A Deeply Flavorful Tea When I Am Sorely In Need of Replenishment, Renewal, Release: Summer Moon Tea, Flavored Black Tea ...
"Late nights, warm breezes, fresh flowers growing in your garden. Something different is awaiting you. Opposites attract and we offer you this limited edition summer tea. Ripe juicy papaya, magnificent sweet mango. Combined with a surprise finish that will leave you wondering while gazing up at the summer moon. Delicious hot or iced! A tempting and necessary treat day or night! This is another in our summer 2006 Limited Edition Teas. There are VERY limited quantities available of this special blend. Be sure to get yours today." From SBS Teas.
"Every one is a moon, and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody"
Mark Twain
This tea is so good that as soon as I tasted it I went, instead of straight to update this blog, to place my monthly tea order with SBS Teas and ordered a pound of it. It is a limited supply tea and there is still some left but I shall be revelling in it for many months to come...
And how very true was Twain in his statement. We each of us have all of the elements of the earth inside of our bodies ~ bones, salt water, more... ~ and we will, upon occasion, come upon those dark times, and perhaps it is not that we try not to show them to anyone, but perhaps these are the times that we go underground. I know I do. And this is a very deep time for me.
I am coming into my Moon Time, and it is the final phase of what will be the monthly moontimes at all for me. I am perimenopausal, and I find that I go deep within myself at these times, even more so than the powerful inward pull of the regular month's cycles I have had all of my life. My periods were always long and hard, and now that I am approaching menopause they are not easy but they are different, and I go far deeper inside myself when this time arrives. I enter the dark side of the moon for comfort. I become very quiet. I commune with no one. I read and write and draw and paint and knit and do other fiber work, but I am very, very quiet while doing it. Tides and time are changing inside of my body, and even more in my life, as time passes, and Cronehood approaches, and I am ready to take on the mantle of the Crone. This requires much preparation.
Today I was very, very quiet. I sat down to answer e-mail and couldn't look at it. I deleted all the junk mail, saved that which needed to be saved, anwered a rare few, and then did my work, some little here on the computer, and I spent most of the day drawing and sketching and painting and reading in my big comfort chair ~ oversized, worn, and full of pillows. I didn't want to speak to anyone, communion with my animals was enough, and even they sensed the change and were quieter than usual. It's a funny thing how as the full moon approaches, all of Nature's creatures feel the shift.
There is a deeper shift happening inside of me than I have ever known, and with each moontime, I go deeper and become one with all the women that have come before me. This tea empowers me. All the women who came before me reach back to take my hand as I reach back to take the hand of the woman behind me. We are an unbroken circle. Perhaps this whole book and my entire life are about a woman learning how to come into her own power and then pass it on to heal and help others.
Tonight I found the most profoundly beautiful website as I was doing the research for this piece. It is Native American and the site is The Walkan Circle, "Indian Women" ...
"The honor of the people lies in the moccasin tracks of the woman.
Walk the good road....
Be dutiful, respectful, gentle and modest my daughter...
Be strong with the warm, strong heart of the earth.
No people goes down until their women are weak and dishonored, or dead upon the ground.
Be strong and sing the strength of the Great Powers within you, all around you."
WARRIORWOMAN HAS FULLY AWAKENED
This woman has been kind, gentle, and has such love.
All of this has been given with the blessing of the Great Spirit above.
But Great Spirit gave her something else and she didn't know it,
The Great Spirit gave her the blessing of being a Warriorwoman as
Now her light is lit!
This Warriorwoman has come fully alive today,
She is no longer anyone's slave or prey.
She is taking back her life today,
And those who know who she truly is, can stay.
No longer will she live the lives of others,
She will give back the blame and responsibilities of others where
It belongs,
For she also has the Bear and Wolf inside her,
Which is now so very powerful and uniquely strong.
The Warriorwoman now knows what road she must follow,
For others it will be too hard to swallow.
Her life was taken from her unknowingly many years ago,
And this Warriorwoman is taking back her life before the next winds
Blow.
Oh Sister Moon you give me the strength,
As a Warriorwoman to conquer what's on my path,
High above and way beneath,
And the much needed strength to take on the wrath.
This Warriorwoman is fully awakened and is taking a stand,
Taking the problems by the horns with my hand,
I will conquer that is all there,
All and who comes as they dare.
Warriorwoman has fully awakened,
And many will see that they have mistaken,
Of robbing her of her life, they as a thief,
Warriorwoman will conquer! And have no grief!
This warriorwoman will protect her people, her son, and those who
Need her.
If anyone hurts them, look out!
They will hear a GGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRRR,
As they run and shout!
This Warriorwoman is taking back her life,
Taking back the respect that was taken from her throughout the years
Ever so slow.
This Warriorwoman is removing pain and hurt from within the heart
Caused by the knife,
From all those who are both family and foe.
I am claiming what's mine, and my dignity,
From those who live in this society of vanity.
I am claiming back in full my heritage,
And as a Warriorwoman I am going to clean up many years of carnage.
For now standing in front of you,
You see this Warriorwoman, you see me.
Someone special has taught me to be free.
From this day forward for me, no more slavery.
Gentleness, kindness, and love is part of me, and so is my dignity.
This in NOT WEAKNESS, as other believe,
But this strength is within me and you.
I will listen to the Spirits and grow,
I will travel in the whispering winds as they blow.
All the work I now do will be for Our People and all nations,
I will protect and guide the future generations.
Now it is time for me to travel on my new path,
As a Warriorwoman conquering all wrath.
If you ever see me and want to meet me,
Please come, and I will also teach and share with you how to be
Free.
And so I sit here in awe, barely knowing what to say or how to follow those deep, deep words. I believe it best that I sit with my tea and go back to wordless pursuits. Drawing and painting, thinking and dreaming, not running from my body but feeling it, as we feel the Earth's changes we feel the changes inside of our bodies as well. A deep empowerment is entering my body and with it comes tremendous responsibility...
"Oh Sister Moon you give me the strength,
As a Warriorwoman to conquer what's on my path,
High above and way beneath,
And the much needed strength to take on the wrath.
This Warriorwoman is fully awakened and is taking a stand,
Taking the problems by the horns with my hand..."
This Summer Moon tea will help me remember, will help me ride the tides of this Moontime inside of my body, and flowing out around me into the world. Past menopause and into Cronehood we surely do become Warrior Women, and I feel the spirit growing strong within me everyday.
Ride the Moon. Bodysurf the tidal waves. Drink your tea.
Maitri