The Seven Ages Of Woman

THE SEVEN AGES OF WOMEN

Serendipity often plays a role in my reflection and my creating.
I viewed this TEDx talk by Penny Johnson
and wondered,
"What are the seven stages of women?"

I found the origin of the phrase in the play "As You Like It" by William Shakespeare
and wondered
"Are the seven stages of women the same as
the seven stages of man?"

THE SEVEN AGES OF MAN BY RICHARD KINDERSLEY

All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players.
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. At first the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms.
Then, the whining school-boy with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress' eyebrow. Then, a soldier,
Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honour, sudden, and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon's mouth. And then, the justice,
In fair round belly, with a good capon lined,
With eyes severe, and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws, and modern instances,
And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slippered pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side,
His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank, and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion,
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.

William Shakespeare "As You Like It"

Needing to explore these ideas creatively,
I came upon the website of author and artist Anna Banford.
She has an inspiring tutorial on making a pebble pouch baby.
This was the springboard I needed to stitch and reflect,
quietly, attentively,
honouring and blessing the stages of my life.

At the same time,
I chose to re-read John O'Donohue's "Benedictus"
through the long, languid days of summer.
"Benedictus" is a book of blessings.
John, poet and mystic, wrote,

"Each blessing is intended to present a minimal psychic portrait
of the geography of change it names.
Without warning,
thresholds can open directly before our feet.
These thresholds are also the shorelines of new worlds."

I have chosen some of his blessings to accompany the seven ages of woman ... and beyond.

INFANCY

THE BLESSING OF A CHILD ENTERING THE WORLD

As I enter my new family
May they be delighted
at how their kindness
Comes into blossom.

Unknown to me and them
May I be exactly the one
to restore in their forlorn places
New vitality and promise.

May the hearts of others
Hear again the music
In the lost echoes
of their neglected wonder.

If my destiny is sheltered
May the grace of this privilege
reach and bless the other infants
Who are destined for torn places.

If my destiny is bleak
May I find in myself
A secret stillness
And tranquillity
Beneath the turmoil.

May my eyes never lose sight
Of why I have come here,
That I never be claimed
By the falsity of fear
Or eat the bread of bitterness.

In everything I do, think,
Feel and say,
May I allow the light
Of the world I am leaving
To shine through and carry me home.

CHILDHOOD

FOR YOUR BIRTHDAY

Blessed be the mind that dreamed the day
The blueprint of your life
Would begin to glow on earth,
Illuminating all the faces and voices
That would arrive to invite
Your soul to growth.

Praised be your father and mother
Who loved you before you were;
And trusted to call you here
With no idea who you would be.

Blessed be those who have love you
Into becoming who you were meant to be,
Blessed be those who have crossed your life
With dark gifts of hurt and loss
That have helped to school your mind
In the art of disappointment.

When desolation surrounded you,
Blessed be those who looked for you
And found you, their kind hands
Urgent to open a blue window
In the grey wall formed around you.

Blessed be the gifts you never notice,
Your health, eyes to behold the world,
Thoughts to countenance the unknown,
Memory to harvest vanished days,
Your heart to feel the world's waves,
Your breath to breathe the nourishment
Of distance made intimate by earth.

On this echoing-day of your birth,
May you open the gift of solitude
In order to receive your soul;
Enter the generosity of silence
to hear your hidden heart,
Know the serenity of stillness
To be enfolded anew
By the miracle of your being.

ADOLESCENCE

AT THE THRESHOLD OF WOMANHOOD

It is like awakening into a morning
Where everything is touched with change.
Now your body has a mind of its own
As it curves and fills into womanhood.

The lightness of being a girl is leaving
And your thoughts too are taking you
To places you have never known before.

Becoming a woman, you feel the moon
Tug at your blood, and you begin to sense
The mysteries of your new body.

May you enter beautifully into the feminine,
learning to trust the world of feeling you inherit,
Feeling ease and elegance in all you are.

May your respect for your beauty
Become visible in your dignity
And how you hold yourself in the world.

May the expectation in other eyes
Never decide how you are to be;
Learn to trust the advice of your heart.

May you feel life as an irresistible invitation
To discover and develop your talents,
Each day bringing something new to birth.

May you be wise in choosing love;
When you trust, give all your heart
And allow love to pervade you like breath.

May you have friends who can see you.
May your senses be windows of wonder
And your mind a prism of spirit.

YOUNG ADULT:
STUDY AND CAREER

FOR WORK

May the light of your soul bless your work
With love and warmth of heart.

May you see in what you do the beauty of your soul.

May the sacredness of your work bring light and renewal
To those who work with you
And to those who see and receive your work.

May your work never exhaust you.

May it release wellsprings of refreshment,
Inspiration and excitement.

May you never become lost in bland absences.

May the day never burden.

May dawn find hope in your heart,
Approaching your new day with dreams,
Possibilities and promises.

May evening find you gracious and fulfilled.

May you go into the night blessed,
Sheltered and protected.

May your soul calm, console and renew you.

ADULT: CHILDBEARING

FOR A MOTHER TO BE

Nothing could have prepared
Your heart to open like this.

from beyond the skies and the stars
This echo arrived inside you
And started to pulse with life;
Each beat a tiny act of growth,
traversing all our ancient shapes
On its way home to itself.

Once it began, you were no longer your own.
A new more courageous you, offering itself
In a new way to a presence you can sense
But you have not seen or known.

it has made you feel alone
In a way you never knew before;
Everyone else only sees from the outside
What you feel and feed
With every fibre of your being.

Never have you travelled further inward
Where words and thoughts become half-light
Unable to reach the fund of brightness,
Strengthening inside the night of your womb.

Like some primeval moon,
Your soul brightens
The tides of essence
That flow to your child.

You know your life has changed forever,
For in all the days and years to come,
Distance will never be able to cut you off
From the one you carry
For nine months under your heart.

May you be blessed with quiet confidence
That destiny will guide and mind you.

May the emerging spirit of your child
Imbibe encouragement and joy
from the continuous music of your heart,
So that it can grow with ease,
Expectant of wonder and welcome
When its form is fully filled

And it makes its journey out
To see you and settle at last
Relieved, and glad in your arms.

RETIREMENT

FOR RETIREMENT

This is where your life has arrived,
After all the years of effort and toil;
Look back with graciousness and thanks
On all your great and quiet achievements.

You stand on the shore of a new invitation
To open your life to what is undone;
Let your heart enjoy a different rhythm
When drawn to the wonder of other horizons.

Have the courage for a new approach to time;
Allow it to slow until you find freedom
To draw alongside the mystery you hold
And befriend your own beauty of soul.

Now is the time to enjoy your heart's desire,
To live the dreams you've waited for,
To awaken the depths beyond your work
And enter into your infinite source.

OLD AGE: CRONE

FOR OLD AGE

May the light of your soul mind you.

May all your anxiousness about your age
Be transfigured.

May you be given wisdom for the eyes of your soul
To see this as a time of gracious harvesting.
May you have the passion to heal what has hurt you,
And allow it to come closer and become one with you.

May you have great dignity,
And a sense of how free you are.
Above all, may you be given the wonderful gift
Of meeting the eternal light that is within you.

May you be blessed;
And may you find a wonderful love
In your self for your self.

DEATH AND BEYOND ...
the age we cannot imagine.

ENTERING DEATH

I pray that you will have the blessing
Of being consoled and sure about your death.

May you know in your soul
There is no need to be afraid.

When your time comes, may you have
Every blessing and strength you need.

May there be a beautiful welcome for you
In the home you are going to.
You are not going somewhere strange,
Merely back to the home you have never left.

May you live with compassion
And transfigure everything
Negative within and about you.

When you come to die,
May it be after a long life.

May you be tranquil
Among those who care for you.

May your going be sheltered
And your welcome assured.

May your soul smile
In the embrace
of your Anam Cara.