THE GRAIL PRIESTESS INITIATION FOR WOMEN
Inspirational. Thought provoking. Humorous. Down to earth. Heart centred. A beautiful blend of channelled ancient wisdom and modern day practicalities. These are just some of the words that come to mind to describe the retreat weekend I spent with Tansihka in June 2016.
Australian best-selling author and spiritual teacher Tanishka, known as ‘moon woman’, believes in our innate connection to the moon cycles and their profound effect on us physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. The two-and-a-half-day retreat centred around Tanishka’s researched and channelled information on the sacred feminine traditions that enable women to awaken to their inner power. As women utilise these age-old practices, including coming together in a ‘red tent’ to share their shadows and experiences during menstruation, it draws them deeper into sisterhood. And it is this connectedness that will ultimately create a paradigm shift in the world, ushering in a paradigm that will honour the divinity in all of life.
For me, a significant learning was about the sacredness and significance of our menstrual cycles and blood. A grail priestess is a woman who is initiated into the holy (menstrual) blood mysteries: She honours the dark side of her nature that her bleeding brings forth; she recognises that this ‘moontime’ is a time of meditation and reflection; she gives space for the mystical gifts its enhances; she honours her womb as a sacred vessel and her menstrual blood as an elixir of life. A grail priestess knows that her womb distils the ideas she intends to give birth to in the world and is a potent place to harness life force energy.
Tanishka led us in a beautiful meditation that took us deep into our womb. There we observed the energetic connections we had to previous partners and friends that we needed to release. We created a temple of light in our wombs and placed in our temple only those that would either inspire and mentor us, support and empower us or act as sisters and brothers on our path. As a meditation teacher myself, I found this a very powerful and grounding meditation, never having connected specifically inside my womb before. It brought me into much closer connection with this seat of my feminine power.
Tanishka encouraged us to look afresh at the teachings about The Holy Grail which Yeshua, Mary The Magdalene (Magdalene meaning High Priestess) and others from that time were ultimately here to teach us: As we learn to honour our own ‘holy blood’, we learn how to let go of the masculine energies of aggression, violence and competition and come into the feminine energies of flow, alignment with our intuitive being and a sense of loving union with all of life.
On the retreat we focused on sharing from our hearts, rather than our heads; listening with empathy to our sisters; being transparent with our emotions and issues and connecting lovingly with our bodies. Our wonderful group of 17 women spoke openly about our many experiences including our first period, giving birth and moving towards menopause.
What I loved about Tanishka’s teachings was her wonderful blend of complementary opposites: she was deeply real and yet spoke of mythical spiritual wisdom; she was hugely supportive in her approach and also able to be direct, clear and powerful, unafraid of the response she generated; she was nurturing and gentle and, too, able to stand in her feminine majesty and call truth to power. I would thoroughly recommend her work to anyone who wants to come into closer connection with their bodies, their inner being and their brothers and sisters on this path.
Tanishka is running a Red Tent online course from July 18 2016 for women wanting to empower their womanhood by understanding and living in alignment with the lunar cycle. There is also an equivalent one for men to live in alignment with the solar cycle & seed men’s gatherings.
FACT BOX
Red Tent: http://www.starofishtar.com/redtent/
Brotherhood: http://www.starofishtar.com/brotherhood-lodge-mens-course/
Tanishka:
Website: www.tanishka.net
Resources: www.starofishtar.com
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sarah Alexander is a coach, mentor, author and speaker with 14 years’ coaching experience. Sarah has worked with international sports competitors, executives from multinationals and successful entrepreneurs. She is the founder of a coaching and training system called MAGNIFICENCE: Twelve Steps to High Performance and Low Stress for Business Professionals.
Sarah Alexander has had a daily meditation practice for over 18 years and brings that quietness of mind and inner connection to her coaching. She offers intuitive guidance in her coaching conversations which gives clarity, inspiration and peace of mind.
She is the author of ‘Spiritual Intelligence in Business: The Eight Pillars of 21st Century Business Success’ and ‘Spiritual intelligence in Leadership: From Manager to Leader in Your Own Life’
For full details and to download Sarah’s ‘Eight Top Tips on How To Be Magnificent’ go to www.sarah-alexander.co.uk