Swan Medicine

Hi Julia, 

I just wanted to write and say thank you so much for the Swan blessing the other day. So much has 'unlocked' since then, especially in my dreams. I am in the process of writing it down but I just wanted to share these photos I took the following weekend :)    

Catherine after Swan Blessing 2013

 

 

Final Swan Blessing Ceremony of Gratitude at Beltane

Tony and his drum at the spring

This week has been painful and shattering for many people and I too am feeling the shaking of my old ego in this week of eclipse. We are birthing through the stagnant ideas and beliefs of the past. We are cracking open from the bindings of the old mind. We are becoming the new humane.

Tony and I have spent time visiting the sacred spring on Mt Donna Buang and drumming our gratitude in this week of deep release between the Full and New Moon Eclipses. Our ceremony this friday at Beltane will be the last circle that we hold for many months as we have received instruction to go inward with our medicine and learn how to integrate all of the changes being felt. 

We will still be holding personal sessions in the forest but this will be our last circle and workshop for many months. It will be a circle of gratitude to the Ancestors for all that was shown to us in 2013 and for all that we are preparing to BE. If you feel to join us, there is no need for booking, there will be space for you in this Swan Blessing circle for men and women to journey with the Wild Swan to clear bindings and ties of the past from your Ancestral Medicine and quest to find new ways to express your gifts on this Earth now. We welcome you to join us in giving thanks for all that was, all that is and all that will be.   

Sacred Familiar encaustic oracle: Drumming for the Fire (our oracle is in creation and will be released soon)

She is walking out of the fires...Mishele's Swan Story

She is walking out of the fires. Her staff which connects her to the land below her and the skies above, reminds her of her Medicine. She wears a conch shell to remind her she is Woman. She carries her basket to collect medicine wherever she goes. She is Medicine Woman. She looks out at the world through the quartz crystal heart she swallowed... Seeing all with Love and Clarity. She holds the ancient sacred herb Desert Sage in her belly, connecting her to All that Was, All that Is and All that Will Be. She is taking Me out of hiding my Medicine. She is whispering into my heart, singing to my feet, calling my memories to awaken. Giving me strength to remember She is I and I am She. We walk into the world sharing our Medicine again. We walk into the world sharing our Medicine again. Dear Julia, After spending the weekend with you and all the sisters in the circle, I feel I Am AWAKE! How can one merely say Thank You for the gift you have given! For the Swan Blessing, the unbinding of Vows that have held me back in this life, introducing me to the Daughters Of The Well. The words Thank You cannot display the deep gratitude I feel, for Teaching me the Medicine of making my own Medicine Doll. For holding the space with so much Love, Compassion, Joy, Wisdom, and your Beautiful Voice to guide us to where we needed to go. For gathering together a circle of Medicine Women, making connections, sharing stories, releasing past life pain, and bringing us back to the present with our Medicine that we may have been hiding due to ancient fears. Julia, my way to honour You and all that you have awakened in me, is to Walk, Dance, Love, Forgive, Laugh, Be the Medicine Woman I Am and Walk that path in Truth and Beauty, sharing with All, as you have shared with All 

What an amazing weekend I had! On the misty Mt Tambourine a circle of women gathered together, and under the gentle Guidance of Julia from Sacred Familiar we journeyed deep into ourselves and our past. Through her Swan Blessings, we released and healed Vows and Bindings we made in a past life, that was stopping us from our full potential in this life. We released our Grandmothers, Mothers, Daughters. We reunited with each other again. We shared our stories in the safe circle that Julia created in a magic place called Grail Haven, sharing in the Blessed Water from the sacred well. I encourage you to look into Grail Haven, it truly is a healing experience. Julia taught us the lost art of making Spirit/Medicine Dolls! Wow!! Having already been gifted one, I knew the power of their medicine, and to make my own was and is a life changing experience! I have learnt so much of myself during this process, and will continue to do so with all the others I will create! Yes! I am addicted! I met Such beautiful women, making connections that are ancient and now present ♥ We drummed and sang (thank you Vicki for teaching us the songs, I sang all the way home on the train) We had fun at the markets, meeting the friendly locals and spreading joy with our open hearts and Dolly's (who came with us sharing their magic to the young and the old, men and women) So many magical experiences, I think I could write a whole book about this one weekend ;-) Oh and I was taken back to when I was a child born from a Gypsy mother and towns man father. I ended up living on my own, in the forest, rejected for who I was, yet still consulted by the villagers for medicine and healing (in secret of course) I bring back with me my essence of the Wild Gypsy Woman, this time, I walk proudly into the world, with my Medicine, I will speak the truth and beauty to all ~ For All ♥ Thank You so much dear Julia and to all the women in the circle Bless You ♥

Mishele, Femmina Unbound on Mt Tamborine, 2013

Violet's Link to Plant and WOmen's Mysteries - Spirit Doll Medicine

Violet - Emily's Spirit Doll

Dear Julia, 

Here is the story of my Violet Medicine Doll... 

On the weekend of the Swan Blessing Spirit Doll workshop I had only recently discovered I was pregnant. I had been keeping this delicious, mysterious secret inside. Only my husband and I knew and we were surprised at how deep and dark the knowledge felt...how wrong it would be to talk about yet. 

I had been sleeping and dreaming a lot and was just starting to get waves of nausea when I woke or during the day when my mind wandered the dreamworld. A lot of my dreams felt heavy and I was having flashes of past life traumas. I started taking walks in the morning by the river to let these feelings flow through me and away. I was drawn again and again to a patch of violets growing in the shade along my walk. Their delicate smell made me feel better, like the flowers understood the important work I was doing and gently supported the secrets within me. So I came to the workshop with these violets, knowing that the doll I made would be a Violet Medicine Doll, one who could travel the darkness of my dreams with me and remind me of the delicate beauty to be found there.
The journey the Swan Blessing took me on was surprising but perfectly synchronised with the energies I've described...

I gaze into the pool and see the face of my other self. She is tall, slim, queenly. She shifts from being black haired and young to silvery and old. Sunshine and moonlight. Masculine and feminine. She is a desert woman, Bedouin.  

She works with the plants of the desert, the ones that bloom in oases in the moonlight, and survive in cracks and crevices and caves. Slow dripping, seeping water underground. Women’s mysteries. 

She sings the song of the desert, she calls these plants into life. She tattoos the journeys and knowledge of her people onto her skin. She bathes in underground pools at night. She is strong, powerful, respected and loved. 

She binds her wisdom when white men arrive to “study” their nomadic way of life. She puts a halt to the growth cycles. She will never share the songlines, the stories. The plants will die and wither away to dust, unnoticed in their secret places. She has forseen the destruction white man will bring so she will not pass her knowledge on to her daughters. She will not burden them with the secrets.
The binding is tight around my waist, my solar plexus. I cannot be true to myself. I cannot reveal the full extent of my wisdom, or pass it on to the baby in my womb. I am withholding, withering inside. I feel sick to my stomach.The sister of the well hands me a knife to cut the binds and I hear my other self begin to sing the desert heart song again. Her wisdom is free and it flows through her, through the desert sands and winds and the moonlight, through my open centre and into my baby. I feel the unfolding of my mysterious violet baby just as the desert plants unfurl and come to life in the secret dark places.Together we will find the balance again of sunshine and moonlight, masculine and feminine, learning and intuition, spirituality and grounding. 

I place seven violets inside my doll for each chakra and a sprinkling of Uluru red earth at her heart and feet to ground us in this land, connect us to our songlines and dreaming tracks. She carries the sacred gum in her medicine pouch. This baby will know the songs of the desert and the ocean, the blinding sun and the darkness. All the polarities. 

The doll dances and sways forward. She knows where she is going and where she is from. The strength and fragility of violets drifts from her like a sweet scent that you almost can’t catch except in your memory.

I am so in awe of the power of the spirit and medicine doll and the journey they take their creators on as they are made that I have begun collecting these journeys as part of our Swan Blessing book. Perhaps there will be so many that they will make a book on their own. I am also researching the history of this ancient ancestral practice of making a doll to help ourselves or someone else heal and it is a beautiful journey of it's own. Thank you Emily for sharing such a precious experience and time in your life, oceans of love to you and your growing tribe. If anyone would like to share their doll and the story of it's making you are welcome to send it to us. 

Our next Spirit Doll workshop: Reclaiming Ancestral Medicine of the Spirit Doll will be held on Saturday 19th October. 

Spiral of Women's Medicine in the Magdalene Laundry

At the centre - sculptures by Lucy Pierce Photos by Kylie 'Ma Bower'

On sunday, the first day of Spring I sat in a medicine circle with sisters from all over Australia who had been called to come and assist the spirits of the women and children of the Magdalene Laundries at Abbotsford Convent here in Melbourne. It was a day I will never forget, a day when we saw right in front of our eyes, the power and healing magic of Women's Medicine.

I believe this is the new way for the Medicine Women. This new medicine way is not concerned with complicated ritual, hierarchy and authority outside of our spirit. Instead, we simply asked for permission. Permission from the Aboriginal ancestors of the land, permission from the Magdalenes themselves and permission from the Grandmothers who we were there to assist the young girls and children home. The new medicine way is actually the ancient medicine way of lovingly bringing intention, focus and simple action to what is in need of love and change. These simple and small drops of love from each of the medicine women given without ego flowed into the large blessing bowl that our gathering created. And this blessing bowl, created by the flesh of our own bodies as we sat in circle became filled with water, a pool of love stronger than any memory of history or binding beliefs.  

There were so many radiant moments on this day but I will never forget the gift of song from all my sisters and the songs that were channeled and gifted especially for this day by Lisa Mitchell and Kaggi Valentine. Lisa opened the circle with her song 'Thank You for Being Here' and I felt it created an opening of all of our hearts - a reminder that we are all innocent and tender at the heart. Kaggi brought the fire into our opened hearts as we stepped into the cold cement building of the actual Magdalene Laundry. And in this space of such previous pain, imprisonment and enforced silence a spontaneous chant began to burst forward leading to drumming and dancing, loud singing. We danced our own freedom dance for the Magdalenes, we sang for the silenced ones, we brought our fire to light that dark place. Here Kaggi began her chant received for the Magdalenes from the ancient women who came from a time way before the distorted beliefs and restrictions that bind the Sacred Feminine in our world now.

Ancient shadows of women spiraling

through the coils of time,

we are part of those women spiraling...

with the song of the land,

and the dance of the moon inside.

Chant received and sung by Kaggi Valentine 

Singing this chant, we proceeded to move down through the convent grounds, we drummed and singing out loud to honour the memory of the Magdelenes publicly to let them know that they did not belong in the shadow and to sing for them in the open sunshine. This beautiful line of singing medicine women snaked through the gardens and the weekend visitors to move through the trees and down to the Yarra River. At this ancient water source, we began our final work of the day - calling from the convent buildings and surroundings any spirits who had stayed too long, who were afraid, who had been forgotten. We called them down to the River, down to the Water, to be embraced by the Grandmothers and guided Home. 

My deepest thanks and gratitude to all of the women who joined us both in body and spirit at this collective healing. What did we do? We did our best. My heart is full to see your radiant return Wise Medicine WOmen.

For all of our sisters living in Queensland I will be opening a new Femmina Unbound dreaming circle for the return of the Medicine WOmen beside the sacred springs of Grail Haven on Mt Tamborine on Saturday 12th October.

Femmina Unbound - Return of the Medicine Women on Mt Tamborine QLD

Lisa Mitchell gifting her song

 

'Going Home' by sculptor, Pauline Clayton outside the convent gates "A tribute to the young women and children/ who have made epic journeys/ to return to home and country."

Swan Blessing - Releasing the Vow of the Outcast

Sylvia Ji - Shapeshifters

On this Full Blue Moon morning I share again with you Kristan's Swan Blessing Story of the Outcast. In her past life, Kristan belonged to a tribe that could not accept the powerful medicine that she carried. In her tribe this medicine was seen as taboo for woman to hold. She was asked to obey or to leave. She chose to say NO to the tribe so that she could say YES to her spirit.

Many of us have experienced similar stories in past lives and in our present lives. We have felt that to truly be ourselves, we must journey alone. Or we have put up with behaviour that hurts us just to stay a part of the tribe whether that tribe is family, society, peers. In this time of the rise of the Divine Feminine we are being called out of the shadows to embrace all of our natural gifts and to release the fear of being rejected and cast out by those who do not understand or accept us. Saying NO when it is right for us is a practice of honouring ourselves. When we release the belief that there was ever anything 'wrong' with us we remember that we are all creatures of the earth - as individual as every animal and plant and an integral part in the wheel of life.

Looking into the waters of the crystal ball of consciousness, I stared and I waited and I imagined I would not see anything. And I saw nothing for what felt like such a long, long time, I was beginning to feel I would not see, that my mind was too strong to allow my soul to show me what I needed and wanted to see

I stayed with prayer, asking and pleading at one moment to see, please let me see  . . .  and then the mists began to clear and I could see a clearing in the mountains, green pine all around, the smell of freshness and soil, and a teepee 

And horses, many horses And then I saw HER, myself in another time By the teepee, the wild life of the mountains surrounding HER  Ah, she was alone, living an isolated life, no tribe, a sadness surrounded herI could also sense an understanding, acceptance of her situation as the best possible outcome for her at that time and place We saw each other, she smiledI could see her deer skin clothing, her turquoise choker with red beads HER long, long braids of dark black hair I could feel HER and I felt a relief that we had met, that the veils had parted and that we could meet I began to track why she was alone in the woods, her only communication with the forest life; the birds, woodland creatures, trees, the natural world who heard her and loved her 

A new vision appeared
I found myself within a tribe of teepees A fire A Father, a Chief at the door of his teepeeAnd a Mother and more children (my siblings) sitting at the door of her teepee I stood by my Father, the Chief as he asked me again if I would do what was expected of me
and again, the 12 year old HER (me) said NO
I would NOT 

I was banished from my tribe 

For being who I was For speaking who I was For saying NO to what was not true for me I caught the eye of my mother and she caught mine sadness but understanding i saw there
and in my father too, not as cheif, but as my father a sadness and again an understanding
And away SHE went, alone, to live a life of isolation, to be herself
Again, I find myself back at HER teepee This time we connect, we stand in a pool of water, a water fall, falling behind us The vines from below come up, writhing and cover her, strangle her, snake like she is bound I connect with HER, I cut with my teeth the binding reedy vines I free HER She smiles at me, she becomes as of light and as a shooting star Returns  

The wounding: I will be rejected, cast out, banished from my tribe if I am myself, authentic and truth speaking, if I say NO to what does not feel right I release this binding, this wounding as I bite and free the vines of that lifetime  

The blessing: authentic, true and free, I express myself fully, I am my actualized self, accepted, loved and cherished by my tribe, now and for eternity

Thank you Kristan Read, for sharing your beauty, strength and truth. Kristan is a Shamanic Midwife, Teacher and crafting creatrix extraordinaire! You can experience Kristan's inspiring medicine for yourself through her work at www.atmypractice.comand www.thecrafthive.com

Swan Blessing Story - Releasing the Vow to Hide the Healer

Far From Home - Morgan Weistling

Tonight I share Robyn's Swan Blessing past life story of her Vow to Hide the Healer - to not let anyone know who she truly was. This fear of persecution is one of the strongest ties that binds us and stop us from stepping into spiritual and healing work again in our current lifetime. I was very touched by Robyn's courage to face this fear and was thrilled to see her rapid transformation after she released her spirit from this heavy vow. I hope that in the telling of Robyn's own story, it helps those who are also feeling this same fear to realise that this vow is ancient and does not belong with your spirit in this time of change and rise of the Sacred Feminine. I hope it helps you to feel that you are not alone and that you can come out of the shadows and into community with your sisters and brothers again.

Thank you Robyn and we are so happy to see the unveiling of your Wise Medicine here in this world again.

As I looked into the well I became a seven year old girl with long sandy brown hair in plats. All around  was forest. Beautiful majestic trees that were as high as the sky. I  was met by a lady, but could only see her curly, dark auburn red hair.  She was wearing an emerald green cloak made of raw silk. It was stunning and shiny.  I couldn't see her face through the shadow of the hood.  I felt we were mother and child. She beckoned me to follow her and seemed very excited to show me something. We were skipping and running with such excitement and freedom through the forest. 

We came to a clearing in the trees where there were some people in a circle surrounding a fire. They were pagans, all holding hands chanting blessings to the earth. I could see their shapes in white with no defining marks. The only defining vision was a giant rabbit joined in amongst the people, my mother and myself. We joined the circle and began to become one with earth and all the people. We prayed for healing of the world, for peace, for the sick, for all in need. We were healers, shamans and in an age where this belief could have you branded and killed as a witch. 

Suddenly there were screams and men attacking us with sticks, breaking up the circle and beating anyone they could catch. As we fled into the forest they grabbed my mother. They pulled us apart, our arms stretched out for one last chance of touch. I  watched as my mother was carried away screaming and kicking holding her arms out to me. I was crying out for her with no hope.  I had to hide until it was safe to emerge. As I looked up, a hand reached out for me. It was a man who had come to help. He took me to a secret place where we were allowed to be free and safe. We all lived together in harmony with nature and continued to heal. They taught me the ways of nature and how to use the powers that I possessed. 

I grew into a tall, stunning looking woman that walked tall and proud hiding my deep secrets. I  was a healer with such powers that I could heal with a single smile or glance. I had my secret kept deep within, not sharing through fear of being killed.  I healed from afar. I was living in a Scandinavian town on the edge of the forest. Nobody knew who I was, but I had respect. 

When it was time to see my binding I felt a huge rope coil around my entire body much like a snake would strangle their prey. I was bound with this rope with a giant knot in my mouth. The knot represented how I swore to never discuss my secret within. Never to let anyone know I am a healer.  Then my mother was reunited with me to show me I was safe. As she put out her arms for me, a feeling of love and peace shot through my entire body. Then my ropes were cut and they fell to the ground. The young girl was free to talk her truth. No more silence, no more fear, I too am free.

After my blessing the Swan circled above with the sun behind her. She came low enough to pick me up and carry me away.  I embraced her with gratitude for allowing me to take this journey. I felt safe with her as she flew through the perfect sky, then spiraled down and around to land in the dam paddock of my home. A home I can now appreciate and feel settled and safe in from this day forward. 

What an amazing experience. The most interesting guided meditation I have ever done. The emotion that was experienced was so intense inside my heart, but was finally put at peace through this magical healing. Having picked some cards Julia described exactly where I was in my heart. I was feeling trapped with my strong spiritual belief having to remain a secret, through fear of being persecuted, criticized and judged.  At the end of the day, my choice to be who I am truly within my heart was being ignored, leaving me untrue to myself and my life as who I am today. 

I believe more and more in past lives and at times have had some amazing things happen to convince me even more again. I have always had a yearning to be in India. It was a place where one of my many spiritual steps were taken and where I have always felt at home and allowed to embrace spirituality. I have always felt a strong connection to India through family history, past and present, but also in the heart.  In India, people show you respect for your strong belief.  Monks, nuns and Holy men are looked up to and never persecuted. My past lives as a holy being were many and I was loved and respected for who I was. This was making it hard to settle in my own home, a paradise surrounded by nature. A place that people come to enjoy and relax. But for me, no, India felt like home.  For a while now I had the feeling that my beliefs and abilities  should be kept secret, as judgements and criticisms I have had to face from opening my heart to people have felt so unfair. I am not cuckoo or going to hell, I am an amazing being with a lot to share. Life is good! 

So a couple of days pass. I start to see visions of my past again. This time, I recognize my mother. She isn't my maternal mother from this life as I originally thought, she is Judy, healer I bump into on occasion. In my Scandinavian life, Judy is my mother. Judy is also the healer that helped me on a few occasions. She turns up at the right time. A lovely lady I have always felt like I should get to know better, but has never had the chance. First thing the next morning After this visit to Melbourne my family all went to our chiropractor for our regular adjustment. We hadnt seen a single soul in town before entering the clinic. Guess who were the patients before us, Judy and her husband Jack. I hadn't seen them for over 18 months and now I feel its time to get to know them better. I think I have a new teacher. 

Thank you Julia and Tony for helping me find peace. Look forward to another magical experience with you both.  Robyn, 2013

News from the Forest

Hello and blessings on your wintering, 

The mist is rising here in the forest today and I am just about to light the fire before stepping into the Swan Blessing dreaming with our first clients for the day. We have lots of beautiful events coming up where we will be opening up dreaming wells to journey with Swan Medicine - please let me know if you feel called to join us.

New Swan Blessing Past Life Sessions:

We have just opened up 6 new sessions for this weekend: 

Saturday in Sherbrooke Forest: 11am, 1pm and 3pm

Sunday at Tree of Life Centre in Kew: 11am, 12.30 and 2.30pm

Swan Blessing Winter Solstice Workshop in the Forest:

Enchanting the Dreamer - Spirit Doll Enchantment

 1-6pm   22nd June at Kumbada Studio, 6 Ridge Road, Kalorama.  Cost $135 (includes doll)

Releasing Past Life Vows from the Artisan

In this workshop at the potent point of Winter Solstice we will focus on clearing past life binding on creativity, intuition and the powerful medicine of the Artist.  The essence of Swan Medicine is to open up Vision and you will see your own past lives and understand the binding promises, oaths and sacred contracts that have held your Wise Medicine in a spell binding of your own words. In releasing these past promises you will once again reclaim your natural ability as joyful creators and build new energetic pathways to the Dreamer - your Intuitive Self. Once you have seen your Dreamer, you will be able to create Her as we are led by Doll Enchantress, Nicole Ahava in a shamanic process of making our own Medicine Spirit Dolls. These dolls become magical talismans for you after you leave the workshop, travelling with you to help you to remember, hone and express your own Wise Creative Medicine.  We still have a few places so let me know as soon as you can if you wish to join us. 

Sydney Swan Blessing Tour - Imbolc: July 31st - Aug 5th

We are already taking bookings for our Sydney Swan Blessing sessions at Imbolc. Beautifully synchronistic as we hold these sessions at the gorgeous Blacksmith's Cottage on the feast of Brigid, patron goddess to Blacksmiths and Jewellers - all who work at transforming metal (like the chains of our binding promises),  and goddess of healing, creativity and wise words. If you live close to Sydney we encourage you to book soon as these sessions are already full. 

Sydney Workshop: Enchanting the Dreamer - Spirit Doll Enchantment

 7 - 9.30pm, Imbolc 1st August at Desire Books, 3/3 Whistler Street, Manly  Cost $80 (includes doll)

Bookings through Katy at Desire Books: 02 9977 0888 desire@desirebooks.com.au

Releasing Past Life Vows from the Artisan and Spirit Doll Creation. This will be a shorter version of the Winter Solstice workshop but just as beautiful and deep for our Sydney tribe. We look forward to meeting you all at the wonder-filled Desire Bookshop.  As such a lover of words I am thrilled to be bring Swan Medicine to such an enchanted bookshop.

For all those who have already journeyed with Swan, you are welcome to keep returning to work with your Wise Medicine as with each journey with Swan grows stronger and deeper. Below is a Swan Story I received this week from Rebecca - a beautiful release from her Vow to carry on alone.

Dream Well beautiful creatures, Julia x

Swan Blessing Story - Releasing the Burden of Past Life Guilt

How many of our gifts and natural skills are we holding back in this lifetime because of mistakes made in past lives? For Emily it was her natural ability as a leader and wise man that became bound when in leading people away from war she found she did not have the skills to help them all survive in the wild. When she lost the person that she loved most in that lifetime, she blamed herself and created a very strong binding vow upon her spirit in this lifetime - the Vow to Never Lead Again. In moments of trauma, fear and remorse we often make promises and vows to our own spirits that carry heaving binding. When we create theses Sacred Contracts we may believe in them so deeply that we carry their binding energy into our next incarnations. These kinds of vows and promises carry a heavy burden of shame and guilt and a deep sense of unworthiness to live a happy and peaceful life - indeed for some it is hard to feel worthy to be living at all.

It is not my belief that we are here to 'make amends' or be punished for the mistakes of past lifetimes - I do not believe in 'bad karma'. I see each lifetime as an opportunity to be conscious in each moment and to do our best. This does not mean we have to be perfect, we are all learning. It means to recognise when we have made mistakes, to learn from them and to choose differently next time we are in a similar situation. It is important not feel regret and guilt about the past - whether it be from past lifetimes or a more recent event from your current lifetime. Let it go and open your heart to the opportunities to be your Authentic True Self that await in the PRESENT moment. Every morning is a new birth, a new lifetime - full of choice and possibility. By embracing life as a mystery that keeps unfolding, you are letting go of needing to 'know' or to be 'right', letting go of carrying the burden of guilt and shame for events that cannot be changed. We must learn compassion for ourselves and embrace our Life Path as a journey to Wisdom and in doing so we will also be more accepting of the diverse paths of others.

I first heard from Emily when she sent me her Swan Story: Awakening the Black Serpent after journeying in the Swan Blessing Past Life circles that I held at Seven Sisters Festival. And to accompany her story, she sent me the most incredible collage artworks - it was a wonderful way to experience Emily's story on a very visual and deep level. It really touches my heart when I hear of people creating in any capacity after they journey with Swan Medicine - I believe creativity and opening visionary gifts is another 'wing' of the Swan Medicine after clearing past life binds. 

Recently I got to meet Emily in person when she travelled to Sherbrooke Forest to journey again with Swan.  Emily discovered that in the next lifetime she was a Scholar, living like a Hermit away from the world on top of a mountain. When she looked into his face she felt such love for this gentle soul but it was love that he could not feel for himself. 

"I see and hear so many birds on my way to the forest and I immediately feel the wild swan’s wings wrap around me when Julia welcomes me under the chestnut tree. It feels so safe and gentle. My heart sighs.
I easily slip into my mindstream, into the green of the forest where the water is calling to my heart. I let my heart lead me to the water and look deep into the still pool. I see an ancient face, tanned and wrinkled like the face of an old tree. Clear blue eyes crinkled at the edges with kindness. Is it a man or a woman? It doesn’t matter. I feel so much love and wisdom. As a hand reaches through the water to take mine I see it is an old man’s hand. He takes me across the threshold. Everything feels so easy and gentle. I let my heart follow. 

I walk behind him on a faint forest track, meandering through sun and shade, slowly winding up a mountainside. I feel how connected he is to this world, how the plants and animals and the richness of the earth pass through him on a cellular level. He is totally at one with his surroundings. He is the forest and the forest is him. He is filled with this knowing in his being. 

We reach the mountaintop. It is rocky and windy and wild. An eagle glides above us, just out of sight but a part of our interaction all the same. He is showing me the view…a ruined city far below. Just rubble and tumbled down towers and charred remains of what was once great. He is heavy hearted. It was his home. He has lost so much and been alone for so long. 

He shows me his happy childhood in the city...playing on the floor in a sunlit tower, learning to read and write with a loving tutor, growing into a wise scholar and advisor to the king. This king is his friend and like a brother. But he is a ruthless and brutal leader. He brings chaos, destruction, war and famine to his city. My wise and gentle scholar, he cannot change this man, he has failed, his advice has led to this ruin. 

He shows me how he fled the burning city, leading a small group of people to safety across the mountain. But he did not know the forest then. It was a long difficult journey and they were weak and starving. He didn’t know how or what to feed them. He was a city man and had never killed an animal in his life. Many of the people died on this journey because of his lack of knowledge.

We look into the face of a woman as she dies. He loves her, she is his one love that he never fully acknowledged or had time to appreciate. She whispers her love, her patience and forgiveness as she dies. She tells him her child is his daughter, please take care of her. When she passes, he is so desolate and alone. He takes the remaining people to the safety of a village and wanders away into the mountain forest. He will live as a hermit forever. He is responsible for so much death and destruction. He vows to never lead his people to harm. He will never be a leader again. This binding weighs as a heavy stone in his/my heart. 

I see his home in the forest, a simple wooden hut, cosy and full of books and dripping candles to light his long nights alone. He is writing, writing, filling so many pages. He is recording histories, forest wisdom, his deep knowing. He will share this so that no one need die or suffer for lack of knowledge. His daughter visits him here in the forest. She loves him so much and understands his heavy heart. She has the same energy as my mother in this life…such a wise, big hearted woman (who I can share so much time with now, healing the loss in his life). 

I am back beside the deep still pool. I let go of the stones in my heart. A sister of the well hands me a clear crystal to crush these stones. They smash into dust and blow away with the breeze. She guides me into the pool, it is warm, thick. It is no longer water but blood. I curl up in the heart-womb that the pool has become and the other sisters join the first, so that nine of them surround me. They peel back the veils that are wrapped so tightly around me, they peel back my skin. They remove all the bindings and heaviness that surrounds my heart and then slowly drift away so I am alone in the warm pool. I AM FREE. I feel my open heart beating. It says “I am a true and shining guide”. 

I see my past-self smiling at me from the forest. His wife and daughter have come for him. He is light hearted and FREE. Then I feel myself pulled upward with the wind. I feel the lightness and strength of my huge wings spread wide…I am the eagle, soaring and drifting above the mountaintop, visioning the world."  EMILY 2013

Thank you Emily for sharing your Swan Stories and art so generously it was an honour to guard the threshold as you reclaimed your Wild Wisdom again. 

And Emily has just informed me that she will now be teaching this beautiful art process and if you would like to learn how to make your own Collage for the Soul, Emily is holding an Introductory Workshop on Sunday 23rd June at the Mindful Wellness Centre. You can find out all of the details through Emily at emilymorter@ymail.com or phone: 0402 672 482. 

Collage created by Emily Morter after her Past Life Swan Blessing

Swan Blessing Returns to Sydney for Imbolc

Hello Sydney-siders we will be in your neck of the woods at Imbolc, the first stirring of Spring, 1st-5th August. We shall be offering personal Swan Blessing Past Life sessions from Glebe as well has holding talks and workshop at Desire Books in Manly.

Personal Swan Blessing is $160 for 1.5 hours and we are already taking bookings so if you are feeling called, we encourage you to get in early to reserve your session.