For your personal invitation to the Wise Woman Within Circle: The Inner Journey please see here. To read more about the deep concepts that will be part of this Inner Journey please read on.
I’m in awe of the synchronicity of the Universe…I love how sometimes when you follow your curiousity (as Liz Gilbert recommends) you can find yourself one Sunday realising that a seed has been planted in your heart and it feels so right and a new idea is born! And so it was with the birthing of the next Wise Woman Within circle in 2021. I describe my deep healing intentions for this circle here in the invitation.
Today I want to describe more about the initiation journey for menopause, the Croning Ceremony that Susanne Fincher outlines, the Great Round and also about the Artist Way and how all of these resources support the “journey to conscious acceptance of self, body and soul.” Susanne F Fincher.
Initiation journey for menopause/midlife: I’ve been fascinated with the idea of rites of passage, initiation, rituals and ceremony for awhile now. When I read Susanne Fincher’s book Menopause: The Inner Journey it gave me great relief with the idea that I could create a sacred container for my own initiation journey for the transition and transformation that occurs at midlife. I totally recommend reading her book and here are a few of her quotes that inspired the idea to do an initiation journey in 2021 as part of a sacred women’s circle.
“When you accept menopause as a soul journey you open yourself to an experience that alters your connection with the mystery within and outside of yourself.
Susanne F Fincher Menopause: the Healing Journey
“Rituals gave voice to my awe of the power that moves behind a human life and sends us healing whether we want it or not.”
Susanne F Fincher Menopause: the Healing Journey
“Rites of passage support the (woman’s) psychological transformation. In seclusion she is separated from all the trappings of her past identity… After a period of introspection to accomplish the renunciation of the old she is then presented symbols of her new life. In the receptive state created by her solitude, the encounter with the sacred symbols imprints her new identity…By accepting her new status the group helps the (woman) to see herself as a (Crone).”
Susanne F Fincher Menopause: the Healing Journey
Croning Ceremony: This will be my third journey through the 12 stages of the Great Round and I may or may not be ready for a Croning Ceremony in February 2022 when I turn 50….I may need to travel this inner journey more times, as Susanne Fincher says, this journey takes time and patience as well as the inner work of introspection and journalling. So this is an invitation to be initiated in this Croning Ceremony only when you feel ready. I still see the initiation journey as extremely valuable no matter how many times you cycle through it as you continue to journey into your True Divine Self. I also see enormous value in taking part in supporting another woman to do her Crone Ceremony as preparation for each of our own journeys. How beautiful to think of the women who have gone before us and the women who are yet to come all standing in circle supporting the initiated ones. Susanne Fincher describes a Croning Ceremony in her book and as a circle we will research it and create a ceremony that is meaningful for us in our circle. (More on Croning Ceremonies is here).
Great Round: Kellogg identified 12 archetypal stages of human functioning that link together in a repeating cycle of growth. This was called the Great Round and was based on the work of Jung to explore the ever-changing qualities of human consciousness. Fincher then used the Great Round to help make sense of her inner initiation journey of menopause. You can read my blogs about the 12 stages of the Great Round here. There is also a nice summary here.
“Kellogg’s Great Round reflects the dynamic relationship between the ego, the centre of consciousness, and Self, the centre of the whole psyche residing in the unconscious”
“The twelve stages of the Great Round are a schema for describing a continuous, cyclical pattern of personal growth…as the spiraling stages are experienced again and again you can better integrate an awareness of the Self, the centre point guiding your process.”
Susanne F Fincher: The Mandala Workbook
“Your challenge is to surrender to the (powerful images of the) unconscious …and reconstruct your ego to accommodate this new information. For your ego this feels like a sacrifice…yet you find yourself enriched with a stronger, more complex, more resilient, more flexible ego which increases your ability to receive and make use of the ancient wisdom of the Self.”
“When the ego is in harmony with the (authentic) Self more energy flows…creating a feeling of personal power.”
Susanne F Fincher Menopause: the healing journey
The Artists Way: This is an amazing healing program to discover and recover your creative self and your connection to the Divine Creator. We will use many exercises in this book to support us in the Great Round; our initiation journey into midlife.
“The Artist Way is for anyone interested in practicing the art of creative living.”
“No matter what your age or your life path, whether art is your career, hobby or your dream, it is not too late or too egotistical or too selfish or too silly to work on your creativity.”
“You are creating pathways in your consciousness through which creative forces can operate”
“When we open ourselves to creativity, we open ourselves to the Creator’s creativity within us and our lives.”
“As we open our creative channel to the creator, many gentle but powerful changes are to be expected.”
“Our creative dreams and yearnings come from a Divine source . As we move towards our dreams, we move toward our divinity.”
Julia Cameron The Artist Way
Hopefully I have stirred your curiousity? What do you feel in your heart? Is this Inner Journey calling you? Your invitation is here.
All creative images are created by Sara Phillips – copyright 2017-2021
Deep Heart Wisdom 