Red Tent Initiation pt. 1

If you have read my other articles, you know that my journey with my Moon Cycle has been difficult. It has taken me a while to get to this point of honoring and even enjoying my cycle. Part of this process recently led me to Ashland, Oregon.

I share this after several months of processing and integrating my experiences there.

This part of my story started when I began researching more deeply into the Blood Mysteries and I came across Laura Carmody of Priestessing the Paradigm Shift. I became enthralled with her message and how she presented her teachings online, so I signed up for one of her programs and ended up not receiving the scholarship. Which was fine, as I fully trust in divine timing. Then a few months later my dear sister Angel calls me and shares about an in-person Red Tent training that Laura would be facilitating in Oregon where she lives. Angel had been asking me for years to visit her at her new home in Oregon! It seemed like the time was right. So I immediately applied and was accepted. Soon after, Angel offered to pay for my plane ticket out there - wow! I was a puddle of gratitude.

June rolls around and I hop on a flight to Medford. I arrived in the evening to be greeted by my Sister who I had not seen in years. It was so refreshing and exciting to be with her in this new place that she loves so very much. We head in to the foothills and arrived to the site. I settled in for bed, eagerly awaiting the morning. 

Upon waking, I immediately ran outside to breathe in the cool air. There was actual frost on the ground! Very different from the humid sub-tropics of my home state. The landscape opened up to me and my body truly felt at ease here. The trees are massive, ancient, and alive. Later, I found out the property is dedicated to Quan Yin, the Divine Mother & Bodhisattva of Chinese Buddhism. Quan Yin has been a guide for me on my journey, so it was a blessed synchronicity to learn that.

Fast forwarding to the actual immersion ~ 

22 Women gathered on Shanti Mountain, ready to dive into this ancient lineage of feminine embodiment. Each of us had some sort of connection to our Moon Time, but were looking to deepen our relationships even more so for the sake of benefiting our communities. 

I am realizing now as I type this just how deep the experience was and is for me - so this article might be 2 or 3 parts. What I gained from my Red Tent Priestess emersion continues to unfold to this day and I am forever grateful for the infinite lineage of Bleeding Women who came before me and bled on the Earth. 

As we were awaiting sisters to arrive, Angel and I posted up on the driveway and began talking about orgasms. Explosive, buzzing, blissful, delicious, fully-body surrender. As we were giggling and sharing personal stories, I hear a low buzzing. I notice the tree just behind Angel was vibrating. A massive hive of bees had erupted! JUST AS WE WERE TALKING ABOUT EXPLOSIVE ORGASM. For those of you that do not know there was, and still to this day, an Order of Priestesses who specifically worked with the bees ~ The Melissae. Their work was to tend to the hives and the Queen as a devotional act to the Goddess. OF COURSE.

After the excitement and the ladies settled in to the campsites, day one opened in circle with prayers to the Goddess in Her many forms. We spoke the many names of She and welcomed each other with so much love and excitement. I could feel the stones beneath our feet vibrating from our collective energy. She was so present with us, in each of us. Song & intentions were offered as well as Moon Blood from bleeding sister. I cried at the potency of our shared connection. Many of the details are too tender and sacred to share here. 

We opened the circle and followed each other to the Temple where we had a set altar honoring the Divine Feminine. It is the moments in between that stand out at me, like when I was trailing behind, feeling the wisps of sensuality and embodiment from each of the women I was with. We each carried our own medicine, all unique and precious and so needed in this world. I personally was there to gain a sense of confidence in my particular offering.

Our night began with a Serpent Dance, I touched on this in my last post. It was the first time I felt erotic innocence. What a powerful teaching it was to be nude in front of 20 other women.  I didn't know them but I fully trusted them. It was also really powerful to bare witness to the other women dancing. This wasn't a performance but a sacred act of self love and surrender. Each of us had a special connection to the snakes. Some sisters let go and wept, or shook like an earthquake, or moved their hips hypnotically. Others stood in reverence, or gently rocked back and forth. It was absolutely precious and nothing short of unforgettable.

The transmissions rolled in even when we were not gathered. I had many moments where I was just standing in the forest crying my eyes out because I was shedding so such doubt and fear of my own embodiment. I felt so supported, I felt home. Each day I was met with new information that resonated in my whole body. It was as if I had known it all along and simply re-met pieces of myself. Codes were awakening within me so rapidly that I needed to sleep alone to recalibrate and find my center again! 

I must share that Laura is a pillar of Light for this community of the Red Tent. Though she is younger than me in age, she effortlessly carries this ancient knowledge in her every movement. She fully has given herself to this Work and thoroughly enjoys facilitating such powerful experiences for people to get to know their bodies. 

And Graell Corsini is the Priestess Mother of my Dreams turned absolute reality. Graell founded the Goddess Temple of Ashland and has been bringing her community together for decades. This woman is fully embodied in her Work, authentic to the core, absolutely hilarious, and deeply devoted. I have never met anyone like her, and we are so very blessed to have her teachings.

Gathering in sacred circle with people who resonate with your heart-mission is something we don't get to do often. When the chance presents itself - go.  Save the money, make the time, make the arrangements and follow your calling. This is it for part one! The juicy sharings are soon to come. I am still unraveling the teachings and incorporating the wisdom into my circle at home. 

Thank you for reading and being present. I am humbled and ready to show up for those who need it. 

Stay tuned for more!