The Iseum of Mary Isis

Reflections on Christmas

Nancy Dew — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 20:12:12 +0000

Beautiful friends,

Blessings of the Winter Solstice to you. May the rebirth of Your Light shine forth for all to see!

It is Christmas Eve and the New Moon is shining up there among our stars.

For many of us this eve of Christmas conjures up in our hearts and minds, little children with visions of Sugar Plums dancing in their heads. The thrill and excitement of waiting for the elusive Santa Claus.

I believe there is still for me, the magic this little old man brings, which is the Spirit of Giving at Yuletide.

This year there seems to be, in our precious world, more suffering than usual. I am troubled, as I am sure you are, with the news that portrays such sadness. Yet even with their usual dismal report, most newscasters are giving an inspirational story at the end.

On one such inspirational news report, I saw that all over the our dear country, individuals are going into stores and paying off or down, another family’s layaway, before Christmas. Well, this moved me so, that it sent me to one such store in Santa Rosa (after first checking around Gualala to find that no layaways existed) to join in this effort. My heart was so full in doing so.

While I didn’t set up my tent in San Francisco or Oakland, my heart and prayers were with those thousands of people all over the US, who have represented us, the 99%, the backbone of our nation. And they Have made a difference. They have been heard, and what they have done is now dinner table talk. It is in the collective consciousness. Like Margaret Mead so correctly said “Remember, a small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

I see that this movement has brought about this year, a deeper sense of altruism. People are helping one another. I see it everywhere. We Care. Now, perhaps that is the real meaning of Santa. For isn’t he the archetype for Giving.

I feel that while I couldn’t physically join the Occupy Movement that boasted concern for all of us, I could give in my small way to one family and ‘pay it forward’ if you will.

My wish for you is that the Spirit of Christmas lives on in your heart, and may you be filled with the magic and wonder of a child.

Yes, Virginia, I say to my mother, who always made Christmas so special for me, there really is a Santa.

Lots of love, joy and peace to you,

Nancy Ana

Summer Wrap Up and Reflection

Nancy Dew — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 00:57:35 +0000

Lilith is absolutely gorgeous at this time of the year as the fuchsia orange sunsets casts their golden glow through the redwood trees so full now of the dried amber duff. There is a time in evening when the whole land is bathed in a rusty copper Autumn haze… and it lasts only a few moments. Lovely!

The summer just flew by…. Was there really summer up here ? My vegetable garden has been confused, to say the least! But now the pears have been picked and pear butter is boiling on the stove, and the apples are dropping into the chicken pen. Autumn is a fun busy time, just before the darker, quiet, within time just ahead, which I so love and crave.

I had an incredible solo journey all over No. California in July. So rich with experiences, adventure and peaceful journeying. No trip plan… just freedom and the road…. Jumping into lakes I passed, and walking through streams on hikes. I recommend this kind of sojourn to you. It is sooo fulfilling and enriching in so many ways.

And my kids and grand kids were just here for their week of Camp Lilith. How precious they all are… and how grateful I am to have such a sweet and loving family. We laughed a lot, ate a lot, and just had joyful fun! And of course, did Ritual in our

Blessed Sacred Forest…. which the kids just adore. This has become a very important part of their visit….. complete with drumming, rattling and singing! Really good.

And when it was time for the chaos and mess to leave…. It was time for it to leave!!!

Today is September 11, and much is being made of the 10 year anniversary of 911. I wish to focus on the beautiful memorial fountains that have been created at ground zero. They are magnificent monuments… waterfalls of dazzling beauty that honor those who lost their lives 10 years ago…. as well as to the strength and resilience and of our blessed country.

It has come to my attention that tonight CNN will air, at 7pm, ‘Beyond Bravery… the Women of 911’ The book of this title, which resides in our Red Tent, was written by a woman we know from ‘Women’s Spirit’.

As a wise Kahuna from Hawaii says in his teachings… ‘The World Is As You See It’ What you see and how you see it, is just how it will be for you. My Autumn Blessing is for you to visualize our

beautiful world as a healthy, loving and peaceful place for you and your family to reside.

Blessings to you all on these auspicious days of the Full Harvest Moon with Mabon/Autumnal Equinox soon approaching.

Lots of love and joy and peace,

Nancy

Family

Nancy Dew — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 18:13:48 +0000

My Goddess, it’s already April and Spring is here! At Lilith, the daffodils have popped their bright yellow faces up towards the lengthening sun…and I am back ease in the snow!

I’m just coming home from Philadelphia, home of Logan, my youngest grandchild, who had his first Birthday on February 27th. I have two older grandkids living in Providence, RI; Eve, age 8, and Brendan, age 6. I am delighted that we were all together for Logan’s birthday.

Being a grandmother, ‘Nanna’ as I am called, is by far one of life’s greatest gifts. The full responsibility rests on another while I get the giggles, the cuddles and fun play time. There is an amazing joy in witnessing the gene pool spreading down through out these precious souls.

I think what gives me the most incredible amount of pleasure though is watching my daughters become contributing, happy, and fulfilled women in their own right. Their mothering to these blessed beautiful beings is good, Really Good. They are centered and grounded with their husbands in decision making, and they are completely loving, comfortable and natural mothers.

My daughters have moved into the role I have left behind now and they are doing it well. They have achieved a richness of life and a sensibility in these productive years that can only reflect the best to Eve, Brendan and Logan.

I can see that their love and compassion, their joie d’vivre, has grown out of the deep love and respect I have for them, and for that I am very grateful.

Life is Good

I am very Blessed

2011 is going to be a promising year at the Iseum

Nancy Dew — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 02:35:13 +0000

Blessings of the New Year to each of you!

May it be a promising and positive year, with a huge dose of Goodness, Tolerance, Abundance, Love and Peace for all people everywhere.

The Iseum of Mary Isis has a new calendar for the New Year! It appears to be a very busy and productive year ahead, thank you Goddess!

2010 Priestess Apprenticeship

I am very excited to announce that this is the 13th year in the Iseum of Mary Isis. At this Summer Solstice, we will commence another yearlong Priestess Apprenticeship.

Here is our Vision Statement….

The Iseum of Mary Isis is dedicated to supporting women in knowing the power, wisdom, strength, compassion and the unconditional love of the Divine Feminine.

The Iseum is devoted to women’s spiritual growth and the courage to be one’s authentic self by exploring the mystery of our true essence as holy women.

Living in sisterhood, listening to nature’s guidance, the Iseum of Mary Isis celebrates, protects, and honors all of life by embracing Mother Earth and all her relations.

If this program interests you, please come to our High Tea for Prospective Apprentices on Sunday March 20 at 1pm, here at Lilith, in Northwest Sonoma County, California. Call me for more information: 707-886-1810

May you shine the light that is yours to shine.

May you move through any fear that has stood between you and your joy.

May you choose, unconditionally, to love yourself and others, with a full heart.

May you find that inner peace, that we all seek, and discover it has been in you all along.

May you, regardless of challenges, continue towards your own dream.

~Shiloh Sophia

BLESSED BE

Birth of The Sun

Nancy Dew — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 15:53:17 +0000

Dear Ones,

Since the Autumn Equinox on September 21, when the days and nights are of equal length (equinox), we have been experiencing shorter days and longer nights. As Grandfather Sun settles lower in the sky each day, he is finishing up his year of blazing across the sky and now reaches his ‘dying’ point for this year, and drifts lower and lower towards the loving arms of Mother Ocean.

photo by graur codrin

At Winter Solstice, (’sol’, sun, and ’stice’, standing still), December 21, he is at the lowest point in the evening sky, and our Sun takes a moment of rest, at the very second of Solstice, 3:38pm PST on the December 21st. Then he is reborn, a moment later, into a new baby sun…. beginning his path across the sky, for another year.

The ‘birth of the sun’….is historical, is a fact of nature, and has always happened since the beginning of time, during this season of the year in the northern hemisphere. This is the time of year when the ancient ones, the Pagans, the first Earth Based Spirituality celebrated with bonfires, not only to keep warm but to welcome the birth of the sun, the fire, which will slowly rise in the spring sky and make everything grow again in summer.

The church, which in its beginning, decided that the Pagans were evil, because they worshiped with the cyles of nature, and not in a church, began an Inquisition, to do away with people who worshiped outside, and bring them into a church for the worship of Jesus. One of the ways in which they did this, was to place ‘their holidays’ on or near the holidays which had been celebrated by the Pagans in nature since the beginning of time. Hence, the ‘Birth of the Son’, Jesus, or Christmas, landed near the Winter Solstice, in which nature worshipers were already honoring the ‘Birth of the Sun‘.

So now is the dark time before the renewal of the light. It is a fertile time in nature. Everything,…plants, and trees, is nurtured by Mother Earth, deep at root level, before regrowth in Spring. How are you nurturing yourself right now? What needs attention, at soul level within, in your lives. How are you ‘going within’ and this time on the planet? We have the opportunity to do just this, because of having shorter days, and longer dark hours.

In Earth Based Spiritualilty, we align with the great Mother of all, Mother Earth, and live with her cycles. Now is the deepening time, when we allow ourselves to reflect on what may not be working in our lives, that which is not in our Highest Good, and we take the time to see how we can

love ourselves even more by letting go of that which does not serve us, and come to a Higher place in our lives.

“Our task is to stump this provisional, perishing earth into ourselves so deeply, so painfully and passionately that it’s being may rise again,’invisibly’ in us.”

Rainer Maria Rilke, 1925

Many Blessings to you for this deepening time.

May you be with the love of family and friends for the holidays.

Love,

Nancy

On the Path to Becoming a Priestess

Nancy Dew — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 18:49:21 +0000

To become a Priestess at The Iseum is a path we all carefully chose

Terry, Holly, Marcy, Lisa, Melissa and Cora Rose

We each approached the year through some personal nudging

To spend time at Lilith where there are drums and some smudging

Our apprenticeship began at Summer Solstice in the year of twenty Oh Nine

With Eight-week ends to discover our expression of the Feminine Divine

Bound together with love and a string of bright pink

A spiral dance in a circle, our hands and hope we did link

With The Heroines Journey, a workbook, that would serve as our text

Slowly guiding and unfolding what we needed to know next

Using Myth as a tool we each as a woman began to explore

Our Mother, Our Father, and Our Selves to adore.

We called in the Directions, North, South, East and West

Asking great spirits to help us to bring out our best

The Elements were all presented with love, laughter and mirth

Each priestess expressing ways to honor our great Mother Earth.

With birdcalls, mud, mermaids, red hots, jumping fire

We began our initiation to a place we could only aspire

Goddess Theatre was presented, we were not sure of it what to make

First we met Durga then Nancy appeared nude and wrapped in a snake

Each time that we met, there was so much to learn

And when we left… to return, is all we would yearn

And when the time came Our H.P. ANA was always there without fail

To design every altar with exact perfect detail

The ancient Wheel was explained, with care and with passion

With each of us wide eyed and dressed in the best Goddess fashion.

Sitting in circle, sharing our lives, the laughter and tears

The joys, the sorrows, the courage, the fears,

not to mention Goddess Gaia cooking vegetarian meals

We all helped with clean up, from compost to sweeper

Always aided by a Priestess, in service as Temple Keeper

We met Spider Woman, Hestia, Bridget, Cerridwen and Danu

Each time wondering which Goddess WE would pursue.

Melissa heard Bast’s meow the very first day

While we anticipated Psyche until the middle of May

Marzenna appeared with a wagon filled with soup, cards and bells

Yemaya moved us with waves of movement and shells

Sophia shared pearls of wisdom all dressed in red

The Goddess kissed us good night as we went off to bed

There were witches, and rituals, and a personal vow

At yoni rocks it was a windy and memorable wow.

We had a watery rebirth with our mentors on hand

A baptism and promise to and from this sacred land

We made shields and rattles, pentagons, crowns and a staff

Sang, chanted and giggled as we all shared in a laugh

We bathed in a river, and let go of the past

as the Wheel of the Year spun by so fast

So today my sweet sisters, one journey will end,

But I am eternally grateful to have you each as a friend

Thank you for sharing yourselves through this amazing year

The memories we have are deep and quite dear.

I truly love you, on that I am clear.

Blessings to each, Marzenna, Yemaya, ANA, Psyche and Bast

Some wisdom from Sophia … Live, Love, Enjoy life , have a blast!

Holly/Sophia 2010

Holly

New Priestessess Get Ordained

Nancy Dew — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 21:46:18 +0000

Sat May 22 was the 4th annual ordination for our current apprentices!

This glorious event took place here at Lilith, on the most beautiful land, where flowers were abundant, as was the beauty of each Priestess. We regally Ordained 5 new Priestesses into our Iseum who had taken the year long Apprenticeship Program.

The day began with light showers from sweet Mother Earth, which we didn’t mind a bit, as a Pageant of Priestesses walked the forest, to be blessed at each Altar, Earth, Air, Fire and Water, in the most Holy of Holies of our Rituals.

Priestess Sumedha danced in the Red Tent, a magnificent dance to Kali, to banish the destruction taking place on our planet.

Kaliani and Tara danced a sacred hula to Pele, Goddess of the Volcano, under the stately redwood trees.

The Spiral Choir sang melodiously, our sacred songs, as our Faerie Godmother sprinkled Faerie dust on our heads.

Our High Priestess, Nancy Dew, led the procession in her feathered crown, carrying her staff through the forest to the Fire Altar, where a fire kept us warm! Each Apprentice passed through the Winged Portal and was Anointed Priestess with Spikenard Oil, the oil that Mary Magdalene used to anoint the feet of Jesus.

Our day was glorious in every way! Nearly 30 Priestesses feasted on a sumptuous vegetarian meal created by Priestess Gaia, as we sipped mead wine.

We feel very Blessed to do this holy work in the world, and to have royally honored the Goddess, with our prayers, music and sacred ceremony.

Blessed Be

Celebrate with Us in 2010!

Nancy Dew — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 20:50:43 +0000

We’re excited with our Iseum’s timeline for 2010! With our Red Tent Temple newly complete, we have scheduled a number of seminars and spiritual retreats to take place this year in our sacred space. Several extraordinary teachers have come forth to present this summer and autumn. We will focus our teachings around The Divine Feminine and this year we will complete our 12th annual Priestess Apprenticeship program.

Priestess Sumedha Khanna will host an Authentic Indian Cooking Class Saturday, July 10th.

Priestess Cornelia Reynolds, gourmet vegetarian chef, will give a cooking class that will include healthful dietary information on Saturday, October 2nd.

Priestess Jacqueline Lappe, well loved certified relax and renewal yoga teacher, will share her skills with us in a Gentle Restorative Yoga Class Saturday, October 23rd.

Saturday, November 6th Lucinda Weaver, professional dance performer and instructor will offer a Creative and Contemporary Dance Workshop which will include a gourmet lunch provided by Priestess Tara Burkhardt.

And as always, the second Sunday of every month we offer Sunday Circles at 11am in the Red Tent led by High Priestess Nancy Dew.

We’re grateful for the rain we’ve had here in North West Sonoma County this past winter. The daffodils are turning their little blooming faces to the Spring sun here at Lilith and all is well.

Blessed Be.