Home to Her

Weaving the Story of Our Lives with Johanna Rivera

Episode Summary

So many of us never received any specific guidance into Sacred Feminine wisdom early on in life. While it can be challenging to find and reclaim Her presence as adults, the process can also involve weaving ourselves into a beautiful story of remembrance, as my guest today can attest to. Johanna Rivera is a mother, song and womb alchemist, community herbalist and women’s health educator. She weaves a beautiful tapestry of women’s knowledge: the scientific with the intuitive; the political with the spiritual. She believes in a women’s health approach that includes physical, emotional, and spiritual health. Since 2015, she has accompanied women in sacred feminine wisdom circles and 1:1 intuitive sessions where she holds a safe, earthy, and nurturing space to be in co-creation with your inner rhythms, and ground into nourishing, deep rest and self-care. On the latest episode we discuss: • Johanna’s Catholic upbringing, and how her understanding of Mary has evolved over time • How her work as an activist supporting Indigenous water rights in Iraq helped shape her understanding and awareness of the importance of women’s wisdom and narratives • Her family lineage of percussion, and how she came to understand and embrace women’s sacred histories as priestess drummers • The importance of reclaiming and using our voices, and using them in service to and as an expression of our own divine nature • The wisdom plants can offer us, and how we can begin to develop a relationship with the natural world Johanna also provides us with a beautiful song at the end of this episode!

Episode Notes

• If you’ve heard me acknowledge the Indigenous lands I reside on and would like to know which tribal lands you may be living on, you can visit native-land.ca to find out. 
• You can pre-order my book, Home to Her: Walking the Transformative Path of the Sacred Feminine from Womancraft Publishing: https://www.womancraftpublishing.com/books/home-to-her/
• You can find video of this episode at the Home to Her YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCK6xtUV6K7ayV30iz1ECigw
• You can learn more about Johanna and all her offerings at https://wildandthemoon.earth/. 
• The late Layne Redmond wrote the now-classic book When the Drummers Were Women: https://bookshop.org/books/when-the-drummers-were-women-a-spiritual-history-of-rhythm/9781635617887. 
• Johanna referenced the singer Ani Williams. You can learn more about her here: https://aniwilliams.com/
• Johanna also mentioned the work of Stephen Harrod Buehner – you can learn more about him and his work here: https://www.stephenharrodbuhner.com/about/
• We also discussed the work of Alessandra Belloni, who joined me on this podcast in 2020. You can listen to this episode here: https://hometoher.simplecast.com/episodes/the-secrets-of-the-black-madonna-with-alessandra-belloni
• We also discuss roses, and their connection to the Virgin Mary and the rosary. I explored the history of the rosary in depth during this episode with Clark Strand and Perdita Finn: https://hometoher.simplecast.com/episodes/exploring-the-secrets-of-the-rosary-with-clark-strand-and-perdita-finn
• Finally, these are the Spanish lyrics to the beautiful song that Johanna sang at the end of our conversation:

Es verdad,
que hace tiempo que te tengo en el olvido,
que ni rezo, ni me acuerdo,
de llevarte rosas rojas a tu altar.

Es verdad,
que tu nombre yo no lo digo desde niño,
pero ahora,
yo, yo necesito
que me ayudes
y te olvides lo que he sido.

Ave María,
escúchame,
Ave María, Ave María,
tú sabes,
tú sabes que yo la quiero
y es todo lo que tengo.
Ave María,
Ave María escúchame,
Ave María, Ave María,
te pido,
yo te pido que no termine,
nuestro amor, nuestro amor. (Ave María).

Recordarás,
aquellas flores que adornaban tu capilla,
eran mías, solo mías,
yo las robaba por las noches para ti.

Recordarás,
cuantas veces te he rezado de rodillas,
mis amigos, se reían,
al mirarme, se reían, se reían.

Ave María,
Ave María escúchame,
Ave María, Ave María,
tú sabes,
tú sabes que yo la quiero
y es todo lo que tengo.
Ave María,
Ave María escúchame,
Ave María, Ave María,
te pido,
yo te pido que no termine,
nuestro amor, nuestro amor
nuestro amor, nuestro amor.