‘You Are Woman’ Tour Excerpt
You Are Woman, You Are Divine: The Modern Woman’s Journey Back to The Goddess by Renee Starr:
Publisher: Over and Above Creative (September 23, 2015)
Category: Personal Transformation, Religion & Spirituality, Women’s Self-Help, Women’s Spirituality
Tour Date: Oct & Nov, 2015
ISBN: 978-0990792475
Available in: Print & ebook, 352 Pages
The modern woman often does not know herself as a goddess; her feminine energy is out of balance and her divine essence has yet to awaken. But the time has come, right now, for women to know that being female is special, sacred, and divine. This inspiring, poetic and magically potent book will entice women of all ages to explore and activate their relationship with the divine, feminine and most sacred part of themselves?the goddess within. In You Are Woman, You Are Divine, Back to the Goddess founder Renée Starr takes women on an enchanting, empowering journey, offering ancient wisdom in a fresh, modern way to help woman reclaim all the beauty, grace, and strength that being female is.
EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK: THE GODDESS YEMAYA & CREATIVITY
“All important things in art have always originated from the deepest feelings about the mystery of Being.” ~ Max Beckman
Creativity is a tender and tenacious vine, climbing always upwards and looking for the light, always seeking to grow. Creativity is persistent with only one prime directive—to become, and it is called forth by the most powerful, primal Feminine force.
The ocean goddess Yemaya woke me at 3:00 a.m. on a morning overcast with mist from the Pacific Ocean. She had appeared to me in my dream that night and shared her story just as you have read it. At the end of the dream, I felt her urgency, as if she were saying; Wake up! Write this down right now! But, I would not listen; I so wanted to stay in bed and sleep where it was warm and comfortable. But the story kept replaying and I could feel her urgings getting stronger.
I knew I must wake myself and honor this gift from The Mother of the Ocean, or it might be lost forever, taken back on one of her waves while I slept. I could feel The Goddess at my side as I wrote this myth. And in between sips of hot tea and watching the sun burn through the fog, I typed and beheld Yemaya’s sacred story making its way into this book. As the force of Yemaya calls whatever is formless into form, the idea becomes reality and new life comes into the world. From her sea comes all life; she is both The Mother and The Source. She dwells in the most infinite, creative place of your own feminine being.
As the very essence of motherhood, Yemaya is most favorable towards women and is passionately protective of them. The women who worship her are called Yemaya’s daughters. She is the fierce protector of all new life, particularly babies—and especially while they are still in the womb. For this reason, Yemaya is often called upon for fertility and for protection during childbirth.
Yemaya has several different aspects. Each one shows us a distinctive side of her nature that we may call upon depending on our needs at that time. You might invoke Yemaya’s loving and benevolent mother archetype when you need comfort, encouragement, and loving support. Calling upon her as the muse will bring you inspiration, ideas, and unique opportunities. Or you can summon her fierce and awesome nature when you need a strong protector from harsh critics or those who are attacking or blocking your efforts. I request all of these aspects of Yemaya to show up when I am being hard on myself while writing or painting, as she brings me comfort and protection—mostly from myself.
When working with The Mother Goddess aspect, you may find that your relationship with your own mother comes up. Whether your mother was good, bad, loving, indifferent, or disappointing, remember that we are all made in Her image—including your mother. Yemaya, with all of her many personalities, offers a great opportunity for you to understand, strengthen and if necessary, heal your relationship with your mother.
I was not close to either of my parents, and especially not my mother. I grew into womanhood feeling disconnected from her and eventually from all mothers. I found it difficult to receive elder guidance and support. I became very independent and eventually detached from my daughter persona entirely in my late teens. This was a rebellion, which snowballed into a profound disconnection from my creativity. I stopped painting and writing for almost thirty years. Creativity was the only connection that my mother and I had shared, and in order to distance myself from her, I took it away from both of us. When The Goddess finally came into my life, the daughter part of me that had been asleep was gently woken. I blossomed in a way that I can only describe as feeling like being adopted after having been an orphan. I now had a mother who loved me unconditionally, guided me wisely, and protected me completely. As my relationship with the goddess Yemaya deepened, I became more invested in creativity again. A new understanding that my literary and artistic gifts had come directly from my Divine Mother helped me feel safe enough to reclaim them.
Through my own healing, I have come to understand that the creative urge is exactly like the urge of life itself: it is a primal impulse. Just like life, it cannot be suppressed. It wants to be born, to exist, and to materialize. Ask any woman who is creative and she will tell you that she simply must make art, dance, sing, act, have babies, or do whatever she does to express herself. It is an essential, fundamental, and irresistibly necessary part of her life.
The goddess Yemaya is the essence of creativity, and you are the embodiment of it. So whether you give birth to children or to symphonies—or to both, the feminine urge to create is simply inherent within you. Your creative nature will survive the worst: a sad childhood, a bad critique, or your own demolishment of it. Its roots grow deep down inside you. When it is time for it to bloom, nothing, not even you, can stop those tender shoots from making their way up towards the light. Like the tenacious vine, its natural urge is to grow and exist.
My own desire to create and share my gifts is also an attempt to leave this world more beautiful and more blissful than when I first arrived. As an artist and writer, I would like to leave behind some evidence that I existed. This sentiment is similar to what women who wish to have children feel as well, wishing their ancestry to continue on. Art, writing, music, dance, or making a baby . . . for many women, it’s about creating something that lives on after you.
The urge to create comes from The Feminine, an essence that is available even for men. I think that is why we often hear men, after completing a creative project, identify with women by saying it was like giving birth. To carry an idea within you from the moment of its formation to the moment of its completion, marveling with wonderment and delight as it makes its way through you into the world, is an exquisite experience that is very much like the experience of birthing a baby.
Whenever you are in the creative experience, you are swimming in the most absolute, undiluted, and purely Feminine waters of The Divine. Yemaya invites you to dive into her endless and inviting ocean of creativity at any time.
About Renee Starr:
Renée Starr is a mythologist, sacred storyteller, life coach, and artist. A seeker of ancient Goddess and lunar wisdom for the modern woman, she offers classes, workshops, and Goddess Circles, as well as a variety of women’s retreats through her branded movement, Back to The Goddess.
Her passion is to assist women everywhere to awaken to their sacredness, their inner goddess-self and rekindle a relationship with The Divine Feminine. She has her own line of herbal, ritual and Goddess products.
Website: http://www.backtothegoddess.com/
Facebook: http://bit.ly/backtothegoddessFacebook
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ToTheGoddess
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/tothegoddess/
Instagram: https://instagram.com/backtothegoddess/
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