A Cauldron Month!

In August, I will be off from teaching for almost an entire month and we are going to take this opportunity for some creative incubation for Brigid’s Grove as well as personal renewal and reflection. I did a guided meditation recently called the Moon Goddess Ally Journey (as part of the Moonwise Woman Circle) and during the meditation, in the temple in which I met the moon goddess, right as the meditation was coming to a close, the Cauldron from Womanrunes appeared quite clearly etched on the floor of the temple–very large, covering the whole floor. It was very dramatic and powerful and felt like a wake-up call.

The Cauldron and its related runes, The Cauldron of Reflection and The Cauldron of Dancing Women, have actually been showing up repeatedly for me in the last two months and it is time for me to listen. I’ve dubbed August our Cauldron Month. The Goddess Magic Circle will be taking a break for the month and resuming in September and I have encouraged all the women to use August as a chance to integrate all that they’ve brought into being during our three months together as well as to take their ideas, inspirations, and projects to their own creative cauldrons to steep in personal magic. In August, we will have reduced inventory in our etsy shop, we will be taking a personal renewal mini family vacation to a river cabin without internet access, we will having an “incubation” and planning business retreat to get ready for the holiday season as well as reorganizing our workroom, and we will be taking a week-long staycation at our home, but with our shop shut off and not fulfilling new orders or creating new products.

This has been a big decision to make and it feels scary, like, “what if people forget us? What if I disappoint people? What if I let them down?” But, the process of being self-employed during this busy past year has helped me understand that no one will set these boundaries for us, we need to set them for ourselves. I am a “doer” and I have a lot of trouble setting things aside and ignoring to-do lists, so for me, I need to actually close orders in order to truly detach and to focus on my home, my family, and my well-being. And, I am so excited about this Cauldron Month! (The shop will only be completely shut off for a week, the rest will just be reduced inventory. ) During this time, I’m taking it all to the Cauldron…what am I cooking? What flavors do I want to add? What do I want to create? What needs time and focus to bubble and brew? Can I allow myself to steep in my own flavor? The Cauldron asks us what we’re cooking, but it also offer boundaries, containment, a safe space in which to stew up our truest magic!

I have been hit hard with a chest cold and lingering cough which I also think is a wake-up call from my body that I’m wearing myself down and burning out. I often joke that I have trouble keeping up with myself and a recurrent fantasy that I have is to just lie on the floor. I often thank the women who come to Red Tent and to my women’s retreats and circles for being willing to lie on the floor with me. I know that not everyone has a group of women who is game to lie on the floor and do a shamanic journey or listen to a “moon goddess ally” meditation. I am fortunate and this “lying on the floor” actually becomes a metaphor for everything that I most value and wish to prioritize most deeply. So, it feels most appropriate that The Cauldron appeared to me so dramatically when I allowed myself to do exactly that!

I’ve just finished reading Burning Woman by Lucy Pearce and this quote about burnout leaped out at me:

Her need to create, to speak, to act is all-consuming—she feels she must burn now, or die from the intensity of the flames within. But living the fire cycle at this constant pace exhausts the physical body. Without consciously going dark, burnout is only around the corner. How can we learn to temper the fire? How can we find ways to answer its call, whilst caring deeply for ourselves? How can we unlearn the habits of a lifetime of burning ourselves alive for the benefit of others? How can we begin to disengage from the archetype of the martyr? How to moderate the burning without putting it out?

And, I’ve learned from Leonie Dawson’s recent work on healing her burnout: Prescription for Healing Burnout.

What does this mean for our customers?

• A complete shop vacation with no orders processed July 29-August 7. Reduced shop inventory August 8-21. So, if you need to order ahead for a birthday or other event, make sure to do so before the end of July!
• No Special Offer Saturday posts or mini rituals in the Creative Spirit Circle Facebook group
• Class enrollments, free class availability, newsletter sign ups, and Womanrunes book orders will be processed like usual.
• Responses to emails, Facebook messages, etsy conversations, and classroom posts, will be delayed.

We also have a little Cauldron Month gift for you. A totally fresh new Womanrunes card layout themed around the Cauldron! Enjoy!

May you find wisdom in the silent spaces, courage in the mystery, and the power to make the choices you know you need to make to activate your dreams.

Blessings to you all!

—Molly and Family

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