(Prompt courtesy of Sharon Blackie)
In February this year I was fortunate enough to spend four days on Sharon Blackie’s retreat – A Psyche the Size of the Earth. It has taken me several months to let the discussions, conversations and ideas of those days sit and peculate.
Our days together were built on our relationships with the land and to places
We were gently guided through the layers from geology, to imaginal layers and the otherworld – to stories and symbols and archetypes.
We were encouraged to create our own mythocartograph – a personal map of the places we have lived, passed through and those that shaped us in one way more another – exploring places where we didn’t have agency, as well as those places we chose to live or stay for some time.
We came together to explore the meanings that were formed from these places and the happenings. We were reminded that we are simple symbol-meaning creatures and encouraged to reflect on the question ‘who is the person that all of these places made?’ (prompt courtesy of Sharon Blackie).
Our relationships were not limited to the land, but also explored the weatherscape
We were encouraged to find ways of being in relationship with the weather, how it is inextricably linked to the land (and I was immediately thrust back to the children’s book ‘The Weather Weaver’ that I had read to my youngest, a side note, but it is a lovely book).
How the direction we face links to the elements and how the North is earth and the place of the old woman, the crone, the Cailleach, where we put wisdom into practice. We were encouraged to think about what was above and below, our orientation and the importance of grounding in a multidimensional way…
I feel I have gone off at a tangent at this point, but reading my notes back has reignited the enthusiasm I felt sitting cross-legged on the floor, with my pens and pencils out, scribbling away, catching the golden reflections that wove through the air.
We were introduced to stories of the land, and to Beira
Anyone who has read any of Sharon Blackie’s work will have come across the story.
The old woman, older than time, that circles through the seasons, creating the world with her hammer that chips away to create valleys, who carries rocks that fall to create mountains, whilst others are moulded using the clay in her hands. She works with other giantesses to create the lochs and the rivers and the landscapes.
We were reminded that the otherworld was predominantly female, it was the women who brought the gifts into this world.
In Celtic tradition, women had rights and possibilities
And I’m not sure about you, but I feel so reassured, so regulated when I think of women as tenders and keepers of the land. We were also reminded of the reciprocal nature of storytelling in shaping the world around us and how stories help to give us confidence and a sense of worth. Stories, like we have seen in The Wild Creative, where women are other worldly, shape shifters, wise women and witches.
And so, as Beira’s story begins in the Autumn, it felt timely to bring her into The Wild Creative now.
For those not already a part of The Wild Creative . . .
In October we have a month of ‘Gathering’ and so too there’s an invitation to gather what you need for the next few months, but it also felt that Beira’s story could have a place here.
The storytelling will include the story of Beira and an invitation to create, journal, doodle and mark make. We will also have prompts for Gathering. It’s useful to pause and reflect, and decide what you would like to gather and collect as we lean into this next season of the Wild Creative.
You’ll be able to choose your own adventure, lean into what feels right. We also have The Tiny Art Challenge, one word a day – and that may feel right for now.
If you feel drawn to lean into fireside stories, folklore and dance with the archetypes and a little bit of magic, you can sign up here👇