Ritual 28: Monday, July 9, 2007

Waning Moon

Recently reclaimed as the Goddess in disguise, the Virgin Mary has long been esteemed as the feminine face of Christianity. Catholics and Pagans alike have worshipped at her loving feet for generations, celebrating her gentleness and her generosity for bringing a peaceful healer to birth. Today, July 9, is the memorial feast day of the Blessed Mary in her aspect as Our Lady of Peace.

Prepare yourself on this sacred evening as people in Mary's lifetime did when coming inside from outdoors -- with a holy footbath. A dusty landscape anoints a traveler's feet with earthy evidence of her journey. Though your feet are unlikely to be so visibly marked from your day's efforts, you carry the energetic residue of where you've been and what you've been through.

A bowl of warm water and a few drops of a soothing essential oil are the elixir of renewal for your soles. Swirl your toes around and dissolves the remnants of your day. Towel off your tootsies and bless them your appreciation -- your feet do a lot for you, offer them a kind word or two.

Where kindness begins, peace ensues. Peace is not something to fight for. Peace is known by the absence of fighting.

How do you fight yourself? How do you attack yourself for little things? Are you attacking yourself now for all the ways you've attacked yourself? You can't get to inner peace from a place of inner criticism.

Let Our Lady of Peace help transform criticism into kindness. This is not fluffy-puffy nonsense. It is a practice for cultivating world peace. Everything within your power starts exactly where you are, right here, right now. If you desire world peace, then start with this Moonday and the way you treat yourself.

Mary is the essence of a holy mother whose love extends to all. Create in your imagination the motherly ideal -- a perfect love. Drop into a meditative state and envision this ideal, generous, loving, peaceful mother archetype centered in your heart. Hear her words of kindness to you, her precious child. Touch your heart to anchor this feeling. An anchor allows you to call back an inner experience in a heartbeat -- simply by repeating the gesture of the anchor. Whenever you have need of Mary's kindness, touch your heart just as you did now.

Close your peace contemplation by humming, singing, or saying aloud the immortal words of The Beatles:

When I find myself in times of trouble
Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be

And so it is.

After the ritual, share your experience in our community section.