The first year group of Wild Wisdom School – the pioneer group – has now reached the end of its 2nd year in the journey of the Western Mysteries. We started our day together looking back over this 2nd year, noticing any memories that stand out and sensing where the journey has taken us today. Sam asked us to name a few words that came to us; the words that came very strongly to me were community, friendship and love.
We witness each other as we ride the ups and downs of life; we cry tears of sorrow and joy for each other’s sharing as much as our own; and we hold each other in a space that welcomes, grieves and celebrates life.
Scrumptious treats in the middle of our day – meringue made by Helen and raspberries gathered from Sam’s garden
Brought with us today was also a shared disturbance from the very conflicted human landscape that ills our country and our world. One person echoed something Sam said a while ago that “our society doesn’t know how to love”. There was a shared feeling of gratitude both for the sensitivity of the heart to feel the disturbances of our world, and for the small expressions of humanity such as this one; a small society that does know how to love and the importance in keeping these spaces alive.
Our altar created for the day
Our theme today is Franciscan Spirituality, and our story is that of Clare and Francis who are the founders of this wild and beautiful stream within the Christian tradition. Sam told us their story, but in keeping with our intention of restoring the Divine Feminine, we heard it through the perspective of Clare. Through icons and images, history and imagination, we travelled to 12th century Assisi in central Italy’s Umbria region. Theirs is a story of choosing simplicity over wealth, knowing that in this choice there is a greater abundance to be discovered, and much greater riches than those the Catholic Church had become corrupted with.
While Clare is still a child, Francis is busy rebuilding a dilapidated church outside of Assisi, on the words he hears from Jesus to ‘repair His House’. Taking these words literally, Francis begins with the rocks on which he stands. I felt moved and driven by this image of humility and pragmatism. He didn’t set about ‘changing the world’. What he set about doing was building a church in which his spirit could find inspiration alongside his brothers and sisters, and from which they could serve the poor and vulnerable. It just so happens that in this authentic dedication to the teachings of Jesus – to love and service – they started a movement that spread across the world. To me, the Franciscan way feels true to the lineage of Jesus. They carved out a new stream, or perhaps unblocked an old stream, in which living waters did and still do flow.
An icon of Clare and Francis.
The cross St Francis was gazing upon when he heard Jesus ask him to repair His House.
For our quiet time today, Sam shared with us the practice of ‘gazing’ and invited us to choose an icon we’d like to gaze on – either a traditional painted icon, or simply an image, or something in the natural world. This is an ancient spiritual practice, which was particularly strong before access to scripture was made widely available, when icons were the main access point to the Divine. It is a practice of setting one’s eyes onto an icon and lingering there, perhaps for half an hour or more. Here is Kengo’s reflection on this practice:
There’s something about that wide-eyed gaze that opens me up to connecting deeper.
I use it in my Nature-connection practice, softening my eyes, letting go of the specific or the intellectual, allowing the full richness of the world to flow through me.
Now, I gaze into the eyes of a human figure, lovingly depicted, her head tilted to one side, dressed in exotic robes and a gilded aura around her head. These images are familiar, yet unfamiliar to my personal spiritual practice. But as I gaze on, her robes, the iconography, even the iridescent gold falls away, leaving only those eyes, looking back at me.
And there, came the connection; with all the feelings and emotions I have felt through someone’s eyes. The pains, the love, reflected back.
And in this ancient image from a far away land, I touch something universal, unbound by time.
We started our day with a brief reminder to ourselves about the journey we had taken together over the year. From an exploration of the Earth’s story and local prehistory and an appreciation of hunter gatherer cultures to our native pagan Celtic traditions; Ceridwen’s cauldron of bright and dark knowledge, the dance of the Cailleach and Bride, who underpin some Christian folk traditions and sacred seasonal celebrations. Then on to consider the sacred marriage of feminine and masculine through Ancient Mesopotamian myth and exploring its relationship to the biblical matriarchs and patriarchs from Sarah and Abraham onwards. From there to Ancient Egypt and early motifs of the Divine Mother and Son arriving at the early Hebrew traditions and the foundations of Kabbalah, including Hebrew Goddesses such as Asherah and Anath.
And the stories! Grandmother Salmon (which still sends shivers down my spine), Ceridwen and Taliesin, Innana and Dumuzi, Isis and Osiris……..Great, powerful myths with so much treasure buried in them.
As we reflected back on the intentions we set for ourselves at the start of the year it became clear that, whatever they might have been, they had sublimated into one common experience: that of the sacred space we had created in our group. We talked of being held, of being in a place where we could own and accept ourselves. The support we give one another creates a feeling of sanctuary and, in that sanctuary, we each feel safe enough to open up and awaken to our real self. To be seen and heard as we truly are.
In my experience, walking a spiritual path is a two edged sword. I often feel more deeply connected with life and with all beings: a wonder-full and tender place to be. But at the same time, I can feel profoundly lonely in a world where so many people are so busy Doing Stuff that they lose focus on simply being; a world where things that can’t be measured or neatly filed aren’t seen as real. I feel like the odd one out. This sense of loneliness was echoed in different ways around the group. Our journey is not neat and linear, it is a series of cycles which often bring us back to a place which is the same although we are profoundly changed – we look at the same things and see them differently. I find it hard to articulate to people who are not on a similar journey, and so the soul companionship of our group is very precious.
The Menorah candle which is a representation of the Tree of Life
And our story for this final Saturday was not a story, but a beautiful, long and very deep meditation which took us through the four worlds of Kabbalah: the world of physical manifestation and action; the world of the psyche, dreams and emotions; the world of spiritual awareness and witness; and the world of Divine, the Source of all, pure light. This was a very personal experience and I don’t want to say too much about except that it was wonderfully led by Sam and, in that very contemplative space, it allowed questions to emerge for each of us that came from a very soulful place.
After a break for tea, coffee and wicked chocolaty things, we settled down to look at some of the history of the early Hebrew biblical tradition. As Sam pointed out, our contemporary relationship with the Bible is pretty negative – especially the Hebrew Bible (which is more or less the Old Testament), with its ranting prophets and wrathful God. But she encouraged us to think of it as a mosaic that has been broken up and reformed again and again – often by blokes with an agenda! So we need to look beyond the collection of stories that were written down and find the pieces of the mosaic which contain truths.
Amongst those truths one can find evidence of strong, wise and influential women and a world in which there was no gender hierarchy. Equally important is the presence of the Divine Feminine: She may be somewhat vestigial, but She is there. Monotheism came quite late in the Hebrew story and often against the will of the people (see Jeremiah 44 verses 15, 16 and 17). Solomon’s temple – the first temple of the Hebrew people – had an Asherah pole to honour Her and it was not until some 500 years later when there was all out oppression of the Divine Feminine and She was driven underground. She took shelter in the Kabbalistic traditions and exists in the Talmud as the Shekinah; in the Bible we can find Her as Sophia or Wisdom and She is expressed in wonderful language in Proverbs, particularly Ch 8, such as:
“To you, O people, I call out; I raise my voice to all mankind……..Listen for I have trustworthy things to say; I open my lips to speak what is right……….Choose my instruction instead of silver, knowledge rather than choice gold, for wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her………..Blessed are those who listen to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway. For those who find me find life…….”
So, as Sam reminded us, it is important not to listen only to the dominant voice. Wild wisdom indeed.
Yum! Ramsons, or wild garlic.
Wild flowers we nibbled on
After lunch we had some quiet time. A few of us went on a wild foraging walk to meet with all our senses some of the plants that are edible – and some that are poisonous too. I have developed an addiction to wild garlic, especially the tangy flower buds. I did not realise there was such abundance of edible and healing plants and herbs in our hedgerows, so it was a lovely mini voyage of discovery!
Communion libation
We ended our day with some final reflections and a simple ceremony. I think we all felt the power of the love that can be generated when a group of people are willing to take a journey together – the wild birds of the soul that are flying in formation will always somehow be there for one another. So the year is ending, the course is nearly done and this part of the journey is over. In that sense it is an ending. But I also believe that it is not simply an end, a full stop; for me it is another cycle completed, another arrival at the same but different place, and I know that the cycle begins again. In that knowledge, I feel blessed.
cted back on the intentions we set for ourselves at the start of the year it became clear that, whatever they might have been, they had sublimated into one common experience: that of the sacred space we had created in our group. We talked of being held, of being in a place where we could own and accept ourselves. The support we give one another creates a feeling of sanctuary and, in that sanctuary, we each feel safe enough to open up and awaken to our real self. To be seen and heard as we truly are.
