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| Volume I No. 5 November 15, 2004 |
| Copyright 2004 by Osireion.com. All rights reserved. webmaster@osireion.com Subscribe To Palimpsest and Osireion Announcements Return to Osireion Home |
| Of Ducklings and Swans - continued In November I traveled to Delaware to participate in the 2004 Between The Worlds conference hosted by the Assembly of the Sacred Wheel. There I was blessed to spend four days with pagans from across the country, including many of our most noted leaders, individuals who represent the pagan faith at the World Parliament of Religions, including Selena Fox, Andras Corben Arthen, Deborah Ann Light, and many others. On the final day of learning, ritual and festivity, Andras shared with us a story from the 2003 World Parliament of Religions in Barcelona, Spain. Our delegates hosted a drumming and singing circle one night for the fledgling group of local pagans. During the celebration a Barcelona guest left quietly for about half an hour. She later shared with Andras that she had been so overcome that she had to go find a pay phone to call another pagan friend. This is what she told her friend: “I feel as the ugly duckling must have felt when it came to the lake of swans and saw its reflection.” At that moment many of us in the conference were moved to tears, recognizing ourselves in each of these stories. How many of us in this beautiful Palmetto State feel isolated, ostracized, or at the least, unable to reveal our true beautiful selves to the world around us? Perhaps worse, how many of us have found our own pagan community at times to be fractious, unloving and scattered? Sunday afternoon Selena Fox led a smaller group in a beautiful healing ritual based on the goddess Brid, or Brigid. Before the ritual, we talked a bit about the deep divisions which mar the land and people of South Carolina — our history, politics, economy, and people. Then we worked powerful magic. Several spoke to me afterwards about how they will continue to send us light. One woman made a commitment to go home and every night, for seven nights, light a candle and meditate on peace and healing in South Carolina. Many is the day we are discouraged, but more than ever South Carolina needs its healers and shamans, witches and wise ones. We are the ones who can stand between the worlds, be a conduit for healing, and a link for others to the divine. To all who read, I tell you to stand taller tomorrow, extend your colors further, carry your light brighter, and be extravagant with your love. Look in the mirror tonight and behold your ugly duckling transformed into the loveliest swan. Sekhmet lives and writes in South Carolina, and is the founder of Osireion.com; She is a lifelong seeker and mystic, wiccan in practice, with years of study in creative consciousness.; For more information, write sekhmet@osireion.com. |
| You can help us by sharing Palimpsest with others.; Receiving it is opt-in only, except here at the beginning when we are starting by sharing with friends who we think may have an interest.; If we send you a Palimpsest by mistake, please click here and just type Unsubscribe. What is a palimpsest? In times gone by, parchment was too precious to toss in the circular file as we do our writing paper today. Sheepskin is, after all, quite durable. Many manuscripts which made it to modern times show that beneath the writing, there are faint images of previous text which has been scraped away. We like the sense of mystery, mystery being a hallmark of the spiritual path, and we liked the idea of there being layers of meaning to explore each time we return to something we thought we already knew. If you have ideas or suggestions for the Palimpsest or Osireion, we're listening. Be blessed! |
| Of Ducklings and Swans Once upon a time, the story goes, an egg hatched in the barnyard, and out crawled a gangly, odd-looking bird who never seemed to quite fit in with the other ducklings. This is the sad part of the story, for the ugly duckling endured much heartache as it grew, eventually leaving the farm to strike out in the cold, dangerous world all alone. Here is the happy part of the story. One day the duckling came upon a beautiful lake full of stately birds. Filled with sorrow and loneliness, it happened to glance in the water. The reflection revealed that the ugly duckling had been a swan all along. Spreading huge wings, the duckling-become-swan rose in the air, circled over the old barnyard, and flew off into a new life high above the scorn it once suffered. |
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| Then they threw more bread and cake into the water, and said, "The new one is the most beautiful of all; he is so young and pretty." And the old swans bowed their heads before him. --Hans Christian Andersen |
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