ARTICLE RED TENT What are these gatherings about? by Jacqueline Kareh
To be honest I am relatively new to the concept of Red Tent gatherings but, when I first heard about it, it resonated well with me as something valuable, a supportive structure for healing and empowering women. I mean that not in a down-with-men, feminist way but rather as another way of strengthening our own sense of the Divine Feminine within us. For me personally, that includes feeling comfortable about being Woman, the power of being authentic, embracing our cyclic nature, living and working with that in a conscious, constructive way.
The ‘resurrection’of the RED TENT idea appears to have come largely from Anita Diamant’s book of that name. Intertwined with a lot of historical events, it is for me and many others, one of those stories that keeps you up reading late into the night. It so brilliantly gives the flavour of what the RED TENT was/is about. Women of the tribe or village gathered there at the time of their menstruation which would occur at about the same time of the month for all of them, usually around the time of the full moon.
Most women feel more vulnerable and sensitive during or at the start of their period, and dealing with the tasks of daily work and living can sometimes feel just too much. I am sure many women reading this will relate to that feeling of just wanting a ‘duvet-day’, a safe haven to simply BE, disturbance-free or maybe that’s when you often feel in need of some extra TLC. So, from the book I learned how the women of biblical times had a break each month from their arduous daily tasks and looked forward to this time to reconnect in their sisterhood. It was a time of story-telling, singing, massage, caring for themselves and each other (notwithstanding that
some of them had conflict and would avoid each other in that close proximity). It was also a place and time for ritual, celebration, and giving birth.
Actually, it’s as if the RED TENT came calling for me; Jewels Wingfield – an inspiring woman I know, who supports men and women in reclaiming their full potential– sent me an email about World Wide Womb Blessing Day, Moon Mother Training and, then there it was…Red Tent, which I’d never heard of before.
As I read about it I was astonished: my own therapy room IS virtually a red tent! I hadn’t known anything about red tents when I set it up it a year previously. I had just wanted to do something creative to transform the dull, office-style, garret room I’d moved into. I wanted a space that my clients and I would feel nourished, relaxed and comfortable in. Jewels mentioned how there’s a movement aimed at eventually having a RED TENT space in every town and village, worldwide, so for me it seemed obvious that I am ‘supposed’ to offer my therapy room as a gathering place in Exeter.
South West Connection - August/November 2012 13
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