When I got pregnant, I felt scared. My body was changing. A great responsibility laid ahead. Would everything be ok with the baby? Am I ready to be a mum? What will the labour be like? Keeping all my thoughts under control was a tricky task.
But…
The forest came to my aid again. Taking long strolls among birch trees filled my soul with calmness. Hugging the maiden of the forest gave me reassurance and strength. It helped me connect with my divine feminine and my body’s power. I felt the caring love of Mother Earth, nurturing support of Father Universe and the profound wisdom of the birch sisterhood, whom I have had a strong connection with since my childhood.
With dancing, shamanic drumming and yoiking (a Sami people practice of vocalising emotions by chanting/grunting/singing/humming), forest bathing and tree-hugging, I changed – from a scared girl to an empowered woman who gave birth to a wonderful boy.
But not only that. I have become incredibly creative and can finally produce my soul’s content with courage.
Connecting with the Inner Goddess, which in my case is the Birch Goddess, was truly enlightening. It helped me on my journey of becoming a creative mother, but inviting the healing power of the forest and creativity can help with any other task, change, or challenge, no matter who you are and what you are going through.
To process and commemorate my journey, I made this picture of the Birch Goddess:
Then came the poem:
"The Birch Goddess" Out of the depths of her soul, she emerges proudly; with her belly full of Love, with her womb full of Creative Force - the Birch Goddess. She stands among her sisters, her roots spread out of her feet downwards to the heart of Mother Earth, they embrace it, feeling her Power. Her leaf crown winds up skywards - where Father Universe gifts her with the cosmic energy to power up her earthly needs. Her magic twirls out of her Innerverse and like dandelion seeds soars through the world.
And then I made a needle-felted Birch Goddess:
And this is me connecting with the birches during two of the biggest and scariest but wonderful rites of passage:
Polish veriosn of the poem/ Polska wersja wiersza:
"Brzozowa Bogini"
Wynurza się
z głębin
duszy -
dumna;
z krągłym
brzuchem
wypełnionym
Miłością,
z miękkim
łonem
wypełnionym
Siłą Twórczą
- Brzozowa Bogini.
Stoi wśród swoich sióstr,
a z jej stóp do serca
Matki Ziemi
płyną korzenie
i otulają je
czerpiąc Moc.
Na jej głowie korona z liści
wije się do nieba
- tam Ojciec Wszechświat
zasila kosmiczną
energią
jej ziemskie potrzeby.
Magia wiruje
z jej Wnętrza
i niczym ziarenko dmuchawca
leci przez świat.
Birkiverse 