Sacred Woman: A Guide to Healing the Feminine Body, Mind, and Spirit Paperback - 2001

Summary

First line

My people are the Elders of the earth.

From the jacket flap

Queen Afua is a nationally renowned herbalist, natural health expert, and dedicated healer of women's bodies and women's souls who practices a uniquely Afrocentric spirituality. Her classic bestseller, "Heal Thyself, forever changed the way African Americans practice holistic health. Now, with "Sacred Woman, she takes us on a transforming journey of physical and ancestral healing that will restore the magnificence of our spirits through sacred initiation.
Queen Afua begins by helping us to discover our unique "womb-an-ness"-and to honor the womb as the center of our consciousness and creativity, giving us a twenty-one-day program for womb purification and spirit rejuvenation. Then Queen Afua summons us to enter the Nine Gateways of Initiation, where she blesses us with the exact tools we need to bring our beings into true harmony with the earth and the cosmos. Through extraordinary meditations, affirmations, and rituals rooted in ncient Egyptian temple teachings, Queen Afua teaches us how to love and rejoice in our bodies by spiritualizing the words we speak; the foods we eat; the spaces we live and work in; the beauty we create in our lives; the healing energy we transmit to self and others; the relationships we nurture; the service we offer; and the transcendent woman spirit we manifest. With love, wisdom, and passion, Queen Afua guides us to accept our mission and our mantle as Sacred Women-to heal ourselves, the generations of women in our families, our communities, and our world.

Excerpt

C H A P T E R 1

KHAMITIC NUBIAN PHILOSOPHY

THEY SAY OUR WAY IS DEAD.
THEY SAY OUR WAY IS NO MORE.
THAT THE NILE VALLEY LEGACY
ALL ENDED THOUSANDS
OF YEARS AGO.
BUT WE ARE HERE,
AND WE REMEMBER!

My people are the Elders of the earth. They are the originators of what
is commonly known as "Greek philosophy," which is actually the ancient
Khamitic (Egyptian) way of life. "Khamit" refers to the original Nubian
Maatian culture of the Hapi (Nile) Valley Afrakans. The spelling of
"Af-ra- ka" literally means "flesh [af] and soul [ka] of the hidden Sun
[ra]." The more common spelling, "Africa," comes from the Arabic word
firk or frik, which means separate, divide, or conquer. Like "Africa,"
"Egypt" is a name imposed on ancient Khamit by foreigners. The Khamitic
people are the spiritual heads, teachers, motivators, and guides of the
planet ordained by NTR, the One Most High Creator.

The people of ancient Khamit had much to share thousands of years ago.
We descendants and perpetuators of that sacred tradition have much to
share today. The hotep (peaceful) ways and original holistic nature of
the Khamitic people is a model that, if properly adapted, has the
ability to save Planet Earth from mass destruction. It is this path,
this way of life, that has so deeply inspired me and become the root of
my life's work.

The ancient ways of the Khamitic people can teach all people how to
become truly humane again. The Khamitic Masters came to this realization
by purifying their lives. Today, as we purify our own lives, we grow
closer to our divine selves, and this transformation can bring us to a
state of constant bliss, peace, and wellness.

Sacred Woman is the entranceway I offer into that state of
enlightenment. Following the path of body/mind/spirit purification can
bring us to the place where we will be touched by and united with the
great-great-great-grandparents of the earth--the Ancestors.

My Ancestors learned how to combine and unite the elements of earth,
air, fire, water, and spirit, and they continue to teach us their
methods through the carvings and inscriptions on their temple walls.
They bring us the gift of the laying on of hands through the efforts of
Ast (Isis) and her sister Nebt-Het (Nephthys) to restore life to the
broken body of Asar (Osiris), who became a symbol of resurrection for
all humanity.

Contrary to popular belief and ignorance, my Ancestors, the Black people
of the Black land of the Nile Valley, did not worship many gods and
goddesses. My Afrakan Ancestors viewed NTR, the Creator, as the
undifferentiated One/All-Divine from which all life emanates. However,
NTR has many wondrous divine attributes, and all of these
manifestations--the NTRU--are aspects of Its wholeness. Consider, for a
moment, such divine emanations as Maat, the aspect of balance, harmony,
truth, law, righteousness, and reciprocity; Het-Hru (Hathor), the aspect
of divine love and beauty; and Nefer Atum, the Sacred Lotus,
representing the highest ascension and unlimited potential. Heru (Horus)
the falcon represents victory, the aspect that we can call upon to fly
above all obstacles; Tehuti (Thoth) embodies the aspect of divine
intelligence, and so on.

The Khamites, my ancestors, believed that within the heavenly realm the
presence of the Divine is reflected in the balanced worship of NTR--the
Mother/Father Creator, where both aspects in One are given equal
respect. By contrast, most present-day Western religions recog-nize only
the male priest and worship only a male God in a heaven of male angels.
In the ancient Afrakan spiritual tradition, there is deep respect for
the Mother Creator and the female priestess as well as for the Father
Creator and the male priest.

The Khamites lived the philosophy of Maat (harmony) and had respect,
reverence, and honor for NTR and Its divine manifestation in man and
woman and all Nature. They saw Nature and their environment as an
expression of NTR, and an inspiration for self-healing--from which my
"Heal Thyself " philosophy comes.

The Khamites used the element of water for purification rites through
baptisms, fasting, and enemas. They used the element of earth in the
form of healing foods, herbology, and aromatherapy to purify and
rejuvenate the Body Temple.

My Ancestors used the element of air-- breath--through what was called
Ari Ankh Ka, now known as Hatha Yoga. The various sacred movements and
poses that have been depicted on the walls of temples and pyramids were
carved by my people thousands of years ago. Their records have outlasted
man-made misinterpretations and outlived the libraries burned by
foreigners who could not comprehend or appreciate the spiritual heights
and advancement of my people.

To be recharged and purified, my people used the element of fire in
rituals based on the powerful rays of Atn-Ra (the Sun), which blazed
over the vast desert of Khamit. They used fire foods to cleanse, such as
radishes, leeks, onions, and cayenne. They burned frankincense and
myrrh, cinnamon and other spices, herbs, and essential oils and used
them to smudge their bodies to destroy negative spiritual entities
attracted to the Body Temple.

Today, we only need to look to the source of this knowledge as presented
in the Forty-two Laws of Maat.

FORTY-TWO LAWS OF MAAT
I will not do wrong.
I will not steal.
I will not act with violence.
I will not kill.
I will not act unjustly.
I will not
cause pain.
I will not waste food.
I will not lie.
I will not desecrate
holy places.
I will not speak evil.
I will not abuse my sexuality.
I will not cause the shedding of tears.
I will not sow seeds of regret.
I will not be an aggressor.
I will not act guilefully.
I will not lay waste the plowed land.
I will not bear false witness.
I will not set my mouth in motion against any person.
I will not be wrathful and angry except for a just cause.
I will not copulate with a man's wife.
I will not copulate with a woman's husband.
I will not pollute myself.
I will not cause terror.
I will not pollute the earth.
I will not speak in anger.
I will not turn from words of right and truth.
I will not utter curses.
I will not initiate a quarrel.
I will not be excitable or contentious.
I will not prejudge.
I will not be an eavesdropper.
I will not speak overmuch.
I will not commit treason against my Ancestors.
I will not waste water.
I will not do evil.
I will not be arrogant.
I will not blaspheme NTR, the One Most High.
I will not commit fraud.
I will not mistreat children.
I will not mistreat animals.
I will not defraud
temple offerings.
I will not plunder the dead.

Media reviews

“Sacred Woman flings open the gates of understanding the feminine
essence. . . . It is the return of the soul force to women.”
–JEWEL POOKRUM, M.D., PH.D. (Sunut Arit)

“Queen Afua is an extraordinary healer, teacher, mother, and keeper of our legacy. Through Sacred Woman, she has given us the sacred tools we need to live our lives in this new century.”
–HAZELLE GOODMAN
Actress

“Just when I thought I was all alone, I found myself walking with a group of conscious women who were taking sacred steps and speaking sacred words. We were on our way to Queen Afua’s Global Sacred Woman Village. Come with us, there’s Maat–balance and order–there.”
–ERYKAH BADU

“Sacred Woman offers profound wisdom to all who seek healing and transformation. . . . Queen Afua is a national treasure.”
–BOB LAW
Author, radio personality,
and vice president of WWRL