Penelope Genter

Women Around the Well Penelope Genter

Wells are the life of the people where the substance of the Earth Mother pours forth for her daughters. It is in the gathering of this lifeblood of the people that women find nurturing in both physical and spiritual sense. It has ever been so... Since ancient times women have shared wisdom with sisters around the well, and in the red tent, about their lives, their visions, their challenges and their dreams. The Divine Feminine lives in the circles of the women who hold her veil. It is where we learn the mysteries, the gifts, and the secrets and the power of the Feminine Face of God. From the combined wisdom and energy of a small group of women who are committed to "hearing each other into speech," continuity and trust can develop that can be relied on over the long term. In witnessing each person's direct knowing of her truth, we can be empowered to live our own. The permission to overcome emotional suppression in the drumming, singing, dancing, and chanting somehow triggers a release of anger, grief and mystical joy that transcends the experience. It becomes a sisterhood instead of a competition. The Dalai Lama has said that it is the western women who will save the world. This is one of the ways women are doing it. Women old and young alike are expressing a desire to re-experience the ritual and ceremonies that unite and empower them in the safety of the circle of women.