As we midwife Her return to Her natural place of Spiritual Authority in this world, we, Her children in service will come together, with our hearts wide open and our egos well in check. We propose a second gathering of the priestesses.
WHY?
Because we need to REALLY work together to co-create the power and beauty it takes to make deep change.
FOR WHAT?
To blossom a New Earth all over this planet.
WHAT IS THE PREISTESS CONVOCATION?
Imagine….. a SEVEN day plenary experience, collaboration of Ceremony, Dialogue, Presentations, Art, Music, Dance, Local Tours, and co-creation to empower the Priestess and revitalize the Motherworld Vision for the Globe. The Convocation will take place on the beautiful Greek Isle of Crete, home of the ancient Priestesses.
RECLAIMING
At last year’s Convocation, we were in The Great Remembering……..firstly remembering our ancient glorious past, then mourning what had been taken from us, lost over thousands of years of patriarchy, then sharing our ceremonies and skills, then celebrating our coming together again from all over the world.
This time we are in The Great Reclaiming, coming together to revision, rebuild, and midwife our shared vision into each other and the world. For those of us who have been feeling the shifts and changes, and been a little confused by them, we can now understand that we are all being prepared. And when we come together in Crete, some very deep and ancient ways of Being will be reclaimed by us ALL.
“PRIESTESS CONVOCATION 2024 –The Great Reclaiming”.
In 2013, Anique Radiant Heart, Elder Priestess of the Temple of the Global Goddess in Australia received a vision to gather the world’s Priestesses at an International Convocation.
DEFINITION
A “convocation” is described by The New Dictionary as:
con·vo·ca·tion (kŏn′və-kā′shən)
The act of convoking.
A group of people convoked, especially the members of a college or university community who are assembled for a ceremony.
A clerical assembly of the Anglican Church similar to a synod but assembling only when called.
An assembly of the clergy and representative laity of a section of a diocese of the Episcopal Church.
The International Priestess Convocation which took place in Crete in 2022 can be described this way:
A gathering of Priestesses from around the world to share and create information; plan ongoing activities; ground the Motherworld.
WHY ARE WE GATHERING AGAIN?
In the past 20 years, there has been a burgeoning of Goddess Studies and Priestess Trainings. In the UK alone, Kathy Jones and her community of Priestesses, have trained and worked with Priestesses who have now begun the same work in many countries.
Goddess Temples, with attendant Priestesses and Priestess Trainings, have blossomed in Europe, Canada, the USA, Mexico, Argentina, and Australia. There are Facebook pages with literally thousands of women, who identify as Priestess, and others, where the word used, is Shaman/Shamanka yet what is being shared is the work of a Priestess. With all this activity and creativity, why are we still waiting for the Goddess to take Her rightful place of Spiritual Authority in the world?Some thoughts……
Many of us who are trained/ordained Priestesses are doing many things……. sometimes in groups yet more often than not in isolation. In travelling the world, I have found that women are seeking to connect….to share and learn from each other. There is also the power of coming together and how that proximity/propinquity manifests into the world as projects designed to bring Her into global focus as Centre.
Yet even with the many and powerful ways available to us for networking, nothing works quite as well as when we gather in Her name, with a specific intention. After 5,000 years of patriarchal travail, it was time for the Priestesses to gather once again, as we did for thousands of years before the “change”. And when we did, it was glorious!
WHAT WILL WE DO WHEN WE GATHER?
The theme for the Priestess Convocation 2024 is to reclaim Her ancient ways of Rites of Passage.
These rites are both personal, and communal.
So for a woman, some personal life rites are:
- Birth
- Menarche
- Pregnancy
- Giving birth
- Menopause
- Eldership/Croning
- In a village/community some of the rites are:
- Blessing of the Land
- Blessing of the crops
- Consecrating a Temple
- Naming a new child
- Witnessing a marriage
- Burial
- Clearing of spaces like new homes
And these are just a few
How are these Rites of Passage celebrated in your Land/Community? How do you as a Priestess or Priest with your sisters and brothers facilitate these rites through ceremony and ritual in your community?
This is what will unfold at the Convocation.
The Venue
Last year, we lived for 1 glorious week at the Chrissi Amoudia Hotel in Hersonisos. It was splendid. The food was exceptional and for those of us who enjoy a glass of wine, the alcohol was free and plentiful. The staff outdid themselves to serve us and we were treated with deep respect by the management.
The PROGRAM for our gathering of Preistesses
One of the most challenging aspects of conferences and gatherings, is that in an effort to give as many women as possible a forum for their work, there is always such a large choice of offerings in any time slot, so that often we miss out on experiencing a sister’s offering because we have to make a choice.
This International Priestess Convocation is presented in full plenary for all sessions.
The Temple we all build together is one of two sacred spaces we create at the hotel. A large marquee is set up on the tennis courts and we – together – decorate it and transform it into a beautiful sacred space. This where the daytime ceremonies take place.
There is also the conference room of the hotel which we transform into a sanctuary where the evening activities take place.
Groups of Priestesses and Priests will be invited to put forward proposals about the work they do in their lands. This must be original work, designed to move the Global Goddess Movement forward. Of particular interest will be work developed to create/support Temples and Priestess Trainings. It is our intention to include all who wish to serve.
A Circle of Elders was formed for the last Convocation, appointed from the Global Pool of Senior Priestesses, who choose who will share their work. The Convocation spans 7 days. The days flew by and many of us could have stayed at least another 7 days. How rare to have this time to really build something….a Global Community, dedicated to bringing about a New Earth.
CONCLUSION
The world as we know it is changing at a remarkably fast pace. Not all the changes are positive, although some are. We, as Her Priestesses and Priests, have a responsibility to have an input to these Global needs. To do so effectively, we need to work together.
Building strong networks and deepening trust between us – through a Global Perspective – is critical to building a strong grass roots movement which can and will inspire all who are touched by it.
Let us join together, in true Sisterhood and Brotherhood, and begin the Global Work of bringing the Goddess into the centre of LIFE on this planet.
With deepest love and blessings,
Anique Radiant Heart
Holy Elder of the
Temple of the Global Goddess