What Little We Know

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I said, "Think Fast! If you were in the mood to read a pagan blog, what would you want to read about right now?" to my roommate. And she answered, "Shamanism!" pretty quickly. I thought that was a positive response, not only because I don't know much about the subject, but because it also showed that in subtle ways, she wonders enough about these things to be able to deal with my eccentricities. At least I know she follows my conversations and I am not entirely crazy. It's the good kind of crazy -- the kind that people need in their lives. At least that is what I keep telling myself.

The week before Thanksgiving break, we had a guest speaker come in for O.S.P.A. who spoke to us about shamanic journeying. I can't claim to know much -- but I can say this. It is spiritual in a different way than meditation -- but still, for me, remains very familiar. Sometimes, a change in perspective is all that is needed to really feel differently about the path you're on. That is how it worked in my experience.

I had never connected with a goddess in the same way that I have with Wodan and Thor -- they spoke to me in my meditative state when they thought it was the time to do so. In the Shamanic Journeying workshop, we were led through a lower world journey of about 13 minutes or so and then through an upper world journey of equal length. There was a cd played for the drumming, and the space was cleared via drumming. (And actually I remember a group of firey spirits singing at the southern point in the room once the spirits were called to protect the space. That was fancy.)

On the upper world journey, I was contacted by Sunne, the Norse Solar Goddess. It is a bit much to explain what she showed me -- both in terms of how personal it was and how difficult it is to word it in a way everyone would understand --  but it was about change and growth. She is the Sun, after all. In the Norse world, the sun meant nurture and life -- and the moon, in the cold, was harsh and powerful. I understood it opposite for other pantheons that I have studied. Now, the opposite makes more sense. Something else that happened with Sunne was that she handed me something really interesting -- a quartz crystal, faceted and in the shape of a heart. I'm sure it will be clear what that symbolizes as I move forward -- or grow, much like plants do under her guidance.

I think the point of such workshops is to show us what little we know and move us forward in studies. I always say, take everything with a grain of salt. If it doesn't work for you, fine. But don't be ignorant of it. Try to be as open as possible when discovering new things about your spiritual path. The moment you stop learning is probably the very next one after you exhale for the last time ever. But even then...doesn't your soul keep going?