Guest post by hollie wildëthorn – create a life that sets you free
Yesterday i wrote about my visit with Maria-Eleni, a contemporary and dear sistar to my mentor thea Gaia.
thea Gaia is considered by many of the women’s spirituality elders on this continent as the Midwife to the Goddess because, in the early 1980s, asking where women were in the Church, she began a lifelong journey of uncovering the sacred form of woman so that modern women could remember something our ancient ancestors once knew:
Your embodiment is your power.
Through her teaching years, thea Gaia met Maria-Eleni and they worked together on public and private projects.
As i mentioned yesterday, if you have ever danced the Misr Lou in a women’s circle or retreat space on this continent since the 1980s, it may be because Maria-Eleni taught it to the women who were there, and those women passed it along.
I learned from thea and Maria-Eleni together and have since taught hundreds of women myself.
When i interviewed Maria-Eleni this week for the HERSTORY PROJECT – THE THREADS OF A WOMEN’S MOVEMENT, she shared stories of those early days, including the unforgettable sight of hundreds of women dancing Misr Lou together in Great Hall at Parliament House in Canberra.
She was delighted to hear i am still teaching and dancing the Misr Lou today.
With Greek and Macedonian heritage, Circle Dancing was part of the ancient practises Maria-Eleni grew up with. “I just trust the dance. I know how power-full it is” she said, when i asked why she brought it to so many women over the years.
She asked me what i tell women when we dance; i told her that when our ancestor foremothers wanted the Earth to hear their love and gratitude, they danced. They stamped their feet upon the ground in ritual and prayer. So when we dance the circle now, we are making love to the Mother.
Each step a caress.
Each arm movement a prayer.
Each woman a cell within the great mycelium of sistarhood, carrying this practice forward for the generations still to come.
This video is from @wisewomengathering this year, where we danced in honour of thea and all our foremothers who made the women’s spirituality movement what it is today.
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