“I am one of those who serve the goddess.
Here is my proof:
I have eaten from her drum.
I have drunk from her cymbal .
I have carried her sacred objects.
I have prayed in her secret chamber.”
–Prayer of initiates into the Greek Mysteries
(in The Goddess Companion, by Patricia Monaghan)
In this section of The Goddess Companion, Monaghan goes on to muse: “true mystical knowledge defies expression. Poets try, but the union of self with cosmos cannot be truly captured in mere words. The silence of the centuries tells us as much as a written script might about the mystery of life and death. The goddess reigns over them both. She is both our speech and our silence.”
As I called the circle for the mini ritual for the (free!) Creative Spirit Circle this week, I listened to and sang Maiden, Mother, Crone by Pilgrim Warriors. I was not able to locate it anywhere online, so I added it to our files here so that you may hear it and sing as well. (If you know where I can link to it online, please let me know, because I like to be very careful about uploading anything I do not have permission to share.) 
“Once there was a time
when the grandmother was divine
she was honored as a crone
she had a power all her own…”
Our card for the week from Womanrunes, was The Flame, rune of vitality and enthusiasm. I enjoyed seeing this card show up again after we spent so much time with it earlier in the month with our Tending Your Flame ritual. How is your inner flame doing right now? How are you tending it? What is lighting your fire and stoking your passion? 🔥
I recently received the new deck, Botanical Inspirations, to review and I chose a card from it as well. We received Iris, which in the secret language of flowers is “rainbows and messages.” It encourages us to stay alert for the messages around us from so many sources of inspiration and knowledge. “When it rains looks for rainbows, when it is dark, look for stars.” 🌈 ⭐️
Since I enjoy the Goddess Guidance Oracle deck so much as well, I chose a card from it too! We received Sige, who was not a surprise to me on 
a personal level at all. Her message is “quiet time” and this is something I have been craving after a difficult week. I spent a long time laying out a beautiful altar space, listening to music, setting up my mini goddesses, journaling, and doing my monthly layout with Womanrunes. I really needed this quiet time to renew and refresh my spirit.
How might you build in some rest, retreat, and renewal into your life this week?
In a similar theme, the message from Meditations for Women Who Do too Much for this weekend is about self-nurturing. Anne Wilson Schaef writes: “Nurturing oneself is allowing ourselves to stop, and in that stopping to allow ourselves to know what would be nurturing for us in that time and space and doing it.”
What would be nurturing for you? It looks different for different people.
Affirmation for the week: I tend my flame, listen to the messages around me, and take quiet time for self-nurturance. ❤
And now, dear circle members, the rattle passes to you…
What is nurturing to you? How are you tending your flame this week?