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!

A lesson for those who would journey- my experience with the dancing crone

Pissed off and discouraged, I came home from running errands yesterday with one furious spouse and two whining , crying children.  The boys were sent to their room for a nap; my husband settled down with the computer to update my phone and I put my earbuds in and listened to some shamanic drumming.

At some point, I took a journey into the Otherworld.  This isn't an unfamiliar sensation, but the expereince I was met with yesterday was extremely interesting. I found my self climbing a steep moutainside, that was riddled with narrow, yonic caves.  At one, I was compelled to enter.  I met my inner crone.  Dancing nude with clawed hands and wild, grey hair. Her eyes, though faded, were distinctly mine- blue with a green patch. She was as comical as she was frightening.  Being in a bit of a mood myself, I rather defiantly  leaned against the wall, arms crossed and sullen as the bratty teenager I once was, I watched.  Sagging breasts and thighs bounced to the sound of drums.  Claws and teeth scratched and rattled in counterpoint.  She noticed that i was not properly respectful, or horrified. 

She got my attention by scartching her long claws down my face.  From forehead to jawline, she left deep, bleeding furrows.  It hurt, through my stinging, damaged eyes, I saw the cauldron over the fire. A moment later, I was inside it, as she stirred the glowing liquid and me.  She was cooking me, but it was not out of malice or a desire to cause me pain.  Since I refused to learn the lessons she would impart in a grown up and respecful fashion, she delivered them in a fashion I could understand.

The cauldron was an agent of change.  She was merely coaxing me along on my journey.  In her eyes, I could see sorrow at the pain she had caused, pride that I finally figured out what was happening and joy that I was finally emabracing change.  The anger and frustration I had enetered with washed away.  Smiling at her, I sank into the waters of change and found myself travelling through the stars.  

In each of us, all of womankind is whole.  As we live out our lives, so similar and so different from each other and from our fore mothers, we are carrying on traditional and blazing trails.  We are not he end or the beginning.  We are, and that matters.  Embracing the changes of life is liberating and creative.  Fighting to hold onto the past negates the joys of the future; it stops the natural flow of time, creating stagnant pools, rather than cauldrons and crucibles of change.  When faced with your inner crone, learn form my lesson: respect her, listen and allow her to impart or her wisdom, or she'll find another way to be heard.

The Island of Birds

I laid down next to my son for a nap Sunday afternoon.  Wrapped up with him and holding his hand, I drifted off.  The birds, a place I visited quite a long while ago, invited me back to share their island with you.  This post is a combination of my experiences on the island and of the message they shared.


The sun has burned off the curtain wall of fog for the moment and the sky and sea are crisp, blue and sparkling.  Ahead of you, on the horizon, is a lush green island with a strong line of sandy beach separating the land the water.  Birds are silhouetted against the sky as they fly.  This is the Island of Birds.

As your craft settles on the soft, warm sand, you become aware of birdsong surrounding you. Many types of birds are singing and calling and the sound is both strong and melodious.  Look around at the many birds.  Some are combing the beach for stranded sea life.  Others are foraging through the brush and grasses eating seeds and insects.  Large colorful birds nest in trees alongside more mundane looking birds.  Some are scavengers, removing flesh from the dead.  Others are delicately extracting insect invaders from trees.  Birds of prey and harmless plant eating birds coexist on this island.

Notice that each type of bird has it's own way of living and subsisting.  It's niche is easily defined and equally important to the health of this island.  Each individual fits into the ecosystem and the cycles of life.  Important lessons abound on this island; diversity and cooperation are obvious, but more importantly, these birds on this beautiful, green island have mastered the arts of balance and adaptation.  Each species exists, secure in the knowledge of its neccesity.  All creatures on this island understand and respect the importance of giving and taking- both are required, but never too much or too little.  They understand their own interconnections and to each member of their species, to the island community and to the Earth.

What is your niche in life? You have a purpose, have you found it?  Do you understand it and can you be satisfied with that knowledge?  Don't worry if the answer is "no", but try to appreciate that you are part of something greater than yourself.  Another set of questions to ponder- do you give and take from life in equal measure?  Can you learn to be better balanced?  Have you learned to adapt?  Balance and adaptation are important to creating happiness in your life.  They allow you to grow, to change and to really live.  They are important tools against disappointment, fear, anger and apathy; in times of disaster, they can lend comfort and strength.  In times of happiness, they are mere trophies.

Explore this island and watch with curiosity, like a naturalist studying a new environment.  Learn about the balance of nature and of specializations.  Take notice of the many ways in which this island illustrates balance and diversity.  Once you fell you have begun to understand, return to your ship and continue with your journey.

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.

The Island of Apples

One of my first journeys was sailing to the Island of Apples.  Here I met one of the most mysterious and interesting teachers I have met so far.  The experience, even years later, remains fresh in my mind.  It was beautiful and symbolic and uplifting.  This is one of the journeys that I am most keen to share, but it is also one that has been difficult to write about (it has literally taken months to complete this post). How do I put into word the beauty and power of this journey?

Sailing through the fog, a dark shape begins to take form.  As you draw closer, a steep island rises from the see. It is covered with trees and a steep winding pathway of stairs leads from a small dock to a temple on the summit.  As your boat lands, a figure in a bright red cloak steps forward.

This guide, the woman in red, is tall, slim and brilliant.  Her red hair and red cloak swirl around her.  Her skin glows with a subtle shifting light, making it difficult to see her properly.  She looks young and feel old at the same time.  She is a powerful being who has been part of this island for millenia.  She welcomes you and guides you up those, steep stair cut into the very rock of this island.  She may or may not have a message for you.  Respectfully ask your questions about his place, but do not be surprised if all she does is smile at them.

The apple trees on either side of this path are unlike any you have known.  They are bare, in bloom and bearing fruit all at once.  Some of the apples are the colors you are familiar with, red, greens, sot yellows, but other apples are crystalline or metallic.  It is a bizarre sight because it is not natural to us.  Time is not the same here.  That is likely the only answer you will have about why this island is able to show all of the stages of an apple tree's life at once.  Among the trees, women of all ages are tending them.  Old women bent over baskets are sorting apples.  Young girls on ladders are harvesting.  Mothers and daughters are all working here, together.  They complement and support each other.  The atmosphere is busy and joyous.  Their voices fill the air with laughter and song.

Who do you see here?  What are they doing?  Is their a task that draws your attention more than others?  Do any of these women speak to you or smile at you?  What type of apples draw you? If you'd like, you may ask your guide for an apple to take with you.

Continue up the stairway to the peak of the island.  There is a temple here.  You may enter and explore.  Like meeting the Goddess in the garden, you can talk to her here as well.  Or you may simply enjoy the peace of the temple.  Ask for guidance and blessing if you need them.  Leave an offering.  Whatever you feel is perfect.  When you are done here, wander back down the path way to your ship.  The Guide may be there to send you off or she may not be.  Thank the island for it's lessons and be on your way.

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.

Making your Spiritual Home

One of the first steps on a spiritual journey is to create your spiritual home.  You need a safe place within which you can  rest and do your spiritual work.

You will be able to mentally create a home for yourself.  After beginning you relaxation routine, picture the landscape where you want your home to be.  Are you in a forest or a desert?  Will you build near the sea or on a mountain? Whatever you choose, pick someplace that is comfortable, safe and beautiful. Walk around this landscape and notice the scents, textures, plants and animals. Feel the air and hear the wind. This is the place where you will begin.

Building, in the spiritual realms is not difficult. See something, believe it and ask for it to come into being. Add detail, remove anything you don't like. This place is yours. Furnish it with those things you need to be comfortable. Make it reflect you.

Once you have created this place, spend some time exploring and perfecting this place. Get the feel for it. This is a place where you can spent time thinking, practicing the lessons you learn on the journey, and speak with your spirit guides. This place is, and always be yours. Change it as you need. Infuse it with safe, white light, and enjoy!