When you look for the abundance all around you, that is what you will find and that is what you will attract more of 

• altar with things you have and things you want

5. Be the Queen: 

The Queen is a leader, she is sovereign, powerful, autonomous. But she is absolutely of service. She puts aside her fears in service to her people and something so much greater than herself. 

Much of my path has been about trusting in my voice. I have worked through some really tremendous fears and doubts around trusting myself and my voice. And I have known that this fear has absolutely been calling me deeper into my purpose. 
So what has really been helping me is the mantra: I am a Queen. I trust in my voice. Now when I step more and more into the role of the Queen, when I follow my intuition and I really deeply trust in myself, abundance follows.  This requires moving beyond our fears. This requires taking up more space.  There is an immensity of power that comes with being a Queen and as a Queen we accept that power. We step closer to our edge. We honor our power. And when we do that, abundance comes. 

Treat yourself with Exquisite Care: 

How would a Queen treat herself?

~ Body wisdom practice - Abhyanga - self oil massage - actually being aware and conscious and speaking to your body. I love you. Thank you. You matter. I bless you. Wow this practice has felt so loving, and literally makes me feel like a Queen.

~ Find your signature scent

~ Feed yourself delicious meals, take care of your body. 

6. Respond to Life with Love: 

~ Practice of Just Being 

~ Inevitably bad things happen - hard things happen - can you hold yourself with love 

~ How to Handle Comparison - story of Jillian - seeing other women as a reflection of your own greatness 

~ You are done with trying to fix your emotions and you are willing to feel them. That is the true invitation of the feminine to take her place in you. The feminine is all about wrapping her essence arms around the parts of you that feel separate or split from their wholeness so they can be loved back into being. 

~ If there is something you really want to manifest there is a good chance that part of you does not want it, see if you can journal with that part of yourself, hold her, understand her, listen to her and gain deeper clarity into why you haven’t been receiving what it is you want so badly

7. Save and Give

Having enough - saving and giving are two ways to tell your mind and your body, I have enough - you begin to create subliminal messages that i have enough - and when you are in a state of enough - you are not attached and more comes to you 

~ Think about the organizations you want to give to and give consistently. The organization I love to give to is Amma - amma.org - she has so many service projects around the world and I really trust my giving is put to good use 

~ I’ve also been practicing being more generous with friends, every time I do this, the opposite of what my fear mind wants to do - It feels so healing - Shifting a mindset of scarcity (Story of Quan Yin)

8. Surround Yourself With What You Love:

Pleasure is an antidote to our fear, doubt and worry. When we are in enjoyment - we expand our magnetic field and we attract the right people and situations to us

- Make a list of what brings you Pleasure 

- some items on my list include: raspberries, roses, a clean space without clutter, light, warmth, bubble baths, friend dates, clean clothes from the dryer, holding my cat, sunsets, leading calls like this one, singing, red lipstick, yoga, giving gifts and surprising people I love

9. Release Attachments:
~ Story of Vipassana Center, I’ve been with my beloved for about 5 1/2 years, and for the last year I’ve had a pretty strong desire to get engaged. Vipassana Retreat - realized I was thinking about it so much - I was putting so much of my attention and energy on something I didn’t have, I was putting pressure on myself to make something different than what it was, and I realized the absolute misery I was putting myself through. So much about the vipassana practice is about PATIENCE. I allowed myself for hour after hour to be with my breath and I had a visceral experience that I was the cause of my own misery. I was causing my own suffering by focusing SO MUCH on what I didn’t have.  

Cried for a long time in one of the silent meditations because I just felt so sorry - I realized I had such a loving partner and the things I loved most about him and our relationship was: sharing our dharma of teaching and singing together, of spending time in beautiful natural environments and going out to dinner sometimes - that was what brought me true, genuine happiness. I realized instead of focusing on what I didn’t have that was what I needed to focus on. When I did, our joy increased our relationship strengthened, and low and behold 3 months after that retreat, my partner proposed to me. 

~ Feminine Abundance is about co creating with life - letting go and trusting

10. Practice The Art of Feminine Abundance (A Feminine Approach to Manifestation) : 

I recently heard this story from my mentor Marin Bach-Antonson: The Story of a man who was studying a tribe and the lead tribesman invited the man to go with him to the top of the mountain to perform a ritual for rain...

He was honored and went with him wondering what dance/instruments he would use. He got to the top and stood with his palms open - 5 minutes passed and he said - ok we’re done, let’s go.  What did you do? I felt the rain on my skin, I felt the puddles beneath my feet. I felt with all my senses.  

And it rained. 

Meditation - body prayer : Feeling your body, your womb and anchoring it into the Earth

Call to Action

• So I know I shared a lot today, a lot to practice and to implement. Now some of you may run with the information and start using it and create huge shifts in your life - and I also imagine there are some of you that want to go deeper. You want community, you want a guide. You want the support and the accountability of a mentor. 
• So for those of you who feel called to go deeper, I invite you to my latest program, The Sovereign Circle.  (Switch to Screen share)

Closing: 

May we join together as the sovereign women we are. May we honor the light within our heart, and step more and more each day into the role of our highest selves. 

I honor you sister for being here with us today, and I bow to you Namaste.

038 | Relationships, New Motherhood & The Role of the Priestess with Katie Burke

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Just days ago this amazing woman, Katie Burke gave birth to her second child. I was lucky to sit down with Katie in early September when she was 32 weeks pregnant to hear about her role as a Priestess, the birth of her first child, and navigating marriage, a business, and family all while being on a personal growth journey of ascension and awakening.

Sitting down to talk with Katie felt like reuniting with an old friend. I decided to share the video of our conversation today as well so you can get a behind-the-scenes look into our intimate conversation.

In this episode we discussed:

• The magic of conceiving and giving birth to her first child
• What it means (to Katie) to be a Priestess
• Moving through fear and doubt around claiming the role of the Priestess
• Mary Magdalene, Isis and the guides that came to Katie during her awakening 
• How to navigate your personal growth while being in a marriage
• Tips on making it through hard times in a relationship while being on an awakening path together
• How to connect with your guides and open your own channels of communication with divine guidance and intuition
• What's to come in Katie's business 

Stay in touch with Katie:

• Katie's Website
• Instagram

---

Formally a digital marketing guru and graduate student of strategic communication, Katie Burke began her Divine Feminine Awakening and remembering when she conceived her daughter. This journey of self-healing and radical self-worth led to the Modern Priestess Movement and her own self-actualization.

Katie administers the Feminine expression of Christ Consciousness coming from the spiritual traditions of Mary Magdalene, and the Ancient Egyptian Teachings of Isis & Hathor.  She currently is pregnant with her second child and enjoying the summer with her daughter and leading bi-monthly meditations with her partner, Ben Burke. 

011 | 4 Keys to Feminine Leadership with Meredith Rom

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A few months ago I sat down to be interviewed by Luna Love, the host of the  Ladies Who Lead Podcast.  I had a great time sharing about my personal story of how I came to do the work I am doing today.  

I talked with Luna about growing up in New York, what inspired me to take a leap to move to California after college, become a yoga teacher, travel to India and eventually start my own business.  

I decided to share this interview on the  Rising Women Leaders Podcast  so you can hear about  my  "4 Keys to Feminine Leadership"  as well as the women who have inspired me most over recent years.

"When you share your fear, it starts to lose its charge."

Here's what else you'll find in this  episode:

• My personal process of how I execute my creative ideas
• How I let go of "distractions" of alcohol, sugar, and busy-ness in my life to listen to my body's wisdom and needs 
• How I moved from a fear of self-expression and being seen to becoming a yoga teacher and entrepreneur
• My dark night of the soul  - how I knew I reached my breaking point where I needed to make a big shift in my life 
• How I discovered yoga  and met my first spiritual teacher, Amma

"If I feel fear, but even just a little bit of excitement, I know that's a good sign for me to walk closer to it..."

• How I handle my inner critic voice and limiting beliefs
• Practices to listen to your body wisdom, face your fears, and create layers of support in your life 
• The story of what happened when I shared my first song on the harmonium 
• How I call  upon a higher power to manifest my desires
• The women who have inspired me the most in business and life
• A sneak preview of details about the book  I've been writing for the last year about my travels in India

Did you enjoy this episode?  I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

Love, 
Meredith

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How to Lead "The Feminine Way"

Image by Elisha Yarrington

I see an awakening in women, especially in sweet, kind, soft, and nurturing women who are ready to stand up, express themselves, and share their voice. However, I know from personal experience that a lot can get in the way when stepping up to lead. 

I struggled with being a shy and sensitive person and wondered, "How I can I really stand out in a world with so many loud voices?"  I didn't quite know how to authentically express myself and take action.

Then I imagined the kind of world we would live in if there were loving, kind, and sensitive women in leadership roles. I imagined the kind of role models we would have for our children and the kind of healing that would take place on the global consciousness.

I knew I needed to make a shift.

When I imagined myself stepping up to lead in the way I really wanted to—teaching international retreats, empowering other women to find their voice, speaking in front of large crowds, and leading group programs—at first, I was terrified.

But then I realized this fear was telling me something about my future and my purpose: my fear was guiding me to the exact next step I needed to take in my life.

I believe our fears bring us closer to our purpose. 

I began taking action despite my fears and saw that tapping into my soft and sensitive side did not hold me back at all; instead, I found my feminine nature to be an asset in order to lead. 

As feminine beings, we do not need to change who we are to fit into the world around us. I have found we just need to be supported in facing our fears and listening to our intuition in order to make a bigger impact.

Here are the qualities I have found to be the most useful in tapping into my inner,  feminine leader:

Honor Intuition

Having access to my intuition has been one of my greatest assets to running my own business and stepping up as a leaderin my profession. When I take the time to go on a run or a dance class or sit down on my meditation seat first thing in the morning, I feel like I am continually gifted with amazing ideas. When I tap into my body's wisdom—my intuition—I know how and when to make decisions, and I can trust those decisions won't lead me astray.

Know When to Act and When to Be Patient

What I have found to be essential in facing my fears and taking action towards my dreams is the balance between the feminine and masculine within myself. Often, leaders step into their more "masculine" side when taking center stage and forget to honor the feminine qualities of intuition, patience, and self-love. 

It was important for me to take action, but it was also important to step back and acknowledge what I had done. I learned to find a balance by making time and space to vision and manifest while taking grounded action towards my dreams. When I created the space for my creative, feminine nature, I suddenly found myself more ready to take big stepsin my career.

Develop a Consistent Self-Care Routine

After I faced a fear, I discovered it was so important to rest into self-love and self-care. That was when I accepted and nurtured myself for exactly where I was. I gave myself permission not to have to change too fast. This has been key in avoiding potential "burnout." 

Now when I take a big step, I remember to honor myself by taking a bath, spending a weekend with my girlfriends, or knowing when to do nothing at all. It is this time off that recharges me and gets me ready for my next big step.

Find Support Through Sisterhood

For years, I have been going on runs down the road outside my house amidst rolling hills and vineyards. There is an uphill incline for the last stretch and still, every time, I am out of breath and unsure if I can make it.

One day, I had a friend over and invited her to join me on my weekly run. On that final stretch, I felt my breath get heavier and I felt like I needed to stop. As I slowed down, my friend passed me to cross the finish. In that moment, everything inside me wanted to give up. I lost hope and lost my stamina. I started walking.

Then something magical happened.

Before she crossed the finish line, she stopped, turned around and started cheering for me. “Woohoo! You can do it!” she yelled. I looked up and smiled to see her cheering me on. Suddenly, I had the energy to keep going. She continued to clap and cheer me on as I crossed the finish line. With a little encouragement, I stopped thinking about my exhaustion, my aches, and my pain. My energy was completely restored.

I realized it was so much easier to cross the finish line when there was a sister there cheering me on. When I actively brought more women into my life, and was willing to share my challenges and struggles, I found the support through other women kept me moving forward. It was in those vulnerable spaces with other women that I gained more strength and courage to step out as a leader.

Have you been avoiding any of your innate feminine qualities?  If so, I invite you to try listening to your intuition, being patient, resting into self-care, and joining with other women to see just what kind of magic will happen in your life.

Calling in the Light~ Summer Solstice Retreat Invitation

It's finally here!  In a few hours I will be high in the sky on my way to Bali, Indonesia to live out a dream I have been holding for a long time...

I've been planning this adventure for the last eight months and cannot wait to find myself meditating in sacred temples, exploring the streets of Ubud and joining together with twelve women in the first Rising Women Leaders  Bali Retreat.

Many of you expressed interest in coming to this retreat in Bali, but ultimately decided it was too far for you to travel at this time, and I totally understand (I am currently on a twenty-something hour flight!)  

So for those of you seeking retreat and nourishment closer to home, I have great news for you today...

I will be teaming up with Karen Prosen and the Great Kosmic Kitchen for VESSEL: A 4-day rustic yoga retreat highlighting meditation, devotional art and herbalism as we call in the Summer Solstice.  

We will be gathering June 16 - 20 on the Mendocino Coast at Oz Farm, located only 3 hours North of San Francisco.  

You are invited to treat your body as a temple with yoga, hiking and herbal infused traditional foods as we join together to welcome the LIGHT.  Embrace the timeless wisdom of the self with meditation, art, ritual, and end the journey with a day of reverent silence.

Our highest intention is that you fall in love with your one body VESSEL and leave with the fortitude, knowledge and practices to walk on the pilgrimage of life more embodied, connected and lighter than ever. 

Some of the highlights include:

• Devotional Art:  How to Create Yantra Paintings with Karen
• Song Circles around the Fire with Mackenzie Myers
• Shamanic Journeying and Past Life Regressions with Karen
• Restorative, Vinyasa and Kundalini Yoga with Me 
• Delicious Herbal Meals and Rituals with The Great Kosmic Kitchen
• Yoga Nidra and Breathwork with Karen
• Relaxation on 240 acres of earth, river, meadow, forest and sky at Oz Farm
• Candlelit Dinners served with Ceremony
• Space to Unplug, Journal and Reconnect to Yourself
• A New Community to Welcome the Sun of the Summer Solstice With

I invite you to learn more and apply here.

I hope to see you at VESSEL, and in the meantime, stay tuned for more updates from my travels.

With Love, 

Meredith

P.S. If you missed my podcast interview with Karen, you can  listen here.

How I Married *Myself*

Last month on my birthday in Costa Rica I found myself alone in the ocean performing a ritual of marriage, to myself.  

I had just received a glorious massage and was feeling strong and embodied.  I followed my intuition to submerge myself in the water, and found myself calling in the four directions as my witness, then speaking my vows out loud.  

As soon as I finished speaking, a huge wave washed over me, and it was done.

In the days leading up to this experience, I wrote a blog post for Over the Moon Mag about "How to Marry Yourself," and was happy to have it published last month.   I invite you to check out the article and learn more about my experience below:
~
A few weeks ago, my boyfriend woke up from a dream where he was at his own wedding.  I excitedly listened to him recount the details, wondering if I was going to be in it.  “What did my dress look like? Were we on a beach? A church? In a field?” I wondered.

My daydreams were cut short when he said, “There was no bride. I was there, my family was there, but there was no bride.”

I looked at him, disappointed.

He continued, “Then I looked to the priest and I realized I was the priest. I was the groom AND the priest. I was literally, ‘marrying myself.’”

I’ve heard of self-marriage before but had never felt the call to do it myself. But after hearing this dream from my partner, I began to wonder about my own dreams of marriage.

I realized I had placed a lot of energy on waiting for that “perfect magical moment” when my boyfriend would propose to me and all of my problems would disappear. 

I realized I had placed a lot on the idea of marriage, subconsciously carrying the beliefs:

“When I’m married, then I’ll feel safe.”

“When I’m married, then I’ll be able to take bigger risks.”

“When I’m married, then I’ll feel more complete, knowing I’ve lived out this childhood dream.”

But here I found myself writing this article on the beaches of Costa Rica, a few days before my birthday, where I took myself on a self-love adventure.

I thought to myself, “If I can leave the country and treat myself to this kind of trip, why not marry myself too?”

I realized that even if I do get married one day, wouldn’t it be a good idea if my partner and I had already established a firm commitment first to ourselves?

So I sat down and wrote out my vows. 

I found a ring and created a simple ritual to perform on my birthday. 

The whole process came quite intuitively to me, so I thought I’d share the steps I used in case you feel the call to marry yourself as well…

1.  Write your Vows

Take some time to free write about what commitments you want to make to yourself.  They can be broad or specific.  I chose to keep mine very simple as I wanted to remember them easily and reference them often.  They looked a little something like this:

I vow to honor, love and value you.

I vow to help you feel safe, secure and provided for.

I vow to take care of your body with delicious, home cooked meals.

I vow to give you space to rest and play.

I vow to hold you by the hand to face your fears and encourage you every step of the way.

I vow to be present with you and to listen deeply to your needs.

I vow to live in gratitude for all you are and all you bring to my life.

I vow to love you unconditionally and hold space for your emotions.

I vow to experience the beauty and magic of life by your side.

2.  Adorn Yourself

In some cultures, adornment is seen as a spiritual practice.  I know when I take the time to beautify myself, to put on a new outfit, a little tinted lipgloss and a piece of jewelry I save for special occasions, I feel a deep sense of beauty on the inside as well as the outside. The key here is to FEEL beautiful.  Ask yourself what would that entail…

You can also think about if you want to have a special ring or piece of jewelry to symbolize your vows to yourself.  Maybe you bring new meaning to a piece you already have, or find something new to adorn yourself with.  Then whenever you look at it, you can remember the vows you promised to uphold. 

3.  Create a Ritual

Think about what kind of setting you want to be in when you share your vows.  Do you want to be alone?  Or with people who love and support you?   Do you want to be in nature?  Or in another location with special meaning? 

When you find just the right setting, take a few moments to center in.  Close your eyes and feel your breath.  Take a few moments to call in the directions, or any teachers, guides or angels you feel connected to.  If this is all new to you, you may like to call upon the support of a priestess to officiate the ceremony. 

Then, when it’s time, read your vows out loud.  You may feel more comfortable doing this alone, or in a circle of other women to be seen.  Listen to your intuition.

When you’re done, celebrate, and remember you don’t need anyone or anything outside of yourself to be whole.  It’s all already there.  Sometimes all it takes is a little intention and ritual to remember the love you already have inside.

I’d love to hear if you decide to create your own ceremony, so feel free to let me know how it goes in the comments.  <3

My #1 Cure For When I'm Feeling Depressed

A couple weeks ago I was sitting on the beach in Costa Rica and everything on the outside was perfect: the sun was shining, the sky was blue, I was surrounded by palm trees and I knew I had worked hard to take myself on a vacation.  

Then out of no where I started feeling sad.  

"What's wrong?" I wondered.

I turned to my meditation practice, where I was able to watch my sensations and breath without judgement or need to change anything.  I felt much better, afterwards but I could tell, something was still off.

The next day I arrived at the yoga retreat I had traveled all the way to Costa Rica to attend.  As soon as I arrived, my spirits began to lift as I met a beautiful new group of people.  But that evening, I could feel a little bit of sadness still with me.  I decided to let it be.

Then a few days into the retreat I had this super magical moment.  Our retreat leader, Sianna, invited me to play a song on the harmonium.  I walked up to the front of the room and calmly accepted the invitation.  I sang a chant I had been working on at home, and everyone sang with me.  

I walked back to my seat feeling a rush of joy and peace.

I realized that even more than being surrounded by community, eating delicious food and taking care of my body, my soul was yearning to share my gifts.  

It was when I had an opportunity to give back, to do something I loved and also something that was a little scary, that everything changed.  I spent the rest of the week on cloud nine because I had a moment where my soul had been seen.

"Women have a soul need to express themselves."  
~Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes

I've always found retreats to be a safe and healing space to practice being in my voice and sharing my gifts, and that's why I created opportunities just like this in the Rising Women Leaders Bali Retreat.

I knew it was important to create a space for community and friendships to form, to have delicious food, and daily yoga, but I also wanted to create opportunities for women to inquire about and discover their innate gifts.

The theme of the week in our Bali Retreat is self-expression:  Expression through song, dance, writing, yoga and ritual.  

Workshops include: a cacao ceremony, how to reframe limiting beliefs, a new moon manifestation ritual, designing your dream life, opening the voice and self-expression through dance (to name a few!).

Applications are only open for 5 more days...until this Friday, April 1st.

If you've been considering joining us, I encourage you to take the leap and apply!

Now if you've been feeling stuck or sad, I'm wondering how can YOU start sharing YOUR gifts?  

Maybe it's time to take out the art supplies, teach a class, read your writing out loud, or cook a meal for someone you love.

Ask yourself:   What do I love?  How can I be seen?  Where can I share and give more of myself?  

It may feel a little scary, unfamiliar or vulnerable, but know that I am right here cheering you on.  I would love nothing more than for you to wake up everyday feeling empowered and alive knowing your soul is being seen and expressed.

With love, 
Meredith

4 Questions to Ask Yourself When You're In A Rut

Last week I was on my first coaching call with a woman who had been going through several months of feeling depressed.  "I'm in a rut.  I don't wake up feeling happy like I used to.  I know I'm a happy person, but for some reason, I can't access that feeling right now.  I don't know what to do or where to start,"  she said.

I asked her questions about her life and found out about her stressful 50+ hour per week job, challenges in her relationship, and lack of connection to her body because of how much she was working.  As I listened actively with compassion and acknowledged her for all she had been going through, a lightbulb went off in my mind and I knew the exact next questions to ask her.  

Through my years of coaching women to find their voice, face their fears and manifest a new vision for their life, I have found there are four key areas that we can look at to lead us to greater joy, love and fulfillment.  I have found when I am sharing my gifts, facing my fears, taking care of my body, and creating structures of support around myself, I can't help but feel happy. 

The next time you are going through a rut, or feeling depressed, I invite you to ask these 4 questions:

1. Am I sharing my gifts to the fullest capacity?

It can feel pretty hard to be happy when we know we have strengths and skills that aren't being utilized.  This is why even when my clients are working at full-time jobs and don't plan to leave, I encourage them to find ways to share their natural and innate gifts either through their work or outside of it.  I also support new entrepreneurs who are ready to turn those gifts into their full-time work.  Every time, I have seen when we are finding ways to honor and share our gifts, it leads to a sense of fulfillment, wonder and joy.

2. When was the last time I stepped outside my comfort zone?

I need to consistently step outside my comfort zone in order to feel more alive.  I used to be so afraid to teach yoga, it was one of my biggest fears, but when I jumped in and did it anyway, I felt so full of life and proud of myself.  Now I have to find new ways to challenge myself, so twice a month I show up to a public speaking group where I get to tap into that feeling of nervousness and then feel proud of myself after giving a speech.

Eleanor Roosevelt says, "The very next thing you should be doing is what scares you the most."  So what is something that scares you?  Can you commit to facing that fear, knowing how good it will make you feel?

3. Am I listening to my body's wisdom?

Our bodies are full with wisdom and send us very clear signals when something needs to shift in our lives.  We develop pain, skin problems, or other symptoms when something is not right.  It is our job to listen to those signals instead of pushing them away.

I believe intuition is so important because it guides us closer to our purpose.  When we numb out the wisdom of our bodies, we lose our connection to divine guidance, we forget why we are here, and as a result can easily suffer from depression or feelings of meaninglessness.

However:

When we use our intuition, we are guided to our highest potential as beings and are able to live more meaningful, synchronous and connected lives.

The place to start, is simply taking good care of your body.  Eat well, take time to rest, exercise, do yoga, meditate.  When we are doing the simple acts of self-love and self-care, our body's wisdom will start revealing itself to us and we will know the next steps to take to lead us to greater joy.

4. What kind of support do I need?

I remember recently when I was going through a difficult time, I found myself relying mostly on my partner.  However, it became really difficult when my partner went away for two weeks and I didn't have him to listen to what I was going through. 

I told my friend Kevin about it and he shared a metaphor with me.  “If you’re only relying on one person in your life, it’s like you’re standing on top of a flagpole.  That’s a lot of pressure on one person, especially if his or her life is calling him or her to be elsewhere.” 

I imagined myself standing on top of a flagpole, shaky and worried of falling.

He continued, “However, if you become like a spider, with many legs supporting you, it’s okay if one of them takes a break.  You still have seven other legs to lean on.” 

When you are supported in all directions, your weight is evenly distributed.  It is so much healthier.

I think it’s really easy to get swept up in relying on just one person for our emotional, physical and mental needs.

However, when we create more structures of support through friendships, therapy, coaching, healers, and especially in community, we can really thrive.

So what kind of support could you need through this hard time?  Is it more friendship?  With women? With men?  Or could it be a therapist or coach that would be the best kind of support to you? 

When we are able to set up multiple layers of support around ourselves, no matter what happens, there will always be someone to turn to when you're looking for someone to listen. 

If you don't know where to start when it comes to sharing your gifts, facing your fears, listening to your body's wisdom, I invite you to ask for support.  I would love to connect with you more, hear what you have been going through and see how I may be able to support you, or point you in the right direction.  You're always welcome to contact me personally here.

The Power of Ritual

Last September I sat in a yurt near Yosemite sitting at an altar in each of the four directions with the question, "How do I fully express myself? I was at Erica Jago's EARTH retreat where Erica had just taught us a powerful exercise from the Native American tradition about how to use the 4 directions to gain more clarity in our lives.

Through the exercise, I answered questions like, "What was I like as a child?"  "What am I grateful for?" "What wisdom have I gained?" "What brings me joy?" and "What are the new possibilities for my life?"  I drew a card from the tarot for each direction, sat, wrote, and meditated on these questions.

The whole process took about an hour, and afterwards I left with a map of exactly what I needed to do over the next year to fully express myself.

I knew I needed to sing, dance, write, and speak in front of large groups.  However, I had so much fear even just thinking about it.  Erica then placed an empty glass jar in the center of the room and said, "Now, write your fears on a piece of paper and place them in the jar.  On the Full moon we are going to burn them."

Through the exercise, I discovered I needed to meet monthly with other women on the full or new moons as a space to be vulnerable so that I could gather strength and courage.  I knew I needed to join the public speaking group I was avoiding because it would give me the space to practice, and I knew I needed to start singing, dancing and playing kirtan in front of others.

On the Full moon, Erica held a powerful ritual.  Each person shared the art they had created over the week, the insights they had gained and released their fears, and their art in the fire.

One by one, we shared the insights we had gained over the weekend - what we were releasing and what we were stepping into.

I had my harmonium with me, and I knew it was time to play it in front of the group.  I openly shared my fears and blocks I have had around self-expression.  As I did, tears streamed down my face as I imagined the little girl inside myself who had been closed down for so long.

Then, I sang the mantra, Aad Guray Nameh, The Mangala Charan, a mantra to help us all overcome self-doubt and create a protective field of light.

Everyone sang with me.

In that moment I was witnessed in releasing a deep rooted fear, and for the first time, was fully witnessed in sharing my singing voice.  That moment carried so much power and healing.

A ritual is a space to be witnessed in your truth and supported by your sisters.  It is a space to honor the rites of passage in your life.

Rituals infuse magic, intention and sacredness into our daily lives.  A ritual can turn a mundane act done without awareness into a sacred act with clarity and purpose.  Slowing down to say a blessing before a meal changes the experience.  Meditation, singing, or lighting a candle imbues a moment of peace and serenity into a busy day.

Ritual can also be this healing space where women come together to honor a specific purpose.   These rituals may honor transitions, letting go, grieving, the lunar cycle or the change of seasons. 

Participating in ritual has been one of the most healing ways to mark a big transition in my life.  Ritual has provided a space for me to be fully seen, acknowledged and supported.  After participating in ritual, I feel more confident and courageous to share myself with the world.

I had no idea the kind of transformation that would take place over the next year.  I went home, with a map in my hands, knowing exactly what I needed to do to fully express myself.

Without that ritual, I don't know if I would have had the courage to go on my first teaching and singing tour, to join a public speaking group, deliver toasts and speeches, dance without self-consciousness, and devote myself to writing and art.

Ritual helped me release my fears and feel supported in taking action towards my dreams.  It was a way to mark a new beginning and enter into a new way of living.

Now I'd love to hear:

What rites of passage have you gone through that you would like to honor?  

What fears are you ready to release and what new beginning are you stepping into?  Share with us in the comments.

I encourage you to create your own ritual, or join us in our Way of the Priestess program to create one with us there.

With love, Meredith

How I Fell in Love with My Meditation Practice

Over my career as a yoga teacher I have spoken to many women who strive to keep up a home yoga or meditation practice, but quickly give it up when life gets busy. 

I used to constantly struggle with keeping up a morning practice and would feel guilty when I fell off track.  I tried numerous ways to keep up a practice, but had a hard time keeping it up and wondered, “Why is it so hard for me to keep a consistent connection to spirit?”

I know that when I am connected, and do take out that time in the morning to myself, I am so much more present, calm and compassionate throughout my day.  I know that’s when I rely less on others and am more in tune to my inner guide. 

When I connect to the love within myself, I am not constantly searching for it in my relationship or places outside of myself.

I’ve found more than anything else, when I made my meditation practice enjoyable, it became sustainable.

I knew I wasn’t going to wake up every morning to sit quietly and do something I dreaded.  I had to lure myself into my meditation practice.  I had to bring in the romance.

Gabby Bernstein says, “I made spirit my boyfriend.”  When she did that, everything else in her life began to flourish.  When we fall in love with spirit, we begin to attract and manifest what we want and need in our lives easily.

I know how hard it can be to keep up a daily meditation practice, so I wanted to share the top ways that helped me fall in love with spirit and keep my morning practice sustainable…

I learned to:

Shift from Discipline to Devotion

I used to live in a house where my roommates and I practiced silent meditation together for one hour in the morning and one hour in the evening.  The practice became so disciplined that I began to avoid it altogether.  Even though I willingly created the rules, when I felt constricted, all I wanted to do was break them.

I eventually moved out of the house, and went months with no meditation practice.  My rebellious side wanted to take back control.  After awhile, I began to miss those solitary moments with my breath, but I knew I had to approach my practice in a different way.  I remembered something my yoga teacher had said about developing a home yoga practice, “No one is making you do it.  You’re doing it for yourself.  Think of it as a devotion, rather than a discipline.”

Shifting my perspective and realizing, no one was making my do it, but rather I was showing up in devotion to myself and to spirit changed everything.  I suddenly was able to show up to my meditation pillow, and my mat with ease.

Change it Up

When my practice was the same silent sitting everyday, I got bored and went back into avoidance.  I learned I needed to change it up once in awhile, even if it was a slight change to stay with it.  Some mornings my practice includes yoga, some mornings it is pranayama, and sometimes it is mostly silent meditation.  When I prioritized devotion over the structure, I was able to let go of the guilt and keep coming back to my meditation seat.

Call on an Archetype

I began connecting to archetypes in my meditation after reading Deepak Chopra’s book, Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire.  I would imagine a heroine, chief or goddess I felt connected to and began to ask, “Please express yourself through me.”  Over many days of connecting to the powers and attributes of someone I looked up to, I began to embody the qualities myself.

Move and Breathe First

What many people often struggle with when meditating is a “busy mind.”  The Indian guru Osho says you need to get all the garbage out of the mind first before you can get anywhere in silent meditation.  The best ways I have found to “get the garbage out” is to breath and move my body.  That could mean going on a run first, putting on music and dancing or shaking, or doing breath of fire or other kundalini breath work before silently meditating.  When I exert myself first, then sit silently, the experience becomes so still, silent and peaceful.

Bring in the ROMANCE

When I began to think of my morning practice as a devotion, I began to think of all the ways I could make my practice more enjoyable.  I bought an essential oils diffuser to create beautiful aromas of Rose and Geranium into the space.  I sat on a heating pad to feel warm and comfortable, I began my practice with singing, and made my altar a gorgeous representation of my devotion.  Every day I felt so happy waking up to my practice because of how loving and romantic it became.  This is the art of falling in love with yourself.

Connect to a Vision

After learning about the law of attraction, I began to bring manifestation to my morning practice.  I wrote out, in the present tense what I wanted to create in my life and in the world.  I connected to how I wanted to wake up and feel everyday.  I connected to why I wanted what I wanted, and every morning, read this vision out loud.  Every morning then became not only a devotion to myself and to spirit, but a devotion to what I wanted in my life and for the world.

Set a Container (A   begin and end date)

In order to create a new healthy, habit, it helps to choose a set number of days to do your practice for.  Feel free to start small and say something like, “For the next seven days I am going to do this practice.”  Put a reminder in your calendar, an alert on your phone, or a note on your bedside table to stick to it.  Tell yourself, “If resistance comes up, I am going to just sit down and do the practice, only for these seven days.  If I still don’t want to do it after these seven days I don’t have to anymore.”  Chances are, you will be able to keep it going after the set amount of time you create.

I choose to do my practices in forty day increments.  Forty days is historically known as a sacred time period for enacting change.  It can clear old subconscious patterns, set up new positive patterns, and change your life for the better. At the end of every forty day cycle, I celebrate and reflect on what has changed in my life.

Get Others Involved

It helps to know there are other people out there meditating with you.  Try calling up a friend and creating an accountability partner.  I began a whole program based around creating a vision and meditating with other women for forty days because I wanted to create that accountability for myself and others.  The program grew to include women in five continents.  I began to see when I meditate, I am not just meditating for myself, but I am meditating for the visions of women all over the world.

Whether you are just starting a meditation practice, or you’re a seasoned meditator, try these tips when you sit down for your practice to fall in love with your own connection to spirit.

Seven Signs You're A Modern Day Priestess

When I was growing up and heard the word "priestess," I thought of boring sermons at church, wearing clothes I didn't feel comfortable in and being forced to sit quietly when I wanted to play outside. I didn't know much about what it meant to be one other than it was probably the female version of a "priest." As a playful young girl, the thought of becoming a female priest sounded pretty mundane.

Then one day, a friend wrote out my numerology. It was the number eleven, which also breaks down to two. In tarot, the eleven (or two) corresponds to the archetype of the High Priestess. She told me in ancient times, they were known for having a heightened contact to other realms through intuition and dreams. The community would seek counsel from them to know what actions to take in their lives.

I thought about my life and how I had always had a heightened sense of intuition; of being able to feel into a situation in order to make a decision. I thought of how friends were naturally drawn to me for guidance and consolation during difficult times.

Maybe I was a priestess after all.

Over a few months, I felt more and more connected to this archetype and dove into books and articles on the topic. I began to see: this modern day mystic lives anything but a mundane life. Her life is rich in dreams, intuition, ritual, feminine leadership and a connection to the divine.

Here are seven signs there is a modern day priestess awakening within you:

Your  Calling is to be of Service

To be a leader, you must first learn to serve. —Jennie Mira

The priestess is not a teacher or leader on a pedestal, but rather, she is of the highest service.  She is in service to her community and to her calling.  Being of service is not about placing anyone above or below, but rather creating a mutual relationship of respect between the initiate and the women she serves.

Her work is to become a channel, a vessel to serve the highest good of the divine.  She must maintain a practice of self-care to be the most present and abundant in her ability to serve and become this channel.

Many women fantasize about goddesses wearing flowing robes, crowns and using magical tools, but in reality to stand in this role, one must be prepared "to be the last one in the rented hall, scraping candle wax droppings with a razor blade."  ~ Ruth Barrett

You are Highly Intuitive

She uses practices such as writing, dancing, movement, meditation, self-care and alone time to hone her ability to listen to her intuition. Our intuition is like a muscle that heightens when we pay attention to it. The more we can quiet the busyness of the mind, the more access we will have to the guidance of the divine and be able to step into this role and be a channel for those in need.

You Seek Out Ritual in Your Daily Life

Rituals infuse magic, intention and sacredness into our daily lives. A ritual can turn a mundane act done without awareness into a sacred act with clarity and purpose. Slowing down to say a blessing before a meal changes the experience. Meditation, singing, or lighting a candle imbues a moment of peace and serenity into a busy day.

Ritual can also be a healing space where women come together to honor a specific purpose. These rituals may honor transitions, letting go, grieving, the lunar cycle or the change of seasons. Participating in ritual has been one of the most healing ways to mark a big transition in my life. Ritual has provided a space for me to be fully seen, acknowledged and supported by my sisters. After participating in ritual, I feel more confident and courageous to share myself with the world.

Your Internal Clock is Synced with the Moon

In ancient times, women slept in tribes, often under the stars and the moon. Their menstrual cycles were in sync with each other and with the lunar cycles: bleeding at the new moon and ovulating at the full moon.

You may begin to be more in tune to the natural world and notice energy levels rise and fall. Going out to socialize will make more sense with the heightened energy of the full moon and slowing down to nest will feel perfect at the new moon. For a modern day priestess, creativity, energy levels and social needs begin to flow in tandem with the moon and tides.

You Are Highly Sensitive

You may notice how you can feel the energies of a room and have a heightened ability to feel other people's emotions. This can be difficult for highly sensitive women because the world may sometimes feel like "too much."

In my last program, one of the women "came out" as a HSP (highly sensitive person) and nearly all the others spoke up to share how much they related to and supported her. As a highly sensitive person, you may feel alone in a world of extroverted and gregarious people, however we often forget that heightened sensitivity is a gift.  You can fuel your feelings and emotions into writing, singing, and listening with a deeper level of compassion for others.

You Have Prophetic Dreams

Have you ever dreamt something and realized it became your reality a week later? A feminine mystic often turns to her dreams for guidance. Dreams are a powerful place to explore questions in your life and to connect to the desires of your subconscious self.

One practice I use often is re-entering dreams. When you are unsure of how to decipher the symbols or occurrences of a dream, close your eyes and imagine yourself back in the space. Then go to characters and objects one at a time and ask, "What do you have to show me?" You will probably be surprised with the answers your subconscious comes up with.

You Are Naturally Drawn to Holding Space

The twenty-first century priestess becomes the container who helps create sacred space wherein women can connect with the Goddess within. —Ruth Barrett

An initiate can also be a space-holder. She creates the space for others to show up as they are. Have you noticed that people turn to you to guide them through an experience? Holding space is not about planning or knowing what to do or say. It is about becoming present to the moment. All that is needed is to tune into the energy of the person or the group; to listen and ask for guidance within.

Rising Women Leaders ~ Way of the Priestess Initiation Program

In the comments, I'd love to hear what a "priestess" means to you and how can you embody this role in your daily life?

---

Frequently Asked Questions:

How to Become One

If you are feeling an inner calling, chances are you have walked this path in many lifetimes. Becoming this archetype is about remembering your inherent sacredness and showing up as a vessel for the divine, to be of service to Creator, Great Spirit, God, Goddess energy and one’s community.

Priestess Defined

In modern times the noun “Priestess” is the title of a woman who has studied and trained, and has gained experience as a spiritual leader, spreading the knowledge of the spiritual teachings she has learned and embodied. She teaches from her direct experience and the journey itself of becoming has shaped her and prepared her for this role.

It helps to have community and guidance on the path of remembrance, to have a container of initiation with other sisters to claim your role and share your vows on the path, but one can also self-initiate. There is no one way for one to become this archetype, however reading books, and joining a program with a guide you resonate with can be very helpful on the path.

What’s a High Priestess?

This is one who has walked the path long enough to have gained deep experience and knowledge in service, ritual facilitation and leadership skills.

In ancient times these wise women were often born into royal families in places such as Crete, Egypt and Anatolia. The rituals they performed ensured fertility and prosperity for the villages. They were prepared for their role since childhood and were educated for religious roles and duties.

In modern times the noun “Priestess” is the title of a woman who has studied and trained within a lineage, and has gained experience as a spiritual leader, teacher or facilitator to create ritual and spread the knowledge of the spiritual teachings she has embodied through direct experience.

How to Cultivate Energy of this Role

In order to cultivate this energy, one must first find a state of empty presence. Emptying the busy-ness of the mind by listening to the breath allows one to develop the sensitivity needed to listen to the quiet whispers of the heart and soul. Underneath the surface of our thoughts, there is a deeper knowing, an intuition that exists. 

The body is the vessel, the chalice, to receive higher wisdom and to bring that wisdom to those around her. For some people this will look like emanating a spiritual frequency, while for others it may look like having a spiritual business, being a healer and a guide for others.

We often brings women together to facilitate women’s circles and rituals, especially for the High Holy Days of the Year: The Winter Solstice, Imbolc, Spring Equinox, Beltane, Summer Solstice, Lammas, Autumn Equinox and Samhain.

You may feel highly intuitive, deeply connected to nature and tuned into the cycles of the moon. One can cultivate the energy of this role by spending more time in nature, emptying thoughts, and participating in ritual alone or with others.

Definition: Signs You Are Called

She is here first and foremost to serve. She brings the formless into form through deep listening and communion with the divine.

She is here to raise the collective consciousness and to contribute in her own unique way, becoming a frequency of divine love.

She is here to anchor the frequency of the divine feminine, to restore balance on our planet and support ascension with an energetic shift.

There are so many ways you can serve during this time of great evolution and awakening, read this article to learn six pillars of this sacred path.

But it also can be very lonely to walk this path. Do you ever struggle with the fear of being seen? The fear of being judged? Of being isolated and alone? Or being too highly sensitive? If so, read this article to learn how to heal these wounds.

Where to Find One in Modern Day Life

You may be surprised to discover these mystics exist even in your community. More and more women are awakening to their truth and long to come together as we did in ancient times.

While you can travel to a place like Bali to meet someone in an ancient lineage like Ida Resi Alit, you can also look in your community for women’s moon circles and gatherings honoring the High Holy Days to find other women feeling called to this Path. (Sometimes even just a facebook events search or google search can lead you to connect with more women on the path). Women who are walking the path of the Initiate are often offering these types of circles publicly or online. 

You can also join a virtual community like the Rising Women Leaders Initiation program and book a free call to see if our community could be a good fit for the next steps on your path.

What is the Initiation Path?

This path includes the initiations one walks through in their everyday life to be shaped into a spiritual leader. In ancient times we were brought to mystery schools to learn the sacred arts, including skills such as temple dance, ritual facilitation, energy healing, tarot, developing psychic abilities, dream interpretation, sacred touch, medicine making, herbalism, nature communication, astrology, meditation, astral travel, moon wisdom, leadership skills, yoga and spiritual study, immaculate conception, essential oil making, the art of anointing, midwifery, etc.

However today, we don’t have these ancient mystery schools set up in the same way. When we feel the call, we have to look for the signs in our life to lead us on the path, because often there is not someone telling us where to go or how to hone our skills. Although one can feel lonely or lost at times, we can also see everything in life as our mystery school to learn, grow and ascend. One can also join a program, or apprentice with a teacher to learn these sacred arts.

How to Answer the Call if You Feel It

The path to becoming begins with a calling. You begin to hear a quiet inner voice speaking to your spirit, awakening you to the knowledge that your life has a purpose. Chances are you have walked this path for a very long time, and your soul begins to remember.

When you hear the word, “Priestess,” there is a familiarity, a curiosity that is awakened. Becoming is a deep and devotional process of learning how to serve in connection with Source, the Divine, the Goddess, all that is.  Sometimes this includes becoming familiar with the Dark Goddess energy, which is another facet of the divine feminine.

Spiritual service is about opening our heart, mind and hands and letting the energy of the divine work through us.

For some people, the path is about becoming a frequency, and allowing it to emanate in all that we do. For others, it will look more like a counselor, a guide and a facilitator of ritual and women’s circles.

In any case, walking this path can feel very lonely, and it helps to have guidance, community and mentorship when you feel the call. To answer, it is so helpful to look for others who are walking this path, whether you find them online or in person in your community.

What is Ritual?

Rituals infuse magic, intention and sacredness into our daily lives.  Ritual could be simple such as a womb clearing with a yoni steam, or a blessing way for a mother to be. Ritual could be a time to honor a new phase of the year, or a way to release the old and welcome the new.

Are Goddess Rituals Safe? What Goes on During Ceremony?

While the safety of a ritual depends on the safety of a container and the skill of the facilitator, rituals are generally not only safe but inspiring and transformational.

Ritual often marks what is formally beginning or ending and the purpose of a ritual or ceremony is transformation. People may come together to honor a specific purpose. These rituals may honor transitions, letting go, grieving, the lunar cycle or the change of seasons. 

Ritual can be a healing and powerful way to mark a big transition in life. Rituals and ceremonies provide a space for one to be fully seen, acknowledged and supported. It can initiate a life change or attitude, facilitate a change already in process or name and claim a change or transformation that has already occurred.

Sisterhood Ritual calls upon our intuition, and our ability to improvise and be present in the moment. Symbols are often used to represent the transition - they are a vehicle for human awareness, for us to access this shift or change in the psyche. 

Witnessing or being witnessed is also a powerful part of a group ritual. It is the opportunity to create a supportive space for each other to mark the transition. 

Ritual may also be done on one's own, calling in the witness of spirit and the unseen realms. To become more familiar with the art of ritual, consider joining us in our program

How Do I Know if I Am On the Path?

In ancient times theses healers were often born into royal families and trained in religious duties to be of service in the temples and churches. In modern terms, this woman is one who has walked the path long enough to have gained deep experience and knowledge in service, ritual facilitation and leadership skills.

What Are the Signs of Awakening?

The first sign of an awakening within you is the feeling of a calling of a higher purpose. Certain activities in life may not have the same level of fulfillment, for example working at a job that does not have a deeper meaning. This is a sign your soul is being called to a higher purpose, to serve, to love and to devote one’s life to the divine. The next sign may be that when you hear the word, “priestess,” there is a familiarity, a recognition and inner knowing, born with love. You may feel drawn to the card in the tarot deck, be deeply connected to nature and the moon, or you may be highly intuitive, sensitive, and/or have vivid dreams. 

What Does it Even Mean?

We are here first and foremost to serve. To bring the formless into form through deep listening and communion with the divine.  She is here to raise the collective consciousness and to contribute in her own unique way, becoming a frequency of divine love.  She is here to anchor the frequency of the divine feminine, to restore balance on our planet and support ascension through with an energetic shift.  For some people this may look like facilitating ritual and circles in her community, offering healing sessions, or simply embodying a divine frequency of love.

Is This a Religious Path?

Many people feeling the call consider themselves spiritual rather than religious. However there are traditions that date back to ancient forms of Christianity, Egyptian, Wiccan and Hebrew religions. Modern roles include the ancient lineage of the rose, dating back to Mother Mary, Mary Magdalene, and Egyptian goddesses like Isis and Hathor. These goddesses of the ancient past relate to stories of a new earth.

Ancient Egypt

When the royal families ruled ancient Egypt, the female Priests had high roles in the temples. The Pharaoh would seek counsel with the High Priests and would connect to the divine realms and perform ritual on behalf of the villages and royal family. These roles were honored and revered, especially in times of war or famine. Some believe Egyptian goddesses include Isis, Hathor, Sekhmet. Honored female High Priests were depicted on the walls of the temples, and some temples were made in their honor.

Am I One? How to Know

If you feel you were one in a past life, and have a mystical awakening in you now, you may be naturally drawn to the healing arts, ritual and holding space for others. You may be considered “highly sensitive” and may have heightened intuitive or psychic skills. You may have a gift working with essential oils or herbs, have a healing touch in your hands, and/or carry a healing quality that others are drawn to.

What is the Training?

Training is when one begins a program or apprenticeship with an opportunity to develop one’s skills and gifts. Training may include meditation practices, education about ascended masters and goddess guides, participating and leading ritual, learning about the high holy days, creating ritual, holding space, developing intuition, understanding astrology, healing past life imprints and/or sharing one’s vows. Training as a practitioner is an opportunity to learn from someone who has walked the path and can offer guidance along the way. 

What Religions Have Them?

The term Priest is used more often in modern Christianity and religions that carry on a ministry. Many modern day female mystics consider themselves “spiritual” rather than “religious” and practice their skills outside of dogma. Before the official establishment of the Christian religion, some of the holy women in ancient times were female priests, like Anna, the grandmother of Jesus, Mother Mary, and Mary Magdalene. They provided an important service to the overall awakening of the mission of Christ.

Can One Tell the Future?

If you identify with this role, you may have heightened intuitive or psychic gifts, but this is not a necessary skill to be called to the path. In the times of Avalon and ancient Egypt, the rulers would often seek counsel from the priestesses on what to do during times of possible war or famine. We are deeply connected to the dream world and unseen realms and would be able to offer a higher perspective to the events to come.

Can One Get Married?

The question of marriage depends on the lineage and/or religion one enters into. While there were beings who lived a life of celibacy devoted to God, there were also temple practitioners who used sensual energy as a form of healing for men coming back from war. The feminine essence was so soothing to the nervous system it was revered as a healing act in some ancient temples. Today, many modern day female priests choose to marry and have a family while others choose to walk a path married to the divine.

Is it Masculine or Feminine?

While we all have feminine and masculine energy within, the archetype is inherently feminine. Some believe the role is to restore the balance of sacred feminine on our planet; for humanity to channel and live in devotion to Mother Earth, to live connected to Source, to slow down, practice forgiveness, listen, feel and heal our pain rather than be in a constant state of achievement, action and doing. Many believe the essence of the feminine is what the world needs most now to enter into the Golden Age.

What it Means To Be One in Everyday Life

To be a feminine mystic in everyday life is to live a life connected to the divine in each moment. It is to do our daily actions (caring for the body, cooking, cleaning, walking, writing, praying, meditating, talking) in devotion to God/Goddess/all that is. It is to live in a state connected to breath and intuition, honoring the essence of the sacred feminine within. It is to allow what is, to forgive ourselves and others, and to see everyone around us as a soul, a higher consciousness living in a body. 

It is to see life as happening for us not to us. It is becoming the vessel, emptying out in order to receive. It is communing with nature and the divine as one. It is becoming quiet enough inside to listen to the voice of intuition. It is to listen to others with compassion and hold space for letting go and new beginnings. It is to gaze at the stars, to write down our dreams, and honor the cycles of our body and the seasons of the year. It is to leave this world more beautiful than we found it. It is to midwife a shift in consciousness, to welcome a new Golden Age, and emanate a frequency of love to all those around us on our path.

What It Means to Be One Out in the World

We facilitate ritual, embody the spiritual lessons we have learned, and share knowledge through leadership and teaching. One may lead circles and ritual in devotion to the new and full moon and high holy days, lead circle for rites of passage such as a woman’s first menstrual cycle, menopause, birth, death, welcoming a baby into a family, going through a divorce, getting married, leaving home for the first time, and the list goes on. Any big life transition can be honored with ritual, as a way of releasing what was and welcoming what is to come.

High Priestess Tarot

The card is roman numeral II in the major arcana of the tarot deck. (A two or eleven in numerology). It is the card of mystery and psychic wisdom. In Kim Krans, The Wild Unknown Tarot she describes, “She sits in stillness. From there she’s able to access realms others pass by without noticing, the vast world of intuition, dreams and mystery. She uses silence and non-action to harness this power. Sometimes this card appears to remind you to listen more closely to the voice within. Other times it’s a sign to look past the obvious, to find what’s being kept secret or hidden within a given situation. Acknowledge the shadows.” 

When one often pulls this card in the tarot deck, it could be a sign that the path is calling to you. It could also be a sign that a great teacher and leader lives inside of you and is ready to be honored.

The card in Doreen Virtue’s Goddess Guidance Oracle cards reads, “Your wisdom extends back into the far reaches of ancient times. You’ve brought this knowledge forward into your present incarnation, to be a way-shower so that others may benefit from your experiences. Don’t delay in expressing this wisdom. I will assist you in manifesting platforms for your spiritual teaching, whether it’s through teaching by example, or through writing or speaking. All forms of teaching are equally valuable, no matter how many lives you touch.”

Pulling the card of the way-shower may be beckoning you to share your voice, write books or articles, lead workshops, be a role model, look for opportunities to teach, honor your divinity and know that you are a leader.

Use of Divinity Tools and Crystals

She often has a set of tools and crystals she goes to for energetic clearing of a space and amplifying a ritual. Lighting sage, palo santo, or diffusing essential oils can help clear a space before a ritual. Holding quartz crystals can also be very cleansing and purifying. One can wash crystals under the light of the full moon to cleanse and charge them up. One may use feather wands to clear energy, or have sacred stones or talking sticks to use in a ceremony. Divinity tools can be made or found in nature and are also not necessary to facilitate a powerful ritual.

If I Am Called, Can I Become One in the Near Future?

One becomes a way shower through the remembrance and recognition of the essence she holds within. Some people may want more guidance and support on the path, and it can help to join a program like the Rising Women Leaders Initiation program, or find a mentor to apprentice with. To become a wise woman is a lifelong path of devotion and dedication to the divine and the skill of spiritual leadership, ritual and facilitation. If you are just starting on your path, continue reading articles, books, and look for communities where you can learn and practice your inherent gifts. I send all my love on your path of remembrance, and invite you to meet mentors and listen to over 100 episodes about Women’s leadership on the Rising Women Leaders podcast.