Since time out of mind, women have been gathering.
We’ve been gathering together at the river bank to wash, often singing while we work; gathering together to make food – often singing as we work; gathering together to look after sick children or the elders – often chanting prayers as we worked; gathering together to make art – always singing as we worked; and gathering in the Temple, to create ritual, to officiate at special ceremonies linked to special sacred days in the year, and to celebrate and honour the feminine Divine in all Her many manifestations. And there, in the Temple, we have always been singing and chanting.
There is a great power in gathering together. As a woman, I find gathering with other women, and some men, who love the Goddess, to be encouraging and inspiring. Gathering helps me to view the world in new ways. It gives me the tools I need so that I can be fruitful in every area of my life.
There is a great strength in numbers, and whenever people come together in any arena of mutual interest, and especially when we gather for this within a sacred Goddess space, we know that we are not on our own. We experience ourselves as a part of a great host of women, and some men, who are also changing their world. We are changing our world so that it incorporates the Divine Feminine, and together, we are creating a great force of good in the world.
There is nothing more powerful than women coming together to support each other on our journeys, and in our hopes and dreams. We are healed, we are nurtured; we feel comforted and understood. Moreover, when we share sacred space together we magnify the power of our intentions and we energetically create a web of support, not only for those we gather with, but for people everywhere on the planet.
The real power of Goddess gatherings can be seen once we scatter, when each of us goes back into our individual communities where we share our enthusiasm, our inspiration and our joy, enlivening all we come into contact with. Often, the strength, knowledge, and understanding we need to do this, are found in the gathering.
When we gather together, great strength, confidence, encouragement, and power is shared. When we are surrounded by a large group of people, we are visually reminded that we are part of something bigger than ourselves and that our individual contribution is important. I don’t believe that my individuality is lost in the group; I feel that it is enhanced. I feel that it is more important now than ever to make time to gather in Goddess space so that we can be more effective when we are scattered and doing our work in the world.
At events like our beautiful Goddess Spirit Rising Conference, I am always surprised in the most delightful of ways by the diversity of women there, by the inspiring speakers offering so many different perspectives, and by the serendipitous interactions I experience throughout every moment of the day; and most of all, I am delighted to experience myself as fully inhabiting my body, my mind and my spirit, exactly where I am today.
I feel a sense of home when I am surrounded by others who see and accept me for exactly who I am, and with whom I share more in common – fears, hopes, dreams, hopes and goals – than how we are different from one another.
I feel this in every cell of my body. I can be exactly who I am in whatever way I want to be me. I am seen by so many, and I am able to see into the hearts and the lives of so many others. I experience that I am absolutely not alone in my human journey and in my deep desire to speak about the values I hold in my heart and about the issues in this world that I know are important, and also about how we must all transform, no matter where we are today, in order to sustain and support life on this earth.
Gathering is in my female blood – just like the ‘howling at the moon wild woman’ is.
Most of us live our lives so disconnected from the Earth, and devoid of any kind of ritual that creates the space for us to connect. This conference will provide us with an opportunity to take the time to create SACRED SPACE for ourselves. It’s essential.
 
 
 
AniqueAnique Radiant Heart is an internationally acclaimed Crone Priestess of the Global Goddess, retired from full time employment as a Senior Marketing Consultant to the NSW State Government of Australia, specializing in Event Management 15 years ago at age 50. She has since dedicated her life to the Goddess, and has devoted her skills as a conference organizer to bringing together conferences, festivals and sacred spaces for women who love the Goddess and celebrate the feminine divine. In 2006/2007, she organized two international conferences in Australia dedicated to “Women and Depression”, which were a huge success and are still referenced within the women’s health network in Australia. She combines her deep feminism with her Goddess Spirituality in an effort to bring healing and change to a world that has for too long denigrated and hurt women. These days, she travels the world sharing her love of women, her sacred music and her spiritual teachings.
 
Contact: Anique@herwill.net   http://www.invokingthegoddess.net