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Journey to the Land of Erc |
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Journey to the Land of Erc |
I've been to the land of Erc once before. In some ways it's always reminded me of a slightly other world Sedona, Arizona, red rocks in the land of the red wind. The path of the warrior is one that I have struggled with and am not sure I would have chosen it if I'd had a choice. For many women the path the physical warrior has had appeal. They have become soldiers, police and even body guards. Violence in the physical sense appalls me too greatly for me to chose that path. But there are other paths for an Amazon. Athena and Freya both point the way toward the path of the "Dragon Lady". A path of fiery air where one's weapons are one's mind and one's tongue. This is a path I know all too well....
January 25, 2002
When traveling by the winds you need only to know where you wish to go and to know that you won't arrive on top of anyone. In Erc, there is a small common area by apprentice housing that has always been reserved for comings and goings and it is there I chose to arrive. (the finger talisman is Palms facing outward, Right middle finger (Mercury) hooked through Left little finger (Pluto). Hands overlapped.)
The sun is just coming up over the horizon and the air has the clean crispness of fall. The school is built into a bluff and looks down across a broad plain of red rock and drought resistant vegetation. Starkly beautiful in it's own way but much too dry for my comfort. The thought had barely had a moment to when my reverie was interrupted.
"Freya, welcome back"
I turn around and am surprised to see Earraigh the master of Erc. "Good morning to you, Sir." Earraigh is exactly what you'd expect a warrior to look like. 6'4", well muscled over a medium build. Black hair, and striking blue eyes. I never questioned that his choice of shape shift was a condor. "I hope I have not disturbed you in any way. My decision to visit was spontaneous"
"For one of the lost ones, any return is always welcome."
His eyes seemed to bore into me, as if he were searching for something. After a second I had the impression he failed to find what he was seeking and asked instead if I would join him for coffee. Even in the Magh Ildathach, where outspokenness is accepted as a matter of course, good manners caused me not to pursue his remark about being one of the "lost ones". I was sure he would expand on his comment in his own time.
A few moments later we were seated at a small table on a second floor balcony over looking the entire complex.
"Tell, me Freya, why have you chosen to come today?"
"I am searching for my next goal, and I have a feeling that I have some unfinished business here. I would like to understand what it is I'm feeling and put it to rest." My answer surprised me, since I hadn't been clear that was really why I came.
"I don't know if it's unfinished business or not but we certainly list you in the category of the one that got away"
"You said that earlier, and since I don't think I'm any more lost than usual I'm afraid you'll have to explain."
Earraigh settled back into his chair. "Let me explain how things work here in Magh Ildathach with relationship to Midgard or reality as you live it every day. You see things really aren't disconnected at all. It's just that most people can't perceive when they've aligned their energy with ours."
I've always heard the expression about the veil between the worlds being thin but I find myself struggling with what Earraigh's seems to be implying.
"Do you remember when you were 10 and you stood up to your father? You think of that as a turning point in your life. The moment when it was clear that you wouldn't be destroyed by his behavior. That was when you first joined us. But you did it unconsciously, out of need to survive. There is a difference between a person who has chosen to walk the warrior path and one who has walked it solely because they were raised in a war zone."
His words strike so close to home I would chose not to hear them. "And I can also tell you the day I decided to beat my sword into a plowshare. Is that why you count me lost? Because I no longer chose to behave as I once did?
"Not at all. I am sorry my words disturb you." he leans forward and sets his cup on the table. "We count you lost because you never consciously worked with us long enough to find balance." You cannot use your full potential or power if you are in a state of imbalance."
This wasn't quite the conversation I had expected to have and I found myself troubled by his words. Something wasn't right but I didn't know how to respond. "Master Earraigh, if I might continue this conversation another time? I find I can't accept all of what your words imply and I must think through why I feel the way I do. "
"My door is always open"