Ashlands

Walking trough an endless world of ash, all seems lost. Nothing has shape or color. It is all a powdery, deep gray ash. Beneath the your feet is several inches of ash that is neither cot nor cold.  It simply is.  There is no sound, no life and no scents here.  It is a place of emptiness. There is no direction in this place- up, down, East, West, North, South all look and feel exactly the same.

Then a shimmer appears above and before that wanderer, and a moment later, it begins to rain light.  As the droplets fall on the you, the wanderer, your skin absorbs the light. Spot by tiny spot, you are becoming something beautiful and full of light.  You are now, your own beacon.  The light you cast gives shape and form to the ash world, and you see that it is a place in which should not stay.

Once you accept the light that is now yours and the futility of staying in the dusty, dark, broken ash world, you will see a veil.  Walk to it, and walk through it.  Your time in the shadows in done.

The void

I've been trying to write posts for you, but nothing was happening. Silly me, I had missed the message, several times.  I was being shown the Void.  It is a emptiness.  The "abyss of the unformed", as Patricia Kenneally Morrison poetically called it.  In fact, it's not actually a place, more an idea. It has many names; for me Void, Abyss or Annwn work.  You may find other names or descriptors that suit your worldview better.  The name has no meaning other than what you give it, much like these journeys.

My recent journeys to the Otherworlds have been in the Abyss.  For me it is devoid of light, sound, taste, sensation and scent.  I am there and occasionally, guides have sought me out.  Some of them family members who I knew in this life, but who have passed into their next existence, others teachers who wish to impart of a bit of wisdom.  Since there is nothing there, there is literally nothing to fear.  It is a place of creation and destruction, the source of change.  It defines the idea of existence.  Annwn, the abyss, is easy to overlook, but it can be an ideal place to face fears or hear truths that maybe uncomfortable.  it is a place to practice your own creative powers, or simply to be alone.

If, during your Otherworldly travel, you find yourself lost in a space that has no markers or form, you are probably in the Void.  Don't panic.  If you are afraid, you can leave and go back to someplace that makes you feel safe, or you can try to understand what the Abyss means to you.  If you stay, try creating images or objects.  Ask for guidance or simply enjoy the quiet.

Blessings!

Visit my Cauldron Keeper's Spell Book blog to enter for a chance to win a 7 card spiritual path tarot reading from Kat of EmKat Creations.  Thanks!

Travelers and other lessons

As you journey in the Otherworld, you will meet other beings.  Some of them will be projections of yourself, others will be guides, and some will be other travelers.  Every being, great or small, has a lesson to impart in the Otherworld.  It is up to you to decides if and when and how to engage some of these teachers.  The ones I met, will not necessarily be the ones you do.  If at any point a being makes you feel unsafe or scared, feel free to break off that contact and leave.  Things in the Otherworld can only hurt you if you let them.

With this in mind, I will share an experience I had.  In my travels, I often perform mundane tasks such as cleaning my home or cooking food.  Once, while sitting beside a campfire, I was approached by another.  Hooded and hidden, I never the less, invited the being to sit.  he or she, never spoke, only watched the stars and enjoyed the warmth of the fire.  Did I learn something?  Probably.  It was a strange experience.  Silence, for many of us is uncomfortable.  Sharing a meal or fire with a stranger is not a common experience for us.  Our own personal bubbles protect us the waking world from many interactions with strangers, we all bump along, against each other's bubbles with out actually interacting.  I am still processing the experience.

May journeys be blessed with experiences and lessons that strengthen and enlighten you.

The Barren Valley

Among the green hills, there is a barren valley. Once this place was thriving and beautiful, fruitful and fertile. Farms and small villages dotted it, and it's reputation for fertile soil spread.  War, for generations, marched back and froth across this valley.  Livestock were killed or escaped.  Crops alternately burned or rotted in the feild.  Homes blazed.  Now this place is an unmarked graveyard for those who coveted it.  Broken weapons and armor, bleached bones and broken objects mark where soldiers fell.

In this place, you can respectfully look around trying to recognize messages about your destructve or covetous tendencies.  Does a broken cottage remind you of something? Or maybe it's the tarnished and damaged heraldry on a shield.  Are you a survivor of wanton and nonsensical warring?

This barren, war torn valley is a place to mourn, to listen to the messages of the past.  Cry your tears, feed the land, and one day, it will return to it's former glory or be overtaken by nature.  The sorrow and anger of the place will diminish and it will hold other lessons for us to learn.

The Village

There is a village near the sea that is an interesting place to visit.  It is busy and filled with people, animals and activity.  Of all the places I have led you so far, this place is the most densely populated.  You will not be able to walk around withour brushing shoulders with the inhabitants.

Look around and notice the sheer number of people, animals and buildings surrounding you.  Everywhere, people are attending to their business. Items and services are being bartered; children play among the adults, and animals add their sounds to the noisy atmosphere.  people will bump into you here, often.  Strangely, no one will acknowledge your presence.  They are too wrapped up in their own affairs to care about who you are and why you are here.

What pieces of your life are here in this village?  Do you recognize people or situations?  Is there a message for you here?  This is the Village of the Invisible.  Each person is invisible to most of the others.  They stick to their own cliques and circles, never venturing out.  They are trapped by their refusal to see others.  Their lives never change because they see no other way of being.  Among the lessons to be learned here are those pertaining to our individual blind spots.  Do you see yourself in this village?  Do you recognize when and where you refuse to see possibilities?

Explore this village carefully.  Lessons and discoveries are everywhere, should you choose to see them.  When you have had your fill of this place, feel free to take your leave; do not linger here to long, so that you do not become lost.   

Land fall

Your sea voyage is over for now and it is time to resume your travels on land.  Your craft has brought you back to where you left from.  Does it look different now?  Has anything changed or do you see it all differently?

Return to your Otherworld home.  It is important to rest from time to time and allow experiences to find you.  You may find that your home has changed or that you need to change it.  That is perfectly fine, it is a reflection of the experiences you have accumulated.  Make whatever changes you need to feel completely comfortable and at peace in this place.

While you are here, you may have visitors or find messages that were left for you to find.  Enjoy these, along with the rest period.  They are also part of your journey.  Soon you will set out again, never fear.

The Bulls

The mist has returned.  This time, it is darker and more mysterious.  The sound of  thunder booms nearby and a dark shape begins to take form.  This new island is another place where you should watch from the safety of your ship.  This is the island of the two bulls.

The island is a high plain ringed with broken trees and trampled vegetation.  In a moment you will understand all of the destruction.  You can see that once, this place was lush and green.  Now it is all in ruins.  Look toward the center of the island.  There are two gigantic bulls, one solid black and the other cream with a russet saddle.  Their horns are locked in battle.  Each is bleeding from many wounds inflicted in the course of this conflict. They push and pull each other, struggling to gain their freedom or to dominate the other.  Their hooves gouge the earth beneath them  and they slam into the broken trees. So involved in their fight, they do not notice the destruction they have caused or their injuries.  They do not notice that they have trampled all of the edible plants and their caregivers.  To the victor of this fight, there will go nothing but a slow, lonely death.

This island of eternal battle is symbolic of many struggles.  What forces in your life or your psyche are constantly battling for dominance at the very same time they are destroying other things?  What metaphors to do you see during this segment of your journey?  Watch carefully as the bulls struggle.  Do you see parts of your life in the ruined land around the bulls?  When you have had enough of watching this battle, turn your craft away from the island and sail back into the fog.

Sailing through the curtain

As you drift away from the shoreline, a cool, thick grey fog gathers ahead of you. It obscures your surroundings, allowing you to focus on you. Now is the time to cut the cords that tie you to unhealthy parts of your life.  Let them get lost in this living fog.  This is the curtain wall.  Notice the scent and sight of the curtain.  This is veil between places, and it is alive.  If you allow it, the curtain wall can help you by allowing you to get lost in the Otherworld.  This can help you become for attuned to trusting your own instincts.  Sail your craft in any direction that feels right to you.  There is no wrong way.

This fog is a veil between one realm of the other world and the next.  Spend some time in to fog, simply drifting.  Feel for directional pulls that will lead you to the many island in this sea.  Each island is different, each holds new insights for you.  Where would you like to go?  What do you expect to see?

Feel free to visit islands as they come into view.  I have visited some, but certainly not all of these islands.  While you may feel frightened during time of this journey, remember that you are safe here, nothing will hurt you and that fear can be combated.

Enjoy your wanderings.  May you be blessed with teachers and lessons and wisdom!

The next stage of the journey- leaving land

After you have explored the lands around your spiritual home, you may be pulled to take another type of journey. This one is the soul sail.  To begin this journey, you must first find your boat.  Leave your home and travel to the seashore.  Explore the area and look for your vessel.  It may be a huge, grand craft or a tiny rowboat or anything in between.

Once you have found it, examine it.  What type of vessel is it?  What color is it? What is it made of?  Is there a name on it?  How does it feel to you?  Is there anything inside of it?  The answers to these questions are all reflections of you and your journey.  My sail began with a small silver ship with a single sail.  It was made of a silvery, otherworldly wood and was named.  My boat was a living being, yours may or may not be.

Once you are comfortable with your vessel, it will be time to begin the sail. Sailing into the West, the sea is vast, but calm.  Behind you is the shore.  In front you a thick fog bank. The boat knows the way and will take you to where you need to go.  Trust that you are safe and that you will see and learn many things.

The Wise One

The Wise Elder can help you solve problems in your life.  This being, who often appears as old man or woman dressed in a hooded cloak, can be found in a cave.  He or she will listen to your problems and ask you questions but will not "fix" things for you.  Patience, kindness and a wealth of experience make this guide a powerful ally in the journey of self discovery.

Start out from your home and look towards the mountains.  Where a stream and the trees meet, you will find an opening in a rock face, camouflaged by vines.  This is the doorway to the Wise Elder's home.  Sweet, welcoming smoke drifts softly out to you, beckoning you to enter. Announce yourself and enter.

Inside, the walls are covered in paintings of animals and people or seasons and celestial events.  Bottles and jars full of unknown substances sit quietly on shelves and tables.  Fire light dances and warms the space.  On the far side of the fire sits the Elder.  A hood shadows this being's face and gnarled hands hold a staff.  The Elder points to a seat near the fire, positioned to encourage conversation.  Sit here and be welcome. Explain why you are here and ask for advice.

The Wise Elder make answer directly or may tell you a story.  Listen carefully to the words you here; you can choose to ignore the advice you are given, but think carefully before you do.  The Wise Elder gives no easy answers.  Work is always required, but the advice is coming from a being who has done and seen a great deal.  If you don't understand what you've been told, ask for clarification.  Willful ignorance is of no use to anyone, especially in the Otherworld.

After you have spent the time you need with the Wise Elder, thank them for their help.  Offer them yours.  Once the transaction is complete, talk your leave and return to your spiritual home to begin thinking about and/or implementing the advice you received.

Meeting your spirit guide(s)

Spirit guides are the beings who come to us and coax along our spiritual path.  They may be animals or faeries or angels or other people.  We may "see" them an d "hear" them, or they may simply point the way in loving silence.
However they come to you, they are here to help you learn the lessons prepared for you alone.

There are many ways to meet your guides.  One way is by simply wandering through your inner landscape and letting them come to you.  Obviously, this method requires very little active energy on your part, but it can take a great deal of time.

A more active approach is meditate with the specific intent of calling one of your guides to you.  Ask, with sincerity and an open heart for a guide to come to you and help you.  Please remember that you do not control the form or personality of your guide.  They are their own beings that exist without you.  They choose their form for a reason, even if you don't find it appealing, it has a purpose.

Be patient, guides often reveal themselves when you need them most.  Over a lifetime, guides may change.  Some people have more than one guide. Once you learn to recognize your guides (some of whom have been with you all along) you can ask them for help, but don't be surprised when they make you work for the answers you ask for.  They are here to guide you, not fix your life.

Welcome!

This is an offshoot of my Cauldron Full of Stars project, but this one is different. This blog is very personal and dear to me. Here, I will share some of my spirit journeys with you and give you guideposts for taking your own voyages/journeys of the spirit.  This is something I feel passionate about, and it has changed my life for the better.

"It is only in adventure that some people succeed in knowing themselves- in finding themselves."  -Andre Gide

This is an adventure that takes you inside yourself.  Each place visited is a lesson.  Each being met, a teacher.
I have thought out what I want share of this voyage.  Some of the stops that I have made will not be to your liking; we all have different lessons to learn and different psyches.  Some stops come from ancient stories, others from more modern sources, like guided meditations or folklore.  I will cite these, so you can go back and experience them for yourself, if you'd like.  Others are places that I have visited in my journeys. The inner landscape changes frequently.  Some places are mundane, others exotic.  Some places are full of magic that is not bound by the physics of the outer world.  They are still real, just not as tangible.  Feel free to skip around the way posts.  Once you begin to journey, the road will not disappear.  If you need, or want, to retrace your footsteps, you can.  Don't be afraid of breaking new ground.  You are safe here.

Visit the places you are comfortable with, visit places that you create or that you are drawn to.  Your lessons, and your teachers, will be different from mine.  I am merely giving you a copy of my map.  You may explore places that I never dreamed of, and that is wonderful.  Please feel free to share these experiences here.  Ask questions, look for answers, seek help.  This journey is one that takes time and effort.  Some lessons begin painfully, maybe you need to confront your past or current behavior, maybe you need to let go of the things that hold you back in life. Don't let uncomfortable experiences scare you off.  Maybe you need a mirror so that you can see yourself, good and bad.  Whatever your life lesson is, these journeys can help you create the life you want, by helping you to learn yourself.

The posts in this blog will be individual segments of the journey.  I did not experience these all in one go, and I don't expect that you will either.  They have happened over several years, a piece at a time.  If you'd like some background about spiritual journeys or an explanation of my methods for "traveling", please check the stand alone pages on at the top of this blog.

Blessings,

The Cauldron Keeper