The Ancient Mother MoonLodge
The Ancient Mother MoonLodge is a place of celebration. It is a place of retreat, of relaxation and of nurturing. It is an opportunity to honor all that is good and natural. The Moon Lodge is a place we find security, wisdom, inspiration, teachings and peace. It is a place we support one another and set a powerful example of beauty for the young girls and maidens amongst us. The Ancient Mother MoonLodge offers the opportunity to remember and share, once again, in the ancient ways of our Grandmothers and honor the next 7 Generations with wisdom, love, responsibility and awakened consciousness.
Women have traditionally gathered to celebrate the natural rites of passage from Child to Maiden to Mother to Crone and to honor the beautiful gifts that each season of life brings forth.
Dianné Jean Aldrich is recognized as a Medicine Keeper within the ceremonial moon lodge. Raised in Wisconsin, praising God with love and joy within the Pentecostal Charismatic Church, gateways opened and she found her way to the sacred heritage of her ancestors. Her matrilineal line is of the Santee, Dakota tribe and her father’s line is a mix of Erie, Cherokee and Celtic descent. In 1997, her Elders gave her the responsibility to walk as a Pipe Carrier and Water Pourer, to pray on behalf of the people, in the tradition of the Lakota. In 2001, on Vision Quest in the Andean Mountains of Peru, she was given the directive to awaken the Teachings and Ceremony of the Women’s Moon Lodge and has been facilitating Rite of Passage Ceremonies and Moon Lodge Circles ever since. The Ancient Mother MoonLodge has been meeting monthly since 2003.
Child ~ Maiden ~ Mother ~ Crone
A CEREMONIAL SISTERHOOD
Transformation, Empowerment, Wisdom and Care through Song, Meditation, Medicine, Story and Teachings
Rite of Passage
Essential for Blossoming into Gracious Responsibility and Beauty through Each Cycle of the Life
WOMEN OF ALL TRADITIONS WELCOME
A Tradition of Inclusivity and Inspiring Love Lives Here
Your Membership Includes:
*A Discovery Call with Dianné Jean Aldrich
Identify the Next Right Step on your Moon Lodge Journey
*Moon Lodge Ceremony
Reserved Access to 12 Monthly Moon Lodge Circles
*Support Materials & Teachings
Explore the Women’s Wisdom of the Ancient Mystery Schools alongside Contemporary Practices for Ultimate Health and Happiness
*Community Support and Sisterhood on Social Media
An Invitation into the Ancient Mother MoonLodge Private Group: Exclusive FB Group of the Ancient Mother MoonLodge
*FREE 4Pillars4Health Portal Membership
Receive Credits, Gift Certificates, Discounts worth $60+ and access to the VIP Calendar to book Classes, Courses, Appointments and Events with Priority Registration
*Medicine Wheel & Fire Ceremony
Invitation to Join in Seasonal Ceremony
*Invitation to Annual Moon Lodge Retreat
Members are Invited to a Spectacular Weekend of Ceremony, Teachings, Swimming, Camping and Joy at the Carter Farm in Argyle, WI
A Red Tent Ceremonial Circle for Women
19 years of meeting monthly!
Women have traditionally gathered to celebrate the natural rites of passage from Child to Maiden to Mother to Crone and to honor the beautiful gifts that each season of life brings forth.
The Ancient Mother MoonLodge is this place of celebration. It is also a place of retreat, of relaxation and of nurturing. It is an opportunity to honor all that is good and natural. It is a place we find security, wisdom, inspiration, teachings and peace. It is a place we support one another and set a powerful example of beauty for the young girls and maidens amongst us.
The Ancient Mother MoonLodge offers the opportunity to remember and share once again in the ancient ways of our Grandmothers and honor the next 7 Generations with wisdom, love and awakened consciousness.
2019 – 2022: Lighthouse
*The Ancient Mother MoonLodge is currently on hold from meeting monthly and will resume in December 2022.
Please contact Dianné if interested in a Personal/Family MoonLodge Ceremony or Rite-of Passage Initiation.
Inquiries: Dianné Jean Aldrich: 608-279-5225 info@4p4h.com
Wopila: A Gratitude Rite of Passage
Renewal of Marital Vows: An Alchemical Rite of Passage
Girl Honoring Ceremony: A Cycle of Seven Rite of Passage
Maiden Honoring Ceremony: A Coming of Age Rite of Passage
Mother Honoring Ceremony: A Blessing the Way Rite of Passage
Crone Honoring Ceremony: A Wisdom Keeper Rite of Passage
Cycle of Seven Celebration: An Evolutionary Rite of Passage
We look forward to your joining us for sacred and moving moments of unity and beauty when the MoonLodge resumes monthly meetings in December of 2022.
Please stay connected through our Facebook Pages: AncientMotherMoonlodge and 4Pillars4Health Ecospace, and on our Instagram: 4Pillars4Health EcoSpace.
Stay tuned for upcoming opportunities by Subscribing.
Testimonials
When does the MoonLodge meet?
First Sunday of Every Month
Monthly Meetings will resume in December 2022
Time: 9:00 AM to Noon
How should you prepare?
Registration Required: REGISTER HERE
Please arrive between 8:30 – 8:45 am to give yourself enough time to settle in.
Location: 4Pillars4Health EcoSpace, 6020 Kristi Circle, Monona Wisconsin 53716
We ask all women and girls to please wear a long skirt or dress and a shawl or shoulder
covering.
Please bring each month:
- Your personal honoring song (a song you’d like to share with the circle or a poem)
- An item for the Giveaway Blanket; preferably a food item; something practical and
needed - 5 gifts of gratitude wrapped in red for the work of the Medicine Keeper, Fire Keeper,
Door Keeper, Beauty Keeper and our Eldest Elder - Flutes, drums, rattles, additional songs if desired
- A blanket and warm socks for comfort if desired
- An open heart and mind
- Your journal and a pen
- A receptive spirit
- Prayers of gratitude and need
- A listening feather
- A sitting cushion
A sign up to offer the following items on select months will also be available:
- Wood for the fire
- Beeswax candles for the alter
- Flowers: 13 Red Roses, 7 White Roses, a bouquet for the Door
- Tobacco, Sage, Sweetgrass, Cedar
- Water, Strawberries, Corn, Wild Rice, Almonds
- Toilet Paper, Paper Towels, Kleenex, Dixie Cups
- Help with set up
- Help with clean up
- Assistance with Carpooling
In addition:
A monetary donation $20 – $150
Please consider making a monthly tithe/donation/offering to this Sacred Community. We have kept the annual membership and monthly participation fee as low as possible so that all can join us and yet there are additional expenses associated with putting up the moon lodges including such things as outreach, maintenance of the yurt, tech/website/portal costs and supporting our Elders and Teachers. We know that when we give, we are blessed; when we are blessed, we give. Please do all you can… your support makes a world of difference! Thank you!!!
MoonLodge Teachings to Ponder
A woman’s essence is magnetic. This is powerfully true during the beautiful years of menstruation or Moontime. It is said that at this time, a woman is very intuitive and receptive to receive vision and answers as the veil between this third dimension and the higher dimensions is very fine. It is good to understand that during Moontime, a woman’s energy reverses and moves in a downward spiral as she becomes a conduit for the flow of energy from the Grandmother Moon into the Mother Earth.
A woman’s physical body is a beautiful representation of this flow of energy as her blood flows downward from the uterus toward the earth. She becomes extremely powerful during this time of her Mooning as her body, mind and spirit are in a natural state of purification. It is a traditional practice when a woman is on her Moontime to retire into a Moon Lodge. This time has traditionally been used to vision, craft and enjoy the company of other women.
As a woman moves through menopause and enters her Second Spring, she rises within our MoonLodge as Grandmother, Elder, Wisdom Keeper. As an honored wise woman of the circle she is looked to for guidance, comfort and teachings.
MoonLodge Year at a Glance
DECEMBER MOONLODGE: CHILD RITE OF PASSAGE CEREMONY & MOONLODGE NEW YEAR
Winter Solstice; Return of the Light. First Lodge of the New Cycle/Wheel of Lodges. Girls 7 years to first menses will be honored for their first coming of age in the Cycle of 7. Prepare an easy song that they like (their honor song) and we will all sing with them and for them. This New Year’s Lodge is an excellent opportunity to bring someone new who is interested in this beautiful experience. Please invite your daughters, nieces, sisters, cousins and family friends who would delight in such an honoring. Girls of all ages welcome! RSVP to participate in the Ceremony REQUIRED. We will be able to accommodate 13 girls/women with the Rite of Passage and Yellow Shawl. If interested please RSVP. info@4p4h.com . Welcome to the Moonlodge.
JANUARY MOONLODGE: DREAMTIME: Walking the Water Labyrinth
The deepening of Winter offers us the opportunity to align with The Great Plan and Receive Vision for the year to come. As the great Light of our Sun returns to us day by day, a renewal of life and purpose is ours to receive. We will each walk the Water Labyrinth wrapped in the love of Sacred Space. May the reflection within the Waters give each of us a sacred message to inspire our journey on into the Light.
FEBRUARY MOONLODGE: PURPOSE: EMBODIED POWER WITH THE GRANDMOTHER DRUM
The Grandmother Dream Drum, Falling River, will join us to unite our heartbeat to the heartbeat of Mother Earth. With Her support we begin to manifest our Visions of the Dreamtime as we drum the beats of sacred embodiment, divine expansion and radiant power. These beats, these vibrations, are felt the world over and through space and time.
MARCH MOONLODGE: MAIDEN RITE OF PASSAGE CEREMONY
Spring Equinox. Maiden Rite of Passage Ceremony. An honor in celebration as girls become young women at the onset of their first menses or MoonTime. Women who have never received such a Sacred Rite of Passage are welcome to revisit this time in their youth and ’”take up their red shawl” in a good way. Please invite your daughters, nieces, sisters, cousins and family friends who would delight in such an honoring. Maidens of all ages welcome! RSVP to participate in the Ceremony REQUIRED. We will be able to accommodate 13 maidens/women with the Rite of Passage and Red Shawl. If interested please RSVP. info@4p4h.com
APRIL MOONLODGE: CRAFTING A BEAUTIFUL WORLD
A Beautiful World, both inner and outer, is a gift we all can receive, create and share. We will explore the beauty of our Moontime flow as we craft Moontime Altar Cloths and weave our energy into their very fabric.
MAY MOONLODGE: BELTANE
We will explore the sacred power of Beltane as we learn how to guide our youth toward respect for self and others through the practice of Sacred Sexual Alchemy. Inspired by the teachings of the Chakana (the Ancient Inca Cross); revelation and self-realization arise to promote Joy, Peace, Perfect Health and Beauty for our families and communities.
JUNE MOONLODGE: MOTHER RITE OF PASSAGE CEREMONY
Summer Solstice. The time when Mother Earth is ripe to conceive Her fruits, Her children, Her lush, green gardens. We will honor the Mothers amongst us with a nourishing and nurturing Rite of Passage Ceremony. Please invite your daughters, nieces, sisters, cousins and family friends who would delight in such an honoring. Mothers of all ages welcome! RSVP to participate in the Ceremony REQUIRED. We will be able to accommodate 13 mothers with the Rite of Passage and Blue Shawl. If interested please RSVP. info@4p4h.com
JULY MOONLODGE: HONORING THE WATERS ~ IN CELEBRATION OF THE FATHER
This time of Summer when the Sun is hot and high in the sky we connect with our Cosmic Father of warmth, wisdom and light. We honor the Waters as we celebrate HE who protects SHE that Carries the Water. Men, boys, brothers, uncles, fathers are invited to join the MoonLodge this month on the shores of Lake Monona at Frostwoods Beach.
AUGUST MOONLODGE: A MINI RETREAT
SEPTEMBER MOONLODGE: CRONE RITE OF PASSAGE CEREMONY
Fall Equinox. The Crone Rite of Passage Ceremony is a sacred opportunity to honor the Grandmothers amongst us who are 13 moons (months) past their last menses. It is an empowering Lodge for all of us as it celebrates the next cycle in our elders experience and encourages the youth among us to age with grace and power. If you have not been so honored previously and you would like to stand in the center of the circle and be so blessed, you are most welcome. It is a joyful experience for us all. Please invite your daughters, nieces, sisters, cousins and family friends who would delight in such an honoring. Crones of all ages welcome! RSVP to participate in the Ceremony REQUIRED. We will be able to accommodate 13 women with the Rite of Passage and Black Shawl. If interested please RSVP. info@4p4h.com
OCTOBER MOONLODGE: ANCESTRAL BEAUTY
Our Ancestors have paved The Way to behold The Beauty in Change. We are the 5th Solar Race. We are the Ancestors of the Next 7 Generations. We are Stewards of the Age of Aquarius. We could be the seed of the Children of the Golden Age. In Beauty May We Walk.
NOVEMBER MOONLODGE: IN CELEBRATION OF DEATH, TRANSFORMATION & REBIRTH
Our year/cycle of Lodges come to an end and we simultaneously prepare for the birth of a new year of Lodges. Transformation is the Magic that inspires Death to Rebirth. SHE WHO CHANGES is our eternal ally.
Select Lodges may also include (by request):
Wopila: A Gratitude Rite of Passage
Wopila is a special ceremony calling us to be present to the abundance in our lives with gratitude and joy. Consciously thanking Spirit by blessing all present with a feast and gifts of gratitude is an outward expression of inner communion. It is an honor to be witness to such an extraordinary ceremony and all who attend to share their time and beautiful energy are a blessing to the sponsor of this very traditional and sacred ceremony.
Renewal of Marital Vows: An Alchemical Rite of Passage
A renewal of marital vows to the Path of the Perfect Matrimony. This is the Path of uniting with your personal internal Love and Wisdom to free oneself entirely from the negative aspects of Ego. To then unite with your beloved from this place of pure beauty with the intention to evolve toward an all consuming Peace and Harmony. Finally, sharing with children, extended family, spiritual community, the Mother Earth and all Her creatures the abundance of Unconditional Love and Sacred Service as set forth by the sound of the unified Soul.
The Perfect Matrimony
God as Father is Wisdom. God as Mother is Love.
God as Father resides in the Eye of Wisdom.
The Eye of Wisdom is situated between the eyebrows.
God as Love is found in the Heart-Temple.
Wisdom and Love are the two Toral Columns of the Great White Lodge.
To love, what a beautiful thing it is to love.
Only the great Souls can, and know how to love. Love is infinite tenderness…
Love is the life that palpitates in every atom, as in every Sun.
Love cannot be defined because it is the Divine Mother of the World; it is what occurs to
us when we are really in love.
No one has ever been able to define Love. One must experience it and feel it. Only the
greatest lovers really know that which is called Love.
Love begins with a flash of delicious sympathy, is substantiated with infinite tenderness,
and is embodied in supreme adoration.
The Perfect Matrimony is the union of two beings who adore each other absolutely.
The Perfect Matrimony is the union of two beings who really know how to love.
Samael Aun Weor, Avatar of the Aquarian Age. “The Perfect Matrimony”
AUBREY HART TESTIMONIAL STORY
Aubrey Hart
SEPTEMBER 1, 2019
I had the honor of collecting and carrying the water in the Crone Rite of Passage water walk last night. Together with the Moonlodge Eagle Staff, and the sacred pail, Dianné led me to the lake and we found a blue heron right by the edge. The message he brought was of self reflection and made me feel at peace with all of these new shifts and ripples in the water. It made me feel aware of my steps in a way I’ve never felt walking back to the yurt. I was careful not to spill a drop, so that after ceremony the water could be returned to its mother, the lake. Heron medicine helped me understand that everything happens in time. Worrying about what others think or are doing is a waste of my energy. What I think of myself and who I know myself to be is most important, especially as I continue on my transient, wandering path.
I show up to ceremony because it connects me to my spirit when the winds and tides of change are tearing down the barriers I’ve built, which feel safe to me.
I show up to hear the songs of my sisters and to honor my voice as it’s heard in circle. I show up to be of service to women I know are doing good, tangible work in their lives. I show up to support others’ dreams, and the dreams of their families and children. I show up for myself and my own healing; I want to know me better. I show up to share food, stories, energy with people I know cherish my time and presence. I show up so that I can someday be the kind of grandmother my elders have been to me.
My grandmothers, aunties, and sisters are not related to me, but they
might as well be. Because I’ll continue to sing their honoring songs
until the day it’s time for me to turn my face to the light and go home.
I love Moonlodge. I love who it’s made me. I love the medicine and
teachings I have to pass on. And I LOVE this sisterhood with all of my
heart. Thank you to anyone reading this who has been a part of this
journey with me. These past three years will be on my heart for the
rest of my life. And I can’t wait to reunite the day Moonlodge comes
back together again.
April 27, 2022
Very thankful to have spent an hour walking through Monona with my wonderful elder, grandmother, medicine keeper, and friend, Dianné Jean Aldrich this afternoon. I haven’t seen her since she was called to close our Moon lodge circle before my move to Arizona, prepandemic. And lately, Spirit has been whispering to me that on my trips home, that it would be good for me to reconnect with my elders.
Walking the same walk my sisters, aunties, and I have walked the water for rites of passages, and other ceremonies, it was a gift to briefly catch up and share how her medicine has impacted my life and outlook on the future. I really missed all of the wisdom her vision brought into my life while I was struggling to grasp my spirituality before I moved. It felt affirming to share another walk and to reconnect with the Monona waters at Frostwoods beach. I’m so grateful she made time to spend with me.
If there’s something I miss about living in Madison, it’s my elders, as well as how sacred this land is to me. To me, and so many ancestors, the Madison area is some of the most sacred land that exists on the planet. One of my favorite things about this incarnation for me is that I was born right on the isthmus, on the same land that holds so many effigy mounds, spiritual and ceremonial holdings, and revered landmarks. It’s something I feel deeply in my bones and I cherish the connection I’ve cultivated here.
It may not always feel like home these days when I come back to visit. But here, Wisconsin, especially Madison, will always be my root and my anchor, by birthright.
Thank you for all the reminders packed into our walk today Dianné. I have missed you and I cannot wait for the day when I get to sit in ceremony, serve others, and hold space with you again! I have so much love in my heart for you. And I am certainly blessed to have fallen into your life and to have learned so much from you in the time I’ve known you.
MARCH 3, 2019
Today was my Maiden Rite of Passage ceremony with my Moonlodge group. I’ve been unconsciously waiting for this day since I was a little girl; confused about her body, angry & resentful towards our misogynistic culture, & at war with my hormones & my menstrual cycle.
Today, at the age of 24, surrounded by my sisters, aunties, & grandmothers who see & support me, I received blessings & teachings overdue to me for the past 12 years. In the traditions that I & my Moonlodge sisters follow, when a young woman starts her first menses, she should receive a rite of passage ceremony.
This, in turn, allows her the wisdom, community, & confidence she needs in order to hold newly acquired responsibilities that come along with her monthly bleeding. She is taught many secrets & teachings of womanhood by the ways of the Moonlodge. She is wrapped in a red shawl by her keepers, which she will wear to ceremony whenever she is on her moon. She is given advice & blessings by her elders on how to carry her energy & her sexuality from then on out.
She is then given a sacred & ceremonial listening feather & a small geode to save until she becomes a mother. Once she someday gives birth, she will have her Mother Rite of Passage ceremony & the geode will be finally opened for her to see what has been hiding within since her Maiden Rite of Passage ceremony.
Words cannot express how simple & beautifully impactful this ceremony was for me. So many emotions came through as a ceremony to this degree has not happened in my lineage for many centuries. I remember, in my DNA, a time when my Nordic & Celtic ancestors honored their young women as they came into their power as water carriers.
Now I’ve had the honor to be the first woman, in the longest time to receive a Maiden Rite of Passage ceremony. And how blessed I feel to be a part of the Ancient Mother MoonLodge. Right in my backyard, I found a space that honors the teachings I’ve received while studying in Peru, as well as the Lakota & Anishinaabe teachings I came into after Standing Rock. It’s a fusion of spiritual teachings that resonate deeply with my path, my dreams, & my will to serve. From child to maiden, Chi Miigwetch.
MAY 6, 2019
Yesterday I spent my 25th birthday receiving the teachings of sacred sexuality and Beltane, creating moon cycle altar cloths, and communing with Great Spirit in ceremony with my sisters, aunties, and grandmothers. We were visited by mama fox the night before ceremony, while setting up. She brought magic of intimacy, respect, and gentleness into the lodge with us.
A space was created by the keepers to hold all of the sisters in newness and empowerment, and to remind them of their worth. We learned about our responsibility, as women, to choose those who we create with wisely. And we were reminded of the power of our creative energy. I love this circle because every person who comes has a voice and their own honoring song.
Every woman has a story and something to share. Every sister weaves their own unique frequency into the fabric of the Moonlodge. And it’s an honor to have been so involved in such a sacred place. I’m not sure if I’ll find a circle full of this much integrity where I’m going. I’m not sure if there’s another place like this on the face of the planet. I do know that I’ve been so grateful to have been welcomed and held in this space, with these women.
It felt so full circle to say goodbye to these life-changing women, and have my last ceremony with them before I move, on my birthday. When I think back to the woman I was when I first came here, I see how big of an impact being a part of Moonlodge has had on me. They’re the reason I know what I deserve in terms of respect and treatment for others. They’re a big reason I know Spirit and can communicate with God.
I feel like I found my path when I found them. It’s what coming home to myself and my community feels like. I will ALWAYS value this chapter of my life, taking the teachings, traditions, and love with me wherever I go, infusing it into the collective. I’m so excited for my new adventures in Arizona, but this aspect of my Wisconsin life, I will surely miss beyond measure.
Ancient Mother Moonlodge will always be my home and community. Thank you my sisters, older and younger, who support me, accept me, believe in me, and love me. I know what sisterhood is supposed to feel like now. And when I have to make a choice between which road to take, I will choose to walk the Red one.