14 - temperance
balance, integration, reflection
Audre Lorde theory ancestor ritual
tools: a pitcher of water, a bowl, soap, a towel
part 1: invocation of the element of water
incantation 1:
I have not been able to touch the destruction within me.
But unless I learn to use the difference between poetry and rhetoric
my power will too run corrupt as poisonous mold or lie limp and useless as an unconnected wire.
-- from “Power”
incantation 2: "the erotic offers a well of replenishing and provocative force to the woman who does not fear its revelation, nor succumb to the belief that sensation is enough." -- from “Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power”
take a few deep breaths. hold the pitcher in your hands and think about the element of water. what gifts does it offer you? how might you embody the energy of water? breathe in that energy. with each breath, let yourself feel more and more... well, watery.
call forth the energy of water to pull and push you through this ritual.
part 2: ritual for cultivating power within/without:
1. pour some of the water into the bowl as you recite:
My power is a well from within –
a replenishment and revelation
2. wash your hands using the soap and bowl of water as you recite:
I expel the power of destructive rhetoric;
I connect my power to the motherboard of the world
3. rinse your hands with the rest of the pitcher of water as you recite:
I wring my power clean of corrupted thought;
I activate the restorative power of poetry
4. dry your hands with the towel as you recite:
My power is a well from within –
a replenishment and revelation
5. listen to your intuition: what are you called to use these hands for? what do you want to create, transform, hold, carry, bake, write, touch, feel? when you know what you are meant to do, go and do it -- now, while you are still charged with connected, creative power. feel what it feels to do something fully, with intention, care, and poetic energy.
what would it be like if all of your hand washings were moments of powerful, healing recharge? what would you be capable of creating?