First get out the old family photo albums and
family souvenirs. Select photos of your mother, your aunts,
your grandmothers, great-aunts, great-grandmothers, as many
female ancestors as you can find. If you can't find photos,
select artifacts -- an antique silver spoon, a cameo broach,
a crumpled ribbon, a hankie, a quilt. Lacking photos or objects,
you can write their names on small pieces of white or lavander
paper (parchment is best), and if you don't know their names,
write titles like "father's great-great-grandmother."
If your family doesn't save things, write something like "all
my female relatives, living and dead" or "my foremothers,
back to the beginning of time."
Line these photos or mementos up in front of you either on
a table or simply on the floor and, for a few minutes, think
about what they represent. Can you visualize this long line
of female relatives? How far back does this line reach? What
countries did they live in? How did they live their lives?
Next, add to your collection photos of women you admire but
are pretty sure you're not related to: Eleanor Roosevelt or
Eleanor of Aquitaine, Cleopatra or Jinga Mbandi, Amelia Earhardt
or Marie Curie, Golda Meir or Indira Gandhi. Cut photos out
of magazines or, if you don't want to mutilate a book or magazine,
make a photocopy or hold the book open so that the photo you
have chosen is visible. Contemplate your collection of heras.
These are some of the women you will be blessing. You will also
be attracting their powers to your self.
Lay your collection of photos and mementos in one or more circles
(or a spiral) around the candles. Let the photos overlap. Neatness
doesn't count here. Inclusiveness does.
Light two candles, lavender and red. Lavender is a traditional
color of the Goddess and red is traditionally associated with
the Mother aspect of the ancient Triple Goddess. Now close your
eyes and take a few deep, easy breaths. Visualize your mother,
your grandmothers, your aunts... all the women of power in this
long line circling your candles. See yourself in your place
in this line. Feel their power, their love, their labor, their
sucesses. Feel their energy.
Sit quietly and think of the old family stories. Think about
books you've read that have had active female protagonists,
movies about women, myths of goddesses and heras. Remember the
stories of strong, interesting women.
You can open your eyes and read the
following blessing or tape it beforehand and listen to it. You
can also use it as a model to write your own words of blessing.
In the
presence of the Most Holy Ones -- |
|
the mothers
of my body |
the grandmothers
of my soul -- |
I give
thanks. |
I give
thanks that I live |
through
their energy |
through
their love |
through
their labor. |
|
As a daughter
[son] of their wombs and works, |
I return
their blessings: |
I bless
my mother/stepmother, [name]. |
I bless
my grandmothers, [names]. |
I bless
all the women of my family line, |
those whose
names I know |
and those
whose names have been forgotten. |
I bless
the women of pre-history -- |
the strong,
the unnamed, the forgotten. |
|
I bless
the memories of the unknown women |
who tamed
fire |
who created
agriculture |
who domesicated
animals |
who invented
crafts and sciences. |
Their works
have been forgotten |
or co-opted
by men. |
May we
remember the true creators, our foremothers. |
|
I bless
the women of historical times, |
the queens,
warriors, judges, and healers -- |
victims
of exploitation |
victims
of suppression |
victims
of invading cultures. |
Never again
will women be murdered. |
Never again. |
I bless
their souls |
I bless
their ashes. |
Mothers
and grandmothers, foremothers and foresisters -- |
I, your
descendant, bless your works. |
|
I, your
child, bless your memory. |
|
I,
your daughter [son], give thanks for your blessed life, |
|