As we enter the season of Advent, I have found myself reflecting on the themes of waiting and expectation rather differently this year. At the Winter Solstice we celebrate the return of the light as the sun rises once again after the longest night. In the Christian tradition, it is a time of preparation for the return of the light in the form of the Nativity. And in the time of COVID?
We will all have our own unique experiences of living through this difficult year and the Wild Wisdom community has been unable to gather and offer the usual safe and sacred space for reflection and support. I hope that we have all found some inner and outer resources to help us as we wander in this rather unpredictable wilderness, and that we will have the chance to meet in person next year.
I am trying (not always successfully, I must confess) to allow this to be a season of contemplation, releasing things that no longer serve me well in my life just as the trees outside my window know they must shed their leaves….and to be patient. Whilst I cannot call COVID a blessing in any way, the restrictions it is imposing on my normally hyperactive life are bringing me more into harmony with the natural world as it slows down and draws inwards for winter. Nature knows patience, that this time is indeed a time of preparation and expectation, and that the light will return. As Shelley wrote: ‘If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?’
After our last gathering at Juliette’s, I wrote in our journal:
‘every prayer, every meditation, every moment of mindfulness, each loving thought, all our explorations on our different spiritual paths – it is all sacred work, and that work is desperately needed by our world today’
I believe that is true more than ever, and I wish us all blessings on whatever path we are currently walking.
And if you are looking for a little inspiration and have not already visited Sam’s beautiful new website, you will find it at: https://wildspiritcommunity.com
I leave you with my love, and also with a poem that feels in tune with now. Jan x
“Sweet Darkness” by David Whyte
When your eyes are tired
the world is tired also.
When your vision has gone
no part of the world can find you.
Time to go into the dark
where the night has eyes
to recognize its own.
There you can be sure
you are not beyond love.
The dark will be your womb
tonight.
The night will give you a horizon
further than you can see.
You must learn one thing.
The world was made to be free in
Give up all the other worlds
except the one to which you belong.
Sometimes it takes darkness and the sweet
confinement of your aloneness
to learn
anything or anyone
that does not bring you alive
is too small for you.
_________________________________________________
This, and other wonderful poems by David Whyte, is available in The House of Belonging (1999) and River Flow (2012)
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.
We will all have our own unique experiences of living through this difficult year and the Wild Wisdom community has been unable to gather and offer the usual safe and sacred space for reflection and support. I hope that we have all found some inner and outer resources to help us as we wander in this rather unpredictable wilderness, and that we will have the chance to meet in person next year.
