Meditation Practice (3)
Summer
In the summer, I go outside on a nature walk. On my morning walk, I encounter a wide variety of animals. I generally stop and commune with them. For example, encountering a garden snake, I stop and quietly breathe with the snake. In and out I breathe until I become one with the snake. Seeing life on the snake’s level, we converse about the warm sunshine and the local rat population.
On another morning, I watch the dragonflies at the forest edge. When a dragonfly alit on the fence, I started breathing with the dragonfly. Breathing in unison, I became a dragonfly, glowing bright blue and green. I flew with the other dragonflies eating insects on the wing.
Fall
In the fall, the trees change their leaves. To me, they speak about the passing of summer and the coming of winter. In this moment, time stands still. Therefore, I choose the Ogham staves and “Tree Magick” Cards to meditate with.
As the sacred alphabet of the Celts, the Ogham is related to the trees and plants of Europe. As I lay out the Ogham staves, I hear the voices of the Kindred murmuring through the trees. The Ogham letters form words in tree language. Elms speak of stretching to the sun, while oaks talk of strength. As I meander among the staves, I feel the Divine Ones speak to me.
In “Tree Magick”, the trees of the world are separated into ‘heaven’ and ‘earth’ trees. Also, each card has a tree with an animal about it. In exploring the world of each card, I enter into the being of the tree.
Using this deck becomes a way of exploring the Two Powers, especially when the heaven and earth trees come together. Moving from earth to heaven (and back again) helps me to embrace and mingle the Two Powers. The trees merge their energies into a whirlpool. I become a leaf flowing in the pool, going where the trees take me. Finally I release the energy and come back to me.