In the Womb
by Astrid Grove
When my blood came today, I felt sadness...the kind of grief that only women feel. The inexplicable, deeper than deep pain of menstruation.
I am not speaking here of cramps, being bloated, or back ache....no, that is not it. It's the grieving.
I am not trying to conceive, so this grief is not aligned with the greater purpose of that deep desire to bring forth life.
I am not near to menopause so it is not the feeling of being disappointedthat my blood has shown up yet one more time.
This grief is of an origin so great that it's explanation falls through my fingers like water... I cannot hold onto it's meaning. 
I let myself sink into the feeling...I let myself be immersed in the murky muddy intensity of it as my womb pulls and tugs, and my blood drips from my yoni onto the earth.
The tears, they then flow, dripping, my nose is dripping my womb is dripping...I am connected to the waters...all waters, ocean waters, rivers, springs, lakes, ponds, tears, blood, amniotic fluid, cervical fluid, semen, rain. I am she and she is me.
As I release the floods, the storms of emotion rive through me; they shake me and I roar like thunder.
I bear witness to the transformation...and as I emerge from the storm, I understand. I experience clarity. I am she and she is me. I am not separate from the earth. There is no separation between me and the moon, the earth, the waters... between me and all beings.
I cry for everyone. I grieve for everyone. I am a vehicle, I am a cauldron. I transform this pain as I open to it and I receive it as insight, intuition, and wisdom.
My blood is my teacher, and in turn my blood nourishes the earth...as she nourishes me and the cycle is complete.
Astrid Grove is a community midwife, a wise woman herbalist, and a practitioner of Maya Abdominal Massage.
Her passion lies in creating sacred space for women to honor and explore life cycles. She travels extensively sharing the women's mysteries teachings and can be contacted at theredtemple@gmail.com to set up a workshop in your home community.
Summer Workshops by Astrid Grove
at the Wise Woman Center
The Red Temple - June 27
June 27 - The Red Temple - workshop with Astrid Grove in Woodstock, NY - Part the veils and enter the ancient temple of women's mysteries as we gather in wisdom council and celebrate life cycles of menarche, birth, menopause and beyond! Wear something red.
Price: $85.00
Register on-line for The Red Temple
WOMB•SPEAK - June 28
Access the wisdom of your belly; listen to the stories of your womb, and your sister's. We will heal ourselves and generations past and future. Gather with women and learn practices to increase orgasmic pleasure, encourage abdominal health, and create art and ritual to call force the Goddess within.
Price: $85.00
Register on-line for Womb Speak
To register by mail:
Wise Woman Center PO Box 64 Woodstock NY 12498
Planting the Future: Saving Our Medicinal Herbs
by Rosemary Gladstar and Pamela Hirsch
Voted one of the Top 10 books in 2000 by the Vermont Book Publishers Association. A collective endeavor by United Plant Savers, featuring America's most respected and well-known herbalists. Includes a chapter by Susun Weed. All author royalties will be used for replanting native medicinal herbs on a 370-acre botanical sanctuary in Ohio. Paperback: 328 pages
Price: $22.95
Order Planting the Future in our Bookshop
CD set -
Spirit & Practice of the Wise Woman Tradition
2 hour presentation - live talk by Susun Weed - only $18 plus shipping
A Treasure Chest of Easy. Inexpensive, Delightful Ways to: have more energy, be free from pain, nourish yourself without supplements, use herbs to maximize health and minimize risk.
Price: $18.00
Order this Wonderful CD Set in our Bookshop
Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs
by Scott Cunningham
Do you work magic with herbs? In this edition of the book (it's expanded and revised on the 15th anniversary of original publication) you will find the magical properties and folklore of over 400 herbs! You'll also find lists of herbs based on their magical powers, their genders, their planetary rulers, and more.
If you want to learn the secrets of magical herbs, this book is a must!
Paperback: 336 pages
Price: $15.95
"I love books like this … It is accessible, easy to read, and with its encompassing index (all too often neglected), simple to use as well."
Jeanne Rose
order Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs in our Bookshop
