Ancestors, Blessings, & Breakthroughs

I recently had a wonderful visit from my mother's ancestral lineage during my birthday meditation this month. It was such a gift to receive the inspiration, the breakthrough to a new way of perceiving and experiencing my sacred work. The path of a transformational catalyst is not an easy one. I would not recommend it unless you are of a strong mind. And only if you are up for the challenges of the deep and powerfully transformational personal work of facing the wounds that hide in the shadows with an intention of healing them from within. And even then, I would not recommend it. But the treasures I have uncovered, dusted off, and embraced have enriched me beyond measure. So there's that.

Last year I was gifted with inspiration for a new direction with my sacred work. I am now exploring my "ancestory" through the Roman Catholic mythos of my Mother's line. With the Blessed Mother's symbolism and meanings through trance posture journeys, I am developing a series of journeys for creating a more personal connection with these concepts as guided by the Blessed Mother. This inspiration first came from reading "Untie the Strong Woman" by Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Ph.D. Her works speak to my heart and soul and the reading of them always change me for the better.

This year seems all about giving form to this project as I open to these sacred Mysteries to introduce the trance posture work to a different audience of people who are ready to embrace them. A breakthrough came as my sweet cousin agreed to sponsor my workshop and has done some networking to invite a group of her friends to participate in one in the near future. It feels like a gift from my roots, my ancestors, and from the Blessed Mother in her Wisdom and in Her roots as Hecate.

I also had a sweet experience of burying Hecate's blessing bundles that I haven't shared yet. I have been holding onto these experiences, savoring them as I reflect and integrate their meanings and effects. This practice has served me well. Now as I am on the other side, I am offering my experiences as an honoring and recognition of the power of these ancient tools for transforming my past into a healthier, richer, and more vital present and future, for the greatest good of all.

It had been raining for 2 days prior to the night of the new moon. I was tired, burnt out from all the rituals stacked up and then pile on the crazy winter holidays. At the last minute, my husband decided to join me as I prepared to leave the house that evening. It had finally stopped raining and the sky was clearing. What a welcome gift! The stars were an amazing sight, sparkling in the darkness with a brilliance that was hidden by the unending cloud-shroud, illuminating the quiet night with a beautiful canopy of twinkling light from above.

We walked down our little dirt road to the place where the roads cross and my beloved chose a tree just at the edge of this crossing to dig the hole. I blessed and thanked the earth for receiving my offerings, placing the two tiny bundles in the freshly dug hole as my life-partner waited patiently to cover them up again, holding the soil back with his shovel as I sang my offering song to the Ancestors, the Blessed Mother as Hecate, our Land Spirits, and the Guardians all around us, beneath us, above us, and within us.

When I finished, he covered them up and we began our short walk back home. All the while, our kitty Fortuna was zooming around, having a wonderful time being outdoors again. Her exuberance mirroring my own deep-felt sense of joy. I felt relieved afterward. Like I had had a crushing pressure lifted off of my shoulders from this simple act of devotion and gratitude.

Since then, there have been major, yet subtle shifts in our daily life. I have this sense of rebuilding our basic foundation after too many losses, heartbreaks, and missteps taken in the past. Soul wounds are now healing and offering even more healing from the ability and strength to keep going, even in the face of my seriously dark doubts, chaotic confusion, and terrifying uncertainty about moving forward with this work at all over the past month's time. I have dedicated the past 4 decades or so to this path and sacrificed much more than I knew was possible. I was grieving the loss of all that time and energy. Now I realize that I had to clear the distractions to move forward with clarity.

I am also feeling very excited about the possibilities for developing this new direction in my sacred work, connecting me ever more deeply with my soul's origins, my Sicilian & Slavic roots, and Hecate's presence and divine influence throughout the ages. It feels blessed by my honoring of Hecate, the Blessed Mother of my childhood, and my maternal ancestry.

There have been more experiences than just the one with Hecate's blessing bundles.

Specifically, Sophia, whom we honored at the winter solstice, as we welcomed the Spirits of Light in the name of pure love under the full moon's light. I had a spontaneous meditative visitation from two enormous Light Beings that came from Sophia's celestial realms. During our trance posture ritual, they showed up and gave us all an activation and initiation that changed our DNA, healing our distortions and damaged threads of the past, restoring a wholeness that we didn't remember we had! Wow, it is all a bit much to speak of, still. <3

(Photo: Winter Solstice Altar by CShepard 2018)