Protesting is Priestessing – This is what democracy looks like…

Show me what democracy looks like? This is what democracy looks like…

Is protesting part of priestessing?

This week we’ve been out on the streets to defend democracy as an unelected elite with no majority tries to shut down the British parliament to prevent their efforts to stop the UK crashing out of the EU with no trade deal in place, and in the process losing vital environmental protections, human rights protections and freedom of movement. Despite all the warnings from doctors, businesses, farmers and experts about the food and medicine shortages, losses of jobs and livelihoods and myriad other consequences, and despite polls showing the ‘will of the people’ may well be very different to that expressed 3 years ago as a reaction to years of ruinous austerity, it seems the government intends to force this through and ignore the legitimate concerns of the elected representatives of the people.

It seems hard to believe this could really be happening in Britain, every day there are more headlines – the government is going to shut down parliament, the government says they’ll ignore any law passed to stop them, the government says they won’t stand down if they lose a no-confidence vote… Can they really ride roughshod over the rule of law like this? Apparently so.

Whose streets? Our streets…

The atmosphere on the streets outside parliament as the MPs voted on whether to seize control of the next day’s business to try to prevent a no deal scenario was electric. There was an energy and excitement that I’ve never experienced on a protest before; one delightful old Scottish lady was snapping photos on her enormous camera declaring ‘This is like a party’; a samba band was playing, supplemented enthusiastically by people hitting saucepans with wooden spoons; dogs wandered past sporting anti-Brexit stickers; everyone was friendly and hopeful; and police jogged about in teams of 10 looking purposeful but contenting themselves with observing.

You shut down our parliament, we shut down the streets…

We stayed as darkness fell, sitting in solidarity, chanting and singing, turning up the noise levels whenever it was rumoured that interviews were going on outside parliament, making ourselves heard. Everyone there just hoping that by letting those inside the building know that the people wouldn’t stand for the silencing of their representatives, we would stiffen the resolve of the rebel alliance in the house (I’m told a chap further along the street was playing the Star Wars theme tune on a glockenspiel to this effect, and I’m desperately sorry to have missed that). And when the word was given that the vote had passed, the crowd erupted in joyful dancing, singing ‘Solidarity forever’.

What struck me most forcibly the next day was the total silence from the mainstream media about these spontaneous scenes, the impression you would get from reading the news is very different from the lived reality of those that were there, and I wondered how much else we miss via the selective reporting of our very tightly controlled media.

So is protesting part of priestessing? When I dedicated as a daughter of Brighid, I made a vow to ‘midwife the values of the Motherworld’ and ‘to the protection and healing of Your living planet, in word and deed and joy’.

“Honouring Mother Earth as a living being. Love for each other, kindness, support, respect, care, and compassion. honouring all forms of mothering, honouring fathers, and the celebration and nurture of children and young people. Protecting and taking care of the earth, water, fire, air and space in Her world.”

The values of the Motherworld

So I see marching in defence of legal protection for the environment, human rights, support and respect for all, including those who have moved to this country, freedom from tyranny and xenophobia, and in support of real democracy, as a way of upholding this vow. Positive thoughts can only take you so far, sometimes you must stand up and be heard. So I’ll see you in the streets for the Extinction Rebellion…