A Michaelmas Gathering
Shortly after the Autumn Equinox, at Michaelmas, a small group of us gathered for a reunion and community day. The lovely room in Juliette’s house was once again transformed into a sacred space as we lit candles on the beautifully decorated altar and invoked the four directions and elements.
The Michaelmas altar
Our opening ‘wisdom pot’ reflected both individual and shared themes – some familiar and some new. We talked of the limitations placed on us by our physical bodies and of the feeling of aloneness that sometimes comes with it. How, we asked, can this be transformed into a blessing and made useful; these are the times when we learn that it is OK to sit, to read. To be peaceful.
For some, this equinox felt particularly liminal, the mysterious centre of the infinite lemnisc. Many things ending, letting go of long held dreams, a time of sadness but also an opening up of possibility. The support of friends is important, and learning to be playful – building sandcastles, being childlike, having fun, having a laugh and a dance……
We expressed gratitude for the Wild Wisdom community gatherings in which we had respite from the heaviness and loneliness of not being able to share things we struggle with. Here, we said, is a safe place to try and articulate that which is absolutely unreachable … and absolutely wonderful. Here, we can talk about pain and isolation, and also about the gifts that emerge as we do the work we need to do.
Grandmother Salmon
And we remembered some of the manifestations of the sacred feminine that we had encountered with Sam: Grandmother Salmon, Ceridwen and her cauldron of bright and dark knowledge, Innnana and Erishkegal, Isis, the Loathly Lady, the Shekinah Sophia, St. Clare and Mary.
We remembered too, absent friends and those with us only in spirit: Jean and Abigail. Our thoughts and our love reaches out to all those with whom we have shared the Wild Wisdom journey.
After a short break (with our usual treasure trove of goodies to sustain us), we settled into Michaelmas story from the Eastern Orthodox tradition: the Archangel Michael’s protection of the apostle, John, and the sacred healing spring at Chonae which Michael had caused to bubble up from the ground. Clare’s thrilling telling wove together the four elements, the dark and the light, masculine and feminine, all emanating from the Archangel. His was the gentle healing water and the dragon-serpent energies that united to split the rock and divert the river that threatened to flood. The medicine Clare offered us through the story was a holistic perception of Michael, a far cry from the more usual dualistic representations where dragons have to be killed.
Archangel Michael and the Miracle at Chonae
Michael is associated with courage, and Lesley then shared a poem with us.
It Takes Courage (Anonymous)
It takes strength to be firm,
It takes courage to be gentle.
It takes strength to conquer,
It takes courage to surrender.
It takes strength to be certain,
It takes courage to have doubt.
It takes strength to fit in,
It takes courage to stand out.
It takes strength to feel a friend’s pain,
It takes courage to feel your own pain.
It takes strength to endure abuse,
It takes courage to stop it.
It takes strength to stand alone,
It takes courage to lean on another.
It takes strength to love,
It takes courage to be loved.
It takes strength to survive,
It takes courage to live.
Lesley and Clare then led us through a poignant exercise in which we found ways to express the courage we saw in one another that day. It was both surprising and moving and we incorporated into our ritual at the ending of the day.
Our craft of the day was definitely playful. We completely filled pieces of paper with colourful images and symbols, painted over them with black paint, and then scratched out different images and patterns with wooden skewers. It was messy, fun and revealing in more ways than one!
After a sumptuous bring-and-share lunch, we settled into some quiet time before gathering for our final wisdom pot and a wonderful ramshackle ritual.
We agreed that we would like to meet again. I think we had all wondered whether the new, collaborative format would work, and the answer is that it did. It was deeply nourishing and supportive, and we are very grateful to Lesley and Clare for shaping a beautiful day. We missed our absent Wild Wisdom travelling companions, especially Sam who was en route to Sarum College, and we hope to see more when we meet again.
So, to end this post, I wish love, blessings and the Archangel’s courage to all of us as we move into the darker time of the year. May we plant our seeds wisely at Samhain so that next year’s growth and harvest continue to feed us as we tread our spiritual paths.
Light in the winter darkness
Blog entry by Jan.
