Jane's Unbinding of the Wise Woman

Recently I had the honour of holding a Swan Blessing dreaming well at the Deepening Retreat for the sisters of the School of Shamanic Midwifery. What a powerful dreaming on the sacred land of Jane Hardwicke Collings, the founder and creatrix of school. Jane's dream of birthing the new shamanic sisterhood left a deep impression on me, her energy is beautiful - without judgement and full of encouragement. If you are looking for a guide to step into your own shamanic practice I can recommend no-one more highly. I first met Jane in person when she came for her Swan Blessing just over a year ago and since this time we seemed to have journeyed so closely in our medicine and wishes for this new Golden Age. 

We will be holding the last Swan Blessing sessions for the year next week at the Summer Solstice, if Swan is calling to you please get in touch it is such a beautiful point of the wheel right now to be creating more freedom in your life. Many of the seekers who take part in a Swan Blessing are also sending us their journeys for a book in creation: Swan Blessing - Releasing the Ties That Bind. They are so very potent and beautiful. Here is Jane's memory of her journey with the Swan. 

I saw her, old, long scraggly hair, wrapped in tanned animal hide for protection, by the river, in the forest, alone, very alone, sad, resigned, quiet. She'd been banished from the village, or maybe she'd run away and been hiding, either way it was because she'd been found out or would have been and that meant she'd had to leave or die.   

I saw her, young, she was writing furiously, long feather quill, hiding somewhere in a corner of the attic of the dwelling, in the dark, a lone taper burning. She was scared, fearful of being seen, yet she wrote and she wrote, pausing only to hear more to write.The words were coming to her from others, words she couldn't see who spoke, yet the words came and she wrote them.The Grandmother who lived in her hut in the forest had told her that the voices and their words that she heard were important and that she must write them down and give them to her. She taught her to write and read and told her to keep it a secret, not to tell anyone and to keep on doing it. 

On the Grandmother's death bed, she made her promise, make a vow, to never let anyone else know about the words she heard and to not let anyone see her writing, otherwise she would be killed. She wrote and wrote and the words soothed her soul. She shared them with her mother and her sisters because the words spoke of a different way, a way where they would be honoured and respected, it was so different to how it was for them.... The vow she made to the Grandmother kept her scared, scared of being seen, scared of being found out and scared of what would happen should she be discovered and the vow kept the words secret, but the words wanted to be shared and read.....   

The vow she made stayed with her until another lifetime when she went to the Blacksmith's cottage and met a Witch who flew with Swan. The Witch helped her find a way to cut away the web that was the vow, that had stuck to her, that was stuck in and around and all over her. And Black Panther came then, to be with her, to protect her and guard her. She was safe now, the vow was released and the words could come freely and be shared.    

Jane, Sydney 2012

Thank you Jane for sharing your story and sharing your love and vision with us all. How lucky we are to have you back with us again.

Mothering the Dying - Dropping Into the Mystery

Monica Sjoo

Leslene della-Madre

This weekend I had the honour of taking part in Leslene della-Madre's profoundly moving workshop - Mothering the Dying: Midwifing the Final Passage. What an incredible and deep experience of Life. What a revelation to truly understand that when we embrace the sacred threshold of Death as a return to the Ancient Mother, we then truly learn to Live.

The gift that Leslene gave to me was the reminder of permission to 'drop it'. We spend so much of our life trying to fix or heal difficult issues and relationships. In fact I feel we spend most of our time obsessing about what we feel is 'wrong' and trying to make it 'right'. When truly all we have is this moment and to be present in it's mystery is all that is required from us. And so I gladly embraced 'dropping it' and in that moment embraced so much more of my life energy and space. Creating sacred space around Death also teaches us to create the same sacred and clear water around ourselves in our daily living. We cannot be all things to all people. We are here to honour our spirits and live its full expression. And this expression is felt so deeply when we drop into the mystery of presence. When we give up all need to 'know' we are in the presence of something far deeper and sustaining: belief and faith. And what we believe and have faith in, is totally our own choosing - no need to give any explanation.

My heartfelt thanks to you Leslene for bringing this celebration of return to our wise women's ways as we reclaim our belief in our ourselves and our innate and sovereign ability to mother the dying. It is such intense and deep work - not fearful as we have been taught to feel about death but a process of facing and then dropping our deepest fears to discover the bliss and joy that awaits when we do. I regained such a strong trust in the regenerative powers of nature, the cosmos and my own spirit.  And an enormous thank you to The School of Shamanic Midwifery for bringing Leslene to Australia and for the endless work you do to create pathways or memory back to the Women's Mysteries. 

I am still in the fathomless depth of this experience and so when I have few words I create with encaustic. Encaustic is an artform that requires you to drop out of the mind and into the heart - hot beeswax cannot be controlled or tamed, merely held in a space of deep trust in the process. So similar I now understand to what is required from us when we create and hold sacred space for the Soul as it journeys through the threshold of Death into the arms of the Ancient Mother again. I urge those of you called to understand more of the sacred practice of holding space for the dying to seek out Leslene's work and her book, 'Midwifing Death'. We are all remembering that there is no need to ever fear, Mother Earth is a constant source of love in the endless dance of Birth - Death - Rebirth. 

Midwifing Death - Leslene della-Madre

Iain Whittaker, Psychopomp

2013 is the year of Reclaiming - reclaiming our bodies, our birth rites, our wisdom and our own authority. And so I am very happy to see that the amazing women of the School of Shamanic Midwifery are hosting the Australian tour of Leslene della-Madre, author of Midwifing Death. Isn't it time that we reclaimed the sacred threshold of death for our loved ones and for ourselves?

Leslene is author, poet, grandmother, shamanic spiritual midwife and initiate of several shamanic healing traditions including Native American. After many years of groundbreaking work as a spiritual midwife, Leslene realised that the same skills and wisdom called on at birthing could be used to assist the dying.

 

"Midwifery is usually associated with birth and babies. After training in spiritual midwifery, giving birth to two daughters, mothering foster children and becoming a crone, I have observed that the same skills needed for attending birth can be brought to the bedside of the dying.  I also learned that a lifetime of knowledge and wisdom carried in the wombs and hearts of women can be very healing for the dying—and that these skills are what I refer to as “mothering skills”. They are based in compassion, empathy, beauty, humility and openness to “knowing”—an animal wisdom kind of knowing. 

Life and death are not opposites. Death is integral to the whole/holiness of the sacred web of all that is. In this experiential workshop with slides, movement, trance, song and sacred theater and whatever arises in spontaneity/gaiety we will explore a way of viewing death that actually comes from the realm of our pre-patriarchal ancestors. Very little is known or taught about how our early ancestors lived, and in this space together we will learn from them and bring forward a much needed shamanic integration about life and death for body mind and spirit. We will also learn what it means to “midwife” death in our current time and how to transform fear about death into pure love."  Leslene della-Madre

In our shamanic practice with The Swan Blessing we sit with clients as they witness their own deaths in past lives and very often they see the moment of the soul's transition from that life back into the spirit world. This moment is so gentle, full of wonder and beauty. Through this work, I have lost so much of my own fear of death, something I feel we have been taught by a society that, particularly in the western world, still regards death as taboo. We do not want to face death. We can barely talk about it and yet, of course, it is inevitable. I believe the wisdom that Leslene is bringing to share with us in Australia is vital. Imagine the lives we will live when we no longer fear death. What deep well of ancestral wisdom is awaiting return? What sacred rites and songs are still being held in the marrow of our bones? If we can step through our own threshold of fear we may remember a time long ago when we could embrace the sacred event of death as an initiation of the soul back into the spiritual realm.

You may find yourself called to this work and wisdom without even knowing why. I would simply say to you: return. Return to your knowing of life without fear of death. Perhaps you may have someone in your family and life who is approaching this sacred threshold. Or you may even be feeling a calling back into an ancient practice of caring for the dying that you had not previously understood. In this time of reclaiming we are remembering so many roles of honour and sacred service that have been suppressed for a long, long time. I believe that when work like this presents itself, it will call you. I will be attending the Melbourne workshop and I hope to see you there.

Midwifing Death - Leslene della-Madre Workshops in Australia:

Blue Mountains NSW: Fri 12-14th April 2013
Brisbane QLD: Fri 19-21st April 2013
Melbourne VIC: Fri 26-28th April 2013 

 For full workshop and ticket information, please go HERE.

Red Tent Dreaming

A deep well of love, an enormous thank you to Jane Hardwicke Collings and her beautiful mermaid sisters of The School of Shamanic Midwifery for their incredible work holding space at Red Tent Dreaming in Melbourne on the weekend. Today I feel changed and yet more myself than ever before. The energy created was deep and joyous and so grounded. It was such a gift to open the ruby red circle and share the water blessing with you all.

Oceans of love to all of my sisters who opened their hearts in the ruby glow and shared their spirits with such integrity. We are here, we are back and we are many.

For all of our Sydney tribe Red Tent Dreaming will be in your neck of the woods this week! I urge you to return, to remember...you are sacred and you are free.