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ABOUT US
WELCOME, GRANDMOTHERS
Into our circle. Into our hearts.
The Arizona Council of Grandmothers is dedicated to celebrating and nurturing women of all ages. While being a biological grandmother is not a requirement, we seek to help others unearth their inner resilient and wise Grandmother energy, often represented as the wise elderwoman, crone, sage, and other archetypes of the Sacred and Divine Feminine.
Our gatherings began as way to provide opportunities to honor elder women for their distilled wisdom acquired over decades of overcoming adversity. By allowing younger women, both the young maidens and the inquiring mothers, a chance to sit at the feet of wise crones and learn, we continue to build a supportive network that reconnects women to their innermost nurturing spirit, clearing channels to receive healing so to become more empowered, whole, and renewed.
In 1994, after being inspired by the prophecy, “When the Grandmothers speak, the world will heal,” Mary Diamond had a vision of bringing women together who “live in light and wisdom".
This first Council of Grandmothers was a gathering of 16 women who drummed, sang and shared stories while sitting in a yurt on Mary's beloved "Cielo en Tierra". In this powerful circle, they bonded over their values about the earth, cultural diversity and the desire to be catalysts for positive change.
By participating in circle among maidens, mothers, and crones, we find healing and direction.
“Buried inside all of us is an indigenous soul who is longing for harmonious livelihood, longing for spirit-self, longing for warmth of community, the joy of expression, the holiness of ceremony. Ignorant of this hidden hunger we stay restless and searching.”
Shirley Tassencourt, founding member of the Arizona Council of Grandmothers
First Council of Grandmothers, Cielo en Tierra, 1994
Pictured: Back row - Janet Cutting (NYC), Mary (Tommie Thomas’s helper), Nancy Masland (Tucson), June Sampson (Boulder), Ruth Gardner (Tucson), Sister Virginia Barta (Dragoon, AZ), Florence Douglas (Eugene, OR), Cora Miller (Tucson), Shirley Tassencourt (Dragoon). Second row: Mary Diamond (Fort Huachuca, AZ), Tommie Thomas (Tucson), Virginia Hall (Tubac, AZ), Beacon (Silver City, NM), Allegra Ahlquist (Dragoon), Fern Cleghorn (Florence, OR), Detta Lange (Totnes, England), and Kit Wilson (Phoenix).
