Foundations and beginnings.
Hello welcome to this my first blog. As with all things it is my intention this blog will slowly evolve over time as I develop my own style, progress and grow to find my new emergent self with each turn of the seasons
What Do Spiritual Foundations Actually Mean?
Card 21: The World Tree — deep roots, many seasons, one living whole
I'm going to start with some thoughts about why foundations are important and what foundations actually are to each of us particularly with respect to how we connect with our spiritual selves, find a true vocation and self empowerment
Story as Spell: The Lost Power of the Bard
Looking to myself, I am reminded of 2 fundamentals regarding my passions and why I am writing this blog. The first fundamental is that the word Spell is the original old English for what we now call a story, so when I tell a story I am in-fact doing spell work, magic. The second fundamental fact is that Bards were the second most powerful person in any tribe, royal court or country answerable only to the Ruler, this is because they held the Lore the oral history of the world, somehow in modern times we have relegated this essential role to a footnote.
So why are foundations important it's because they give us a cultural context and a connection to our landscapes rather than chasing the exotic and mysterious. Many seem to believe to be spiritual means being esoteric, speaking an impenetrable word salad that actually conveys nothing of substance to the listener! When we ourselves only hold a superficial or jumbled understanding of our roots we can mask this by speaking in this vague way and providing no answers or tired tropes without basis that fit in to a desired convenient modern Concept, for example “we’re the daughters of the witches they couldn't burn”, the Christians stole this festival from the pagans, “Friday the 13th is witches day”. The reality is each of us has a rich native culture to fall back upon which is often reflected in cultures and beliefs from other places.
The Parable of the Castle: Building on Solid Ground
XVI: The Tower - when what is built on unstable ground must fall before something stronger can rise.
I'm going to give a slightly abridged version of the parable of the man who built his castle on the sands.
Long ago and far away a great rich man decided he would build a huge castle to reflect his great wealth and wisdom. This man loved to be on the beach and hear the sound of the waves, so he chose to build his castle on the beach on the beautiful sands. Of course the wind and the rains came, the waves beat up on the walls and quickly and rapidly his castle collapsed back into the sands from whence it came. He learned from this or so he thought and built it up on the Cliff tops. Again the winds and rains came the storms blew and the Thunder beat down as the waves battered on the rocks and cliffs, this castle lasted longer however it still eroded and sunk back into the ground and the sea where it had come from. Finally this man built his castle still near the coast but further inland and to stop it falling he dug deep and wide below it to build a great foundation, a solid foundation from which he then could grow and extend his castle as he needed adding the attic and the extension, adding a cellar and it stood and stands to this day.
This story teaches us about stability about making sure we not only have breath but depth to our understanding, our foundations. This doesn't mean not listening to new ideas and new thoughts it means that we have a solid basis on which to add these thoughts and ideas, these new learnings. We don't need to follow all these new learnings it is just about understanding others, enabling us to debate and discuss their thoughts without feeling attacked or undermined, some of these new ideas may sit within until we reach time where they work for us and finally we can add and change our minds flexing and flowing as we evolve and grow.
