Waking Persephone
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Day 1
I arrived at Waking Persephone late, I was so
excited to get there but the traffic was against me the whole way. There were 2
major accidents that put me about 30 min behind. I hate when students arrive at
my class really late and I hated it even more that "I" am the student
that arrived not just late but rudely late. Regardless the ladies at the front
were very kind and encouraged me to sneak in to class late. I was relieved and
hoped it was large enough class to sneak into, no such luck.
The Witches Cone of Power
with Anaar
It was a small class and as
soon as I opened the door I was on the spot. I felt like such a jerk for
arriving so late but I was so grateful that Anaar was so welcoming despite my
rudeness. Unfortunately I missed the first half of the class, but being well
educated in Ritual and Energy Work I was able to jump right in. We raised a
cone of power or what I decided was very much like circle casting in a belly
dance way! Though we were focusing on an actual raising of energy. We
grapevined in a circle around and around using different tones and vocals to
raise the cone. We were focusing on bringing Rain, Rain to the parched lands of
California. Just relocating from Arizona I was able to really tap into that
parched earth energy and focus on bring rain. One thing that was particularly
interesting was where the energy was focused, raised and sent. Anaar suggested
that we send the energy out with through the genitals, and lymph nodes. Now
this was a bit new! While I had raised and sent out energy from my root (yoni)
before I had not focused on sending energy out from the lymph nodes. Anaar’s
craft background comes from that of the Anderson Feri Tradition. While I am not
an initiate, it seems as if many of my friends and people that I really admire are.
I am vaguely acquainted with the Tradition and practices and of course I own
Victor Andersons book of poems "Thorns of the Blood Rose" So I was
very happy to take this class and bring some of these techniques into my own
practice.
Sacred Dance with Artemis Mourat
It was such a joy to see
Artie again! It has been far too long. I haven’t been to visit her in Baltimore
in almost 4 years. As class was starting I found myself longing for the good
old days of living in North Carolina and the long drives to Baltimore to see
her and take the Turkish Intensive and Sacred Dance classes and even for the
days before Japan sitting on Arties studio floor telling her how much I loved
this dance and her listening to me with such love and respect. I remembered the
time that we went to the Umbanda ritual and how powerful that was for me and
how I still follow the advice of the medium that I saw that day. Artie has
been, probably without her knowledge the most important teachers in my dance
career. She is everything that I wanted to be, a warm loving person welcoming
everyone to the dance community but also a powerhouse on the dance floor.
As I walked in I flagged
Artie down for a hug, it was wonderful to just give her a hug and wait for
class to begin. While I have taken this class before, it has been 5 years and I
am a MUCH different person than I was then. I took notes like it was the first
time I was in her class. The lecture was wonderful, she spoke of many different
types of sacred dance and different cultures and religions groups that practice
it.
The workshop was 2 parts the
first was the lecture and the second was an actual ritual dance. It was eclectic
in nature and incredibly powerful. I have been going through some of the worst
emotional issues I have ever had to deal with the past few months. Things in my
life have just been more than I can bear. There are many times I have checked
out and I have even started working with a therapist to get past it all.
However there is something to be said about the power of sacred dance and a
group of women who actually want to see you succeed. There was homework for
this class and I worked on it during the long drive up to Seattle. I knew I
needed this class, and I knew I needed the ritual even more. I even did all my
homework before class and prepared a list of things I needed to manifest in my
life folded up into a little charm. The things I wanted and needed to banish
were easy and those were written on a flash paper and went out of my life in a
flash and pop!
The dance ritual began and
we stood in a circle and we copied Arties motions as a group and later formed
into a spiral dance and then a snake dance. We weaved through the gates of
death, I thought that she chosen 2 of the girls based on the fact they were
both wearing shirts that were ribcage and skeletons. Later I we found out it
was a happy accident. They raised their hands and we went under them and as I
went under seeing these white bones standing out against black cloth and dimmed
lights it was as if I was descending to the underworld through the gates of death
into Persephone’s domain. We spiraled and snaked through the room even more
until the music changed. We charged and danced around the central flame
sometimes leaping over it, and sometimes cleansing our yoni and root with the
heat of the flame. Then we focused on the purge, we purged, we stomped, we
screamed, and we grunted. Tears flowed down my cheeks but no sobs. The trials
of the past 2 months and the spring were brought to the forefront and I
surrendered them to Persephone, I called her name, whispered love and devotion
and pleaded for her help and understanding. I charged my flash paper with
specific names, thoughts and emotions and danced, blew my breath and later lit
the flash paper and for the final time banished this from my life. We danced
some more and blessed what we wanted to manifest. We danced more through the
songs, raising energy, purging energy and focusing on change. The final song
came and we all laid down, the feelings, purge, energy and rush of emotions
caught up with me laying there in the dark. The tears fell down my cheeks, and
then the sobs began, I had my cardigan close and so I threw it over my face and
suffocated my sobs so not to disturb others. However this was slightly silly as
there wasn’t very many dry eyes in the room and my sobs were not the loudest. I
was so thankful for the sobs from behind me, I don’t know who they were from
but I was so thankful that someone else was just as leaky and sobby as I was.
We really worked for change in that room and many of us got what we needed. It
is my hope that the work I did today will continue to manifest in my life and
the lives of those that need it. I know for the first time in a long time my
mind is clear, I am feeling like my heart is lighter with less burden and less
worry.
After class I grabbed a new
shirt and found a shell treasure over at Anaar’s table. There was also a snake
necklace and mink bone earrings that I am drooling over and really wish that I
could get! I also got to see the lovely Suzanne and spend some time with Deja
who I have missed so much since I left Arizona. It was wonderful to see her
with her beautiful mermaid hair and lovely energy.
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| My new shirt and shell! |
Day 2
Day 2 was a shorter day as I
ended my class’s right about noon. I took Ritual E'motion with Anaar and Evoke
Invoke with Tempest. Both classes were more about deliberate movement than history
or spirituality. I really enjoyed these classes!
Ritual E'motion with Anaar
Anaar spoke of setting the
state with visualization to match your performance theme. So if your piece is
about spiders visually landscape the stage with webs and then act as if you are
moving through them. This was quite profound for me because I tend to fear the
stage and feel as if I am often dancing in a giant black box. I really loved
this idea and will be using visualization for stage setting in the future. We
worked through several exercises in this class focusing on different exits and
entrances through different visual landscapes. We then transformed ordinary
pocket items, a cup, pen, crumpled paper into magical props and danced with
them as well.
Evoke and Invoke with Tempest
Evoke and Invoke with Tempest was also wonderful. It was great
to dance next to my friend and also amazing teacher Inanna la Fae
in this workshop. Tempest was a delight to study with. Her teaching style and imagery
of "wall kittens, sky bunnies, and floor ferrets" will be stuck in my
head for years to come and I will always remember to pet my wall kittens when
dancing! Tempest defined Evoke as "Working with elementals and similar
types of energies" I noted this was like "social spirit work"
she defined Invoke as "to pull into yourself, or being ridden" I made
notes that this was the same as ritual possession, or hedge riding. We then
worked on expressing the elements through our bodies expressing water in our
hips, fire with shimmies, air with the heart and earth with the feet. She
focused on foot work for quite a while. This was not a new concept to me, but
it was a great reminder to pay attention to my feet, the way they are placed
and how they feel on the ground. It is strange how something so simple could be
profound, but it was and for that I am grateful.
Waking Persephone was a
weekend festival, as it was my first time attending and I was low on funds and
energy I only selected 4 classes to take. I missed the community round table,
the after party and the show, but overall it was a wonderful experience and
next year I will be getting the whole pomegranate!
