SARAH DURHAM WILSON
Shakti Sunfire—a leader in the hoopdance movement and an Earth Priestess—and I just wrapped up leading a six-week virtual course called, "Waking the Wild Woman."
While I've lead countless moon circles and yoga classes and written a lot about my spiritual journey, I have never compiled all that information to teach before. That's one reason I'm so grateful I met Shakti in Hawaii two years ago: she has the greatest ideas and actually walks her talk, acting them into being. Once we had the idea for the class, we had it up in running a week later. She's a supreme manifestor.
Just three years ago, if you had asked me how I made my income, I would never have dreamed I'd eventually say, "talking about my Goddess Awakening" or "teaching the ways of the Priestess." Now the answer might be either of those or even "bringing the ways of the old Earth to the new Earth” or "waking up people’s inner wild woman."
What is your Wild Woman?
Jungian psychoanalyst and poet Clarissa Pinkola Estés would say its your “woman who runs with the wolves,” your “La Loba,” your “wolf woman.” Basically, it's the wild, primal, unruly being deep inside your soul, who longs to run free. This is the woman who dances around bonfires, heals herself with clays and herbs, howls at the moon and brims with wisdom for herself, sisters and brothers. She runs naked into the water in the moonlight, so deeply aligned with the cycles that she and Earth become one. She exists deep within the buried subconscious that had to shut out her cries to survive the patriarchy—messy, alive, free.
During the course, we taught about the five elements (think the points of a pentagram): East/Wind, South/Fire, West/Water, North/Earth and Spirit/Akasha. We discussed how to attune one’s life to the moon phases and get the most out of each one. We talked about personal ritual and leading women's moon circles at the new and full moons. We discussed working with the individual main archetypal Goddesses like Goddess Lakshmi of abundance and fortune, Durga of strength and mothering, Pele of fire and desire, Kwan Yin of compassion, Sarawti of creativity and, of course, Goddess Kali of destruction and creation. But, mostly, we talked about the process of waking up to heal oneself and ultimately heal the Earth. Every Wednesday night was like attending a women's moon circle from the comfort of one’s own house—a virtual circle with 45 women internationally. It was powerful.
Six weeks went by fast. A lot happened energetically for the women on the call and personally for Shakti and me. A lot can happen in six weeks. The experience was definitely transformative.
Next month, Shakti and I begin our second virtual course called, "Winter Whispers." It's about going into the dark to break old patterns and discover great mysteries hidden within. We'll talk a lot about not being afraid of your own dark, about the courage to descend into it and look at those masked, unhealed and hidden parts of yourself.
Winter is a perfect time to descend into your own depths. Most witches, shamans and mystics follow the Earth's lead at this time of year and turn inward, allowing what needs to die to take its final bow, to clear space within our lives and hearts for the new that awaits us.