My first offering of the sacred feminine through the use of creative arts, was to write a musical theater production in 1999. It was titled, Dancers of the Dawn, and was the precursor to In Our Right Minds. The play featured a cast of seven women of different ages, shapes, sizes and colors. Through dramatization, the women shared the lost history of the sacred feminine. They explored the energy and power of the ancient Goddess, threading this heritage into their lives as contemporary women. They also shared the chilling untold history of the subjugation of women, especially during the witch-hunts of The Burning Times, and the impact this has on women today. Seven drummers stayed positioned to stage left, bringing primal rhythms and beats into the production. Comedic scenes brought huge laughter as the psychic weight of long-standing gender hierarchy was exposed and fell away for a spell. Original songs became anthems for audiences to take away. Ultimately, the piece was a celebration –
“a Cape Canaveral lift-off!” The play launched the next 25 years of my commitment to sharing this message.
Here is a scene from the play: We Celebrate This Woman. It has stayed with me like a beloved friend all these years. I can still hear the women’s voices resounding in the theater. Setting the scene… the cast formed a semi-circle, this shape was a recurring theme as it energetically included the audience in full circle communion. The drummers played an irresistible beat, and one-by-one each woman took her place in the center of the circle. Here, she danced wild and free, as the other women called out in unison, “We celebrate this woman!” Each sequential passage was called out by one of the women, and each woman took her turn at dancing in the center of the circle.
We celebrate this woman!
See her beauty! See it radiate from within! She is the image and likeness of the Goddess! As the rivers and streams, the lakes and oceans are Mother Earth’s sacred blood, so is this woman’s blood sacred. The stream of life runs through her; the blood of life runs through her. Her sacred blood follows the cycles of nature, for she is one with Mother Earth!
We celebrate this woman!
See her hands that work and create, that caress and comfort! See her arms that gather and hold, protect and enfold. See the strength with which she protects her boundary.
We celebrate this woman!
The nurturing love of the Goddess flows through her. Whether it is the milk that grows a child or the love and care that flows in energy from her heart to the world, the healing love of the Great Mother flows through her! She is holy! She is whole!
We celebrate this woman!
Her womb is the womb of creation! All that is good is birthed through her. Her soul’s gifts are gestated in her womb and are born with love into the world. Carrier of life, carrier of love, carrier of all creation – she is sacred!
We celebrate this woman!
See her legs that dance her sacred and joyful dances! From her hips to her feet, she is grounded deep into Mother Earth. See her legs and the strength with which she stands in the glory of her divine heritage.
We celebrate this woman!
Blessed is her roundness! Blessed is her fullness! Blessed is her softness! Blessed is her body! The sacred fire of the Goddess glows in her belly.
We celebrate this woman!
We honor her courage. We honor her strength. She is true to herself. See how she acts from her inner knowing! She how she refuses what is not right for her. See how she opens all her energy to that which honors and sustains her!
We celebrate this woman!
We honor her wisdom. We celebrate her journey and the life experience that makes a spiritual elder, a wise woman, a crone, and a Keeper of the Flame. For she is a Holy One. She is a daughter of the Goddess. She and all her sisters are a divine lineage. Oh, Blessed One, we celebrate you!