"Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom." — Viktor Frankl
Physical Setting & Preparation
Find a place of natural architecture - a grove where trees form living columns, rocks arranged in natural circles, or caves where earth has carved sacred spaces. If indoors, arrange furniture to create an enclosure with a clear center. Stand in this natural sanctuary and turn slowly, feeling how space holds and shapes your presence. Let your breathing create rhythm in the silence.
Opening Invocation | Fosgladh
A Mháthair nan Àiteachan Naomh, Mother of Sacred Spaces, I enter your natural temple as September prepares for the great turning toward balance. In your hollowed places, I learn how emptiness can be more powerful than fullness.
Your spirit carries the jagged pain of feeling rejected, pushed away from circles where you longed to belong, while simultaneously you pulse with bold defiance - the fierce energy that rises when you refuse to be diminished by others' inability to see your worth.
Ann an àite naomh nam inntinn, cuir sìth air mo spriorad - in the sacred space of my mind, bring peace to my troubled spirit.
Body of the Working | Corp
The natural sanctuary around you creates acoustic resonance that amplifies every sound - your footsteps become ritual percussion, your breathing joins the earth's own rhythm, your heartbeat echoes off stone and wood like a drum calling spirits to ceremony. Your skin feels the subtle energy that accumulates in consecrated spaces where intention has been focused over time.
Tha an t-àite seo air a naomhachadh le iomadh ùrnaigh - this place has been consecrated by countless prayers, holding sacred intention.
Your rejection burns like salt in an open wound, the sting of being excluded from where you hoped to find home. But the earth mother shows you that rejection often redirects you toward your true path, clearing away connections that would have diminished rather than nourished your essential nature. Sometimes the greatest gift is not being chosen by the wrong tribe.
Your defiance rises like a phoenix from ashes, the indomitable spirit that refuses to internalize others' limitations or let their blindness become your prison. The mother teaches that defiance, when aligned with truth, becomes a sacred force - the power that breaks unjust systems and creates new possibilities.
Tha mo mhisneachd nas làidire na an diùltadh - my courage is stronger than their rejection, rooted in unshakeable worth.
Feel both emotions as energy that can be transformed - rejection as redirection, defiance as creative force seeking expression.
The Deep Working | An Obair Dhomhain
Descend into the earth mother's most sacred chamber, the hollow heart where she holds space for all things to be exactly as they are without needing to change or prove themselves worthy of existence.
Tha mi a' dol sìos gu cridhe follamh na Màthair far a bheil gach rud air a ghabhail ris - I descend to Mother's hollow heart where all things are accepted without condition.
Here, rejection transforms into recognition - you see clearly which spaces truly have room for your authentic self and which were never meant for you. Your defiance becomes sacred rebellion against all systems that would diminish the unique gift you bring to the world.
The earth mother's healing flows through the hollow spaces in your bones, through the empty chambers where sound resonates, through the gaps between thoughts where wisdom lives. Feel this healing creating more space inside you - room for paradox, capacity for compassion even toward those who rejected you, strength to forge new paths where none existed before.
Àite follamh ann am chridhe far am faod gach rud a bhith - hollow space in my heart where all things can exist without conflict.
In this sacred emptiness, rejection and defiance merge into sovereign self-possession - the quiet confidence of one who belongs first and foremost to themselves and to the earth that made them.
Afterthought | Smuain Dheiridh
Take a moment to contemplate:
How might rejection be the earth mother's way of clearing the path toward communities that can truly see and celebrate your gifts, while defiance provides the energy needed to create new spaces where you and others can flourish authentically?
Closing Blessing | Beannachd Dheiridh
Beannachd nan àiteachan naomh ort - blessing of sacred spaces upon you. Mar a tha uaimhean a' cumail fuaim, mar a tha coilltean a' toirt fasgaidh - as caves hold sound, as forests provide shelter, so may you trust that the right spaces will recognize and welcome your true nature.
May you walk knowing that you carry sacred space within you wherever you go, able to create sanctuary and belonging through the simple act of being authentically yourself. Until the circle calls you home.
Slàn leat ann an cearcall na cuideachd naoimh - farewell in the circle of sacred community.
Thanks so much love Liz