Long ago, you could find a well maiden at every holy well in the British isles. She would offer a weary traveller a bite to eat and a drink of water from the well to nourish them physically and spiritually for their journey ahead.
In those days, the king of the land was in a sacred contract with the earth, the mother Goddess, to be a steward and protect the body of the mother and all her children. This stewardship was not ownership, it was a duty of service to be undertaken by the worthiest of men.
Then there came a king who violated the sacred contract, who did not respect the mother and the feminine. When he came upon a well maiden and she offered him sustenance, instead he took her body against her will. Taking the lead from their king, his men then violated every well maiden around the country.
It it said that the goddess then departed from the world, rendering it a wasteland where the feminine force was hidden deep underground. They say the king still lives in this wasteland now, bleeding from his thigh, waiting for the one who will come and say - what ails thee?
The well maiden's chalice is a womb symbol, the sweet water of life that lives within every woman where nourishment is dispensed graciously. When we reclaim the chalice of the womb we reclaim the legacy of the well maidens. We know very well what is ailing the king, he has abused the gifts of the feminine, taken more than he ought and tossed her aside, and now all are suffering.
As women we are the chalice bearers and we rise up, remembering that we are where life comes from. We hold all of creation cradled in our wombs. We are the well which never runs dry, the life/death/life mysteries of the universe that keep the wheel turning, as souls are born and return to the cosmic womb for rebirth, as bodies are birthed and returned to the earth womb to nourish the soil.
Lyrics by Ajeet Kaur.
You can work with me through my online offering Sacred Womb Journeys and shamanic womb healing and I also offer in-person women's healing retreat days, massage, ceremony and workshops in South Wales.
