Distaff Day

Woman with distaff in left hand, and spindle in right hand.

Distaff Day (January7) is named for the stick-like tool that holds fibers while a woman uses a drop spindle to spin thread.

Spinning and weaving were never-ending chores for pre-industrial women; most women and girls would spin thread while also cooking, caring for children, or minding the sheep. Because women were seen always with a distaff in hand, it became the symbol of “women’s work”. 

But during the Christmas season women took a break from spinning. January 7th was the traditional day for women to start back to work, and so was called Distaff Day.

Agenda:
1. Journal queries and spindle meditation

2. Love meditation

3. Read "Present Moment Awareness"

4. Ongo journal

5. Start a fiber project

6. Proaction and reciprocity plans

1. Journal queries and spindle meditation:

A student using a drop spindle to make yarn.

The Spirit as Goddess is often portrayed as a spinner: Athena, Isis, and Grandmother Spider Woman are all spinners and weavers. Amaterasu spins and weaves sunbeams. The Three Fates control destiny by spinning the thread of life. Frigga works the heavenly spindle to weave the clouds; she has the ability to feel and see clearly.

So, I celebrate two things today:

• My love of the fiber arts;
• And how I create my own destiny with thought and deed.

What are the threads of my life now and how well do they weave together?
Where can I simplify the pattern? 
Where can I add richness?

I’m not much of a spinner, but I always pull out my spindle on Distaff Day, and spin a little wonky yarn. As I work with it I ask the Spirit to give me the ability to slow down, be present, and see clearly.

2. 

Love meditation:

Every month after the full moon, in the quiet-energy yin time of the waning moon, I practice a love meditation that progresses from receptivity, to gratitude, to generosity:

Day 2: Practice a love meditation, and end by feeling and expressing gratitude - send a prayer to the universe of thanksgiving for all I have in my life. 

During this month when I am finding stillness, I take some time to give myself thanks for being who I am; for reaching for something big and scary; for taking the time to sort out my traumas and needs; for giving myself to others. 

3. Read "Present Moment Awareness":

I'm reading this book by Shannon Duncan (2001) that takes awareness one step at a time: First, body and senses; then beliefs and limitations; then emotions; and finally, reactivity. It seems like a straightforward plan!

I'm into the final section: Reactivity Roller Coaster. Little by little I will be able to identify the negative core beliefs that have caused me so much grief. They will be experienced as a "feeling" until they are named: something like worthless, weak, silly, stupid, (as in "women are...") "Negative core beliefs cannot be explained away, and until they are experienced and viewed with objectivity they can continue to affect us as they always have." 

Once they are named, they might begin to break down: the child-like notions they are built on cannot be supported by an adult mind. It's like peeling an onion one layer at a time, awakening to my true self and real life a little more.

During an actual situation when I feel those familiar feelings, it is best to simply allow those feelings to exist, and look through them, like raindrops on a windshield. Then when I am alone I can meditate on the situation, and try to pinpoint the underlying negative core beliefs. I can begin to understand and challenge them, and work on untangling them. 

1. Begin by anchoring myself with my breath, and observe what I am feeling: Disappointment, annoyance, incredulity, belittlement, and anger ... Do a body scan to release tension.
2. Stay present with the feelings by experiencing them, like a curious observer, but don't become absorbed into them. Keep attached to my breathing, my feet on the ground, my environment. 

During this process I may have memories of these same feelings from my early days that surface and explain why I am being triggered. It doesn't mean that every emotion comes from the past - some present moment irritations will remain, but I can see them in their proper perspective and not let them carry me to rage.

4. Ongo journal:

I'm going back through this book by Catherine Madden and Jesse Weiss Chu (2022), focussing on the solo practices. The solo practices are meant to be done 5 days a week - 3 practices alternating with 2 "Rememberings", to allow you to go deep.

Day 3 is Mindfulness of Breath, and it asks me to explore a 12-minute meditation using my breath as a focus."...simply be with the flow of the breath as if you are in the ocean, feeling the rise and fall of the waves."

5. Start a fiber project:

Every year on Distaff Day I start a new fiber arts project, either hand-sewing or crochet, to connect again with the roots of "women's work" and to keep my hands busy in the evenings (and during zoom meetings).

This year, I'm finishing a second worry monster for my second grandson.

6. Proaction and reciprocity plans:
On Wednesdays I often journal a bit about the future, and my dreams and goals: What GREAT things do I want to accomplish? How will I serve people? How will I use my talents? How will I stretch myself? How can I become an “island of excellence”? What is essential?

Then I try to define achievable, meaningful goals and prioritize the goals and tasks with the greatest long-term impact.

This next week I hope to:

• Have a Beginner's Mind meditation on a winter nature awareness retreat program.
• Write about Awareness: Spiritual simplicity and order; Monitor Your Air Quality; Winter temperature awareness; soil health; Imbalc
• Send out the EC action news letter, with some information about the Clean Water bill.
• Take the online foster dog training and perhaps visit Greenhill to talk to someone. 
• Experiment with a watershed watercolor painting!
• Take part in the first  "Return to the Earth" event, to "come to understand the cultural lens through which I see the world."