tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-92159551500935620212024-03-12T17:19:06.372-07:00Wild MagpieThe musings of a Wild Magpie Woman....Awen Clementhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14946736856144974323noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9215955150093562021.post-31761291757093372452016-11-13T00:39:00.002-08:002016-11-13T00:39:41.120-08:00Ancient Voice<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
And she opened her mouth and sang.<br />
<br />
An ancient voice rose up from deep within the heart of her.<br />
<br />
A voice of old stories and well trodden paths, a voice that knew cold winds and hearth fires.<br />
<br />
She sang of remembering, of honouring. She sang of old, old truths.<br />
<br />
The souls who heard it, remembered it from before, and for a moment their hearts were warm and their spirits flew free.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Awen Clement - 2016 (c) </div>
Awen Clementhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14946736856144974323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9215955150093562021.post-40019393625243854052016-11-12T00:58:00.003-08:002016-11-12T00:59:18.614-08:00Honouring the Blood: Call of the Morrigan<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
As dusk fell we closed the gates to the ordinary world, allowed the land to envelop and cradle us. Quietly we came, healers and priests, craftsmen and warriors, gathering in Her name. Raven Queen, Battle Crow, Morrigan.<br />
<br />
We cast a circle of light and dark, of flame and blood and weaving. We asked the land to hold us, we asked the ancestors to stand with us, to guide us and guard us. We called our Queen in rich voices of fire and honour.<br />
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<br />
<br />
We cleansed away the old versions of ourselves, prepared to step into new skins, new shapes of our souls. One by one, turn by turn we submitted to the needle. Gave our blood and received her mark. Gave shape to our prayers, made promises in ink. Witnessed by our brothers and sisters, nurtured by the hearth fire.<br />
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<br />
<br />
We wove together a pattern of story and song, of prayer and devotion as the land and the ancestors looked on. Brave voice of the young spoke in honour and faith. Men cried tears of truth. Women wove prayer and flame in devotion. Some sang in voices not their own and the drum echoed the heartbeat of the world.<br />
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<br />
<br />
And the Great Queen heard us call. She came to us. Accepted our offerings of blood and flesh and honouring. Some trembled, some wept, but all held steadfast in the truth of her sight. Her voice like the gentle roar of the river, we were held out of time. She gave voice of both warning and blessing.<br />
<br />
We gave thanks, we feasted and then one by one and two by two we slipped away, across land and sea. Returning home, forever changed, ready to face what is to come.<br />
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And so it was done. The ashes went cold and the land fell quiet.<br />
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****<br />
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</div>
<br />
This writing is a reflection of my experience at Honouring the Blood: Call of the Morrigan Retreat 2016.<br />
<br />
Awen Clement - 2016 (c)<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
Awen Clementhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14946736856144974323noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9215955150093562021.post-65145517901877977672015-10-28T14:38:00.004-07:002015-10-28T14:38:21.305-07:00Sacred Scar<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Last Saturday I was fortunate to take part in a 'Sacred Scar' day. An opportunity to receive a tattoo in ceremony and ritual. It was one of the most powerful experiences of my life to date. In the days immediately afterwards this piece of writing came to me, its a narrative of the event and all at the same time it isn't.<br />
<br />
****<br />
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<br />
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Quietly they arrive in ones and twos, slipping through the
door on the peaceful street in the early morning light.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Slowly they begin to move around the room, starting the
journey into ceremonial space. A drum begins to gently sound, bringing in the heartbeat
of the Great Mother to hold her daughters.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the corner, the red-headed witch sharpens her needles and
makes ready, watching the women with a midwife’s eye. Checking the energies,
sensing the fears.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The drumbeat rises to a more urgent rhythm as the first
sister comes forward and presents her skin to the needle. Her sisters raise
their voices in a rich harmony of love and power, carrying her through as the
marks emerge on her kin.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One after another they flow into the witch’s chair to
receive their sacred scars. Reminders of their stories, of who they have been,
of who they will become.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The drumbeat and the voices endlessly circle….and then…it’s
done. The sisters gather to hold one another, to share the tears and the joys. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then, quietly, in ones and twos, they slip away again. The
red-headed witch shuts the lid of her needle box. Their work is done, until the
drum calls again.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqn7_Nu5vxenCm60DOO_yXysb6hyphenhyphencggFCTsxDGArbrIw10LFFDTizgzCr6-LPbsL-hd5LExzGC-X04sDjQHBVvKxGb6GpXHBQOz6puKCkoYoCXRtuDmrUv3xkc9GpRg_T8RVg_rn4JZrk/s1600/magpie+tattoo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqn7_Nu5vxenCm60DOO_yXysb6hyphenhyphencggFCTsxDGArbrIw10LFFDTizgzCr6-LPbsL-hd5LExzGC-X04sDjQHBVvKxGb6GpXHBQOz6puKCkoYoCXRtuDmrUv3xkc9GpRg_T8RVg_rn4JZrk/s320/magpie+tattoo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Awen is a healer and ceremonialist based in the West Midlands, UK. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
www.wildmagpie.co.uk </div>
</div>
Awen Clementhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14946736856144974323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9215955150093562021.post-7687465753289487262015-07-27T06:02:00.002-07:002015-07-27T06:19:50.059-07:00Lammas: The Story of Demeter and Persephone <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
This my version of this traditional myth, brought to you in honour of Lammas<br />
<br />
<br />
Demeter was the Goddess of the harvest, who presided over
grains and the fertility of the Earth.
Demeter had a beautiful daughter called Persephone who she loved and
treasured deeply. One beautiful summer’s
day, Persephone was playing in the fields with her friends while her mother
watched. Suddenly the ground opened up
and Persephone was drawn down into the Underworld by Hades.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hades had been watching Persephone for a very long time, he
had fallen in love with her and wished her to be his wife. Persephone did not like the darkness of the
Underworld and spurned Hades affections, refusing to eat or drink, hoping he
would return her to her mother Demeter.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When Demeter realised what had become of her daughter she
became distraught and the fertility of the Earth began to wane. Realising that the Earth was dying and that
the people and animals of the world would die also, Zeus knew he would have to
intervene. He sent his messenger Hermes
to talk with Hades.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the meantime, Persephone had started to realise that the
Underworld was not the dark and fearsome place she believed it to be and that
she could help the souls who arrived there.
She also realised that Hades was not as bad as he first seemed. As Hermes arrived in the Underworld, he saw
Hades offer Persephone a pomegranate, and before he could intervene she ate six
seeds from it.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hermes stepped forward and entreated Hades to return
Persephone to her mother. Hades declared
that because Persephone had eaten in the Underworld she would have to remain
with him. But he realised he could not allow the Earth to die, so he agreed
Persephone would stay with him in the Underworld for six months of the year,
one month for each pomegranate seed, and for the other six months she might
live with her mother in the world.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And so this is how it has ever been, Persephone descends to
the Underworld at the end of the summer, taking her light and her mother’s joy
with her, leaving the upper world in the darkness of winter. Then in the spring she returns to Demeter and
the world is bright, fertile and full of laughter once again.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Image – Persephone and the Pomegranate by Kris
Waldherr <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
(c) Awen Clement July 2015</div>
Awen Clementhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14946736856144974323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9215955150093562021.post-51777755269830048502015-01-07T13:00:00.000-08:002015-01-07T13:03:21.646-08:00Honouring the Bones<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
My sister,<br />
I honour your bones.<br />
I cradle your bones,<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3P6tHm8MJoa7I7hYax96TII3txrv7WRKQaX8RMfJxVguM5UDfjxN2binONA1H-lPrxMtPQWVRGm3_2tTpNiPfdLiLwLK3X5Fdx47J0kP5EKnI3HCqeD-BsXu1K6DTGjQfQVpFQjtVPCI/s1600/10302227_10152624268072819_3335470494605708912_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3P6tHm8MJoa7I7hYax96TII3txrv7WRKQaX8RMfJxVguM5UDfjxN2binONA1H-lPrxMtPQWVRGm3_2tTpNiPfdLiLwLK3X5Fdx47J0kP5EKnI3HCqeD-BsXu1K6DTGjQfQVpFQjtVPCI/s1600/10302227_10152624268072819_3335470494605708912_n.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a>As we are cradled in the palm of the Great Mother<br />
<br />
I honour your stories.<br />
I honour the stories you hold in your bones.<br />
The stories of life and death and birth and grief and living.<br />
<br />
I see you.<br />
I see the strength,<br />
The strength and love and courage in your bones.<br />
I see you sister, daughter, mother, grandmother.<br />
I see the ancestors.<br />
I see them walking in your bones.<br />
<br />
My sister,<br />
I love you.<br />
I love and honour you.<br />
I love and honour the bones of you.<br />
As I hold and honour you,<br />
So do you honour me.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
I offer a ceremony of 'Closing the Bones' as part of my healing practice for women. These words arose from deep within as I contemplated this work.<br />
<br />
The sculpture in the image is 'Cradle Woman' by Ember Vincent (<a href="http://www.embervincent.co.uk/">www.embervincent.co.uk</a>)</div>
Awen Clementhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14946736856144974323noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9215955150093562021.post-22648328602559105322014-11-27T22:00:00.000-08:002014-11-27T23:17:58.893-08:00Why is motherhood making me sad?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Almost a year ago to the day I wrote a post about <a href="http://wildmagpiewoman.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/i-am-in-zwischen.html" target="_blank">being in Zwischen</a>, waiting for the birth of my baby boy. At that point my mood was such a melting pot of feelings - anticipation, excitement, nerves and certainly happiness.<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
Now a year later I must quietly admit, here, between you and I, that I am feeling really rather sad. In fact I would go almost as far as saying I am grieving.<br />
<br />
This beautiful baby boy, who brings me so much joy, is my last baby. We have four children and a few weeks ago my husband had a vasectomy. This was a mutual decision and I am quite clear that our family is the right size for us. <br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLq2cRWwdF_yKh-o-qgBUXoVIAkmNP8old4Sczf8T_1kyrZCYYzT1I7XFcrIXL-cE-tgZVWjIIllLxLBZSBh1WvZfYsjLMhw0azR2bnMxzUiWdHr4q6TKnTO7RgCT6qsWeCdeOXfJv__8/s1600/10615443_10152620827092819_2705846784863425062_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLq2cRWwdF_yKh-o-qgBUXoVIAkmNP8old4Sczf8T_1kyrZCYYzT1I7XFcrIXL-cE-tgZVWjIIllLxLBZSBh1WvZfYsjLMhw0azR2bnMxzUiWdHr4q6TKnTO7RgCT6qsWeCdeOXfJv__8/s1600/10615443_10152620827092819_2705846784863425062_n.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
But, there is a sadness. I am mourning the end of our fertility together. There will be no more pregnant bumps, no wriggling tummy, no inner hiccups. Never again will I feel that sense of being two people as one. <br />
<br />
Never again will I have the sensation of transcending worlds as I birth a new life from my body and hold slippery, warm, new skin against mine.<br />
<br />
And when this little boy decides its time, never again will I feed a child from my breast. Nurture and love them with magical milk, comfort and soothe them close to my body.<br />
<br />
I love watching everything he does, seeing him learning to walk, hearing him form his first words, watching him dance and work out his world. This brings me huge amounts of joy and yet I am sad. <br />
<br />
I am still a mother, I still have a great many years of mothering to do, and yet my motherhood is changing. So just for a little while, I am sad.<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
</div>
<em>Today's post is part of the <strong>Moods of Motherhood blogging carnival</strong> celebrating the launch of the second edition of <strong>Moods of Motherhood: the inner journey of mothering</strong> by Amazon bestselling author, <strong>Lucy H. Pearce</strong> (published by <strong><a href="http://www.womancraftpublishing.com/">Womancraft Publishing</a></strong>). </em>
<em>Today over 40 mothers around the world reflect on the internal journey of motherhood: raw, honest and uncut. To see a list of the other contributors and to win your own copy visit <a href="http://dreamingaloud.net/2014/11/moods-of-motherhood/">Dreaming Aloud.net</a></em>
<a href="http://dreamingaloud.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Moods-of-Motherhood_cover_front_300.jpg"><img alt="Moods of Motherhood_cover_front_300" class="aligncenter wp-image-3068 " src="http://dreamingaloud.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Moods-of-Motherhood_cover_front_300-663x1024.jpg" height="532" width="344" /></a></div>
Awen Clementhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14946736856144974323noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9215955150093562021.post-41390170884267761982014-01-22T02:15:00.000-08:002014-01-27T06:33:24.195-08:00This Body Was Made to Mother You<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The following is a piece that I intended to submit for the <a href="http://www.mothersmilkbooks.com/" target="_blank">Mothers Milk</a> writing prize (support small press, they really matter!). However the deadline came round and I wasn't happy it was long enough or strong enough for submission, so I've decided to share it here instead.<br />
<br />
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
This body was made to mother you,
but I didn’t always know this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Deep in a
night when the moon was dark, this body joined with another and together they
created a spark within my womb and that spark was you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I felt that spark, knew it, a woman’s knowing
of life arriving within.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
This womb nurtured and nourished
you, cradled and protected you. This belly swelled and grew and told the world
that here was a new soul, precious and life changing. That here was a new
mother being created along with her child. This belly rippled and danced as
together we flowed from moon to moon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
Early morning and this body
announced you were heading earth-side.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Energy rippled through me, through this womb as you made your birthing
journey.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These hips rocked to an ancient
rhythm and when the moment came this body roared you out, like every other
mother there has ever been, generation after generation. Instinctive and primal,
this body opened up and birthed you into waiting, loving hands.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
In that moment I knew this body was
made to mother you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These arms were made
to hold you, your body a perfect fit against mine, skin to skin, heart to
heart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These hands to touch you, to
trace every feature and commit it to memory. These eyes to look into yours and
say we belong to each other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every sense
breathing you in, this body will know yours always and forever.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
These breasts were made to nourish
you, to comfort you, to pillow your downy head in sleep.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You instinctively seek them out, clinging on
to my clothes, my hair.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You suckle
furiously and wait for the rush, your eyes closing, you snuffle and mutter your
milky dreams against my skin.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
I remember a younger version of me,
the version that didn’t know it would want you one day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The version that didn’t like this body very
much.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That girl didn’t know then that
she would be proud of what her body could do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That she would be proud of the silvery marks on her skin that tell the
story of motherhood.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
As you grow and change, this heart
finds joy in every smile and yet mourns the passing of the days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We talk of everything and nothing, I mutter
comforting nonsense into your ears.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
sing to you of starlight and moonshine and dreams.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As we lay together in the half light of early
morning, as my body nourishes you at the breast, I know that every part of me,
was made to mother you.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj64aQQUhKamatbEYd8vC6EGjkVbBSVyfuXQ1jOrdS47a2gJi3R5M6wEJykVv4NPAlKPwPAEG1Mnyt74YQ8BOddd1Lp104ECyi8ZXOHzaSjykHibXgpOm8ygRo4FrYJeXFVz9k1QZVwWZ0/s1600/1555303_10151983325297819_1614556253_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj64aQQUhKamatbEYd8vC6EGjkVbBSVyfuXQ1jOrdS47a2gJi3R5M6wEJykVv4NPAlKPwPAEG1Mnyt74YQ8BOddd1Lp104ECyi8ZXOHzaSjykHibXgpOm8ygRo4FrYJeXFVz9k1QZVwWZ0/s1600/1555303_10151983325297819_1614556253_n.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
</div>
</div>
Awen Clementhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14946736856144974323noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9215955150093562021.post-76057712428268762062014-01-11T14:41:00.002-08:002014-01-11T14:42:21.977-08:00New Year, New Dreams<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
As the new year takes root and my baby boy turns a month old I am starting to think about what I want my work to look like for the next twelve months or so. I seemed to spend a lot of 2013 working really hard and being ridiculously busy, but not actually achieving very much, so I decided that this year I needed to dream my way into a new way of living and working, not least because I have a very small person to take care of too!<br />
<br />
The problem is its not a simple dream, I am a crazy, creative ideas person. I have more ideas floating around at one time than anybody could manage in a single lifetime, I have an ideas book that is bursting at the margins!<br />
<br />
I've slowly realised that my path is changing, after many years of being very focused on pregnancy and birth, I am finding myself drawn to working with women in wider context. Using creativity and connection to the divine feminine, I want to help women to live, to heal and become their fullest selves.<br />
<br />
So for 2014 I am bringing Wild Magpie into being. My offering of healing work and celebration of all things feminine. I hope some of you will join me on this journey.<br />
<br />
Follow me on Facebook at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/wildmagpie" target="_blank">Wild Magpie</a> to stay up to date </div>
Awen Clementhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14946736856144974323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9215955150093562021.post-22477530607796711822013-12-28T14:06:00.001-08:002013-12-28T14:06:54.526-08:00No longer inbetween<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Connor Sage Clement was born at home on the 11/12/13 in a little over an hour with no midwives present. This is his story.<br />
<br />
<br />
We made love at the dark of the moon and called you into our lives. As we held each other skin to skin, warm with love, I opened my heart and womb and asked for a baby boy to join our family.<br />
<br />
By the next dark moon I knew you had come, those little changes in my body that told me a new soul had come into my womb.<br />
<br />
For nine months we danced together as one being, my belly swelling with every moon that passed. I met you in dreams and visions, my blonde haired boy with knowing eyes.<br />
<br />
The women in my life encircled us, nurturing and supporting us. Blessing the way for our birthing journey, I felt so very loved.<br />
<br />
As our tenth moon came round I started to notice the signs that your birthing time was coming soon. I cried and I slept. I entered a slow, still, inbetween space, waiting, trying to be patient, to allow your journey to unfold in its own time.<br />
<br />
It was early morning, not yet light when I felt a wave roll through my womb. I sat up, alert, is it time. For several minutes, all was quiet, nothing. I thought you were teasing me again, we were nearly halfway to full moon and you had been keeping me guessing.<br />
<br />
Then, suddenly another wave. And then another. At the third I was out of bed and rocking my body, apparently it was time after all.<br />
<br />
We lit the blessing candle, we prepared the nest on the floor. It became clear you weren't going to be taking your time.<br />
<br />
I wept on daddy's chest as I struggled with your opening waves, when I realised I was in transition, you weren't going to be long now.<br />
<br />
I felt you moving down, I rocked my body on hands and knees. And then I knew, I could do this, I was in my power. I also knew it was going to be just you, me and daddy, and that was ok too.<br />
<br />
I opened my pelvis wide, I moaned from deep in my belly and you arrived into daddy's hands, shouting your arrival to the world.<br />
<br />
I brought you up to my belly, my breast, skin to skin. Daddy and I blessed your arrival with tears and a deep, loving kiss.<br />
<br />
There you were, my little blonde haired boy with the knowing eyes.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBVZuJFyDhs_v9WFqO6zLOGfQlbwUovURMbno8mxmR9RIxc800mbLVcDwCJFYKbHc1nMrdlnCcKjwcd99rHObstI7gGf4pjz4kjgiLkGoQh7e-1hDEX4xUXGMLqr30ovqeWOtp_Oeb6ao/s1600/1497721_10151929024622819_822369580_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBVZuJFyDhs_v9WFqO6zLOGfQlbwUovURMbno8mxmR9RIxc800mbLVcDwCJFYKbHc1nMrdlnCcKjwcd99rHObstI7gGf4pjz4kjgiLkGoQh7e-1hDEX4xUXGMLqr30ovqeWOtp_Oeb6ao/s320/1497721_10151929024622819_822369580_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
Awen Clementhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14946736856144974323noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9215955150093562021.post-18448989979525682142013-11-29T02:58:00.000-08:002013-11-29T02:58:47.156-08:00I am in Zwischen<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Tomorrow I will be 40 weeks pregnant, I am waiting for my baby. This is my fourth child and I am a doula so I know that the numbers mean nothing. Some months ago I came across this <a href="http://www.mothering.com/community/a/the-last-days-of-pregnancy-a-place-of-in-between" target="_blank">article</a> and it definitely sums up where I am right now and have been for a couple of weeks.<br />
<br />
Zwischen is a German word which means between and the midwife author of the article uses it to describe the place a woman enters at the end of pregnancy. A place where she is waiting, waiting to transition from pregnant to mother.<br />
<br />
It is not an easy place, I can attest to that. A week ago I asked some other women on Facebook whether they recognised feeling almost pre-menstrual in these last days. I was so snappy and grumpy with my family with no obvious cause for around two days, I kept melting into a weepy puddle and then on the third day a sudden wave of calm arrived and I have been there ever since.<br />
<br />
Don't get me wrong, in many ways I will be glad when the pregnancy is done, I so look forward to getting to know the new soul my husband and I have created, and look forward to being able to sleep (ha!) in a position that doesn't involve a mountain of pillows under every limb, but, this is a precious time too. We plan this to be our last child. This is the last time I will be cradling a life in my body. The last time I will feel a small foot in my ribs and hiccups in my belly.<br />
<br />
Every day now the school mothers look at me with sympathy and come out with all the cliches. I nod and smile, but inside remind myself that me and my baby are in Zwischen, a precious, spiritual time that only we can share and know, and that may not last very much longer.</div>
Awen Clementhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14946736856144974323noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9215955150093562021.post-88023107326157771912013-11-27T12:06:00.000-08:002013-11-27T12:08:26.414-08:00Finding my voice<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I have liked magpies for over 20 years, I was taught the childhood superstition of saluting them when they crossed my path. In my early years at secondary school I had an English teacher whom I thought the world of, and he used to make us salute him at the end of class, he died of cancer in my second year and I was heartbroken. After that the magpie often seemed to cross my path when I had a question on my mind, I liked to feel it was him giving me the nod that I was on the right track.<br />
<br />
Despite all of this it only dawned on me this summer that Magpie is in fact my inner totem. I have done a lot of work with animal totems over the years and knew who most of my key ones were, but always felt I didn't know who my inner one was. When it occurred to me to look at Magpie a few months ago, it was like being smacked round the back of the head!<br />
<br />
When I read the passage about Magpie <a href="http://starstuffs.com/animal_totems/dictionary_of_birds.html" target="_blank">here</a> - and read these lines - "Is it time to do that writing you have been neglecting? Magpie will help you find your voice." - I knew I could not keep denying my desire to write. I have been brewing a book for over a decade and allowing my fear of being 'good enough' to stop me from writing it, Magpie tells me to take the risk. However even after having read and understood this I have continued to stall.<br />
<br />
In the last few weeks two specific things have happened that led me to setting up this blog today. The first was the acceptance of a short piece of prose writing I offered as a contribution to a book of women's writing about menstruation. I had to get past the fear of wondering what people would think of me for writing that sort of thing.<br />
<br />
The second thing was receiving and reading the book 'The Rainbow Way' by Lucy Pearce. I have been following Lucy's <a href="http://www.dreamingaloud.net/" target="_blank">blog</a> for quite a long time, and was honored to win a copy of her book 'The Moods of Motherhood' earlier in the year. When I found out she was writing a book about finding the balance of being a mother and being a creative person I was really excited, and I haven't been disappointed. Over and over as I read the book my soul shouted YES in understanding and recognition.<br />
<br />
This blog is me giving myself permission to find my voice, to express my Creative Rainbow Mama self. To be able to write all the things that swirl round in my head and never make it onto paper. I also hope it will help me push myself to start making the book take shape at last.<br />
<br />
I recently found some notes and freewriting that I wrote a decade ago when the book first came to mind, I'm going to type it up here, to remind myself what I want to write, and maybe if you read this and you catch me not writing you can use it to remind me too. <br />
<br />
Freewrite - date approx 2002<br />
<br />
I want to write about.....<br />
<br />
....birth, about the beauty of it, the stillness, the sacredness, the magic, the love.<br />
...about the women opening to trust, to nature, to their bodies.<br />
....about the creation of new life, the ultimate creative act, the cycle of life.<br />
.....about women and the moon cycle, about a womans pregnant belly being like the phases of the waxing moon<br />
....about women regaining their power, strength, holding the space, connecting, raw energy, feral, primal, sexual, sensual<br />
....about ritual and ceremony, blessingway, bonding with the unborn, bonding with partner, lover, goddess, women-sisters<br />
...about motherhood, maiden, mother, crone, creativity, discovering your power</div>
Awen Clementhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14946736856144974323noreply@blogger.com3