EP58_Solstice_soloJune12 - 12:06:24, 09.16
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Alex: [00:00:00] Everyone and their cat is talking about witches. But what is a witch or medicine woman or a priestess? How does one become one and what is the common thread between women who identify as such magical creatures? Welcome to the witch hunt podcast where we hold space for healing conversations that collectively explore these questions with the intention of celebrating of illuminating and of elevating the rise of feminine energy magic and self sourced power You all in a world that's gone pretty much mental.
Every new and full moon hostess, Alexandra Raquel Hughes, who identifies as all three of these sacred types in her own weird way, invites you to brew some [00:01:00] tea, to light a candle, and to join her in her conversations with witches, medicine, women, and other magical creatures from around the world. So come, gather to share in the knowledge, experience, magic and sacred stories of those women who once hunted to be burned at the stake are now hunted to be held in the light so that they, so that we can illuminate the way.
I believe. The Great Mother is calling women forward to bring about balance. This is why I lead Ceremony, a little like an earth church by and for women. Ceremony is a modality that was born of ancient feminine wisdom that helps women to step into their potential, into that capable and competent version of Of [00:02:00] yourself who's connected deeply to your knowing your power unlocked.
Welcome to episode 58 of the Witch Hunt podcast. This is a solo episode where I share my lens on the concept and practice of sacred feminine ceremony. An ancient modality supporting modern women to connect with the earth and to experience her energetic portal as a means of healing and personal expansion.
Ceremony is a space where women. can step into and embody the version of their selves. They need to be in order to bring their dreams to life. This episode also serves as your personal invitation to my upcoming online solstice ceremony shine. It takes place on June 20th. [00:03:00] Enjoy the episode and I hope to see you at Solstice.
Let's talk universal truths. Things like how winter happens after fall, how the sun comes up every morning, And how the moon waxes than wanes, how leaves fall from trees and flowers, bloom, birth, growth, demise, and death. Laws that aren't about right or wrong, but that simply are. My question has become how we humans as elements of the natural world engage with these laws that mark the changes of our earthly wheel of time in a way that is supportive to us, and all that lives around us.
I reside on the shared [00:04:00] territory of the Haudenosaunee, the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabeg, the Chippewa and the Wendat peoples now known as C Toronto, aka Toronto. Every year I spend a weekend in the spring, putting my winter sweaters, coats and hats into the storage boxes in the basement. I usher my summer dresses and sandals into my closet, scrub down and set up the garden furniture.
And in the fall I rake the leaves, go on my candle shopping binge and bring in the firewood. In winter or when the moon is dark or when I am in my bleeding phase, I rest and contemplate a little more. And when the moon is full, I might feel a little more energized and social. And so it goes, nothing weird, just life in Toronto, me in my cycles.
But thousands of years ago, before the establishment of monotheism and [00:05:00] churchianity, as my friend Kiki calls it, there was a reverent practice towards these cyclical rhythms of nature. Life cycles were everything to everyone. And they felt like magic. Sacred constructions were made in different places around the world at different times by different peoples to commemorate the same cycle of life.
A dynamic rhythm that was synonymous with the feminine energies of creation. Goddess archetypes represented different energetics and the earth and her creatures were treated as sacred. Humans gathered to capture and harness the energy of her sacred moments that marked worldly changes in their lives.
And if you dig deep enough, you'll learn that religious holy days today were founded on these sacred earthly moments. Holy days layered upon one another over millennia with only the latest version drawing on narratives and teachings born [00:06:00] of patriarchal value systems. Because if you peel back the layers far back enough, you learn that it was the sacred feminine that exists beneath it all.
Ceremony. Ceremony is that moment in time when humans can, as an element of this eloquent and intelligent system that is nature, root into these energies to connect with the world around them and with their inner knowing that is their soul. So that for those of us in the North, we might be invited to honor the darkness and the first glimmer of light on the December solstice as it is experienced around and inside of us.
And on the June solstice, We may come [00:07:00] together to honor the power of light and fire and passion as it exists around and inside of us. At a time when the world around us feels so disconnected from our values and our vision of the way we are. It is meant to be. Many of us seek a spiritual home where we feel a sense of aligned connection and belonging.
Perhaps a place where we might feel rooted so that we can rise and make the change we are here to make. A place where we find peace. and empowerment where we honor the earth and ask her to empower us so that we can walk a path that brings more beauty, love, justice, and balance to replenish ourselves so that we can walk the good walk during this[00:08:00]
I want to invite you to imagine a church that wasn't hierarchical, a church where women felt safe and supported, a church that was maybe led by women, a place where women were gently led towards unlocking their potential towards healing the narratives that hold them back, the disconnect, the scarcity, the isolation.
I believe the great mother is calling women forward to bring about balance. This is why I lead ceremony a little like an earth church by and for women. Ceremony is a modality that was born of ancient feminine wisdom that helps women to step [00:09:00] into their potential. into that capable and competent version of yourself who's connected deeply to your knowing your power unlocked.
When women come into ceremony, they often enter uncertain of what to expect, but almost always, in fact, I've never heard it said otherwise. They begin to feel a sense of familiarity and belonging as though their cells remember being in circle with women at a sacred moment in time to support one another.
because they do. Their cells do remember. Your cells will remember. Your cells will remember how to root into the great mother together. Your cells will remember how to access your inner knowing and your power. I've witnessed women specifically [00:10:00] experience Getting radically clear on their next steps. I've seen women begin to work with their intuition and notice divine synchronicities in their life.
After coming into ceremony of deepened relationships with the natural world, I've seen women after ceremony, starting to take conscious action and begin living out their soul's purpose. And life after ceremony begins to take on greater meaning. and purpose for the women who join. The major shifts that happen in ceremony happen in short periods of time as well because ceremony is not only supporting your personal seasonal transition and connection to the earth.
It literally takes you into another version of yourself. [00:11:00] Think Drawing on nature's energy to support an alchemical transformation inside of you. The alchemical transformation that is happening outside of you in this natural world that we are intimately and intricately linked into. is drawn in and happens inside of you as well.
You embody the version of yourself that you need to be to reach your goals and honor your soul mission with the Earth's. Sacred Feminine Ceremony honors the sacred feminine and uses feminine technologies. Much like any religious service, it follows the sequence of events, a sequence of rituals that is [00:12:00] shared collectively.
Without giving too much away, ceremony usually includes a call to release of what no longer serves, an invitation to empty ourselves so that our bodies, the channel between earth and the divine. become clear so that we can access divine wisdom that speaks to us through our bodies and our intuition. And from there, we begin not only to envision ourselves, that version of ourselves that we desire and know we were born to be, but we actually step into it.
into her. We embody her. We imprint her into the more purified vessel that is our body, and we feel. And then, our cells remember. They [00:13:00] remember who we were born to be. So that in between ceremonies, we practice feeling into that imprint. Time and time again, We step into that version of ourselves that our body is now remembering, that our body becomes familiar with.
And so we practice until we step back into sacred circle where we are closer to being the woman we were meant to be. And we begin again, each time plugging into the earth's energetics, dancing with them in a way that weaves their teachings, gifts and power into our dreams and intentions. I understand ceremony to be an ancient art led by women for women, um, The art of healing and remembering, of stamina and resilience building, [00:14:00] of soul access, of walking that upward spiral of growth as defined by your soul's mission.
In my ceremonies, I draw on a toolkit of different modalities, including a combination of journaling, shaking, spellcasting, dancing, journeying, and deep thinking. Theta wave meditation. It's relaxing, replenishing, yet you leave energized, invigorated, and full of fire. It is an intimately individual healing and transformative experience that is shared amongst sisters.
But you don't have to listen to me. Listen to what Emily has to say. This is a note she sent me after she experienced the equinox ceremony. called rise in March of this year. [00:15:00]
Emily: I Have to take a minute to tell you all how amazing Alex's rise workshop was tonight. I, Alex, I knew this was your zone of genius before, but being in that space with you, being in your energy, it is remarkable. The skill and the ability You have to you just you have such an amazing presence. Like, I'm, I'm walking away feeling encouraged, supported.
Like, there are moments in it where it was like, you know. I don't even want to go as far as say a challenge, but like put a push or a nudge, right, to like uncover things, work through things, and then I just feel lighter and it was also aligned with the Equinox. I know you put so much effort into researching everything.
The readings that you brought in were wonderful. The order of events was [00:16:00] wonderful. The flow, the tech, you looked beautiful. Like. I'm just really in awe of you, and I could have sent this as a private note, but I wanted the whole group to hear it, because I know everyone will just echo how, like, this is your calling.
This is your calling a hundred percent. Just so, I just, I'm without words. I have so many words, so many thoughts, but I just have to tell you, like, immediately after I'm on this high of everything that just happened, you have a, an extremely special gift to lead. Women in this way. It is an honor to be part of it, and I'm just so grateful for you.
Keep doing things like that. I will be telling everybody about it. And yeah, like, more women need this experience. And I will just leave as my final note here. I know this is out of [00:17:00] context, but my favorite quote of the night, you are a dragon sex goddess. Dance like it. Oh, so good. Oh, I love you all so much.
Alex. I love you. You're amazing.
Alex: The world is a hard place. We need these spaces to process, to regulate, to replenish, to howl, to dance, to shake it out, to ground and center back into ourselves so that we can keep going and doing the work we came here to do. My next ceremony will give thanks to and harness the energies of the solstice, the day our great central sun shines hardest and longest, a day to clear out our dark spots and connect with our inner fires so that we can shine the way the world needs us to shine.
It's [00:18:00] going to be brilliant and you'll feel it inside and out. So join me on Thursday, June 20th from 6. 30pm to 9. 30pm Eastern, online. You can learn more and register at alexandrahughes. com slash solstice. I would love to have your energy in the room. I would love to see you Stepping out of this sacred circle, feeling connected to the earth, to the stars, to your ancestors.
And I would love to hear you say, as so many women have said, holy shit, Alex, nothing can stop me now. Sacred Feminine Ceremony offers an energetic portal to women who feel [00:19:00] called to a deeper Relationship with the earth as well as a deeper relationship with themselves. It's for women who are seeking to connect with their inner knowing, with their souls and with their power.
Women who want to unlock their potential so that they can bring their world improving dreams to life. If this is you, please honor yourself and join us. On June 20th, alexandrahughes. com slash solstice.
Thank you beautiful for listening to the witch hunt podcast. We appreciate your presence and are so honored that you're here. If you enjoyed the podcast, please leave a review, subscribe and share it with your friends. One great way to share [00:20:00] is by taking a screenshot of the podcast on your phone and And posting it on your Instagram story.
Please tag us at the witch hunt podcast so that we can help share too. Spreading the word like this will help us to find more witches and to wake more witches. Now, you know what it's time to do. Dance it out to the groovy. Tunes of Te Extraño, which means I miss you in Spanish. It's by Gamma Skies. Till next [00:21:00] time!
