This month of Mother’s Day, we will have a conversation in the Red Tent about our Birth Stories. Each of us has traveled this portal to arrive here. Many of us have birthed offspring; some of us have yet to; and we all experience the exhilaration and angst of birthing through our innate well of creative resource in myriad ways throughout our lifetime. We each possess within us the divine instinct and impetus to conceive and cultivate, tend, nest, nourish and nurture. Our experience of this process is wrought with great hope and joy, and often equal amounts pain and loss; even devastation.
There are stories, lore, artifact and extensive bodies of work that have explored the history and anthropology of women’s roles in modern and ancient societies. Many apparently quite sophisticated ancient civilizations crafted images and statues of women and goddesses giving birth, nurturing children, and shamelessly and sensuously displaying scenes of pleasure, confidence, and love. Many academics and historians have suggested that this is evidence that women in ancient civilizations held high status, and were honored and revered as the embodiment and source of life for the community. Women, Priestesses, and Goddesses were also depicted in ancient art as protectors, and the embodiment of Mother Nature, an association that suggests profound respect, relationship with, and care for the source of all of life.
Birthing and all that goes with it is not a small or cavalier topic that we can “cover” in a few hours together. We would need many months to fully and properly appreciate and honor each woman’s experience of birthing, and perhaps many years and deep anthropological, sociological and psychological inquiry to begin to understand how and why culture and practices around birthing have changed so dramatically.
It is possible and in fact likely that some of us have suffered traumas in our birthing experiences. In the modern age of hospitals, social and economic inequities, clinical procedures, pharmaceuticals, and technological oversight of the birthing process, women look to doctors and other professionals to guide them through the process. A compelling question that lingers for me is how birthing and all that goes with it was transferred from the realm and authority of midwives and wise women, to the auspices of clinicians and, for a long time, male-dominated, professions of science and medicine.
In the spirit of inquiry, great care, and reverence for women’s holistic experiences, past and present, we will bring attention to our felt experiences, as well as our dreams, challenges, unspeakable joys, and even regrets. The significance and breadth of the birthing experience for women, children, families and societies cannot be underestimated. In this most tender, vulnerable and potently transformative – universal - portal for women and children, we will begin to investigate together how the process of giving birth imprints our psyches, our physiology and neurology, and our social and societal fabric.
We will hold each woman with tenderness and care, offer space and sincere attention to hear what wants to be shared and acknowledged, and share opportunities for healing where that may be necessary or desired.
Wherever you are in your journey as a woman, please join us for this most essential inquiry.
Logistics:
Date: Tuesday, May 11, 2021
Time: 7 - 10 p.m. CET
Location: Zoom/TBA
Cost: Free/donations only
RSVP/Register: Email Jennifer
What to Bring: A photo, trinket, poem, or other small item that represents the portal of birth for you
References and further reading:
The Heart of the Goddess; Art, Myth and Meditations of the World’s Sacred Feminine, By Hallie Iglehart Austen
The Chalice and the Blade; Our History, Our Future, By Riane Eisler
The Business of Being Born Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DgLf8hHMgo
The Goddess in Art TV series: The Triple Goddess: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqy4H8ABFiE