Sometimes dreams die, and we must recover the creative energy bound up in our regrets in order to nourish the seeds of new priorities. The return of Persephone echoes the promise of Spring. Demeter and Persephone bear witness to the painful consequences of our choices, and the possibility of rebirth and new creativity our love gives us.
Here's an inspiring quote to get you started on the process ... It is official. I did not get the life I wanted... Sometimes [our dream and our destiny] are one and the same, and sometimes they're not. Often our dreams are just a path to our destinies. .. While you [have your] head down, sweating, cursing, stressing, furiously working with broken tools [to build your dream], ... [Love] is busy building your destiny. And there is as much beauty in your destiny as there was in your dream. Let go and believe that whatever it is, it will be beautiful. (Paraphrased from Carry on Warrior by G. Melton)
Magical Practice: Look - Feel - Turn - Rise!
Where have you buried your bitter disappointments, failed attempts, missed opportunities, might-have-beens, lost hopes, broken dreams, unfulfilled desires, rejected gifts, unrequited loves, and half-mourned relationships? We are all mortals, dear ones, and all have shadows in our past. In order to release the creative power bound up in our regrets, we must dig deep into these dark and dirty places. We must have courage to see our failures for what they are, feel the pain of their consequences, and let the emotion turn (as emotions always do), in order to rise up again and create something new. Tomorrow is indeed another day! This magical process -- Look, Feel, Turn, Rise -- is a powerful tool I encourage you to try, and repeat as often as you need to, "a thousand times," to free up your power to create! LOOK! To begin the process, find a mirror you choose to use as a magical tool (or you can use an astral mirror in your imagination), light a candle, and place a second unlit candle nearby. Listen to the recorded trance journey to visit Persephone, Demeter, and your ancestors, who also suffered disappointment in their lives, and may wish to aid you in rising again. Travel to a sacred place to meet them, look into the mirror, and have the courage to face the truth of the ending of a dream. FEEL! Allow yourself to feel as much of the emotions that arise as you are willing to feel at this time. Acknowledge your pain and validate it as a proportional response to your loss. Persephone and Demeter and your other Allies, both human and Divine, are here to witness and support you. TURN! When you feel the emotion shift, light the second candle. All is not lost! While the consequences of our choices are real, it is our attachment to outcomes that causes us to suffer when things don't work out the way we had hoped they would. Let go... this dream may be dying, but the future is still full of possibilities... Feel the love in your heart that is your creative life force, your own Divine Spirit that is always connected to the Wild, True Love of the gods. You have much left to create out of LOVE. Feel your sap rising! RISE! Celebrate your rebirth! Listen to an inspiring song, dance, and sing along. Reach out to your community and be open to seeing new possibilities to co-create. You may enjoy this song, (re)created as a chant by Amy and Swan for the recent Reclaiming LA Ostara ritual: Rise Up! It is Spring, and the soil is ready for new seeds to sprout -- it is time to rise up and recreate ourselves, one more time! Love and Magic, WildCat
(Love and gratitude to the priestesses who co-created this magical tool with me for the Reclaiming Los Angeles Ostara ritual: Caduceous, Ginger, Rainy, Swan, Amy, Kirke, Asa, Devon, and Maple.)