Swan Blessing Story - Vows of Chastity & Silence

Julia Margaret Cameron 1875

Here is the incredible Swan Blessing story of Kylie whose free-spirited nature was bound by vows of Chastity and Silence after being forced to take vows as a nun. For Kylie the greatest binding of all was her spirit's agreement to be resigned to this life, to not expect anything more. As a nun, she learnt to develop a deep inner world to deal with her circumstances. In releasing herself from her vows, Kylie learnt that this rich inner world could also be her experience of the outer world too. 

Undergoing the Swan Blessing was both a simple and natural thing to do.  I had had an immensely emotional week, I worried whether I really wanted to “go there”, to have to delve into my issues and problems. To be honest I had no idea what I was walking into.  I had already booked this time with Julia and Tony and didn’t want to cancel, I trusted the simplest yet sometimes the most challenging belief I have, which is to believe everything is happening as it should.  I have also worked with Tony and Julia for years and have always found their energy to be soothing, and working with them has only led me to feelings of calm and healing. 

I entered the room, I stepped into a circle, where Tony smudged me with a sage stick,  wafting its fragrance around me, removing the energies of my hectic week from me.  He then left the room, working from a distance to hold the sacred space that we were to work within but leaving Julia and I to work together.  There is no major moment or dramatic entry into my past life, there is simply a direction to look and see. It’s like watching a movie, it’s so simple.   Julia guided me to look into the Well and take me to the person I once was, for me to meet the person who once made a vow so strong and so sacred that it was still driving me to this very day.

She was young and beautiful and she knew the power of her looks,  a graceful maiden growing up in London from a relatively well to do family. She was always a loner, always dreaming by the docks, her favourite place to be.  She loved to watch the ships come in, see the men and dream of the places they would go and admire their swarthy looks  from afar.  What were they speaking of, their voices carrying on the wind with the dialects and words of foreign places.  She could never get too close though, her position demanded distance, as it seemed to demand distance for her from most of the world around her.  Her virtue was her most valuable asset and the architecture of her life was such that it would not be compromised. 

 As we entered the meditation and I approached the Well, before I had met her, before I was taken to the docks of her youth,  I was guided by a beautiful maiden of Avalon.  She had taken me to the well and Avalon was where i felt my journey was to be.  As I was guided to turn my eyes and look to the well, I excitedly anticipated to see myself as a beautiful maiden of Avalon, amongst my sisters, in no way was i prepared for who I saw myself to be.  A nun, a very old nun with rheumy blue eyes, eyes that spoke whilst lips did not move.  She looked at me and spoke a thousand words through her eyes but never once moved her lips.  She was silent, forever silent, she had vowed silence and had lived it so long she no longer knew any different. 

 She took me through the streets of an old Medieval English town to a small church at the end of a street in an area of much poverty, grime and sickness.  She showed me her church and the Friar who worked with her, her eyes told me she had found acceptance of her life, that she regarded both herself and her life as unremarkable, as no one to be known or remembered, and probably no one who would be remembered, simply a servant of the church with a vow of silence.  As I connected to her I felt so little emotionally, I felt a shell of a person who was neither happy nor sad but merely existing.  Her mind was quiet, there was nothing left to say to herself after all this time. 

 As we delved deeper and I tried to find a connection in her, a fire, a passion,  we journeyed to the day she made her vows.  She knew she was still so beautiful in her nun’s gowns, she stood tall and proud, her rosary beads hanging around her slim waist and still knew of her power. She knew why she was here today and she owned the actions that had made her family send her here.  She felt no regret,  the docks had called and she had answered, and whilst she chose not to share with me the details of her encounter there, still her own personal haven, her own sacred memory,  it was enough to ensure she be banished from her family to serve out her days in the church undergoing a vow of silence that was to last her a lifetime. Not only was she to serve here for her shameful actions she was to be silenced so she could never shame her family with the true reasons for her vocation, with her true self. She simply held that silence with a knowing look, she had experienced a taste of freedom that she knew her life would never have afforded her, and she would pay the price for the rest of her life. 

 We looked at each other in the mirror, my blue eyes matching hers, this time I looked at her with love and together we tenderly removed the stiches from her mouth.  I sent her all the love I had, let her know she was someone, she was so remarkable and her life had made a difference.  She granted me the gift of her incredible strength and her  still mind, something I have never been able to achieve and something i needed so badly at this time in my life.  My own mind had been screaming at me, tormenting me on things I had to deal with, she helped me to move through.  Her life of silence, her life of servitude and anonymity just set me free or did i just set her free with my gifts of love, acceptance and acknowledgement of her greatness and incredible strength,  for that moment we became one and we were both free.
 
As now, weeks later  I now revisit this moment of unity, it is like we both spiralled to become one person.  She craved freedom and found it in her mind, she was a dreamer and so too am I.  She lived her glory in her mind, she vowed to keep her strength and her uniqueness to herself, she had no other frame of reference to live by, there  was no other choice she knew of and I realised I had been living the same.  What I have realised is, I don’t need to. 

 I have choices, choices she could not even imagine yet have still had been living bound  to my own mind, still living as if I had no choice.  For all my life I have  taken my gifts and tried to bury them from view where I can live safely with them and not challenge the status quo of my world and the people in it.  The fear I experience at times to bring myself forth are just irrational, a real physical sinking in the pit of the stomach and total inability to push myself to the next level on so many things,  jack of all trades master of none.  Never to really excel, better to be amongst the crowd. The gift of the Swan Blessing to me has been the realignment of myself to this very day.  To take the gifts I have and remove the binds that have held me back.  I always felt like i had reached some wall in myself that made no sense and now i realise that it didn’t make sense because it  was built in  another time and I could not put the pieces together, now it all just makes sense.

Kylie, DJ, 2012

Kylie is a beloved sister & soul friend and has been an illuminating presence in our circles for many years. Mystic, healer, storyteller, Kylie heals through the sound waves. To be in her company is to be brought back to pure joy. As 'DJ Ma Bower' Kylie is spreading that joy and deep bliss to all the beautiful dancers and music lovers. Healers take many forms and the healing that takes place through sound is profound. She will be playing at some beautiful festivals this summer so when you hear the call to the temple from 'Ma Bower', when you can no longer resist the urge to dance on the earth again...let yourself return.  We already thought Kylie was out of this world, we can't wait to hear what is unleashed after her Swan Blessing!  

The Vow of Silence - A Swan Blessing Story

Untitled by Emmanuel Catarino Montoya

Thank you Talulah for sharing your Swan Blessing story here - a beautiful remembering and releasing of the mystic, the warrior, the chosen one who took a Vow of Silence so that the past would not be repeated. Oceans of love to you Talulah for the return of your beautiful voice and for a clear pathway to be The Chosen One again in this time of fearless love.

"When I peered into the water to see who was looking back at me, there were two faces staring up, two men. One was an ancient man, so old and thin his bones poked through his skin. The other was a young man, native American, he was very beautiful and so, so sad. I went with the old man first. We were walking through an ancient village, rough dwellings made of stone and cave like shelters. No one looked at him, he was an outcast. I walked with him, as him, I felt his incredible knowledge, and I felt how he received it, he was a channel for universal wisdom, and no one would hear him, ever.We went back to his childhood, he was around 13 years old. The son of the village leader, he was the next in line, the promised one.

His father was a cruel leader, his mother was beaten and tortured, he knew it was wrong and promised he would never be like his father. He spoke out against his father and his ways, speaking the wisdom he received. He was rejected by his father, his family and the whole community followed, he became the outcast, wandering alone.We went to the water and Brigid gave me a wand to cut through the thick smoke that bound me in this promise. I saw him released and floating free, and I felt that he had always had peace in his heart with the vow he made, he knew it was right, the whisperings of the universe had reminded him of this through his long and lonely life. 

Back at the water the young man waited for me. We went to his home, he was the leader of the tribe, a warrior that had a deep connection to spirit, he listened to his guides and heard what he needed to do and spoke this to his people. There was an ongoing battle with another tribe and he had a plan in how to triumph over the enemy. He spoke this to his brothers and they left to fight together. He was shocked and horrified when his brothers turned against him and attacked him, shooting arrows, not to kill him, but maim him terribly. He could not fight anymore, he could not lead anymore, he was useless and crippled. He vowed to never speak again. I saw him live a very sad, lonely life, helpless and defeated. We returned to Brigid, and this time she handed me a mallet to smash my way out of this stone vow I was imprisoned in. He floated up and away, released from pain and suffering.

I cried with relief to see him set free. These vows were so ancient, so many lifetimes ago, yet so familiar to me. I felt those vows within me even, though those lives were so alien and surprising. I have lived by these vows to some extent my whole life, in place I know to protect me from these things ever happening again. But now, with these promises lifted, I am free to trust my knowing, the intuition I have always heard, the messages I receive, and speak of them freely. To live by my new vow... I will be beauty and give of this beauty." 

Talulah, Sydney 2012. 

Here is a link to the wild and beautiful medicine of Talulah Gough who is a Doula, Shamanic Merwife, Medicine Drum-Maker and oh so much more. When I met Talulah I felt how much we were kin. Dear sister, an ocean of blessings on your magical and transformative work. : www.makingsacred.com 

A Swan Blessing Remembering

I have begun receiving recollections and stories from those who have experienced The Swan Blessing for our book: The Swan Blessing - Releasing the Ties That Bind. They are so very potent and beautiful. Here is Jane's memory of her journey with the Swan. 

I saw her, old, long scraggly hair, wrapped in tanned animal hide for protection, by the river, in the forest, alone, very alone, sad, resigned, quiet.She'd been banished from the village, or maybe she'd run away and been hiding, either way it was because she'd been found out or would have been and that meant she'd had to leave or die.  

I saw her, young, she was writing furiously, long feather quill, hiding somewhere in a corner of the attic of the dwelling, in the dark, a lone taper burning. She was scared, fearful of being seen, yet she wrote and she wrote, pausing only to hear more to write.The words were coming to her from others, words she couldn't see who spoke, yet the words came and she wrote them.The Grandmother who lived in her hut in the forest had told her that the voices and their words that she heard were important and that she must write them down and give them to her. She taught her to write and read and told her to keep it a secret, not to tell anyone and to keep on doing it.On the Grandmother's death bed, she made her promise, make a vow, to never let anyone else know about the words she heard and to not let anyone see her writing, otherwise she would be killed. She wrote and wrote and the words soothed her soul. She shared them with her mother and her sisters because the words spoke of a different way, a way where they would be honoured and respected, it was so different to how it was for them.... The vow she made to the Grandmother kept her scared, scared of being seen, scared of being found out and scared of what would happen should she be discovered and the vow kept the words secret, but the words wanted to be shared and read.....  

The vow she made stayed with her until another lifetime when she went to the Blacksmith's cottage and met a Witch who flew with Swan. The Witch helped her find a way to cut away the web that was the vow, that had stuck to her, that was stuck in and around and all over her. And Black Panther came then, to be with her, to protect her and guard her. She was safe now, the vow was released and the words could come freely and be shared.    

Jane, Sydney 2012

Joan of Arc and the Swan

Joan of Arc by Jonathan Blair

Recently I have begun to gather personal stories of The Swan Blessing from healers and artists who have come forward to clear past life vows and contracts over the last 6 months. These personal stories are so fascinating and illuminating that I have decided to include them in a new book about the blessing that will go deeper into the many kinds of Past Life Vows we make over lifetimes and the effects that they can have in our current lives.  

A crucial point of The Swan Blessing is when we realise the promise, vow or contract we have made in our past life and get ready to release ourselves from it. At this point of the healing I ask clients to call forth a powerful healer to stand beside them and assist them in cutting the ties that bind. It has been many times now that I have been told by clients after their session that it was Joan of Arc's essence and presence they felt come forward to support them.  I should not be surprised that a woman who suffered such extreme persecution and who was also burnt as a witch at the stake would come forward to release the soul memory of similar events for others. 

If you would like to share your own personal journey with the Swan to be included in our book please get in touch with us, we would be honoured to receive it. 

Joan of Arc by Gaston Bussiere

Faerie Pools on the Isle of Skye

Today I have been talking to my dear friend Rebecca about the luminous Faerie Pools on the Isle of Skye in Scotland - my dream setting for The Swan Blessing. Ancestors calling to the Swan... 

’Nine waves around you,

Nine winds above you,

Nine paths across you,

Nine fires about you,

Nine wells beneath you,

Nine wisdoms given you,

Nine gifts given you,

Nine skills given you,

Nine strengths given you,

All Ninefold the blessings of the sidhe.

CAITLIN MATTHEWS (www.hallowquest.org.uk)

Return of the Light at Imbolc & The Swan Blessing

Michael Hiep - 'Awakening of Spring (Element: Earth)' http://www.michaelhiep.nl/eng/index.php

Bright Blessings to you all at Imbolc! On 1st August we celebrate the ancient Celtic festival of Imbolc - the Returning of the Light after the dark winter months. It is a time of awakening as the creatures and plants and sleeping parts of ourselves emerge from our caves and burrows. Awakening from our Winter dreaming to feel the glow of the sun and the approaching excitement of Spring.

Recently I had the pleasure of sharing The Swan Blessing with visionary Australian artist, Sharon McLeod who created this incredible image of Brighid below. Imbolc is Brighid's festival - may her fiery arrow awaken the dreamer within to their full potential. Today is the last day of the special introductory price of $135 for The Swan Blessing - book your session by 1st August to  receive this special offer.

www.sharonmcleod.com/brigid.html

Touring with the Swan

Deep in preparation for a tour with The Swan Blessing - Clearing Past Life Sacred Vows and Karmic Contracts. I will be offering these sessions from the magical Mount Tamborine in Queensland from 13th - 16th July, returning to Melbourne for sessions for a couple of weeks and then flying on with the Swan to Sydney for the week of 14th - 18th August. You can read more about these sessions: Freeing the Fearless Healers here. For all of our Queensland and Sydney friends please get in touch if you feel called to receive beautiful and freeing healing as I am already taking bookings for both cities.

Oceans of love, Julia

Clearing Past Life and Ancestral Vows and Beliefs

Julia Margaret Cameron: The Little Novice & the Queen 1874

 

'Julia, I feel like you are a big part of my healing. I wake up every day thinking is this me? Is this a dream? Thinking that I will wake up and it didn't happen and I will go back to before. I tap and feel my body every day. I feel like i have been in a box locked up for years and now I am free and let out, like a new life, a new start. I am still in shock of it all and can't believe how I feel. It's like I am back.'

Laura, Yoga Instructor,  2012

Clearing Past Life Sacred Vows - Balance Session

THE SACRED WORD

Sometimes it is only in doing the work that you come to truly know it. In particular, since the Autumn Equinox this year I have seen many clients, for energy balances and have to come to understand that the work I am doing is clearing past life and ancestral sacred vows, promises & oaths. I have been seeing an many people called to healing and artistic paths from all walks of life, coming forward to shed old vows and beliefs that are creating blocks in their healing work & personal lives in the present. 

 

Spiritual Vows include:

• The vow of chastity - creating relationships difficulties and belief that we must choose either a vocation or a relationships, that we cannot have both.
• The vow of obedience - causing a block to using your personal power in this life
• The vow of silence - causing blocks to creative and individual expression as well as blocks to passing on sacred teachings in this life - in the past this may have resulted in death
• The vow of poverty - creating a feeling of deep guilt in relation to creating financial wealth in this life
• The vow of death before dishonour - relating to past lives as sacred warriors or soldiers and creates a block in being able to leave unhappy relationships or work that is deeply unfulfilling & even dangerous
• The healer's oath - (forbade healers to use healing energy for themselves but to keep 'serving' others)

In the past many people called to the healer's path had to live lives hidden away from mainstream society or spiritual vocations that may have meant decades offered up in servitude to temples and churches. And of course many healers were persecuted and executed for their beliefs and for their earth wisdom and knowledge of natural healing. In those times, the making of Sacred and Spiritual Vows kept us safe and helped us to survive but in this life they create extreme circumstances that make living extremely difficult and create enormous blocks to sharing our powerful healing gifts with trust.

 

You can read more about this work and testimonials here. I feel so deeply honoured to be able to offer this work and I have made extra times available for sessions after the Full Moon next week as we move into the Dark Moon and then build up to the Eclipse - a natural time of bringing what needs to be examined to the surface of our lives.