Stand Strong, Be Heard, Feel Free

Welcome to this handbook of women’s mysteries, written for women and girls of all ages. Full of invaluable advice for healing, empowerment, and creativity, it taps into practices and teachings that were, in ancient times, taught to all girls from puberty onward. The teachings went underground 3,500 years ago with the rise of the patriarchy but are now revealing themselves again, as waves of girls and women step forward to be seen, known, and respected as the leaders of the future.

Today, you are recognized and celebrated as one of these courageous and powerful women!

In the past, we would only have been taught the wisdom and practices appropriate to our age. But now, with humanity on the precipice of change, many keepers of ancient mysteries believe they should be shared with a wider audience if we are going to birth a brand new world where cooperation, peace, and prosperity are available to all humanity and where we once again respect and harmonize with Mother Earth.

Who is better equipped to birth a new world? Women, which is why there is a tsunami of interest in women’s empowerment, not by becoming mini-men but by embodying the sacred mysteries of the feminine.

Each chapter of this handbook, whether in written or audio format, builds upon the next, reflecting the natural passage from blossoming womanhood, through creativity and mothering, finally arriving at the golden years of wisdom and transformation. To enhance the embodiment of the teachings and bring them alive, most of the chapters are accompanied by one or more meditations in MP3 format. I’ve carefully selected these visual imagery exercises to enrich your relationship with your body, its rhythms, and the creative power that flows through it. It’s best to approach each meditation with the mind of a child—innocent and curious—letting your heart lead the way into mystery, imagination, and inspiration. In addition, some of the chapters also include questions to stir your thoughts and feelings; for feeling leads to healing.

I see each chapter, with its questions and meditations, as an intimate journey into womanhood. Take time to absorb what you read and experience, recognizing that each exercise is designed to open the way for clarity, healing, and transformation, which may need days or even weeks to fully embody. Initially, you may decide to focus on the particular area of the book relevant to your needs. But I suggest that at some point you read all the chapters, as there are nuggets of gold on every page that you may wish to share with friends, sisters, children, and grandchildren.

I suggest you write or draw your insights into a special notebook or journal, both for your own reflection and perhaps to be shared within the sacred space of a women’s group. The more we communicate as women, the more healing we bring to the world.
This handbook complements my earlier inspirational book Healing Power of the Sacred Woman, which covers each subject in greater depth, giving historic, esoteric, and everyday meaning to a woman’s health, creativity, and fertility.

Mysteries

Every religion and culture has its mysteries; beliefs that are difficult to explain or define through our human mind, given that they exist in the world of spiritual truths and archetypes. These mysteries are usually passed down through the telling of stories or myths when the logical mind is switched off, allowing the intuitive heart to listen. Creation myths are the most common, attempting to explain something that, even today, our scientists are still trying to understand. Many cultures believe that the source of all creation is feminine not masculine, often known as the Great Mother, a term you’ll hear throughout the handbook.

The best known female mysteries in the western world are the Eleusinian Mysteries, which continued as an annual event in Eleusis, Greece, for over 1,500 years. They followed the story of the descent into the underworld of an innocent young girl named Kore (also known as Persephone), the ensuing grief of her mother Demeter, and Persephone’s eventual resurrection as a fully mature woman. Great secrecy surrounded these mysteries, although it is known that the female participants went through several physical and emotional purification processes before descending into the underworld to reconnect to their inherent power, wisdom, and creative inspiration: the mystical essence of a woman’s menstrual cycle.

The honoring of this ritual benefited not only the participant but also strengthened the collective awareness and creative abundance of all women. For women are bound together by three amazing truths: we embody the power of love, we flow with intrinsic rhythm, and we are the true spiritual leaders of this world.

Stepping into Mystery

Being female means there’s no need to develop our biceps or intellect to be powerful. Our bodies are primed at birth with abundant creativity and magical powers, while our minds have access to deep wells of wisdom. These gifts are activated at puberty, but sadly, without knowledge of the mysteries, most women access only a small percentage of the power and creative opportunities that are readily available to us when we work in rhythmic cooperation with our body and the creative genius of Mother Earth.

Since the mysteries were lost to us with the rise of the patriarchy, around 1500 BCE, there are few role models alive today who embody the persona of a fully empowered woman. To begin the change, I would love to see every girl and woman respecting themselves and their bodies, refusing to allow anybody to disrespect them, whether by words, looks, or physical actions. Respect is a fundamental right of all people and always begins with us.

Some Juicy Thoughts

• We women are only using a small percentage of the power available to us by birthright.
• As females, we have innate gifts which, when fully embraced, would change the face of humanity’s evolution, bringing peace, cooperation, and well-being to all.
• Women are the soil for all new birth; by letting go of outdated beliefs, healing old wounds, and having compassion for ourselves, we heal not only our ancestors but the children still to follow.
• For centuries we’ve been disconnected from Mother Earth’s fiery dragon energy, which is our innate creative power. It is time to reawaken our inner dragon.
• It’s predicted that: A thousand years of peace will come when women heal their hearts.