Dear One,
The Moon is new again. A new cycle is beginning.
And we have a beloved poem to share in, which is sure to stir your wildish heart.
I want to let you know: after ten and a half years of making these New Moon Videos for you, this one is my last. Do not fret! I will be replacing it with something better (see video for more details).
I am over the moon to share with you my favorite poem of all time & the final shared poem of the Path of the Poets series!
Wander with me now through Mary Oliver’s Wild Geese! Let’s see what we find!
Wild Geese by Mary Oliver
You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine. Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air, are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.
After you’ve taken in the poem, in the comments here, I’d love to hear from you: How did this poem land for you? Any meanings or gems you are carrying with you? Please share as much or as little as you wish. Can’t wait to read them. ♥️
Upcoming Gatherings & Training:
↠ Coming this Fall: Wild Woman Project Circle Leader Training! With hundreds of graduates around the world, this training has been cultivated over a decade to offer our very best in wild feminine leadership training. Join us online, from anywhere, for a 7 Week adventure. Part personal-development, part skill-building, this course is sure to give you a deeper look into the Wild Woman Archetype, Moon Wisdom, Intuition and Inner Guidance & community building. Space is limited. Hear from others who have taken the journey & get on the list to receive updates here.
↠ Wild Woman Underground is coming. We are cooking up a brand new offering for those of you who want to connect and gather with other Wild-hearted women from around the world on an ongoing basis. Meditation, Sacred Ceremony, Spiritual Practices, Tool-building, Joy-Making, and a lot more! We are longing for an online space come together, away from the noise of social media. We hope you’ll join us!
↠ You’re Invited to attend a Wild Woman Project Circle. In these New Moon time circles, you can expect Meditation, Intention Setting, Ritual & Sharing, guided by a trained facilitator. Find a list of TeleCircles happening online below & find a circle near you here.
Online New Moon Circles:
Thank you for listening today.
Wishing you a soul-nourishing New Moon time & a juicy time dancing with today’s poem!
♥️ & Howls,
Chris Maddox
Founder of The Wild Woman Project & Wild Woman Fest
On the Horizon
Join an international, intergeneration group of weird and wonderful wild-hearted Women in our online Cave (which lives on an app)!
We meet weekly in Circles, Workshops, Practices to keep our wild spirits lit!
Upcoming Weekly Gatherings:
Join us for an hour-long New Moon Meditation Adventure on May 7th!
Online, from anywhere.
Using a dynamic meditation journey, we will tune into the New Moon, to your own Inner Guidance, synced up with wild-hearted women from around the world. This offering will include music, storytelling, meditation, journaling prompts & intention-setting.
Can’t make it live? No worries. All participants will receive a copy of the recording with 24 hours of the session.
We have Wild Woman Project-trained Circle facilitators is 26 countries, and 44 out of the 50 United States.
Chris Maddox is the founder of The Wild Woman Project where she teaches women how to utilize the gifts of the Wild Woman Archetype in their everyday lives & how to lead women’s circles in their local communities. She is the organizer & facilitator of the beloved annual WILD WOMAN FEST, a women’s retreat-festival hybrid which fosters a deep connection to nature, a direct experience of the divine feminine & profound spiritual sisterhood among the women in attendance.
An ever student of the great mysteries of existence and nature itself, Chris believes women are holding innate gifts & tools that society at large needs – now more than ever. She is committed to helping women remember their special magic and to bring it forward into every corner of their lives, for the greater good of the planet.
Also my favorite 💗 literally the one that got me into poems 💗💗💗
My favorite poem! Every time I read it, I cry! Makes me feel less alone. Like there is a place and purpose for the unique expression that is me.
Beautiful offering, Chris. Thank you and deep bows. Cannot wait to share this gem with my women around the fire. All the love.
I love this poem. It is the advice I often find myself giving to others….you don’t have to be perfect, just be who you are. It’s advice I have failed to follow myself in the past, but am gratefully learning how to follow now over these last few years. It brings such a peace to life.
This poem reminds me of my mom.
She had a passion for the Canadian geese, and would enjoy each season of their comings and goings
She has been suffering with Alzheimer’s over the past few years and is coming to the winter season of her time here with us
Thank you for sharing this poem.
For me, finding this poem at this time, is preparing me for what is to come, with the passing of my mom.
This poem hits deep in my feels in such a way, it’s like my moms spirit is also comforting me in her way, about my heart hurting with the realization that she is here no more, in this physical aspect.
This season of the going of the geese, I will watch as usual, and know that somehow, my mom is gonna be ok. She’s going back home, just as the geese do, when the time is right.
Thank you again Chris, for sharing this and all the other poems. They have had a tremendous impact within my life
Chris, just listened to this poem, a timely find as middle September in Southern Oregon marches forward. This past week as we work outside or visit with each other, the geese wheel overhead around sunset. We all stop mid-sentence to pause and look up. Making up voices for the geese, playing with their purpose, seemingly going in the wrong direction, then reversing, they are honking and talking together to get through it. It is the signal of change, cooler air and leaves turning. I love this reminder to stop and notice that the world continues to do what it does best. And we are blessed to be here.