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Queen Mama Donna's Daily Beliefnet Blog
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About
Queen Mama Donna
Donna Henes is an internationally renowned urban shaman, award-winning author, popular speaker and workshop leader whose joyful celebrations of celestial events have introduced ancient traditional rituals and contemporary ceremonies to millions of people in more than 100 cities since 1972. She has published four books, a CD, an acclaimed quarterly journal and currently writes for the Huffington Post, Beliefnet and UPI (United Press International) Religion and Spirituality Forum. Mama Donna, as she is affectionately called, maintains a ceremonial center, spirit shop, ritual practice and consultancy in Exotic Brooklyn, NY where she offers intuitive tarot readings and spiritual counseling and works with individuals, groups, institutions, municipalities and corporations to create meaningful ceremonies for every imaginable occasion. |
Good News!
"In
The Queen of My Self: Stepping into Sovereignty in Midlife, Donna Henes... proposes
the concept of the midlife Queen, focused
on spiritual wisdom, mastery and self-esteem. Yes, it is time to be the
Queen of Our Self, the High Priestess of Our Own Life, and claim the respect
that we deserve while shouldering our own hard-earned authority, wisdom and
inner beauty."
-
Layne Redmond, author of When the Women Were Drummers
|
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I very much enjoyed The Queen of My Self and am currently working on that. I found it to be the inspiration and the
motivation to find my place right here, right now! To that end, I am in the
midst of studying for my Adult B'nai Mitzvah. Thank you
- Elizabeth, NY
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Calling All Queens!
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upbeat, practical and ceremonial inspiration for all women who want to
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Thank you
so much for your donations to keep The Queen's Chronicles going and growing.
Your help
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c. bang, NY
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Svoboda, NY
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Whitewood, AZ
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My dear sister Queens,
Writing The Queen's Chronicles is a joy and an honor - a labor of true love - but, the fact remains
that it takes a great deal of time and effort and requires the services of a
techno-cyber Queen to be able to offer it each month. Consequently, after two
years of publishing, the royal coffers are sadly diminished and in desperate
need of replenishing.
Your donations will allow me to continue to provide you with
a monthly offering of information and inspiration for
an influential, passionate and powerful maturity.
I thank you so much for your royal support. With your help, The
Queen's Chronicles can maintain its mission
to promote meaning, moxie, magic and majesty to women in midlife.
With regal blessings,
xxQueen Mama Donna
CLICK HERE TO MAKE A TAX DEDUCTABLE DONATION
THANK YOU!
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I really thought I was going crazy until you soothed my
fears and helped me climb out of the abyss. And now, for the first time in a
very long time, I am able to see myself as the bright, competent women who I
really am. I can't thank you enough.
- Josephine, SD
Are you looking for meaning, moxie, magic and
majesty in midlife?
Consult the
Midlife Midwife™
The transition from Maiden and Mother to Queen can be a difficult one, fraught with hard lessons and lots of loss. It takes great determination and courage to confront and embrace the changes brought about by the midlife passage.
It can be really helpful during this confusing time to have the inspiration, advice and encouragement of a counselor/coach/mentor - someone who has been there and done that and is ready to help you do the same.
Queen Mama Donna offers upbeat, practical and ceremonial guidance for individual women and groups who want to enjoy the fruits of an enriching, influential, purposeful, passionate, and powerful maturity.
TURN YOUR MIDLIFE CRISIS INTO YOUR CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT!
Further information: www.thequeenofmyself.com
Click on Individual Consultations.
Sessions are available in person and by phone. To make an appointment, call 718-857-1343 or email the Queen at TheQueenOfMySelf@aol.com
Everyone has inside of him a piece of good
news. The good news is that you don't know how great you can be! How much you
can love! What you can accomplish! And what your potential is!
- Anne Frank
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A Queen Event
Near You
Crowned Queens
Omega Institute, Rhinebeck, NY
SEPTEMBER
GLOBAL
SEPTEMBER 1-30
MAMA DONNA'S HAPPY BIRTHDAY TAROT CLUB
1/3 off
reading for September Birthdays. In person or by phone.
For info: 718-857-1343
cityshaman@aol.com
SEPTEMBER
25
Saturday,
11:00AM - 5:00PM
PAGAN
PRIDE FESTIVAL
Mama
Donna's Spirit Shop
Mama Donna
will be at the park all day with special ceremonial supplies from around the
world for all your ritual needs. Stop by and say hello!
Battery
Park, Manhattan.
1, 5, W
trains
For info:
718-857-2343
www.nyc-ppp.org
Free with a
can or box of food for the hungry
OCTOBER
GLOBAL
OCTOBER
1-31
MAMA
DONNA'S HAPPY BIRTHDAY TAROT CLUB
1/3 off
reading for October Birthdays. In person or by phone.
For
info: 718-857-1343
cityshaman@aol.com
OCTOBER 6
Wednesday, 8:00 PM EDT
TELESEMINAR:
INTENTIONS
AND AFFIRMATIONS:
The Power
of Positive Thinking
A Spirit Support Skills Workshop.
Learn how
to identify and articulate your wants and needs, how to set your goals and how
to support them with your attitude.
$25
Register for all 3 teleclasses in the
series only $60.
For
information, click here.
MASSACHUSETTS
OCTOBER 9 & 10
Saturday, 12 PM -
Sunday, 5:00 PM
PURPOSE,
PRESENCE & PASSION:
FORGING
A PATH TO POWER
A
RITUAL WORKSHOP RETREAT WITH MAMA DONNA
*
Are you a woman who runs with the wolves?
* Do
you walk on the wild side?
*
Are you in touch with your inner Amazon?
If
you answered "Yes," this weekend is for you.
If you answered "No," this weekend
is definitely for you!
Join Mama Donna Henes, Pat Worth and
Denahee the Timber Wolf for an
extraordinary experiential tranceformational weekend.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS
Greenfyre Farm, Royalston, MA
$250. If paid by
September 22
$275. After
September 23
All Inclusive: workshop and rituals, ceremonial supplies,
wolf walk fees, accommodation, four meals and snacks. Travel on your own.
For more
information:
cityshaman@aol.com
www.donnahenes.net
NEW YORK
OCTOBER 14
Thursday, 6:30 PM
THE SPIRIT OF A WOMAN
Mama
Donna will read from this fabulous new anthology of women's inspirational stories.
Quest Books
240 East 53rd Street
New York, NY
For information:
212-758-5521
www.questbookshop.com
Free
Complimentary wine and snacks.
OCTOBER 23
Saturday, 12:00 PM-4:00PM
FULL MOON HARVEST CELEBRATION: STONE SOUP
With Mama Donna Henes
This unique event includes storytelling from ethnic
cultures around the world, as well as soup making, candle making and soup sampling!
Queens County Farm Museum
73-50 Little Neck Parkway
Floral Park, NY 11004-1129
For information:
(718) 347-3276
info@queensfarm.org
$20 Adults
$10 Children under 12
OCTOBER 24
Sunday 2:00 PM
GREENWICH
VILLAGE HALLOWEEN PARADE PRACTICE
Mama Donna's
Blessing Band orientation meeting and rehearsal for the world famous parade. Contact
Mama Donna to join the Blessing Band.
For info:
718-857-1343
cityshaman@aol.com
$25 To
cover costuming and supplies
PENNSYLVANIA
OCTOBER
29
Friday,
6:00 PM
REVERENCE
TO HER: A GODDESS GUIDE TO POWER
Mama Donna
presents the opening ritual for the Three Sisters Fall Fling Retreat, which will
continue through Sunday, October 31.
Catherine
Hall at Seva Retreat/Elkins Estate
1750
Ashbourne Road
Elkins
Park, PA
For
information and reservations: innerfling@gmail.com
NEW YORK
OCTOBER
31
Sunday,
6:00 PM
GREENWICH
VILLAGE HALLOWEEN PARADE
Mama Donna
and her glorious Blessing Band lead the
world famous parade with blessings. Contact
Mama Donna to join the Blessing Band.
For info:
718-857-1343
cityshaman@aol.com
NOVEMBER
GLOBAL
NOVEMBER
1-30
MAMA DONNA'S HAPPY
BIRTHDAY TAROT CLUB
1/3 off
reading for November Birthdays. In person or by phone.
For
info: 718-857-1343
cityshaman@aol.com
NEW YORK
NOVEMBER 2
Tuesday, 7:30 PM
SITTING
IN THE SHADOWS: DIA DE LOS MUERTOS CEREMONY
Celebrate
the Latin American Day of the Dead on one of the eight power days in the wheel
of the year. Please
bring death related objects for the altar (which you will take home with you.)
and a candle in a holder.
Mama
Donna's Tea Garden & Healing Haven
Park
Slope, Exotic Brooklyn, NY
For
info: 718-857-1343
cityshaman@aol.com
Advance
reservation required.
$25.
GLOBAL
NOVEMBER 3
Wednesday, 8:00 PM EST
TELESEMINAR:
SIGNS,
SIGNALS & OMENS:
Reading the
Road Markers Along Your Path
A Spirit Support Skills Workshop.
Learn how to recognize the symbolic language of your dreams and visions
as it manifests in your daily life and how to interpret the messages that it
offers.
$25
Register for all 3 teleclasses in the
series only $60
For
information, click here.
DECEMBER
GLOBAL
DECEMBER
1-31
MAMA DONNA'S HAPPY
BIRTHDAY TAROT CLUB
1/3
off reading for December Birthdays. In person or by phone.
For info: 718-857-1343
cityshaman@aol.com
NEW YORK
DECEMBER
21
Tuesday,
6:00 PM
35th ANNIVERSARY WINTER SOULSTICE CELEBRATION
REVERENCE
TO HER: KEEPING THE SPIRIT FIRES BURNING
With
Mama Donna Henes, Urban Shaman & Friends
This soulstice
is an especially Celestially Auspicious Occasion, as it is also the New Cold
Moon and a total Lunar Eclipse!
Call for location
718-857-1343
Free
|
Have Crown,
Will Travel!
To discuss booking Queen Mama Donna for a reading, presentation, ritual, workshop or a keynote address in your area, call her at 718-857-1343 or e-mail her at TheQueenOfMySelf@aol.com
"Can a room filled with women ever be completely silent?
The answer is: if Mama Donna is talking, yes! Mama Donna kept 40 of us
enchanted, enthralled and empowered throughout her workshop, 'Queen of My
Self.' Long live the Queen(s)!"
- Amber Grey, Co-Chair
Unitarian Universalist Womenspirit Institute
HIghlands, NC
|
The Queen's Emporium
Make sure to visit The Queen's Emporium, which specializes in all manner of elegant, practical, and frivolous goods to fulfill all the royal needs and fantasies of The Queen of Your Self. Therein you will find a choice collection of goods to augment and accessorize your royal prerogative.
Anoint, Adorn, Enjoy!
The
Queen's Oil of Empowerment is a dandy little ritual. Every morning I bless my
Self before going out into the world. It helps me stay in a place of personal
sovereignty.
-
Charlene, UT
My
women's group starts every meeting by blessing each other with power.
- Faye, ME
THE QUEEN'S OIL OF
EMPOWERMENT
A ritual in a bottle. Use this oil to bless
your Self with the sovereignty that you seek. Made by Queen Mama Donna,
herself.
2 oz. bottle in gauze
bag
$35
(Includes shipping in the USA)
ORDER YOURS TODAY!
The Queen's Emporium
|
Imagine Your Ad Here!
Welcome
to our newest advertiser, Pat Worth, MA, Queen of Greenfyre Farm B&B,
www.greenfyrefarm.com.
Our October 9-10 Power Retreat will be held there, but you can enjoy this
magical place at any time. Just call her to arrange your fabulous get away.
Thank you, Pat, for your support and your desire
to network
with our fabulous royal readers
around the globe.
May you
be successful in your endeavors and blessed with spiritual and material
abundance.
YOUR
ad in
The Queen's Chronicles!
Would you like to reach the
5000+ Queens in our royal network across the country and around the world with information about your business?
Advertising listings in The Queen's Chronicles are available for $50/per issue with significant discounts for ongoing listings.
You can now
include a photo or graphic image for just $10 more!
For more information and to place your order contact: thequeenofmyself@aol.com or call 718-857-1343.
|
Royal Resources
for Queenly Women
Our extended circle of Queens includes some mightily talented women. Please support them by availing yourself of their superior services and by buying their excellent products.
Dr. Susan Corso
Omnifaith spiritual insights for
seekers and finders
Earthwalking and Other Poems
by Karen Ethelsdattar
"Absolutely exquisite, a joy to read, a pleasure for the soul
and senses" - Joanna Macy, author of World as Lover, World as
Self.
Eve's Garden
Celebrating the sacred power of women's sexual energy
Feldenkrais Associates
Discover
the Feldenkrais Method with Amber Barbara Grumet, director of Feldenkrais
Associates. Become aware of how you move in order to improve your overall
functioning. Through group lessons or individual hands-on sessions you learn to
expand your potential in all areas.
For info: 212
242-2309 or amber@feldenkraisassociates.com
Greenfyre Farm B & B
Foliage retreats. Not far but a world away. Stunning
log house,
rustic cabin, vintage Airstream, hiking, canoeing in north
Massachusetts.
978-249-2722
Maguire Pubic Relations
Expertise in journalism and marketing qualifies us to position and deliver the news of our clients.
Menopause Support Group
A community of patients, family members and
friends dedicated to dealing with Menopause, together. Register for free.
MLA Editorial Services
Whether you're
looking to publish with a top trade house, a prestigious academic press, or are
considering self-publishing your work, we can help you shape and polish your
manuscript to the highest professional standards. We specialize in serious
nonfiction. More than 20-years experience.
Licensed Acupuncturist and Chinese Herbalist.Focusing on women's health and other chronic issues
Spirit of a Woman: Stories to Empower and Inspire
Edited by Terry Laszlo- Gopadze. "Filled
with stories from women (including QMD) who, at key points in their lives,
acted authentically; any one of them could be a role-model who inspires you to
do
what is true for you."
- Jean Shinoda Bolen, MD, author, Crones
Don't Whine and The Millionth Circle
Spruce Shore Cottage
Restore yourself on the Maine coast. Lovely cabin for rent. Minutes from Acadia National Park. Ocean, sky, full kitchen. Contact
Weslea Sidon via email
or call 207-244-9897
Talking to the Goddess
An
anthology of blessings, prayers, invocations, chants, oriki and other sacred
writings by 72 women (including Queen Mama Donna) from 25 different spiritual
traditions. 10% of profits go towards funding the education of a female student
at the University of Venda, South Africa.
ToMePeaceIs.com
An omnifaith site
designed as a collaborative effort where users create the content by posting
what equals peace to them on that day. ToMePeaceIs.com is about forming the
habit of creating inner peace.
There is no fee.
Your Advertisement Here!
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Hail Queens!
At the harvest, one can easily imagine that the Earth
Goddess has offered up Her life in the form of the fruits of the land, and that
in doing so, She commits the supreme sacrifice. She expends all of Her
generative energy. It is as if Mother Nature in autumn is in the midst of Her
menopause, Her sacred seed spent. In grateful response, people fed Her fresh
blood to replenish Her powers of procreation.
India has long practiced sacrificial obeisance to Mother
Earth. As late as the nineteenth century, the Kandhs of Bengal sacrificed a
person for the Earth Goddess, Tari Pennu, in order to ensure healthy crops and
immunity from disease. Blood was especially important in the cultivation of
turmeric, which needed it to develop its rich, red color.
Aztec hymns tell us that Tonacacihuatl, Our Lady of
Substance, was once the Goddess of the Hunt, Blood and Night, but as the people
grew to depend more on agriculture, She evolved into the Earth Goddess. The son
of Her fertility was the corn, which was depicted as being identical with the
obsidian knife which was Her symbol.
Here, too, fertility, death and sacrifice are connected.
The husking of the corn is perceived as the same act as the tearing out of a
sacrificial victim's heart, both accomplished with the obsidian blade. At the
celebration of the broom harvest of the Earth Mother, first an older woman, and
then a young girl were beheaded and their blood spread on fruit, seeds and
grain to guarantee abundance.
Autumn, a time to harvest
When vegetables give up their
lives,
For the lives of you, people.
Oh, people, don't be sorry
Death is part of life,
one day you will die, too.
- Shefali Parikh
Grade 5
At the Autumn Equinox purification feast of the ancient
Incas of Peru, families first bathed and then anointed their bodies with a
substance called zancus, which was made from grain mixed with human blood. It
was also applied to the thresholds of their homes as a protective charm. The
Indians of Guayaquil, Ecuador, used to sow their fields with blood and human
hearts to assure the harvest.
The sacrificial victim was meant to be an embodiment of the
grain, and was chosen because of some obvious resemblance to it. For example,
the Aztecs would kill young victims to represent young corn and mature ones to
stand for the ripe. The Marimos of South Africa would choose a short, fat man,
round as a seed. The Skidi Pawnees of North America would fatten their female
victim before the kill to assure an abundant crop of plump corn.
The identification of the victim with the grain is also
evident in the means of execution. A West African queen used to have a man and
a woman killed with the implements of cultivation, hoes and spades, and then
buried with the seed in the soil. One of the sacrificial practices of the
Aztecs was to kill the victim by grinding her or him, like the maize, between
two millstones.
 With the martyred death of the
sacrificial victim, the
fertile blood seed, like the grain,
brings life anew to the world.
And, thus,
the circle is complete.
The death of the old grain, the
old sun, the old
season, feeds
the continuing life of the people.
The death of a representative
person is then offered as
repayment of the ultimate debt
of life.
Death feeds life feeds death, the enduring saga of the eternal cycle of
survival.
And, because the struggle is so strong, so long, those who
thrive, like the grain, to the ripe age of maturity, rate our utmost
admiration. The autumn ones. The old ones. The ancestors. The Queens. The
Crones. The matriarchs. The ones who remember. The ones who know. The ones who
show and tell, the ones who teach. The ones who pass the past and fuel the
future. The ones who have gone to seed.
Sprout seeds for me, I want them
growing
in the yellow chalk of my bones.
- Juana De Ibarbourou
What a glorious deed, indeed! To bring forth from one's
Self the fertile possibility of continuity! To imbed the stuff of one's Self in
the soil and grow there! Only a culture, such as ours, critically out-of-touch
and at emotional odds, divorced and dangerously disassociated from the divine
life and death cycle of reality, could possibly consider "going to
seed" a derogatory description of aging.
With blessings for a bounteous harvest season,
Our old women gods, we ask you!
Our old women gods, we ask you!
Then give us long life together,
May we live until our frosted
hair
Is white; may we live till then
This life that now we know!
- Tewa Prayer to the Corn Mothers
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Eco
Garden Queens of India
Agriculture
accounts
for 28 percent of
greenhouse gas
emissions in India,
mainly methane
emissions from paddy
fields and cattle as well
as nitrous oxides from
fertilizers.
Multiple
stresses from global warming are impacting India and the entire Asian continent
- water scarcity, groundwater salinity, food insecurity and hunger, loss of
livelihoods and problems in downstream agriculture that depend on glacial
melts.
A
collective of 5,000 women, most of them in their middle years, spread across 75 villages in Andhra
Pradesh, in the arid interior of southern India is now offering a
chemical-free, non-irrigated, organic agriculture as one method of combating
global warming.
These dalit (the broken) women who are at the very
bottom of India's stratified society, now demonstrate adaptation to climate
change by following a system of interspersing crops that do not need extra
water, chemical additions or pesticides for production.
The women
grow as many as 19 types of indigenous crops to an acre, on dry, degraded lands
that they have been regenerating with help from an organization called the
Deccan Development Society (DDS).
DDS has
helped these women acquire land through government programs for dalits and offers assistance in the
formation of sanghas or local self-help groups that convene regularly and are self ruled.
In
Bidakanne village, 50-year old Samamma, standing in her field, points out the
various crops, all without water and chemicals, growing in between the rows of
sunflowers: linseed, green pea, chick pea, various types of millets, wheat,
safflower and legumes. The sunflower leaves attract pests and its soil
depletion is compensated by the legumes, which are nitrogen-fixing.
"In
my type of cropping, one absorbs and one gives to the soil, while I get all my
food requirements of oils, cereals and vegetable greens,'' says Samamma.
Samamma's
plot is smaller than one acre and produces, in addition to other crops, 75
pounds of red horsegram, 100 pounds of millet and 25 pounds of linseed. She
keeps half of her crop and sells the rest on the open market.
The women
now run a uniquely evolved system of crop financing and food-distribution that
they have mapped out themselves. The subscription cost to join the Sangha is by a fistful of grain. Those
borrowing grains from this community grain bank then pay back five times the
borrowed amount in grain.
The
collected grains are then sifted for good seed and the rest is either sold in
the open market, sold to members in crisis at low rates, or distributed to poor
families in the village.
"I
check the earheads of grain for good seed", says 55-year old Akkama, seed
bank manager in Hulugera village. "It's a system handed down to me from my
ancestors." The women have stored over 50 different varieties of seeds
from local cereals such as millets, wheat, red gram, linseed and sorghum.
The money
collected from open market sales every year is deposited in regular banks and
the interest earned from them is used to finance loans for members who again
complete the cycle by paying back their loan in grain over five years.
The
participating farmer women come from the poorest rungs of society. Narsamma,
55, says she worked as a laborer 25 years ago, earning a pittance. She heard about DDS's self-help group
in a neighboring village and approached the organization for help.
She has
now provided education for five children, two of whom work in NGOs, built a new
house and bought cattle and land with DDS and government support.
"Now,
when landlords come to me for borrowing seed, I can laugh,'' says the feisty
woman who has traveled to London, Peru, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, talking to
local farmers about the ecologically sound agriculture practiced by the Queens
of Andhra Pradesh.
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As I Go Into The Earth
As
I go into the Earth,
she
pierces my heart.
As
I penetrate further,
she
unveils me.
When
I have reached her center,
I
am weeping openly.
I
have known her all my life,
yet
she reveals stories to me,
and
these stories are revelations
and
I am transformed.
Each
time I go to her I am born like this.
Her
renewal washes over me endlessly,
her
wounds caress me;
I
become aware of all that has come between us,
of
the noise between us,
the
blindness, of something sleeping between us.
Now
my body reaches out to her.
Susan
Griffin
Excerpted
from Unremembered Country
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Three Sisters Gardens
Corn, beans and squash were
among the first important crops
domesticated by ancient
Mesoamerican societies. Corn
was the primary crop,
providing
more calories or energy per acre
than any other. According to
Three
Sisters legends, corn must
grow in community with other
crops rather than on
its own.
It needs the beneficial company and aide of its companions.
According to the Iroquois, corn, beans and squash are three
inseparable sisters who only flourish when planted together. People of many
tribes throughout Turtle Island used and still use an intercropping system,
which grows corn, beans and squash crops simultaneously in the same growing
area that is typically a rounded mound of soil. In a Three Sisters planting,
the three partners benefit one another. Corn provides support for beans. Beans,
like other legumes, have bacteria living on their roots that help them absorb nitrogen from
the air and convert it to a form that plants can use. Corn, which requires a
lot of nitrogen to grow, benefits most. The large, prickly squash leaves shade
the soil, which prevents weed growth and deters animal pests. The three sisters
also complement each other nutritionally.
Corn is the oldest sister. She stands tall in the center.
Squash is the next sister. She grows over the mound, protecting her sisters
from weeds and shades the soil from the sun with her leaves, keeping it cool
and moist.
Beans are the third sister. She climbs through squash and
then up corn to bind all together as she reaches for the sun. Beans help keep
the soil fertile by converting the sun's energy into nitrogen filled nodules
that grow on its roots. As beans grow they use the stored nitrogen as food. Bean
vines also help stabilize the corn plants, making them less vulnerable to blowing
over in the wind.
This sophisticated, sustainable system, which has provided
nourishment for generations without irrigation or chemicals, provides long-term
soil fertility and a healthy diet.
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The Cherokee Legend of The Three Sisters
As told by the Bird Clan of East Central Alabama
 A long time
ago there were three sisters who lived together in a field.
These
sisters were quite different from one another in their size and way of
dressing. The little sister was so young that she could only crawl at first,
and she was dressed in green.
The second
sister wore a bright yellow dress, and she had a way of running off by herself
when the sun shone and the soft wind blew in her face.
The third
was the eldest sister, standing always very straight and tall above the other
sisters and trying to protect them. She wore a pale green shawl, and she had
long, yellow hair that tossed about her head in the breeze.
There was
one way the sisters were all alike, though. They loved each other dearly, and
they always stayed together. This made them very strong.
One day a
stranger came to the field of the Three Sisters - a Mohawk boy. He talked to
the birds and other animals - this caught the attention of the three sisters.
Late that
summer, the youngest and smallest sister disappeared. Her sisters were sad.
Again the
Mohawk boy came to the field to gather reeds at the water's edge. The two
sisters who were left watched his moccasin trail, and that night the second sister
- the one in the yellow dress - disappeared as well.
Now the
Elder Sister was the only one left.
She
continued to stand tall in her field. When the Mohawk boy saw that she missed
her sisters, he brought them all back together and they became stronger
together, again.
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The Queen's Court
 The
Queen's Court is a
gathering of sovereign
women of a certain
age - our dear
peers - who
graciously offer information,
guidance, inspiration and
encouragement to each
other.
We
Queens know what we
know. And we know a great
deal. Our experience has
made us
wise. So, feel free to consult with our cyber council/counsel when you are need of sage advice or wish to explore a particular topic of interest.
With the
question of power - its uses and abuses - on my mind, I reached out to the
Facebook fans of The Queen of My Self to see what power means to other Queens
of Themselves.
Q. What
does power mean to you?
A. Power
to me is knowing what you stand for and not backing down, but having the
humility to admit when you are wrong, or adjust your position when you have
grown. All while being true to yourself.
- Sarah
Jane, WA
A. Power is my
Goddess-given right to live my life as a free agent.
- Saundra, UT
A. Power
is being 100% yourself and not compromising based on what others want you to
be, do or say. It is also not giving anyone else free rent in your head - which
is essentially giving your personal power over to them!
-
Christine, OH
A. To thy
own self be true
- Micklo,
CA
A. A Queen's power
should be used to further her life's path and to help along her sisters to do
the same thing. We can do much to improve the lives of others if we use our
power to do so.
- Katharine, Denmark
A. It means
knowing how to access my life force energy, what activates it, what zaps it,
and granting myself permission to do whatever it takes to stay connected to
this inner fountain of youth! It is my chi!
- Daina, MI
A. To me power
means being able to say the hard stuff with grace and non-attachment!
- Judith, NY
A. Responsibility.
- Ruth Ellen, England
A. Power is the life force within us and around us. And the ability to tap
into it.
- Cristie, ND
A. In the
mind of the Goddess (A Bitch) is a Woman of Strength, Power and Wisdom. Never
take offense to this title of Queenship. And those who use this word are aware
of its Goddess meaning. Blessed be the Woman who holds her own.
- Janel
Oriana, NY
A. I KNEW
someone would say "bitch!" It just reminds me of the well worn saying
"Well behaved women rarely make history." I had a conversation with a
friend one day about Madonna who is one of my favorite examples of a powerful
woman. I said I realized that she has a tendency to step on toes, act bitchy
and make some doubt her sanity. I then realized I was one of those people, and
I was perpetuating that view of a very powerful woman who has pissed a lot of
people off with her creativity and confidence. I don't agree with everything
she does, but she does it well!
- Kimberly,
IA
A. To me,
true power is changing the world simply by the force of being exactly, only,
and completely who you are.
- Carolyn,
MA
Q. What
does power mean to YOU?
If you have ever been called
defiant, incorrigible, forward, cunning, insurgent, unruly, rebellious, you're
on the right track!
- Clarissa Pinkola Estés
Please
send your questions or responses to thequeenofmyself@aol.com. Your
letters will be printed in the next Queen's Chronicles.
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The Queen's Correspondence
 Thanks so much for taking
the time to respond to
The Queen's Chronicles.
Please keep your
comments coming. And
do feel free to make
suggestions about
content you would like to
see. Or anything else, for that
matter. It is a joy to connect
with you.
Letters In Response To The August 2010 Issue:
The destruction of the water/wildlife of
the Gulf of Mexico affects ALL divinities
associated with water. We must look at these wanton acts of ignorance and
arrogance with a concern for their connectedness to the violence directed
toward women. Remember the bombing of the moon? As women of
faith, awareness, power and purpose, let's think about ways that we can
collectively direct our energies (psychic, intellectual, emotional, and
physical) toward soothing and calming the life left in these waters. And
also let's direct those same energies toward solutions.
Thank you for your wonderful publication.
Regaliciously,
- Linda Queen of Delight, NJ
Dear Queen Linda,
Thanks for mentioning the water orishas. I plan to do
another issue completely dedicated to water and will surely include them as
well as other water goddesses from other cultures. And I couldn't agree more
about the importance of us Queens standing as protectors of Mother Earth and
all of Her creatures and creations.
- QMD
Thank
you for another thought provoking letter reflecting on the essential need for
our Feminine Leadership in saving humanity and Mother Earth. In looking at
Rachel Carson's prescient writing about planetary water a half century ago it
struck me that her salient comment, "Chemicals are the sinister and
little-recognized partners of radiation in changing the very nature of the
world - the very nature of life," is even more applicable today. Worse, it
is now not only true of the 'external' waters of Mother Earth, but now equally
true of the internal environment of our bodies that we poison willingly through
the chemicals we call drugs. Our highly politicized medical system in refusing
to recognize Vibrational Medicine and working with our bodies as the energy we
are, instead continues to make millions prescribing chemicals that, under the
best of circumstances, have many negative side effects in addition to the hoped
for positive one. Additionally by being extracted from the "whole" of their
natural origins, less than half of them are helpful to less than half the
people that take them; a pernicious unbalancing of our natural systems that has
rendered us among the least healthy people on the planet. Increasingly
recognized by the public as 'whistle blowers' from within the FDA, Medical, and
Insurance Companies document the validity long reported by others, we Queens
can first be better examples ourselves, and second raise the public dialogue
required-as did Carson-that in our day is the acute call to more responsible
stewardship of our bodies and our earth.
-
Christine, PA
As usual I thoroughly enjoyed The Queen's Chronicles and passed it
on to other people to read. I loved how you talked to Patti about
fear...to learn to love and respect it. By the way, Jane Fonda LOVED your book!
-
Cristina, NY
Thanks for sending me your incredible pages. I can't
believe you can sustain such columns with info, people, etc. You must have TONS
of computer knowledge to do that. Congratulations. I'm overwhelmed by all the
work you do. Unbelievable.
- Suni, NV
I just sent in a donation for The Queen's Chronicles and wanted to
thank you for all the hard work, scholarship, and fun packed into the
newsletter. I always look forward to reading what you have to say and learn
something new each time. You are a goddess and a treasure. Thank you and
blessed be,
- Donna Fontanarose, Rabuck, AZ
Director, Center for the Sacred Feminine in Tucson
Continued thanks for your incredible work! I'll send you a
donation and forward your newsletter. With incredible gratitude,
- C., NY
I
love you newsletter and reading about all the wonderful things you are doing!
- Terry, CA
I have been enjoying your newsletter and reading your
inspirational nudges for making a difference.
- Robin, GA
Beautiful work,
as always, Mama Donna!
- Nancy, MA
As always, I enjoyed reading this edition of The Queen's
Chronicles.
- Saundra, CA
Please send your responses to thequeenofmyself@aol.com.
Your letters will be printed in the next Queen's Chronicles.
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Kudos to the Queens!
Don't
limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do.
You can go as far as your mind lets you. What you believe, remember, you can
achieve.
-
Mary Kay Ash
Roslyn Drexler, NJ; Karen
Fitzgerald, NY; Barbara Hammer, NY; Joyce Kozloff, NY; Suzanne Lacy, CA; and Yoko Ono, NY on the exhibitions of their work.
Ellen
Goldman, NY; Linda Mary Montano, NY; Annie
Sprinkle and Elizabeth Stephens, CA on their performances.
Amy
Martin, TX, Holy
Smokes: Loose Herbs & Hot Embers for Intense Group Smudges & Smoke
Prayers (Book); Mary Saracino, CO, The Singing of Swans (E-book); Terese Svoboda, NY, Pirate Talk or Mermalade (Book); Diane Torr,
Scotland, Sex, Drag, and Male Roles: Investigating Gender as Performance (Book); and Kris Waldherr, NY, Ask the Queens (Advice Card Deck); on their new
publications.
Hilary
Mandel, British Columbia, Canada on her new career.
Pauline Oliveros, NY for receiving an
honorary doctorate from DeMontfort University in Leiscester, UK.
Susan
Heaney, NY on her new home.
Terese
Svoboda, NY on her
newly empty nest.
Send
your good news, achievements, accomplishments, successes and celebrations so that our international circle of sovereign sisters can
send you blessings and accolades.
And we are glad to so. It is
a joy and a privilege to share in the fortune of another woman. I
recently heard Oprah say the saddest thing ever - "The hardest thing
about being successful is having someone to be glad for you."
It
takes a centered and confident Queen to break that pattern. There are
60 million thrones out there. One for each of us. There is plenty of
purpose, passion and power for us all. May we use it well!
It
is important that you recognize your progress and take pride in your
accomplishments. Share your achievements with others. Brag a little.
The recognition and support of those around you is nurturing.
- Rosemarie Rossetti
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Circle of Concern
Please Offer Your
Purest Thoughts,
Your Heart-Felt
Prayers, Your Great
Good
Feelings, And
Your Very Best
Blessings For Healing
and Peace of Mind To:
Alice,
NY; Amy, NY; Ann, NY; Annie, MA; Betty, AL; Carol, NY; Carol, PA; Cat, NY; Chrissie,
NY; Dana, CA; Edie, PA; Ellen, NY; Erica, England; Gail, OH; Geraldine, ID;
Glenys, Australia; Helena, NY; Jo, AZ; Kathy, RI; Kimberly, CA; Kimi, NJ;
Laura, NY; Laurie, CA; Letitia, VA; Linda, NY; Lisa, PA; Lucia, TX; Matild
Cathy, NY; Nancy, NY; Naomi, DC; Pearl, NY; Randy, MA; Sheri, NY, Sid, PA;
Shirley, IN; Smriti, CA; Teresa, NY; Terry, CA and Yvette, NY who are in the process of healing
themselves from illness, accident, injury or surgery.
Linda, NY; Meryl, NY and Patricia, Australia who would benefit
greatly from some spiritual support.
Amy, NY;
Chrys, NY; Erica, England; Gail, NY; Kayla, NY; Lee, NJ; Lois, NY; Nancy, NC and Roslyn, NJ, the caregivers who are in weary need
of care themselves.
May
Their Spirits Rest in Peace:
Jill Johnston, CT
With
Sincere Condolences:
Ingrid Nyeboe, CT
If
someone listens, or stretches out a hand, or whispers a kind word of
encouragement, extraordinary things begin to happen.
-
Loretta Girzartis
Please send your requests for physical and spiritual healing
and positive energy so that the powerful women of The Queen's Court might send
their prayers and blessings to you in your time of need.
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Where the Queens Are
 NEW YORK
The Queen of England was in New York City
in July for a whirlwind six hours in order to visit Ground Zero and the British
Garden memorial in Hanover Square to pay her respects to the 67 British
subjects who were victims on 9/11. As it happens, our Cyber Queen
extraordinaire, Janet Fish, designer and web mistress of The Queen of My Self site just happens to live on Hanover Square. These photos were taken from her
window:
   
Message from H.R.H. (The other Queen)
To: The citizens of the United States of America
From: Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
In light of your failure in recent years to nominate competent candidates for President of the USA and thus to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective immediately. (You should look up 'revocation' in the Oxford English Dictionary.) Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths, and territories (except Kansas, which she does not
fancy). Your new Prime Minister,David
Cameron, will appoint a Governor for America without the need for further elections. Congress and the Senate will be disbanded. A questionnaire may be
circulated next year to determine whether any of you noticed. To aid in the
transition to a British Crown dependency, the following
rules are introduced with immediate effect:
1. The letter 'U'
will be reinstated in words such as 'colour,' 'favour,' 'labour' and
'neighbour.' Likewise, you will learn to spell 'doughnut' without skipping half the letters, and
the suffix '-ize' will be replaced by the suffix '-ise.' Generally, you will be expected to
raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels. (Look up 'vocabulary').
2. Using the
same twenty-seven words interspersed with filler noises such as ''like' and
'you know' is an unacceptable and inefficient form of communication. There is no such thing as U. S.
English. We will let Microsoft know this on your behalf. The Microsoft
spell-checker will be adjusted to take into account the reinstated letter 'u''
and the elimination of '-ize.'
3. July 4th will no longer be celebrated as a holiday.
4. You
will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns, lawyers, or
therapists. The fact that you need so many lawyers and therapists shows that
you're not quite ready to be independent. Guns should only be used for shooting grouse. If
you can't sort things out without suing someone or speaking to a therapist,
then you're not ready to shoot grouse.
5. Therefore, you will no longer be allowed to own or carry anything more
dangerous than a vegetable peeler, although a permit will be required if you
wish to carry a vegetable peeler in public.
6. All
intersections will be replaced with roundabouts, and you will start driving on
the left side with immediate effect. At the same time, you will go metric with
immediate effect and without the benefit of conversion tables. Both roundabouts
and metrication will help you understand the British sense of humour.
7. The former USA
will adopt UK prices on petrol (which you have been calling gasoline) of
roughly $10/US gallon. Get used to it.
8. You will learn to
make real chips. Those things you call French fries are not real chips, and
those things you insist on calling potato chips are properly called crisps. Real chips are thick cut,
fried in animal fat, and dressed not with catsup but with vinegar.
9. The cold,
tasteless stuff you insist on calling beer is not actually beer at all.
Henceforth, only proper British Bitter will be referred to as beer, and
European brews of known and accepted provenance will be referred to as Lager.
Australian beer is also acceptable, as they are pound for pound the greatest
sporting nation on earth and it can only be due to the beer. They are also part
of the British Commonwealth - see what it did for them. American brands will be
referred to as Near-Frozen Gnat's Urine, so that all can be sold without risk
of further confusion.
10. Hollywood will be
required occasionally to cast English actors as good guys. Hollywood will also
be required to cast English actors to play English characters. Watching Andie
MacDowell attempt English dialogue in Four Weddings and a Funeral was an
experience akin to having one's ears removed with a cheese grater.
11. You will cease playing American football. There is only one
kind of proper football; you call it soccer. Those of you brave enough will, in
time, be allowed to play rugby (which has some similarities to American
football, but does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or
wearing full Kevlar body amour like a bunch of nannies).
12. Further, you will
stop playing baseball. It is not reasonable to host an event called the World
Series for a game, which is not played outside of America. Since only 2.1% of
you are aware there is a world beyond your borders, your error is
understandable. You will learn cricket, and we will let you face the
Australians first to take the sting out of their deliveries.
13. You must tell us
who killed JFK. It's been driving us mad.
14. An internal
revenue agent (i.e. tax collector) from Her Majesty's Government will be with
you shortly to ensure the acquisition of all monies due (backdated to
1776).
15. Daily Tea Time
begins promptly at 4 p.m. with proper cups, with saucers, and never mugs, with
high quality biscuits (cookies)
and cakes; plus strawberries (with cream) when in season.
God Save the Queen!
Please Submit Your Royal
Reports
Tell us about your Self and/or your Queen Group:
who,
what, where, when, why?
What Queenly topics do you explore?
What projects do you engage in?
Describe some golden moments.
Send pictures!
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It is my hope that as more and
more women rise to reign in the fullest potential of our supremacy, we
will harness our purpose, passion, and power and direct it toward
creating a more balanced and peaceful world. This is the legacy of Her
majesty.
- QMD
Turn Your
Midlife Crisis
into Your Crowning Achievement!
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