Amashelle
I'm sorry, this turned out to be a fairly long post, but bare with me, please, as I would very much like to hear your thoughts.
I don't know if any of you have read Ralph Blum's book The Rune Cards but when I first read it, a few months ago, I was intrigued by chapter 6: The cycle of initiation. Apparently, there are 13 runes that make up a cycle of life, though it may repeat in our own lives many times over between birth and death. The cycle of initiation is a journey, a series of trials and wonders that bring us steadily closer to what he calls the divine, but which I consider Unity.
Because there are also 13 singers in the Fairy Oracle.
Blum has a narrative on pages 74 and 75 that details the journey of the cycle, and it only takes a bit of modification to make it fit with the Singers.
Here is my version of the journey:
The self is encouraged in its natural urge to grow by Solus, who operates between Unity and the Self. The self, recognizing the call to grow and change, answers and embarks on a journey. Solus prepares the self, sending the messages it will need to understand, and as the self grows and learns, it retreats to where it can take in the lessons and make them a part of it. It falls into the Chalice, opens itself to trust and miracles, and allows the flow of energies to peel away old ideas that hold it back, scour away the things it no longer needs. Freed of those things, the self is Transfigured. It releases the old and re-makes the whole. This change is an inner change, but it encompases all.
Next, the self goes through a time of healing. Out of the healing comes the possibilty of new beginings. The self enters a new level of Initiation. Old habbits can be triumphed over, and the energies they drain can now be directed to new things. This change is an inner as well as an outer change and truely does leave the self strengthened. Now the self needs Courage to begin to reveal the changes and share its NEW self with the world.
The self can begin to reach out with new-found wisdom, pursuing the path of the heart, understanding others as well as itself. Using this newfound Intuition, the self can reach out to others and find Connections, building strength, because all are stronger than one, and with empathy, the self is made ready for the arms of She of the Cruach. She takes the self deeper into Unity, to that ever-changing river. Everything is in motion. Life dances. Love sways. The self must be a part of this. Must join the dance. Only then can it move forward. The benign dance is disrupted by He of the Fiery Sword. He brings new will. Still newer ideas. With his sword, he cleaves away still more of the self's old habbits and ideas and prepares the self for the final leg of the journey before sending it on its way through to the Gateway.
The life and will given to the self by She and He give the self the strength to climb to the gate, and it may not be easy, but it is the Guardian who ensures it does not pass before it is ready. Once through, the self it greeted by the wings of Extasis, triumph of success, the joy of peace. This a period of meditation. A time to reflect on the journey and understand its purpose. Only in that moment of understanding and breakthrough does the self truely move closer to Unity. "Firm in its faith, and with a new ability to see the Light, the self is once again assisted in its boundless urge to grow" (Blum, 75).
Blum has a simple excersize for locating yourself in the cycle: just separate the cards (in this case, the 13 singers) and shuffle them, asking the cards to tell you where you are. Choose a card and consider how it applies to your life at the moment. Then look at the cards that (numerically) pecede and follow your chosen card to get an idea of what you have just gone through and what you can expect in the future.
There is also an excersize called the 'Wheel of Initiation' which is originally based on a Medicine Wheel and was going to be the main point of this post, but I think I might have rambled on enough for now, so I'll let anyone who's interested digest that before posting the rest of it... assuming anyone actualy read this whole post. Sorry about the length.
I don't know if any of you have read Ralph Blum's book The Rune Cards but when I first read it, a few months ago, I was intrigued by chapter 6: The cycle of initiation. Apparently, there are 13 runes that make up a cycle of life, though it may repeat in our own lives many times over between birth and death. The cycle of initiation is a journey, a series of trials and wonders that bring us steadily closer to what he calls the divine, but which I consider Unity.
Because there are also 13 singers in the Fairy Oracle.
Blum has a narrative on pages 74 and 75 that details the journey of the cycle, and it only takes a bit of modification to make it fit with the Singers.
Here is my version of the journey:
The self is encouraged in its natural urge to grow by Solus, who operates between Unity and the Self. The self, recognizing the call to grow and change, answers and embarks on a journey. Solus prepares the self, sending the messages it will need to understand, and as the self grows and learns, it retreats to where it can take in the lessons and make them a part of it. It falls into the Chalice, opens itself to trust and miracles, and allows the flow of energies to peel away old ideas that hold it back, scour away the things it no longer needs. Freed of those things, the self is Transfigured. It releases the old and re-makes the whole. This change is an inner change, but it encompases all.
Next, the self goes through a time of healing. Out of the healing comes the possibilty of new beginings. The self enters a new level of Initiation. Old habbits can be triumphed over, and the energies they drain can now be directed to new things. This change is an inner as well as an outer change and truely does leave the self strengthened. Now the self needs Courage to begin to reveal the changes and share its NEW self with the world.
The self can begin to reach out with new-found wisdom, pursuing the path of the heart, understanding others as well as itself. Using this newfound Intuition, the self can reach out to others and find Connections, building strength, because all are stronger than one, and with empathy, the self is made ready for the arms of She of the Cruach. She takes the self deeper into Unity, to that ever-changing river. Everything is in motion. Life dances. Love sways. The self must be a part of this. Must join the dance. Only then can it move forward. The benign dance is disrupted by He of the Fiery Sword. He brings new will. Still newer ideas. With his sword, he cleaves away still more of the self's old habbits and ideas and prepares the self for the final leg of the journey before sending it on its way through to the Gateway.
The life and will given to the self by She and He give the self the strength to climb to the gate, and it may not be easy, but it is the Guardian who ensures it does not pass before it is ready. Once through, the self it greeted by the wings of Extasis, triumph of success, the joy of peace. This a period of meditation. A time to reflect on the journey and understand its purpose. Only in that moment of understanding and breakthrough does the self truely move closer to Unity. "Firm in its faith, and with a new ability to see the Light, the self is once again assisted in its boundless urge to grow" (Blum, 75).
Blum has a simple excersize for locating yourself in the cycle: just separate the cards (in this case, the 13 singers) and shuffle them, asking the cards to tell you where you are. Choose a card and consider how it applies to your life at the moment. Then look at the cards that (numerically) pecede and follow your chosen card to get an idea of what you have just gone through and what you can expect in the future.
There is also an excersize called the 'Wheel of Initiation' which is originally based on a Medicine Wheel and was going to be the main point of this post, but I think I might have rambled on enough for now, so I'll let anyone who's interested digest that before posting the rest of it... assuming anyone actualy read this whole post. Sorry about the length.