Aloha Spirit

Aloha Spirit

The overwhelming response I receive from womyn and girls who have come to Daughters of the Goddess is that they feel so welcome, they experience warmth, they find acceptance from everyone and that they have never been part of a community where they felt so at home. This our Aloha Spirit!

It is no coincidence that womyn and girls find such acceptance, welcome and warmth. I have set a conscious intention in my work in Daughters of the Goddess, as well as in all the work I do as a Hawaiian Kahuna and daughter, and High Priestess.

This feeling that womyn and girls speak of is the essence of the Aloha energy and spirit. One of the missions of DG is to foster the culture and spirit of Aloha handed down to me through my Hawaiian heritage. It is my wish that each sister who enters this Temple be imbued with Hawaiiana and Aloha. I want her to experience what it means to be touched by the spirit of the land of Hawai’i nei, the expression of the Hawaiian essence. Transformation and healing from the spirit of Aloha is part of the gift and mission of Daughters of the Goddess.

Through the years, as womyn and girls enter the space I founded Summer Solstice 1996, I teach and train the spirit of Aloha to the womyn and girls who circle in Daughters of the Goddess. I don’t mean teach in a formalized structured way that this work may evoke. I learned as a young child from my kumu/teachers, kupuna/elders, aunties, uncles “how to act” as we say in Hawai’i. I model the values, customs and behavior of Hawai’i, of my family, of our people. Many of the sisters are not of Hawaiian blood, but they uphold this mission of passing on the Aloha spirit.

As I pass on “how to act” to my sisters, the mana/spiritual power I carry within me from the Hawaiian Islands is passed on to each womyn who chooses to circle in DG. In this way, we foster together in harmony the Aloha spirit which all womyn and girls who enter here notice and feel.

I also share and pass this Aloha energy to the womyn and girls I teach in other parts of the country. I have seen and been touched deeply by the faces and spirits of the womyn and girls I “teach” Aloha to in DG, as well as the sisters in my workshops around the country. I see how deeply the Aloha spirit opens hearts and souls to the Goddess. I share my Aloha through a hug, Hula, a chant, making leis….Through Aloha the hearts open, healing happens, unconditional love manifests and we tap in to Womyn power, gilr power, in it’s purest and rawest form.

In our Hawaiian culture, unconditional giving, hospitality, and community spirit are primary. For example, a Hawaiian child is taught to take off shoes before entering anyone’s home. This is a way of honoring our hale/home(pronounced haw-lay), a way of leaving the negative and physical energies we collect on our shoes outside of homes and creating the sacred entrance between the outer and inner sanctuary.

In Hawai’i, ground space in the home is sacred and is often used for sleeping. No need to have beds for our house guests–as long as there is a pillow and blanket there is plenty of room for visitors!!!

All who are invited into a Hawaiian hale/home are welcomed with open arms, a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Food and drink are always offered and shared, no matter how long or short the visit–no matter if the visit is planned or spontaneous. All who enter the Hawaiian hale are made to feel the warm embrace of the Aloha spirit.

Sharing and cooperation between Ohana/family is prized as high-status social behavior. Territorialism, stinginess, over-attachment to material possessions, putting individual needs above the ohana/family/group, are looked upon with disdain. The values we prize above all else are respect for our elders, our teachers, our leaders, our Kupunas. We believe in the continuous cycle of traditions and lineage of culture being preserved and perpetuated. We reflect on the past with great reverence and share this past with our beloved mo’opunas/youngsters. In the Hawaiian oral tradition, our history and beliefs are shared through storytelling, hula, chants and praises.

In Daughters of the Goddess, this mission of preservation and perpetuation of Aloha and of Womyn’s magickal tradition dance together to create a beautiful story. If I have not had the opportunity to circle with you, I do hope I will have the honor of doing so someday.

I invite you to enter the Spirit of Aloha combined with the magick of the Goddess–Na Akua Wahine.