MAIDENS AND MOTHERS MOONSONG
Maiden and Mothers gatherings are given by Jane on request.
Please contact Jane if you would like to host a Girls, Boys or Mothers and Daughters gathering in your area and we shall see how it fits in with other scheduled workshops.
$80 per couple for Maidens and Mothers, teas provided and books included Minimum 5 participants or 5 mother and daughter couples.
MAIDEN MOONSONG AND SUNSONG: WORKSHOPS ON THE WISDOM OF THE CYCLES FOR TEENAGERS
MaidenMoonSong and SunSong are full day experiential workshops for highschool girls and boys (separately) teaching the wisdom of the cycles, demystifying the menstrual cycle and teaching the spiritual and physical opportunities inherent in the cycle.
MaidenMoonSong is intended for girls who will soon start their menstrual cycle or just have to older. The age range is, year 5 girls, 10/11 years old and up to 19.
SunSong is intended for boys in highschool, say 12-19.
MaidenMoonSong can also be offered as an afternoon or evening session for girls, pre and post menarche.
Background
In the final few years of the Bowral Rudolf Steiner School in NSW, Jane Collings and Kym Kennedy, gave the teenagers workshops called Maiden MoonSong and SunSong. These one-day experiential workshops were adapted for the teenagers from a two day workshop called MoonSong offered to women on the wisdom of the cycles.
Subjects covered included the Earth's seasons and our life seasons, how they are similar and what that teaches us; the lunation cycle (moon phases) and its link to the menstrual cycle. We looked deeply into the lunar cycle and the menstrual cycle, discovering the creative, healing and regenerative opportunities that exist each cycle for everyone. We talked about our rites of passage, whether they've happened consciously or not, and their effects on us.
What the workshops involve:
The workshop highlights how it came to be that we as a modern civilisation live in a disconnected state from the cycles, introducing the mostly untold story of the wounded feminine. This is presented as the Herstory as opposed to the History, looking back over the past millennia of the development of the patriarchy in which we live and its effect on us all.
Hearing the Herstory has a huge effect on everyone who hears it, it explains things people have wondered about in our culture and the origins behind many of the attitudes in our modern world. In our experience the boys are very interested in learning about the menstrual cycle as they have been 'under the influence' of the cycles of the women around them all their lives and have become aware of their girl school friends being different at certain times. It is as if this information unravels a mystery that has had them confused and 'walking on eggshells' around the women in their lives.
For the girls to understand their menstrual cycle from its 'big picture' perspective and to see it as a blessing rather than "a curse" is life changing. Our culture offers a very different perspective, with the latest drugs being marketed to women as menstrual suppressors. We teach the girls to chart their cycle using the Thirteen Moons charting handbook and to understand the influence of the cycles on any given day using the Spinning Wheels tool. We discuss sex, contraception, sexually transmitted diseases and whatever else the teenagers want to talk about.
The day is held in a circle on the floor, with intentions set, rules of confidentiality and a ceremonial atmosphere.
For the young boys to understand what they don't and the young women to start their fertility cycle with a view of welcoming its every dimension and the self knowing and development that it can provide rather than wishing it wasn't happening or ignoring it, is the main aim. This brings about healing of the wounded feminine and enables us all to more easily 'go with the flow' feeling a deeper connection with what is.
TESTIMONIALS:
As the Health and Personal Development teacher at the Bowral Rudolf Steiner School, I have had the privilege of attending the Moonsong workshops with my students, run by Jane Collings and Kym Kennedy. Jane and Kym offered the students a magical and transformative experience. They were both professional in their approach and sensitive to the needs and comfort levels of the students. Jane and Kym visited and provided information before the workshops and then followed up with a check in and discussion afterwards. Throughout the workshops I saw the students in my classes become more comfortable with their own bodies, to feel a reverence for their personal cycles and to gain a sense of their place in the world. Jane and Kym successfully created a safe and sacred space in which the students were free to express themselves but were never pressured to do so.
As a consequence of the Moonsong workshops many of the students have asked to extend their learning with Jane and Kym and so a Maidens Circle has been established, with voluntary attendance in out of school hours.
Our young people are ready for the teaching of the Mysteries and Jane and Kym bring this learning with integrity, truth and compassion. I have no hesitation in recommending Moonsong and Sunsong for your teenage students.
Kate Koch Foster
Doing SunSong was an eye opener, full of information that you need to know. I can see now, 2 years later, that I know more things, I'm more compassionate and more understanding and I'm finding all that helpful as I get older.
Asher 16 (did SS at 14)
SunSong taught me how to open up in a group and talk more as well as how to be more interactive with my friends.
James 14 (did SS at 12)
MaidenMoonSong taught me a lot about being a woman and my menstrual cycle. It made me in touch with my body and everything that goes on within it. And it helped me know why sometimes I feel outgoing and sometimes I feel inward.
Inge 15 (did MMS at 13)
Doing MaidenMoonSong I learnt more about myself, like who I am as a person and where I'm meant to be in the world. The information helped me be more compassionate with my friends.
Chelsea 15 (did MMS at 13)
A Maiden's Circle (teenage girls) meets monthly in Bowral after school, and also in the Dandenongs in Melbourne.
