My Praise Song

By Silke Heiss

Diane first of all introduced the goddesses to us. Basing her approach on Jean Bolen’s Goddesses in Everywoman, she concentrated on the eight major goddesses from Greek mythology. She emphasized that these represent archetypal psychic ‘types’ or ‘forces’ which are encountered in various forms of the Feminine Dianevine in other cultures too. An extraorDianenary openness of mind and feeling is noticeable in our group. We listen to the ancient, evocative stories by means of which Diane helps us to recognise the goddesses – their powers and their shortcomings. I cannot but feel aware of the special connectedness that can exist between women when we are given the power to share ourselves and support one another. And I marvel at Diane’s own powers as a workshop facilitator. Her surface working style is impeccably professional – rational and controlled – but from within there come feelings of trust, enjoyment of the task at hand and fearlessness towards it, creating a perfect sanctuary space for the participants.

We write our ‘contracts’ to ourselves: What do we wish to achieve by the end of the workshop? By means of a clever exercise we glimpse both positive and problematic aspects of ourselves. The each of us chooses a goddess whose spirit we wish to explore in action. There are earrings, beads, scarves, skirts and make-up with which we play in earnest. We choose from innumerable objects strewn about the house to make ‘altars’ to our chosen deity and, still in our costumes, we write and then enact an invocation to her.

This is true work: we are working on ourselves. Emotions and desires surface naturally, easily in the form of flushes, tummy gurgles, laughter and tears. All too human as I am, I might have had Difficulty imagining it – but as each of us shares vulnerabilities, each comes away strengthened and refreshed.
We absorb ourselves in creating collages from magazine cut outs – we use images that express our personal vision of the goddess to mirror our interiors. We speak ourselves, sharing our works of art with the other women listening attentively. We visit the goddesses in a mind exercise, presenting them with gifts and receiving gifts in return. The goddesses have become our friends.

When I drive home after the workshop, familiar architecture, the sky, the mountain – all looked Different, as if I had been away for a long time. I have little doubt that the other participants felt similarly renewed.

The Feminine Divine is alive! In this workshop we were given the opportunity to awaken our best Friend and Partner – our Self. May She remain forever near and beloved.

To participate in the next course please read the course flyer for booking details or contact Diane Salters.