know that we are all connected to the world

shamans

My Merlin travels with a magic orchard that goes with him everywhere. If you are very lucky, he may offer you an apple, either silver or gold. When you bite down, you’ll taste not only the sweet juice of the apple but also the heady power of a story — a story that will inspire you and give juice to your life — slipping into you.

The story was used as a parable for the journey of the soul in the ancient Mystery traditions, and the central message may be that, of all the trials in the soul’s journey, coming home is the hardest.

Just as we can travel to an earlier (or older) self within this life experience, or to a self in a parallel reality, we can travel into the life experiences of personalities in other time periods with whom we are connected in our multidimensional family of selves. We do this spontaneously in our night dreams. When we learn to do it consciously, our

Epona, a great goddess of the Celts whose very name means “horse.” I had not thought of her until now as a Death Goddess.

Epona was indeed associated with death and rebirth beyond the grave. She is often depicted in Gaulish cemeteries.

Joan might have seen them while performing a psychic scout before she led the French into battle.

The Sankofa reminds us to claim the best from the past, which requires us to discern what we take from history — to recover what empowers and supports life and to leave behind what burdens us and holds us back. Claiming the necessary past and releasing the histories that bind and confine is essential to living fully and creatively.