Blessings,
Courageous Ones!
I
continually contemplate what Power means to me as a High Priestess. What does power look like and how is it
experienced in the Sisterhood of the Moon?
In which situations do I use power where it is acceptable? Where do I use it where it is not? How can I bring more power-with to myself and
within my relationships with Circle-Sisters?
I
agree with Michel Foucault’s definition of power demonstrating these qualities:
1.
Asserts
itself through truth/knowledge claims;
2.
Emerges
within a social context and meaning; and
3.
Is
neither positive nor negative until it is deployed and perceived.
On
page 87 of Ethics & Professional
Practice for Neopagan Clergy, Dr. Katie MacDowell writes regarding
truth/knowledge claims:
When
we apply this to religion, two specific issues emerge:
1. Knowledge authority
that is implied or explicitly claimed by the priest/ess;
2. Truth claims about
the specific tradition’s beliefs on how the universe works, who’s in charge,
and how we should lead our lives based [on this]
As
High Priestess, my knowledge authority is implied. Women who come to the Sisterhood know I am
the Leader, and therefore have authority over what happens within our
community—this is the social context and meaning. I do not have authority over the personal
lives of my Circle-Sisters, or over their personal cosmology/spirituality—nor
do I want to—although I always share the beliefs and foundations of the
Sisterhood of the Moon Tradition so that women know what framework we are
operating within. It is my intention to
be completely transparent as to what the Tradition’s beliefs are, how the power
structure is set up, and how I choose to lead my own life based on these
beliefs and structures.
I
agree with Dr. MacDowell that marrying Foucault’s definition of power with
Rosabeth Moss Kanter’s can be helpful in truly grasping what power means in the
social/spiritual construct. On page 82,
MacDowell provides Kanter’s definition of power as:
The ability to achieve and mobilize social
and material resources through the assertion and utilization of truth claims
and social position (both creating authority) to meet one’s goals.
Dr.
MacDowell, on pages 88-89, goes on to list the typical sources of power for a
Priestess:
·
The
right to define, alter, and create theological beliefs;
·
The
capacity to accept or decline members for worship;
·
The
right to officiate all ritual/liturgical elements of worship;
·
The
capacity to remove any member or lower-leveled clergy from office or the
worship group;
·
The
ability to set the tone for the dynamics between members;
·
The
ability to determine who is qualified for initiation or teaching and who is
not;
·
Access
to mystery or hidden/non-public knowledge adherents do not have;
·
Access
to financial reimbursement for time, teaching, and counseling;
·
Legal
recognition of authority conferred by title to oversee marriage and death
rites, as well as participate in pastoral care; and
·
Ego
resources, such as a sense of greater control and capacity conferred through
holding the other power resources as well as in the role of being sought out by
other members for help, guidance, or teaching.
Power
is a privilege, and as High Priestess I am privileged to exercise my authority
and power. Without Circle-Sisters to accept my claim to this power, however,
there is no community to lead. This is
an Agreement we have all willingly entered into and this power is established
because I say it is so: I have done the
work, been granted Ordination within my Tradition, and started and tended to
the cauldron of my circle. Any women can
come to me for training and Initiation and/or Ordination within the Sisterhood
of the Moon, as long as she is willing to do the work within the structure of
our particular community and the belief system therein. Currently, even though I often go to my
Sacred Council for advice, I am the sole Priestess, and the final
decision-maker in all cases. As Rev. Ava
Park teaches, as I am the Queen of the Realm of the Sisterhood, I have the
right and responsibility to make any and all decisions. The ultimate goal I hold for all women in my
community is self-empowerment.
Regarding
the process of inclusion and exclusion and how it relates to power in our
particular Dianic community, I am always in process with myself around
this. As Dr. MacDowell writes on page
85:
…exclusion
does occur and it is the clergy’s responsibility to continuously assess:
·
Who
is being excluded and who is being included?
·
For
what reasons is the exclusion occurring?
·
Are
such practices potentially beneficial to the community and in what ways?
·
How
are such practices harmful to the community and in what ways?
·
Are
such justifications for the exclusion in keeping with the ethics of the faith?
The
feminist Dianic Tradition of Z Budapest intentionally excludes men from our
group spiritual practices. This is not
because we are against men, or do not honor them; in fact, most of my
Circle-Sisters, including myself, are married to or partnered with men, live in
households with them, raise children with them, and maintain close, deep, and
abiding friendships with them. Our
Dianic Tradition was founded for women to practice our spirituality solely with
other women as a way of reclaiming power and self-empowerment through discussing
and ritualizing the Blood Mysteries, and in developing closer relationships
with other women and the Goddess. This
is not a commentary on how others choose to practice their spirituality or
embrace and create their own personal cosmology. There is inherent exclusion in this
particular Dianic Tradition that I do not believe is harmful to men who are excluded. On a different note, I continue a deep
personal inquiry into the position of the Dianic Tradition on transgender
women, and whether this is harmful or to our trans-Sisters and ethically, to
the Sisterhood of the Moon.
Finally,
a note on “power-over” and “power-with” as it relates to this specific chapter
in Dr. MacDowell’s book. “Power-over”
exists in my circle because there is a hierarchical structure in our
community. I am the primary authority
figure, although I strive to share “power-with” with all Circle-Sisters who
wish it: I encourage women to help shape
our community, to give input on what they would like to see and participate in,
to help us establish and develop those things that will best serve our
members. I see our emerging Sisterhood
of the Moon Tradition as a hybrid between typical authoritative hierarchies and
consensus-based communities. To my best
ability, I maintain a benevolent authority within our circle.
I
would love to hear about how you experience and utilize power as a Leader, and I
invite you to “follow” this blog so you receive notification via email for each
of my new posts.
Blessed
be,
Lady
Jesamyn Angelica
High
Priestess, Sisterhood of the Moon
