This Is Why They Burned Us.
I hear the whispers of the woods calling to me. And so I return to them. To pray to my ancestors. Whose bodies are wrapped around the roots of trees that have borne witness to it all.
I give my blood to back to the Earth. Watching her drink it into her rich, dark soil. Feeding her with my elixir of life, the recipe tucked into the soft folds of my womb, held in the marrow of my bones for centuries.
This is why they burned us.
They did not understand how we didn’t fear death. How we could live more fully each time we bleed. Why we worshiped with reverence the cycles and rhythms of the earth. How we honored that sacred dance of the seasons mirrored in our own human flesh.
This is why they burned us.
We tender warriors of heart, keepers of the womb, protectors of the earth. Because our love for Nature and our devotion to Her scared them. For love that powerful strikes fear in the hearts of those who are unwilling to be soft, in those with ears that are closed to the heartbeat of the Earth. Who choose not to hear the love songs of Spirit all around us.
This is why they burned us.
Trying to domesticate and eradicate the wild in our bones. That emerges on the Full Moon. That seeks to howl and retch, scream and cry, sigh and sing life back into our bodies when they have become heavy or feel broken. Because we see the medicine in all things, the medicine all around, and we know that the purest medicine is the medicine within.
And medicine this strong can dismantle systems, bring authority to its knees, and is the embodiment of sovereignty.
This is why they burned us.
Because our worship is of no man, of no one church, of no one god. We call forth and invoke Spirit in all forms. Seeing God, Goddess, and Spirit in every plant, animal, and elemental being. Our palms and knees covered in dirt, as we sink ourselves onto the soil, finding our home, our holy place, our sanctuary in the wild.
This is why they burned us.
Because women in their bodies are a force of nature that cannot be tamed. We demand softening, reverence, and the type of integrity that comes from a wholehearted willingness to feel the connection to the whole world, to all living beings.
This is why even when they tried to burn us, we live on. As mothers, sisters, lovers, midwives, healers, artists, dancers, grandmothers, teachers, as all the flavors and forms of the Feminine. Because the whole world needs this medicine. Especially right now.
So answer the Wild Calling of your souls, sisters. Burn bright in your power, my loves. Give into your feral nature. Sing the songs of the ancient ones. Pour your blood, tears, and love into the Earth.
Do not fear. Let your heart flame be seen. For no flame of hate can burn as bright as the Love that you are.
You are holy.
You are whole.
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Caity Flanagan is a modern-day medicine woman, shamanic healer, somatic life coach, holistic herbalist, writer, poet, and doula for birth from the body and soul. She currently lives in the jungles of Costa Rica, in deep devotion to tending to the body, healing through the elements, and birthing the words and work of her soul. When Caity is not in the embrace of the jungle, she travels throughout the US and world to bring medicine teachings on plant medicine, trauma-informed somatic healing and life coaching, tantric meditation, and what it is to be both human and divine. Caity is the creator of The Wild Calling, a 9-month mystery school and deep initiation into the Divine Feminine. Caity also runs a somatic coaching intensive called Embodiment, and a collective womb-healing circle called The Sacred Cycles Journey. Through her private somatic coaching practice and worldwide retreats, Caity works with individuals ready for deep transformation through the medicine of the Earth and their souls. Caity’s clients are those who are hungry to alchemize and make art from their trauma, to birth the stories of their souls, and those who are seeking to create lives of deep service and devotion to Spirit. To learn more about her work, you can visit her personal website.
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