It's scary putting yourself out there! Thank Goddess I came across Brene Brown's latest talk on why it's necessary to have courage to be vulnerable. It really helped shore up my confidence. Often it takes a lot of courage to go for your dreams. No matter what happens, they can put on my headstone when I'm done with this world, "At least she tried" and I'd be satisfied. We'll never know if something is possible, unless we try.
I've been sending emails and direct messages asking if people would give me feedback on my next step and I will send the link when it's ready. So far, I've been getting great responses. I wonder what people will say when I send them the Kickstarter preview page? I'm really happy with the way it's coming together, thanks to Michael Zeligs help from Start Motion Media. Michael is a crowd sourcing expert and filmmaker I hired to help me with this project. 
My transiting astrology is prime for the timing. My Saturn return is happening and Jupiter and Pluto are all in my 10th house. The 10th house is the house of career. My natal Saturn and Jupiter are also on my mid-heaven which has to do with career, and they are coming into conjunction which is a very positive aspect. Saturn is the planet that makes you focus and is a task maker. Jupiter is the benefactor planet that has to do with expansion and money. Pluto represents death and rebirth and transformation. Sounds like I'm in for a ride!

I often hear women say this: that they'd love to have a place for women to gather. Every time I hear that, it gives me fuel to move forward with my project. We are all yearning for a place to connect with other women, take a respite from this crazy world, be authentic, be witnessed and share deeply. We deserve it! There are women's circles happening all over the world where we can do just that. Check out http://www.findawomenscircle.com/ as a resource to find a women's circle in your area.
​Watch the videos of my weekly updates to follow along with my crowdsourcing journey, which launches in June, to establish the first brick-and-mortar Moondays location!  

Our culture pushes us to go, go, go all of the time. It's way too yang. Moondays will be a great excuse to take the time out and be in yin mode. Taking short respites is so important for our health and building our "feminine muscles."
​Watch the videos of my weekly updates to follow along with my crowdsourcing journey, which launches in June, to establish the first brick-and-mortar Moondays location!  

"There's nothing like a dream to create the future," said Victor Hugo. Isn't that the truth? It's so much better to create your own reality than to live by default.  "What's the worst that can happen? They can't eat you!" -- sage advice from business coach Barry Moltz, in reference to the fear of trying new things in business.  I have to remind myself of that. Working to do something that's never been done before can be scary, especially when I get some sideways looks.

People also thought I was a little nuts wanting to sell rocks. Meanwhile, 30 years later, I'm still thriving, supporting my family and selling treasures of the mineral kingdom through my business, The Fossil Cartel. :-) Some people "get" Moondays and others don't, just like with the rocks.

Watch the videos of my weekly updates to follow along with my crowdsourcing journey, which launches in June, to establish the first brick-and-mortar Moondays location!  

We must take care of ourselves if we're to take good care of others.  If we're going to rise up as women, get stronger, demand respect and accomplish our goals, it behooves us to take care of ourselves. What do you do for self-care? I'd love to hear in the comments.

​A little summary of what Moondays is all about and why I'm doing this. In short, the world is f*ed and I can't just sit around and not do anything. This is my plan: create a space for women to come together because, in order to heal the planet, we must heal the divine feminine. Women must come together to rise up!

I’ve been working on my messaging for Moondays. How can I most succinctly and effectively communicate my vision?

"It’s like a constant girls’ night out, but not just for partying.
It’s a happening place to escape, relax, connect and celebrate what it means to be a woman. It’s been a man’s world for too long."

I just finished the book Made To Stick; Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die, by brothers Chip and Dan Heath. One of the concepts discussed was relatability or concreteness. Someone is not going to latch on to a concept they don’t understand or have something to relate it to. Take for example a Red Tent. Not everyone knows what it is. Without having to go into a long explanation, if I say it’s like a ‘girl’s night out’ – well, everyone knows what a ‘girl’s night out’ is!
I pray I get the message right and massive amounts of people want to get behind it.
As mentioned in my last post, I wanted to approach a potential corporate sponsor like McMenamins to see if they had any interest in partnering. I wound up meeting Shannon McMenamin at their Cosmic Tripster party and felt a great connection. I just wanted to establish a relationship and plant seeds. Perhaps we can do something together in the future, but right now it feels right to pursue the crowd sourcing option as originally planned.
I just signed a contract with an experienced crowd sourcing expert with a great track record, to produce the crowd sourcing video and coach me in the process. This person totally gets my vision. His wife does yoga and attends women’s circles. They are of the tribe and this is exactly what I need! We will be working on the video and strategy together from April to May. Meanwhile, I will be studying his manual to prepare as best I can. Launch target is June, 2019!
The image above inspires me. The simple act of braiding another girl’s or woman’s hair is a lovely act of sisterly love. Loving gestures like these help us heal and grow. With all the misogyny we’ve endured for thousands of years, our sister love has been tainted. The patriarchy has pitted us against each other and kept us separated, for the most part. It’s time we come back together and reclaim our voices and our power!

Roadblock or Protected?
Hatch never came through. I was supposed to start their crowd sourcing program in the spring of 2018, only to learn it was suddenly on hold. They told me it would probably be a couple of months. Now, five months later, it’s still on hold. I can’t wait around. It may be a sign anyway, as Hatch does not have a long track record. Maybe it’s my angels watching out for me. Instead I’ve decided to go back to regular crowd sourcing along with pursuing corporate sponsorship, after approaching McMenamin’s to see if they have any interest. McMenamin’s already has the infrastructure, the aesthetic and the audience that would be perfect for Moondays. It would be a great add-on to their offerings. I also found a wonderful crowd sourcing consultant that can help me launch. I have another idea up my sleeve, too. The Goddess Oracle card I pulled for guidance suggested I get creative and it inspired me. Stay tuned for more updates! And thank you ever so much for your patience and hanging in there with me on this journey.
“Timing Is Everything”
Astrologer Kelly Davidson reminded me of this aphorism. And thanks to Kelly’s astrology skills, I’ve learned that the stars are in alignment to begin the campaign next spring.  My Saturn return will be occurring in my house of career and Jupiter (the benefactor planet) and Pluto (death and rebirth) will be there as well. It should be interesting! Meanwhile, I continue to roll the snowball up the hill. That’s what it feels like creating something that’s not already there, especially something outside the box and having to do with women. Consciously and subconsciously, people don’t place high value on women’s needs. I get a lot of great support from many women and some men who love the concept, but then there are others who are not so encouraging.  It takes a lot to process and deal with any unsupportive push back. It’s a constant effort to find my way back into the Vortex (per Abraham-Hicks), or into the Zone (per Joseph Campbell) -- the Moondays Red Tent Vortex Zone! Thanks to all of my sisters and male allies who remind me and help me return.
Next Steps
I recently put together a media kit for Moondays, and thought it was pretty good. I was proud of myself for doing all of the graphic design on my own with help from Meagan Hope of Mega Marketing. You can see the finished product in the slides below. I showed it to a friend who has a high level of experience in branding and marketing and he pointed out a bunch of things I needed to change. He also referred to it as a “pitch deck.” He showed me an example of one he worked on and offered to help with mine. It was much more involved and sophisticated than my media kit, and I was so excited he was going to help me with mine! We spent 4 hours brainstorming the perfect tag line and he seemed so supportive. Unfortunately, a month later he decided not to help me. He had other ideas for how to move forward, but they weren’t in alignment with mine. I see the value in having a better pitch deck, though, and plan to create one based on his example. This and all the other things I have to do towards crowd sourcing and attracting corporate sponsorship are going to take time. Putting together the monthly Red Tents also takes a lot of my time and energy, so I’m going to have to shift the way we’ve been doing them. I am asking other women to step up and lead the circles, which makes sense because we’re going to need other women to lead circles in the brick and mortar Moondays! I am lovingly nudging women to step up and practice their leadership skills. Morghannah is leading the November Red Tent and I couldn’t be more excited! Morghannah has been to several Moondays Red Tents including our Mother-Daughter Red Tents, and a Red Tent where we had a Blessingway for her while pregnant! Morghannah is a trained priestess. She is going to do a wonderful job!

If you are interested in leading a Red Tent or learning about how to lead one, please get in touch!

What is worth sitting outside for hours upon hours, 2 days in a row?
The first time I went to Women of the 14th Moon four years ago, the friend who invited me didn’t tell me what to expect. If she would have said I’d be sitting outside under a canopy all weekend for hours upon hours listening to women speak, testing my patience, I might not have come. But the experience of hearing women of all ages bravely share their stories and being vulnerable in front of a circle of 100 women is transformative. For the most part, women have been afraid and have been taught never to speak up, that our voices are worthless, that we were never worthy. Hearing these women's stories I am astounded and outraged -- not only about the amount of abuse they have experienced, but that it’s still happening! Even the youngest maidens describe their formative years as having included suffering all forms of abuse and neglect.

How women heal.
There is so much healing in being truly seen and heard in a non-judgmental, loving environment. Plus we don't feel so alone when we hear others have experienced similar lives. Women walk away elevated, more confident, buoyant and at peace. During the weekend campout women make new connections and foster existing friendships, giving us a strong sense of sisterhood and support from a larger family. We experience the sense that we are all “familiars.”

How Women of the 14th Moon came to be.
The W14M event also consists of honoring the 3 different phases of women’s lives: maiden, matron, and most importantly, elder. “The ceremony was created in 1987 in California when three women -- a Cherokee, a Celt, and a Jew -- came together because they wanted to do something to heal the great fear of aging among women today, particularly in this society. Drawn together by synchronicity, or “luck” as some people call it, they shared their visions. What emerged that first year, 1987, was a ceremony created by women of three different nations and meant to empower and honor women of all nations. It was a ceremony not only for the elder women but also for mothers and daughters, for grandmothers and granddaughters, for matrons and maidens.” --from the W14M website.
The founders borrowed from their ancient culture's traditions -- connecting us to Spirit, the earth and our ancestors, which creates a sweet, powerful experience that is far different than our normal modern experience of being connected mainly to our electronic devices.

Why we need more women's circles.
This ceremony and these types of ceremonies, rituals and women’s circles not only help heal women, they help heal the planet. Every time we come together in circle, it amplifies the divine feminine. When the divine feminine amplifies, it rights the imbalance of male/feminine energies on the planet. If you haven’t been to a women’s circle, please find one or create one. It could simply be a group of friends or complete strangers you meet online. And of course, we’d love for you to come to our Moondays Red Tent circles! (Our next Red Tent circle is Sept. 22th btw!) And come to the Women of the 14th Moon next year! It’s always Labor Day weekend. Let me know if you would like to be invited as it is a private event.

Recognizing our weak spots
Owning a small business for 29 years, I’ve learned that the best way to manage employees is to capitalize on their strengths and compensate for their weaknesses. It’s a good idea to do this for ourselves as well. In getting Moondays off the ground, I’ve recognized that one of my weaknesses is not having the experience of attracting investors. For my small businesses, I’ve always just taken out loans and used credit cards. It’s so fantastic that crowd sourcing is an option, and one way to get around my limitation. If I don’t know how to attract individual investors one-on-one, I can attract them through a group offering online.  Another option is corporate sponsorship.
Corporate sponsorship
There are many businesses that would be in alignment with Moondays’ mission and vision. It’s possible that some of them may believe in the concept and people behind it so much (aw, shucks – thanks!) that they would be willing to pay for sponsorship. One of the first examples that comes to mind is McMenamins. Their décor, their business model and their demographic are right in line with Moondays. Another one of course would be a large alternative feminine products company, or a brand like Oprah.
Compensating for my weak spot
Corporate sponsorship is a possibility, but my weakness rears its head again. I don’t have a clue how to effectively approach big companies. I’ve been praying for a female mentor who could help me with this sort of thing. I am thrilled to announce: she has manifested! I met her at my weekly Weight Watchers meeting and she happens to live only four houses down from me! She’s been living there for years and we’ve only just connected now. Timing is interesting. Her name happens to be Susan, too. She was the vice-president of a big institution in Portland for 15 years and raised millions of dollars in corporate sponsorship for them! She is a wonderful, radical woman and I am beyond grateful she wants to help.
This is where I can use your help
Susan gave me step-by-step instructions on how to go about getting corporate sponsorship. The first thing is ‘who do you know?’ Who do you know who works at one of these companies or has a connection to someone? I have a couple of people up my sleeve, but the more connections I have, the better chance of success! Please let me know if you know of anyone in an executive position (or close to an executive position) in a company that might have an interest. Here are some examples:
1.  Thinx
2.  Conde Nast (Major Magazine corporation. One of their mags is Teen Vogue and it’s very feminist!)
3.  Ms. Magazine
4.  A natural makeup brand
5.  Providence Health
6.  A Natural Clothing Line
7.  Yoga Journal
8.  A tea company
9.  LuLu Lemon
10.  Full Frontal- Samantha Bee
11.  Spas
12.  An herb company
13.  A resort/destination spa – partner on Moondays’ getaways, McMenamins!!!!
14.  A lotions & potions company
15.  Oprah
16.  Martha Stewart
17.  PSU
18.  My Lola
19.  Diva Cup
20.  The Red School (small biz, but right in alignment with Moondays!) There are many others out there this size that might be interested in partnering in some way or another. I’m looking for other kinds of alliances, too.)