A ceremony to Celebrate and Honor our Wise Women Elders

Champoeg State Park

October 18th - 20th 2024

8239 Champoeg Rd NE, St Paul, Oregon 97137

Women of all ages, races, and cultures, save the date!

The Women of the 14th Moon is a ceremony to empower our elder women and to celebrate and honor women of all ages.  A Woman of the 14th Moon is a woman who has gone 13 moons (one year) without menstruating and is at least 51 years of age. She is a treasure of history and wisdom, a sacred wise woman.

The Women of the 14th Moon ceremony is not a moon ceremony, or a Native-American ceremony.  It was created in 1987, when three women, A Cherokee, a Celt, and a Jew, came together because they wanted to do something to heal the great fear of aging among women today, particularly in this society. We wish not only to honor our elders but the role that they play in the connection between our ancestors and our future generation. 

This year our theme is "Connecting Through Our Roots" In healthy forests, trees are interconnected, sharing nutrients and support through a mycorrhizal network. This ceremony is our opportunity to support and uplift one another as we sing, pray, and dance together. Every culture and faith has a different understanding of how that looks. We hope to share with you just some of the beautiful ways it can be. In our time together we will have several women share with us from their perspective, how they see themselves as the connection.

We are respectful of each other’s traditions and spiritual practices.  In no way do we intend to misuse or misappropriate the ceremonies indigenous to this land.  We wish to include women of all ages, of all traditions, and all nations in a celebration to empower and honor our elder women, and the transition from matron to crone. 

The spiritual aspect of this ceremony will reflect the tradition of the facilitator.  It is through her guidance that the ceremony maintains its sacredness and honors the wise woman.

Women on all spiritual paths, ages and life experiences are strongly encouraged to participate, including women who have not been to anything like this before.  We welcome you to invite relatives and friends to accompany you. This is also a place for matrons to be expressive and receive strengthening and our maidens are honored as the sacredness of our future.

Sometimes we need to be reminded that we are worthy of a private time to be with only other women.  For it is in this way we begin to remember the time when women were allowed their fullness as co-creators and caretakers of the Earth, keepers of time and keepers of the medicine. This ceremony gives support and renewal to those women doing healing work, working to mend and heal the sacred circle of life.  In this way we shall all continue to grow spiritually and create a safe place for our future generations. 

This is a three-day outdoor camping event, and your presence is requested to attend all three days. Since this is a women’s ceremony, we ask that you create a space free from your men folk, children, babies, and pets. In addition, Women of the 14th Moon is a drug and alcohol-free event.

We hope you can join us for this very special event!

Your registration secures your space on the land, and you will be emailed a registration packet with additional details. Registration deadline is October 7th.

Blessed be,

The Willamette Valley Ceremony Keepers