Red Tents and The New Vernacular
With all the increased awareness of the red tent movement, I’m curious about the new verbiage that comes up in conversation around it.
· We’ve got the expression “red tent” – which many women are somewhat familiar with but most aren’t.
· Growing up in N.Y., we’d never call a girl or woman “sister” unless she really was.
· We’d never say, “I’m on my moon” instead of “period.”
Come to think of it, probably women from most other states have shared the same vernacular. Exceptions to this would have to be California, ‘fur sure.’ This new jargon comes from more of a New Age vocabulary. Unpacking it can be very inspiring: we’re to look at other women as being related, connected – as in having a sister. Being “on our moons” instills the awareness that our periods are related to the moon and its cycles. In fact, “cyclical” is a word that is being spoken quite frequently these days, too. It is a call again for women to tap into their cyclical waxing and waning natures and reclaim the Divine Feminine. Besides, the word “period” is so dissinteresting. And final.
As physically challenging as it is to articulate the word “cyclical,” it is in another vein, psychologically uncomfortable for me to say “sister” when talking about or addressing a female friend. What is my blockage? I know that the word has an upright meaning and one that I’d like to convey. The image and feeling I get when I think of the word is of a naive or insincere hippie. Where does my blockage come from? Is it because my consciousness is so mired in the old social paradigm, reflecting the repression of the divine feminine? Is it also because this same consciousness has taught me to feel separate from other women and not like they are my sisters? I also feel a little funny speaking to others about the “divine feminine.” Why should it feel like such a strange concept? Is it because God has been a “he” for millennia? Would I be risking scorn from people by suggesting female energy is equally as sacred? After all, women have been second-class citizens for thousands of years. How can we be associated with that which is hallowed?
In our modern, industrialized, Western culture, we are so far removed from each other, insular in our urban, nuclear families. We have been so distanced from sisterhood and the lifeblood of womanhood. Feeling alone, our female essences are further stripped when we are taught to ignore our periods and get on with our day-to-day lives.
Me and some sistas (a few million women) are on a mission to bring the divine feminine back. We are starting to honor what it is to be a woman instead of trying to be a better man. I believe the red tent movement is a big part of this. I’d be curious to hear how it is showing up in your lives.
.
With all the increased awareness of the red tent movement, I’m curious about the new verbiage that comes up in conversation around it.
· We’ve got the expression “red tent” – which many women are somewhat familiar with but most aren’t.
· Growing up in N.Y., we’d never call a girl or woman “sister” unless she really was.
· We’d never say, “I’m on my moon” instead of “period.”
Come to think of it, probably women from most other states have shared the same vernacular. Exceptions to this would have to be California, ‘fur sure.’ This new jargon comes from more of a New Age vocabulary. Unpacking it can be very inspiring: we’re to look at other women as being related, connected – as in having a sister. Being “on our moons” instills the awareness that our periods are related to the moon and its cycles. In fact, “cyclical” is a word that is being spoken quite frequently these days, too. It is a call again for women to tap into their cyclical waxing and waning natures and reclaim the Divine Feminine. Besides, the word “period” is so dissinteresting. And final.
As physically challenging as it is to articulate the word “cyclical,” it is in another vein, psychologically uncomfortable for me to say “sister” when talking about or addressing a female friend. What is my blockage? I know that the word has an upright meaning and one that I’d like to convey. The image and feeling I get when I think of the word is of a naive or insincere hippie. Where does my blockage come from? Is it because my consciousness is so mired in the old social paradigm, reflecting the repression of the divine feminine? Is it also because this same consciousness has taught me to feel separate from other women and not like they are my sisters? I also feel a little funny speaking to others about the “divine feminine.” Why should it feel like such a strange concept? Is it because God has been a “he” for millennia? Would I be risking scorn from people by suggesting female energy is equally as sacred? After all, women have been second-class citizens for thousands of years. How can we be associated with that which is hallowed?
In our modern, industrialized, Western culture, we are so far removed from each other, insular in our urban, nuclear families. We have been so distanced from sisterhood and the lifeblood of womanhood. Feeling alone, our female essences are further stripped when we are taught to ignore our periods and get on with our day-to-day lives.
Me and some sistas (a few million women) are on a mission to bring the divine feminine back. We are starting to honor what it is to be a woman instead of trying to be a better man. I believe the red tent movement is a big part of this. I’d be curious to hear how it is showing up in your lives.
.
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