Someone Pass The Healing Stone

Menstruation is universally referred to as your “moon time”; there is a Moon Lodge with a “Moon Blood Earth Altar” where we are encouraged to offer our “Holy Menstrual Blood to Mother Earth” with prayers and intentions. 

Marisa Meltzer ventures into the sisterly world of braiding circles, “water healing,” and ayurvedic breast massage:

“We have created — and are creating — a community of mothers, sisters, daughters, grandmothers,” Spirit Weavers’ founder and trademark owner, Amy Woodruff, says into a microphone. She has long brown hair and a deep tan. In 2011, a photo of her doing a naked headstand while simultaneously breastfeeding her daughter Naia went viral. (“I was just doin’ my daily flow when the little sweet pea came to sneak a suckle,” Woodroff wrote at the time on her blog, Daughter of the Sun, where she also sells juice cleanses, incense, and “organic baby bootie balm.”) A Kundalini yoga teacher, Woodruff used her newfound fame to pivot into a kind of nexus for the sort of women who are drawn to water births and food-fermenting workshops. 

Oh, there’s more. Much more. And yes, there is a photo.

Via Alice.

Comments

[David]

Every night, as I am about to sleep, someone is “called” to start drumming.

And that’s when the killing would start.

[Joan]

Normally a group of women alone in the middle of the woods sounds like the plot of a horror movie. But it was also the vision of what a few women had decided "embodying feminist" means.

Sounds like a horror film to me.

[Anna]

So hell is real then.

[David]

So hell is real then.

I suppose that depends on your enthusiasm for “sacred” bleeding rituals, all-night drumming and howling, and vaginal steaming sessions:

Here at Spirit Weavers, the vagina is revered… At an Herbal Self-Care for Radical Babes workshop, we discuss yoni steaming — offered at Korean spas and written about on Goop, in which one sits over a bowl of boiling water mixed with herbs, and is said by adherents to relieve various ailments, from PMS to infertility.

Yes, vaginal steaming. With herbs.

Any takers?

[Ray]

And yes, there is a photo.

You know us so well.

[Jen]

Menstruation is universally referred to as your “moon time”; there is a Moon Lodge with a “Moon Blood Earth Altar” where we are encouraged to offer our “Holy Menstrual Blood to Mother Earth” with prayers and intentions.

Is it wrong to hope for a mountain lion?

[David]

Is it wrong to hope for a mountain lion?

I’m sensing scepticism. Obviously you need some magic steam in your vagina.

[jen]

LOL

[David]

Also,

The girl with the shaved head says we can feed our blood to plants: “You give life to them, and they give life to you.” She says there’s a marijuana farm not far away that has fertilised cannabis with menstrual blood for two generations.

So there’s that.

[Greg Allan]

"Is it wrong to hope for a mountain lion?"

How about a couple of white pointers in their pool.

[Revnant Dream]

The 21st century has gone back to the stone age. Who is surprised though when reason was thrown out the door for emotionalism.
Debauchery has become the sacraments of the day with Modern Mythology like human global warming enforced by Law. Honor despised for treachery as smarts. Law replaced by feelings with an elite exempt. Politics just an exercise to become rich.Rights instead of natural law are now bestowed by government whim.
Preachers who think God is a pay check.
Its all a piece of how wisdom of thousands of years is being abandoned for churlish selfish reasons pretending to be new.
The slaughter of babies normal while embracing the barbarian.
What an age to live in.

[Greg Allan]

"She says there’s a marijuana farm not far away that has fertilised cannabis with menstrual blood for two generations."

It's called "skunk".

[Cambias]

Glad to see they're not a bunch of science-deniers, like those Bible-thumping Kansas farmers with their GMO crops.

[David]

I do like that when you get to the end of the article, you’re presented with this.

Ladies, take heed.

[Burnsie]

On the one hand, you have scores of women running around naked. On the other hand—everything else.

(Processing … processing … processing … Ping! RUN AWAY!)

[Charlie Suet]

Does that mean six pairs or twelve?

[R. Sherman]

Marisa Meltzer ventures into the sisterly world of braiding circles, “water healing,” and ayurvedic breast massage . . .

But remember, those of us who attend staid Sunday services at our local Missouri Synod Lutheran Church are just crazy . . .

[R. Sherman]

This is the kind of place where fellow women are always referred to as your "sisters"— as in "make sure there's enough for your sisters," when you ask for another spoonful of guacamole on your vegetarian enchilada casserole.

I suppose making more guacamole is out of the question then. Yesterday, I bought avocados at my local supermarket--imported from California--at four for a dollar.

[Andy]

"Trademark owner"? Says it all, why is it that enlightenment and inner peace always seem to come with a price tag?
its just another ruse to get bored,well heeled women to spend money on useless crap that they don't need and wont make a damn bit of difference to their lives.

[R. Sherman]

Amber, the workshop leader, tells us. "I literally haven't had a job in 11 years because I can't work on my moon. . ." (Emphasis added)

Comment would be superfluous.

[BritInMontreal]

Would that be Phobos or Deimos?

[AC1]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-36775398
I wonder will British Misandrists be taken in the same way? Or is this merely the start of the criminalisation of the male?

[Farnsworth M Muldoon]

One of these things is not like the other:

BIRTH & MOTHERING With the birth of a baby, there is also the Birth of a Mother. This realization helps to bring tenderness to all, especially those who are unfolding into their new role as Mother. Spirit Weavers holds the Mothers of our Community close to heart. Education surrounding Birth and Mothering is so very important to us and we are happy to have a circle of seasoned sisters sharing about their experiences and knowledge surrounding these topics. We are happy to introduce our teams of Midwives, Doulas and Mothers: Sun:🌞 CHILDBIRTH EDUCATION: @gracefullbirth CONSCIOUS CONCEPTION: @paulamallis MAIDEN TO MOTHER: @paulamallis MAKING FOR MAMA: @birdsongbrooklyn Moon:🌚 ABORTION HEALING CIRCLE:

Tremble before them:

Rainbow Warriors at the Spirit Weavers Gathering...

My surprise is unbounded:

But it seems like the vast majority—85 percent or 90 percent—of women here are white. The employees of the camp, the women who clean the toilets, are Hispanic.

You could have knocked me over with a spirit feather.

[Jonathan]

I can't understand why they assume a woman has a vagina. It seems so transphobic to me.

/troll/

[jabrwok]

its just another ruse to get bored,well heeled women to spend money on useless crap that they don't need and wont make a damn bit of difference to their lives.

Fools, money, something, something.

[David]

For those so inclined, there is an Instagram account with lots of twig art, “drum birthing” and well-heeled hippies “embracing the goddess.”

[Crawford]

"Would that be Phobos or Deimos?"
Dear sir, I don't think Venus has a moon, as in men are from mars etc. etc.

[Greg]

"Yes, vaginal steaming. With herbs."

Steamed vagina with herbs. I think that would pair nicely with a Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc.

[sH2]

Do you have to take your own acid or do they provide it?

[David]

Due to the gendered nature of the event, I was feeling a little left out. I’m now squatting over a bowl of hot water and parsley, in the hope that the herbal steam will connect me with the Earth Goddess.

Nothing yet.

[Farnsworth M Muldoon]

For those so inclined, there is an Instagram account with lots of twig art, “drum birthing”...

There seems to be a lot of massively preggo wyxmyn (or men who are pregnant)in those photos, and nothing spells "responsible" like being massively pregnant in the middle of nowhere with nothing but a lot of loons who will bang drums and put rocks on you while you have a breech presentation or have some other complication.

[Nemo]

David, it takes a little thyme to act.

[Fred the Fourth]

A long time ago, my sister (God rest her soul) "retired" from her career as an ER RN in Denver (GSW, GSW, DOA ...) to start Aurora Nurse Midwives. This was one of the first midwife clinics with legit doctors and hospital connections in the US.
If I were pregnant, that's the kind of midwife I'd want.
Alas, no risk of mountain lions, but one cannot have everything...

[Trevor]

David, it takes a little thyme to act.
Sage advice, indeed.

[Spiny Norman]

there is a Moon Lodge with a “Moon Blood Earth Altar”

aka "Lunacy".

>_<

[Heather]

We live in a time when young women are embracing the trappings of New Age: meditation, tie-dye, whole grains, juicing.... Spirit Weavers is their Burning Man, their South by Southwest, their Las Vegas bachelorette weekend.

Ironically I have a bachlorette weekend in Vegas coming up which I have been dreading mainly because of the weather. Its looking good now. Playing blackjack and being over served in clubs seems much more fun than endless discussions of hoohas and communing with tree faeries.

[R. Sherman]

Steamed vagina with herbs. I think that would pair nicely with a Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc.

A simple lemon wedge would suffice, I think.

[Steve E]

Yes, vaginal steaming. With herbs. Any takers?

While the herbs may add subtle flavour, steaming vagina makes it rubbery and hard to chew. Vagina, properly prepared, is served raw, like sashimi.

[pst314]

"Menstruation is universally referred to as your 'moon time'
Where "universally" means "everyone I know is a nutjob."

[pst314]

"a 'Moon Blood Earth Altar' where we are encouraged to offer our 'Holy Menstrual Blood to Mother Earth' "
Worshipping genitals is very creepy...especially when one remembers just how much sacrificial killing of human beings that has tended to be connected to.

[Daniel Ream]

It seems to work for the Japanese.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanamara_Matsuri

Don't read the legend. Seriously, just don't.

[Paul]

The force defines misogyny hate crime as: "Incidents against women that are motivated by an attitude of a man towards a woman and includes behaviour targeted towards a woman by men simply because they are a woman."

Blast! I live in Nottinghamshire and I held the door open for a woman co-worker today. What evil and criminal scum I am.

[Farnsworth M. Muldoon]

The force defines misogyny hate crime as: "Incidents against women that are motivated by an attitude of a man towards a woman and includes behaviour targeted towards a woman by men simply because they are a woman."

In that case, you will be pleased to know that carbon fiber is a tool of the patriarchy and thus misogynistic.

The article in question is at the bottom of the linked page, and you will be gobsmacked to learn that the authoress is on the faulty of gender studies at the U of Sydney, and that:

Anna's methodological expertise includes arts practice, or practice research, which has links to methodological invention. She also works with ethnography.

Whatever the hell that means in English.

[David Gillies]

They'd never get up to all these shenanigans in the WI, which is where gels with too much time on their hands used to fetch up.

[David]

Don’t read the legend. Seriously, just don’t.

Like a fool, I read the legend.

[ Pours large glass of wine to steady nerves. ]

[PiperPaul]

"faulty of gender studies"

I see what you did there and I approve.

[Ted S., Catskill Mtns., NY, USA]

Due to the gendered nature of the event, I was feeling a little left out.

Claim you're transitioning into being a woman.

[Jay]

"food fermenting workshops" - I've got one of them, it's called the back of the fridge.

[jabrwok]

they are a woman

So not only are correct pronouns verboten when referring to generic, sex-non-specific, individuals, but even when referring to people of explicit sex? I'm pretty sure an individual woman should be referred to as "she is", not "they are". Maybe the writer thinks all women suffer from MPD?

[AC1]

David | July 13, 2016 at 15:07
For guests at David's dinner parties, a word of advice. Dodge the soup.

[Stan]

Back to the stone age, but with high taxes for us poor goobers who are dumb enough to still work for a living.

[SumDumGuy]

The force defines misogyny hate crime as: "Incidents against women that are motivated by an attitude of a man towards a woman and includes behaviour targeted towards a woman by men simply because they are a woman."

But what if I identify as a woman? Is it misogyny if I'm actually a woman?

[Robert of Ottawa]

There was no mention of matching shoes, just any 12 shoes at random, I suppose.

[Fred the Fourth]

Farnsworth: The "carbon fibre" lady's writing is clear proof of an old claim of mine, originally phrased in the context of engineering design: "Some designs can only be explained by the supposition that they have access to better drugs than we do."
Her basic thesis appears to be that all engineering is oppressive of women and pretty much anyone who is not an able-bodied hetero white male.
I'll be a lot more impressed with her when I hear that she is living in a cave with her "sisters", gathering food with her bare hands and drinking by putting her mouth directly in the river.
In the meantime an '82 Page Mill Cabernet Sauvignon that I opened an hour ago is crying for my attention. I can't guarantee that no carbon fibre was used in its production.

[jones]

I have found that gently rubbing a freshly hard-boiled Parrot's egg against my forehead does the job.

[Jamie]

Now just imagine for a sec that it was a bunch of men in the woods steaming their penises , Ayurvedically massaging each other testicles and fertilising mull plants with their semen. With children around.
They'd be branded sexual perverts and locked up.

[jones]

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/22-schoolgirls-suffered-mass-demonic-8405568

Perhaps they should get in touch?

[Chester Draws]

Back to the stone age,

People were quite sophisticated in the Stone Age - think Mayan pyramids. They knew, for example, that clothes are a good idea.

I don't imagine those ladies go very far into the forest without their kit on.

[Farnsworth M. Muldoon]

I don't imagine those ladies go very far into the forest without their kit on.

I don't imagine these ladies go far anywhere, kit or no kit, where there aren't "Hispanic women" cleaning the latrines for them.

[R. Sherman]

Now just imagine for a sec that it was a bunch of men in the woods. . .

I have my own fantasy life, thank you.

[Jimmy]

I wonder will British Misandrists be taken in the same way? Or is this merely the start of the criminalisation of the male?

I dare say this development could wind up criminalising a fair few (male) comedians, if they're not careful...

[dicentra]

I have a bachlorette weekend in Vegas coming up which I have been dreading mainly because of the weather

You don't go OUTSIDE when you're in Vegas!

[Fred the Fourth]

Farnsworth: I (a white anglo het male) once cleaned a toilet / shower room used by, among others, the daughter of el Presidente Echeverria of Mexico. I think she was Hispanic, at least back then. (Though I suppose her family was wealthy. Is that disqualifying? Didn't seem to affect the nature of her toilet use, in any case.)
Do I win a prize?

[Farnsworth M. Muldoon]

Fred - that is a poser. The chix in the woods had "Hispanic women" cleaning their latrines, which I am assuming were not exactly straddle trenches. I am assuming el Presidente's hija wasn't using one either, but I doubt it was in the woods.

So - points go to the nameless "Hispanic women" a) for the woods, and b) putting up with a horde a fruitloops who no doubt made a hell of a mess.

However - points to you for being a cismale person of pallor cleaning a latrine not as part of the 1SG or your spouse/GF threatening you.

Prize: The bulk of the points go to the "Hispanic women", so you do not win a free vaginal steam, but you do win a 20% discount on a vaginal steam or waxing of any body part of your choice. It has to be your body part, though, the steam is transferable.

[Spiny Norman]

Farnsworth,

...you will be pleased to know that carbon fiber is a tool of the patriarchy and thus misogynistic.

I was expecting Judith Butler to show up in there, somewhere, and I was not disappointed.

[dicentra]

Now just imagine for a sec that it was a bunch of men in the woods. . .

I have my own fantasy life, thank you.

So do I.

And that ain't it.

[Fred the Fourth]

Farnsworth: As it happens, the dunny in question was in the woods of the California Sierra, albeit at a summer "camp" for posh girls. Interesting experience for a 16 year old guy who'd ostensibly hired on as carpenter's mate.
Regarding my prize, I think I'll hold on to it until I lose all my hair, then get a wax job on my dome, so everyone will see the brilliance contained therein.

[Shiggz]

David
Due to the gendered nature of the event, I was feeling a little left out. I’m now squatting over a bowl of hot water and parsley, in the hope that the herbal steam will connect me with the Earth Goddess.
Nothing yet.
Posted by: David | July 13, 2016 at 15:07

If there was an olympics for dry humor, i would go to see you and David Burge dry up the stage

[J.M. Heinrichs]

Shiggz
I would suggest that the action he is describing involves increased moistness rather than aridity.

Cheers

[Randy]

I'm 65 years old, and fairly widely read. I've never heard of menstruation referred to as "moon time."

[Randy]

Now just imagine for a sec that it was a bunch of men in the woods steaming their penises , Ayurvedically massaging each other testicles and fertilising mull plants with their semen. With children around.
They'd be branded sexual perverts and locked up.

You can steam your dick anytime you want. I'll pass.

[ARGH]

Female privilege.