Land of the free, home of the brave?
To whom? Since when?
I've never truly felt free here
Now I don't feel safe
It's always just out of arm's reach, right behind the curtain
They say they're protecting us from certain truths, I say they're hiding them
They lied to you
What they didn't tell you was...
They stole land that wasn't for them
Poisoned the water, flattened the trees
Distracted us with shiny objects
Erased entire races
Decimated entire cultures
Seized our values
Condemned our traditions
Outlawed the sacred ceremony
Publicly belittled our rituals
Robbed us of our autonomy
Misled our hearts with false truths and empty promises
Infested our minds with religion and propaganda
Raped our women
Slaughtered our youth, our warriors, our elderly
Broke the weak and the willing
Separated families
Divided communities
They stole our knowledge, the old ways
They made us forget how to work the land, to feed ourselves, to show gratitude for the life that was taken to feed us
They made us forget how to heal our own bodies, to use the plants all around us to sow harmony within our physical and spiritual bodies
They made us forget that long ago we all lived in peace, that there was equality amongst the sexes, and that love existed between all
No more were the days of the witch, the seer, the healer, the prophet
Gone where the days of the midwife, the shaman, the priestess, the storyteller
And once we had all forgotten, they commercialized our basic human rights, selling us our water, food, shelter, clothing, education, and medicine back to us for the price of our souls
Shame replaced Joy
Control replaced Freewill
Money and greed reigned supreme
Life was no longer a journey to be celebrated
Birth and death were sanitized, turned into something to look away from in horror
We were denied our sacred rites of passage and most basic human rights
Fear lived in the hearts of all living creatures
Women and children became property
A uterus became an asset to the man who could plant his seed inside one, not to the woman who would be responsible for sustaining the life outside of it
Unfortunately for them
Those truly wild ones
They could never be tamed
Never be harnessed
Never be snuffed out
They went underground and behind closed doors
Walked naked in the woods and convened with plant medicines
Howled at the full moon in a circle of sisters in ceremony
Sang songs about how the world used to be in their baby's ears as they rocked them to sleep at night while the rest of the world lay sleeping
Supported those actively bringing life into this world
Learned every rock and tree and plant and its uses so they could help heal the sick and the suffering
Supported those actively leaving this world for the next
In quiet moments they sunk their feet deep down in the dirt and they cried and they prayed and they asked the great spirit to make them a vessel for community, family, healing, blessings, bounty, hope, and, above all else, love
They took every ounce of loss and heartache and pain and suffering and turned it into incredible POWER
Inconceivable gifts
Ferocious magic
Generation after generation
We have been hiding
We have been waiting
But now, we are AWAKENING
Gone are the days of the TOXIC MASCULINE
The patriarchy must fall
I am a healer, I am a witch, I AM MY ANCESTORS
THEY LIVE ON IN ME
Their grief and joy and power is also mine
Now is the time for witches, seers, healers, prophets
Now more than ever we need midwives and shamans and priestesses and storytellers
We need sacred ceremony and rights of passage and ritual
Women, I call on you now!
Rise!
Stand up!
Speak out!
No longer will we lurk in the shadows, denying ourselves our birthright, denying ourselves our magic
No longer will we hide and wait while our loved ones suffer under the oppressive weight of man
No longer will we accept less than equal rights
No longer will we allow a government that only serves itself to rob us of our autonomy
No longer will we allow our hearts and minds and bodies and spirits to be poisoned by a government whose only goal is complete manipulation and control
We are wiser, more capable, and more resourceful than history has ever given us credit for AND we have the means now to connect on a global scale
We are POWERFUL and MAGICAL beyond measure and united in love we CAN and we WILL change the course of the world
Your sacred rage is rising
They are scared, as they should be
Do not let the past make you afraid - LET IT MAKE YOU FIERCE
We are ONE and we are NEVER GOING BACK
