PEARLS OR OYSTER SHELLS

I did two rituals in the two days since my last post. Both were extremely powerful. The first was to release the dead of their burden- a burden which is a gift to the living. In the moment when a soul has passed from this world, but not yet entered the spirit world, the soul sees all the beauty of the life that is left behind. And sees it clearly with both the eyes of the living and the eyes of the dead.

The pain and suffering of this life is like a band-aid being pulled off once a soul has stepped through the doorway, but to the (just-ceased) living all is in breathtaking relief. You must understand: it does not matter if we gather pearls or the broken shards of oyster shells; whether we harvest tears or laughter. It matters only that we create experiences while we are on this planet. Suffering is as precious in the after-life as joy is.

And it does not matter if you have reincarnated a thousand times, you only have one lifetime. This one. The one you are living now. Once you pass through the doorway it may be that your spirit unites you with the souls of your other lives, but I don't know about that.

Reincarnation does not interest me very much, and it does not matter to me if it is "real" or not. For one thing, there are many journeys into other realms and dimensions that we make on the other side-- and that witches and shamans often make from here-- so we are always "shifting." Reincarnation is just another kind of shift. And the only power we possess is in the present, not last year, or in yesterday, and certainly not in another lifetime.

To really understand how meaningful each moment of this life is, and too really see and feel that, is a rare opportunity for the living. It generally comes accompanied by disaster, when the wailing from the spirit world is as loud as the mourners in this one.

After a ritual like Sunday's, I know that whatever energy and magick was raised will begin to seep down into my day to day life. I don't always know how or when, but I know that I will feel it. During last night's full moon rite (indoors) I went to look at the moon. She was beautiful, as She always is, covered in a thin cloud veil, irridescent with the smooth pink and pearl inside of an oyster shell.

I have a theory that witches are the custodians of this planet. Or perhaps I should say the translators, or maybe the "appreciaters". We are here to see and love and care for all of nature. And to translate the song of the cicadas; to interpret the moonbeams reflected in water; to converse with the winds; to appreciate the lone dandelion growing between cracks in the sidewalk. I feel this in myself when I look at the moon. I have always known her and loved her, and I always will.

And as I looked at her last night, I felt a thousand million eyes that had looked at her as well, through all the ages and empires of man, looking at her through my eyes. And I felt how strongly each of them would like to see her again through their own eyes. And I knew how much I would miss her when I was gone from this life.

The moon is the physical aspect of the Lady. The Sacred Dance of the Lord and the Lady can be seen in all of nature: in sex, in creation, in death. And especially in the dance of the moon and sun. (A new moon is a sun-moon conjunction; a full moon is a sun-moon opposition.) He is the source of light; she is the light in darkness when she is present in the night sky. And her absence is the darkness when She is visible only during the day. She is the mirror, and the reflection. She is the companion and consort.

The Lady speaks to all of us, but witches have learned to listen more closely. The Lady told me that everything I needed was in the palm of my hand. Since my hand held nothing visible with my physical eyes I asked her what did I need to do?

"You must shine as I do. Shine your light. Let your true self rise."

But that is so easy for Her! She has the sun to mirror and reflect, the earth to orbit, the sky to inhabit, the stars and planets for companionship. I feel like I am always trying to rise and shine my light, but gravity keeps slamming back down on the ground.

"It is the same for you as it is for me. If I tried to be other than the moon I would fall out of the sky. I do not concern myself with the journey ahead of me, or that which I have left behind. I do not try to be a star or a planet, or carry the burdens of those things. All humans carry the weight of the past, fear of the future, and needless burdens. You must let go of everything that is weighing you down. Only then can your true self rise, and you will journey across your heaven, and shine a light on your path."

I actually felt an energetic release in my body. Alot of what I can only describe as emotional and psychic goo. (Mostly from my second chakra, where my health issues are, and where all of the suffering I have created in my romantic relationships sticks.) But all it takes is to feel freedom for one second, and it can be recaptured again. Just one glimpse in the right direction is often all it takes.

There is a lot to release right now. I have been discouraged that for all I do, I still struggle. Things do not get "better." And by "better" I mean conforming to my expectations of how I want things to be in order for me to "be happy." I understood that this is an exceptional time. And a difficult one. For me and for everyone in the world. We must release everything that is holding us back, or we will drown. There can be no expectations, only alignment.

We must align with our true selves, with our highest possibilities, and with unconditional love for ourselves and everything that we are trying to do, in order to rise to the surface. That alignment can only happen in each moment as it comes, and no further. Too many things are shifting right now. We must steer our boats very carefully and mindfully through the wreckage, and always keep the shoreline in sight.

In the last two weeks I have been asked by my Spirit Guides to make a lot of choices about my life. Both because of the magickal time that has just passed-- when the future was open and unwritten, between these two consecutive full moons in Scorpio-- and also because we have reached the point where there is no more "whatever happens will happen" or "it will just work out for the best." The ship has sunk beneath the water line. We now must choose "the best" for ourselves and be willing to accept responsibility for the outcome. And we must keep our sights on what we want to happen-- that is, the shoreline.

Thoughts and feelings of the past, or worry about the future, or even creating any expectations from the past or imaginings of the future, are dangerous. In order to keep your vessel from being pulled into the current of the sinking ship, or from being damaged by the wreckage floating in the water, all of your attention must be on the present moment. Negative emotions especially, but anything that keeps you from appreciating the present moment fully is a weight that will drag you down and lead you astray.

Choose to stay on course. Choose to gather pearls, but to appreciate even the broken oyster shells. Every moment of this life is precious. That is the only compass that you will ever need.

PRAISES, THANKS, & BLESSINGS!!!