Here, you are, labor has begun, and you are entering your birth space. I am here, to greet you, to smudge your feet and your full moon belly, your heart, your voice, your old crone brain - which you may or may not know lives deep within you - knows how to do this, which you have never done before. And to remind you: here, you leave one thing behind, and take one thing with you...
Writings from Carolyn Hillyer - Sacred House: Where Women Weave Words into the Earth
Entering the Cave
How does a traveling woman prepare to enter the cave? She comes just as she is; thinking about this journey for too long will only increase her trepidation while spending time gathering tools and supplies will add too much to her load. It is best to approach the cave experience with an attitude of reckless spontaneity. Besides, if the moment is right for the traveler to enter the darness, then inevitably her footsteps will already be turned there and the cave will be calling insistently to her soul.
At the entrance of the cave, the traveler leaves one thing behind her and chooses one thing to take inside.
She leaves behind her name. A traveler's name is important since it defines her within her own reality, and gives her meaning within her own world. It is how others know her, and it has come to be how she recognizes herself. She may feel limited and tightly constrained, or empowered and wildly freed by her name but, even so, it is a name that belongs to the territory outside the cave. Within the anonymity of shadows, her name will be neither relevant nor useful, and may even hinder. Far better to go nameless and unencumbered; thus the traveler leaves her name at the entrance. She may whisper it into a black rag, and tie it to a twisting root or hang it on a branch or secure it beneath a stone; anything to hold it safe until she returns. Perhaps she will find a new name in the darkness, one that shapes her cave journey, one that is thick with shadows and carved by the night. Such a name will eventually reveal the subtle aspects of her dark self.
The traveler takes a map with her into the cave, which may assume one of many forms. The cave journey is an inward quest so, like a dream, it is experienced alone. And as with a dream, the journey may be caught in signs or symbols. These may be tied into the map or by simply carrying a stone or other amulet and attaching it to the journey. This record of her time inside the cave will reveal where she has traveled and why she took this route. The map will help her to claim the cave as a personal landscape and guide her should she ever have cause to return.
Writings from Carolyn Hillyer - Sacred House: Where Women Weave Words into the Earth
Entering the Cave
How does a traveling woman prepare to enter the cave? She comes just as she is; thinking about this journey for too long will only increase her trepidation while spending time gathering tools and supplies will add too much to her load. It is best to approach the cave experience with an attitude of reckless spontaneity. Besides, if the moment is right for the traveler to enter the darness, then inevitably her footsteps will already be turned there and the cave will be calling insistently to her soul.
At the entrance of the cave, the traveler leaves one thing behind her and chooses one thing to take inside.
She leaves behind her name. A traveler's name is important since it defines her within her own reality, and gives her meaning within her own world. It is how others know her, and it has come to be how she recognizes herself. She may feel limited and tightly constrained, or empowered and wildly freed by her name but, even so, it is a name that belongs to the territory outside the cave. Within the anonymity of shadows, her name will be neither relevant nor useful, and may even hinder. Far better to go nameless and unencumbered; thus the traveler leaves her name at the entrance. She may whisper it into a black rag, and tie it to a twisting root or hang it on a branch or secure it beneath a stone; anything to hold it safe until she returns. Perhaps she will find a new name in the darkness, one that shapes her cave journey, one that is thick with shadows and carved by the night. Such a name will eventually reveal the subtle aspects of her dark self.
The traveler takes a map with her into the cave, which may assume one of many forms. The cave journey is an inward quest so, like a dream, it is experienced alone. And as with a dream, the journey may be caught in signs or symbols. These may be tied into the map or by simply carrying a stone or other amulet and attaching it to the journey. This record of her time inside the cave will reveal where she has traveled and why she took this route. The map will help her to claim the cave as a personal landscape and guide her should she ever have cause to return.
The Art of Sacred Postpartum...
Treatment begins with smokeless moxa stick warming care for your abdomen. Then, fine salt is placed on your umbilicus as a barrier, and topped with herbal healer mugwort (moxa/moxibustion), and gently lit to smoking. Like an deeply warming incense stick. Based in Chinese medicine, this delightful addition helps deeply warm the postpartum belly, bringing healing and repair, and enlivening the body's energy. Tender care of postpartum bellies is a true delight.
Add to your Postpartum care, just $45.
Treatment begins with smokeless moxa stick warming care for your abdomen. Then, fine salt is placed on your umbilicus as a barrier, and topped with herbal healer mugwort (moxa/moxibustion), and gently lit to smoking. Like an deeply warming incense stick. Based in Chinese medicine, this delightful addition helps deeply warm the postpartum belly, bringing healing and repair, and enlivening the body's energy. Tender care of postpartum bellies is a true delight.
Add to your Postpartum care, just $45.
Past Classes & Gatherings
Sacred Pregnancy Mini-Retreat
(for mamas only)
Upcoming Dates:
Cost: $200 (includes full retreat, a beautiful goody bag, snacks, herbal teas & gifts, deep nurturance and so much more!!)
Description: In this nurturing birth preparation class, we stay local and build our tribe of local birthin' mamas. We meet Friday night, then Saturday and again Sunday at the Shanti Center in Bellingham. You go home to your own cozy bed each night. This is a women's retreat, but Saturday afternoon, we invite partners in to join in the fun for awhile.
We share meals, light candles, make noise, dance, invite our dreams, explore labor/birth/postpartum, create art, make peace with our bodies and our histories, rest, breathe, walk, paint, release our fears, celebrate our beauty, connect with our babies, learn the arts of deeply preparing for childbirth & motherhood, release what is no longer needed, bless each other, honor and decorate our bellies and ignite our inner-mama wisdom.
This retreat is perfect for new and experienced mamas, and birth worker mamas (midwives, doulas, childbirth educators, etc.) in their third trimester who really want to take their preparation to a deeper, soul-and-body-nourishing level!
- 2016 Spring dates to be announced soon
- Nov 6-8, 2015 - CLASS FULL
Cost: $200 (includes full retreat, a beautiful goody bag, snacks, herbal teas & gifts, deep nurturance and so much more!!)
Description: In this nurturing birth preparation class, we stay local and build our tribe of local birthin' mamas. We meet Friday night, then Saturday and again Sunday at the Shanti Center in Bellingham. You go home to your own cozy bed each night. This is a women's retreat, but Saturday afternoon, we invite partners in to join in the fun for awhile.
We share meals, light candles, make noise, dance, invite our dreams, explore labor/birth/postpartum, create art, make peace with our bodies and our histories, rest, breathe, walk, paint, release our fears, celebrate our beauty, connect with our babies, learn the arts of deeply preparing for childbirth & motherhood, release what is no longer needed, bless each other, honor and decorate our bellies and ignite our inner-mama wisdom.
This retreat is perfect for new and experienced mamas, and birth worker mamas (midwives, doulas, childbirth educators, etc.) in their third trimester who really want to take their preparation to a deeper, soul-and-body-nourishing level!
Sacred Beginnings
Classes for mamas & babies
Upcoming Dates:
Cost: $200, includes 8 week series for mama & baby, many beautiful take-home projects, a beautiful goody bag, snacks, herbal teas & gifts, invitation & access to a private Facebook page for this class, and sisterhood - meeting women in your tribe of new mothers who know and understand the joys & challenges of new motherhood... priceless!
Description: Women coming together, with baby, to honor the sacred journey of motherhood.
Sacred Beginnings is an 8-week class series. We, along with baby, sit together in sacred circle to honor the rite of passage of bringing a baby earth-side, whether it's the transition from maiden to mother or the transition to more than one child. Empowered by the support of other mothers, we build our village during a time of challenge, beauty and growth. Through the gifts of community, commemoration, celebration and ceremony, we shine light on the many vibrant experiences of mothering - those moments bursting with unbound love as well as the raw, vulnerable times. This series is open to all moms, new and experienced alike, who desire to infuse their mothering and their lives with these holistic practices.
Week ONE: Sacred Space & the Journey of a Mother
Forming sacred circle with other mamas & their babies, establishing sacred space and honoring the rite of passage of welcoming this being into the world.
Sister Project: making sacred altar candles
Week TWO: Growing Pains
Honoring the raw, vulnerable times of mothering while celebrating this moment.
Sister Project: learning baby yoga
Week THREE: Healthy Home
Opening our circle with acceptance of the many types of mothering while exploring the importance of living as closely to nature as possible.
Sister Project: using essential oils
Week FOUR: A Roadmap for Parenting
Recognition of our deep-seated knowing. All the intelligence we need to raise this child is already within us.
Sister Project: exploring baby's astrological chart and/or using the Mother Wisdom deck + creating vows to baby
Week FIVE: Connect
We bond with baby through sight, sound, touch, smell and the biological rhythm of breathing. Dive further into physical connection and the bounty of benefits of skin-to-skin time.
Sister Project: learning tender touch bonding
Week SIX: Release (a time for mamas only, no babies this week)
With this tiny human, completely dependent on us for her every need, fear often finds its way to the surface. We acknowledge our deepest fears, shine light upon them and release them to allow ourselves to parent from our highest selves.
Sister Project: releasing fears
Week SEVEN: Nourish
"Let food be thy medicine and medicine by thy food." - Hippocrates. Build a repertoire of recipes for conscious preparing and cooking clean foods while building ritual around nourishment. We'll also work with restoring a positive body image after birth.
Sister Project: creating nourishing food for baby, mama and the rest of the family and creating sacred kitchen signs
Week EIGHT: Blessed Be
Celebration & ceremony of this time together, this time with baby and our intentions for the future.
Sister Project: baby & mama ceremony + going to the bowl + potluck
- New 8-week class series to be announced - please let me know if you are interested in an Autumn 2016 class
- Location: Shanti Center, 700 Dupont Street, Bellingham, WA 98225
- Time: 10 - 11am
- Email me if you are interested - class limited to 10 mamas
- Babies age: in-arms. Crawling babies are too old (sorry)
Cost: $200, includes 8 week series for mama & baby, many beautiful take-home projects, a beautiful goody bag, snacks, herbal teas & gifts, invitation & access to a private Facebook page for this class, and sisterhood - meeting women in your tribe of new mothers who know and understand the joys & challenges of new motherhood... priceless!
Description: Women coming together, with baby, to honor the sacred journey of motherhood.
Sacred Beginnings is an 8-week class series. We, along with baby, sit together in sacred circle to honor the rite of passage of bringing a baby earth-side, whether it's the transition from maiden to mother or the transition to more than one child. Empowered by the support of other mothers, we build our village during a time of challenge, beauty and growth. Through the gifts of community, commemoration, celebration and ceremony, we shine light on the many vibrant experiences of mothering - those moments bursting with unbound love as well as the raw, vulnerable times. This series is open to all moms, new and experienced alike, who desire to infuse their mothering and their lives with these holistic practices.
Week ONE: Sacred Space & the Journey of a Mother
Forming sacred circle with other mamas & their babies, establishing sacred space and honoring the rite of passage of welcoming this being into the world.
Sister Project: making sacred altar candles
Week TWO: Growing Pains
Honoring the raw, vulnerable times of mothering while celebrating this moment.
Sister Project: learning baby yoga
Week THREE: Healthy Home
Opening our circle with acceptance of the many types of mothering while exploring the importance of living as closely to nature as possible.
Sister Project: using essential oils
Week FOUR: A Roadmap for Parenting
Recognition of our deep-seated knowing. All the intelligence we need to raise this child is already within us.
Sister Project: exploring baby's astrological chart and/or using the Mother Wisdom deck + creating vows to baby
Week FIVE: Connect
We bond with baby through sight, sound, touch, smell and the biological rhythm of breathing. Dive further into physical connection and the bounty of benefits of skin-to-skin time.
Sister Project: learning tender touch bonding
Week SIX: Release (a time for mamas only, no babies this week)
With this tiny human, completely dependent on us for her every need, fear often finds its way to the surface. We acknowledge our deepest fears, shine light upon them and release them to allow ourselves to parent from our highest selves.
Sister Project: releasing fears
Week SEVEN: Nourish
"Let food be thy medicine and medicine by thy food." - Hippocrates. Build a repertoire of recipes for conscious preparing and cooking clean foods while building ritual around nourishment. We'll also work with restoring a positive body image after birth.
Sister Project: creating nourishing food for baby, mama and the rest of the family and creating sacred kitchen signs
Week EIGHT: Blessed Be
Celebration & ceremony of this time together, this time with baby and our intentions for the future.
Sister Project: baby & mama ceremony + going to the bowl + potluck
What Moonbelly Clients Are Saying
"I cannot truly say how incredibly grateful I am to have had your care, support, and tender guidance throughout this journey. What an incredible journey it has been! I have always felt so calm and powerful in your presence, and feel honored to have been the recipient of your incredibly special gift of your midwifery care. Love, Michelle" |
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