IN THIS ISSUE:
- LOVE NOTE FROM CHRIS
- MOON WATCH: The Other Half of the Cycle
- ANNOUNCEMENTS: Fall Circle Leader Training (Early Registration Open)
- WILD WOMAN CELEBRATION
- QUOTE OF THE WEEK
NOTE FROM CHRIS
Dear Soul,
I am writing you from my deck where the Sun is shining; the cool wind is blowing, making the leaves dance and wave hello.
The Moon is Waning (read below) and I am allowing the sweetness and surrender of the slowing of the energy it brings.
I’m thrilled to report that 9 of the 25 sacred seats in the Fall WILD Woman Circle Leader Training have been claimed by wise and spirited women. That leaves 16. Is one of them yours? Only you know. There is a discount for early birds (which ends next Monday).
Hope you enjoy this week’s edition. If you feel called, pass it along to your friends.
Waves of love,
Chris
MOON WATCH
Seeing the Beauty in The Other half of the Moon Cycle.
The Lunar Cycle provides us a glowing map of cycles of nature. These cycles live in the natural world around us, as well as our internally.
The Waxing moon brings with it the essence of Spring, rising energy, building, growing.
The Full Moon is total expression. All are touched by the light, the summer.
The Waning Moon is a slow surrender, letting go, falling away, the autumn.
The New Moon is Winter time, when the dark sky and the cold air encourage us to draw our energy inward, into the depths.
Energetically, we experience the same cycles, to greater or lesser degrees.
Generally, in our western culture of doing and achieving, the Up energy of Waxing phase & the Full Phase, is largely celebrated, supported, encouraged.
It is the other half of the cycle when energy is waning, falling away, softening, drifting inward, we westerners tend to get…how to we say? Uncomfortable. For this is part of the cycle which represents the dying & death. To actually feel what is dying in us, be it some dream, some habit, some hope, some relationship, some version of ourselves we have been bought into, can bring with it the grief & tenderness that often comes with loss.
As a doer myself, Spring baby that I am, in love with the rising pull of the waxing phase, I have been reflecting on the ways I sometimes subtly, sometimes violently resist the waning in me. I truly believe it is in the resistance to the wane that we create drama and chaos. You’ve heard it: What we resist persists.
I’m a student on the mystic path of Sufism where it is often said that we must die and die and die again.
So…I’ve made a promise to myself to find ways to honor and celebrate the waning in me, my life & the world each month. To ask: what has died here? What am I letting go of? What am I saying goodbye to?
This can, at first glance, seems scary. So in an effort to face this, I have been calling on the awareness of beauty.
Here in New England, fall is a season of such stunning beauty, one cannot help but be swept off her feet with the waning in the cycle of the trees. As the green leaves of summer turn gold and red and orange, one can’t help but feel reverence for the beauty of the transformation.
How can we see our own tiny or vast transformations with that reverence? How can we allow ourselves to be floored by the changing colors in the expressions inside, and in our world?
Here are 5 suggestions inspired by my personal exploration of this topic.
In the Waning & New Moon Phase:
Let there be space. –Do not over schedule. In this part of the Moon Cycle, give yourself plenty of time for reflection, time to tune into the beauty and feeling of the falling away.
Drop expectation that your energy and mood SHOULD be up. If you are waning, so be it. Do not judge. Instead explore this different, yet valuable energy.
Allow yourself to weep. You don’t have to weep forever, but allow the tears to come up and out. The tender beauty of being human is expressed through our tears.
Don’t worry about figuring it all out-WHY am I so emotional? Sometimes it will be personal and specific. You will know exactly what you are mourning. Other times, you won’t. A truth is: the civilization we live in, in so many ways, is not natural, not reasonable, and not kind. If you are awake, the insanity and cruelty in civilization will be upsetting-you will need to digest that. Another truth is: if you are anchored in your wisdom, it will not overcome you. Staying anchored in wisdom takes commitment, practice & discipline and brings with it the distinct ability to love the world, anyway.
Enjoy art with no goal. Draw, perhaps with your non-dominant hand. No goal. No right. No wrong. Just color and space. Listen to music. Read Poetry. Wander through a museum. See, hear, feel in the beauty.
I’m wishing you reverence, acceptance & wishes for a fruitful exploration of the other half of the cycle, dear soul.
ANNOUNCEMENTS: Fall Circle Leader Training + Coaching
I am thrilled to Announce:
- Early Registration is now open for the Fall 2014 Session of Wild Woman Circle Leader Training! Take a close look at the training & Apply now. Discount for Early Birds.
- I have expanded my 1-on-1 offerings. If you want to go very deep with this WILD Woman Work, this is a juicy, life changing way to do it. Choose Your Own Adventure Here.
- Have you checked out the new WILD Woman Library? Wander in, take a look around and let me know how you like it!
WILD WOMAN CELEBRATION
After WILD WOMAN CIRCLE LEADER TRAINING:
“YES! I just finished this training and loved it.
It is full of wisdom and simultaneously light and playful. It is not a huge time commitment which was great.
For me the circle leader training was about stepping into my courage and gathering the tools to create community. I’m super excited to lead my first circle!”
~Amanda McCall
Berkshires, MA
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
I have never found a companion that was so companionable as solitude.
Henry David Thoreau
On the Horizon
Join us for an hour-long New Moon Meditation Adventure on December 2nd!
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.
Join the WILD WOMAN UNDERGROUND.
"The Circle Leader Training Program at The Wild Woman Project was one of the most transformative and healing experiences of my life. I have received many tools, resources, support, and connections that I will carry on with me forever." ~ Hannah Devin, Graduate
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.
Hey Nanci!Really enjoying your blog! So nice to hear your voice in your wniritg and see examples of the new work. Exciting to see how the images move back and forth from complex to simple and elegant, and the color shifts are lovely to see. Always a deep subtlety.Thanks for sharing this work. Makes me want to paint. ) Sue