HEALING: REMEMBERING WHOLNESS
Look around you at the people on the street, in your office, at the gym, and around town, and you will find sickness. Dis-ease of mind, body, and spirit, wrapped up in a nice, neat Gucci and Prada package. The world loves to remind us of our lack—lack of pigment in our hair, lack of joy, lack of energy, lack of connection to the spirit realm, lack of sleep. And, as the world is wont to do, we are given excuses for our lack and products to make it go away. We will be able to sleep, laugh, talk to the dead, look younger, and our lives will be better if only we buy one more product. If only we fix one more problem. If only we remove one more issue. But the hard reality of the situation is that no product, no quick fix will bring us to health of mind, body, and spirit. For the truth of the matter is that we already are healthy, just the way we are. We have simply forgotten that fact.
If you were to continue walking down that street, full of people who have been told that they are dis-eased, you might see signs of their conditions. You might see a woman with lines around her eyes, a college student shrugging his shoulders, an elderly man wringing his hands, a runner limping ever so slightly. And if you were an especially friendly person, you might greet these people with a smile, a nod, a wave, or a soft hello. If you were suddenly transported back to twelfth-century England or happened to be strolling through your local Renaissance Faire, you might call out “Hail and well met” to your fellow man and woman, a common phrase of the time period. But “Hail and well met” is much more than a simple greeting. It is a healing invocation, if there ever was one.
In our modern world, we generally infuse the word hail with two meanings. As a noun or verb, it indicates large chunks of ice falling from the sky. As an interjection, hail gives honor to an individual, celebrating and touting their power. The Catholic Hail Mary prayer is another illustration of the use of the word to greet, acknowledge, and honor forces in this world and the Otherworld that are bigger than our small selves. Yet the Middle English hail is a derivative of the Old Norse heill, meaning “healthy,” and the Old High German heil, meaning “unhurt and healthy.” These two words from our Nordic ancestors also formed the beginnings of the Old English word hāl and the Middle English word hool, both of which evolved into the modern English word whole.[1] So, in our no-so-distant past, the words whole and hail meant pretty much the same thing—free from injury, in no need of healing.
The words hail and whole mean more than just good health as we view it through Western medicine. Being whole is as much about good cholesterol and low blood pressure as it is about enjoying every moment of being alive. Wholeness occurs when we are in sync with all the forces of energy around us. We are part of them and they are part of us. Being in the moment, we begin to realize that wholeness and healthiness is as much a state of mind as it is a bodily experience.
The English poet A. E. Housman illustrates the concept of multi-level healing in his poem “XII – An Epitaph.”
Stay, if you list, O passer by the way;
Yet night approaches; better not to stay.
I never sigh, nor flush, nor knit the brow,
Nor grieve to think how ill God made me, now.
Here, with one balm for many fevers found,
Whole of an ancient evil, I sleep sound.[2]
The poem describes the chance meeting between two individuals with opposing views of the world. The first character speaks the first two lines. He is hospitable, but not overly so. He grudgingly offers room and board to a stranger but suggests that he move on due to the coming of night. His subtle anxiety concerning the darkness exhibits a certain amount of dis-ease, an inability to commit fully and wholly to the world around him and within him.
The second character in the poem, a wanderer, speaks the last four lines. In his lines, we see a man content with himself and his lot in life. He doesn’t complain about the past or worry about the future. He doesn’t curse or weep over the life he has crafted for himself, with the help of spiritual guidance. Instead, he relaxes into the moment, falling asleep despite the difficulties of his life on the road. As he states, he is “whole of an ancient evil,” an evil which could be thought of as the separation of man from his surroundings. After all, the poem implies that the wanderer goes to sleep under the stars. With this action, he is more in touch with his natural surroundings, with his wholeness, than the first character. If being whole is about enjoying every moment, then it is intimately connected to other living organisms, both plant and animal. One cannot be fully alive, healthy, and whole if the connection to the physical world is lost. When humans began to remove themselves from the landscape around them, when the land began to take on useful dimensions rather than spiritual ones, we lost our intrinsic wholeness. No longer tied to the natural undulations of the world around us, we began to experience, and even search out, dis-ease.
As children, we recognize the importance of the world around us. We splash in puddles and stomp in the mud. We search for worms and pluck beautiful flowers. And we are happy . . . most of the time. As we grow up, the world of houses and computers and schools and offices begins to impose itself on our life. One by one, the threads of connection between the natural world and our own selves become frayed and eventually severed, until we are left with only ourselves, outside of time and place. We are unable to be in the moment because we are uncertain exactly what that moment is or was or is evolving into. We flounder in a vacant sea, adrift without a tether to link us to the world. And, so we become anxious and worried (or worrisome) and this leads us to dis-ease and doctors and medications and cures to solve all our ills. But, really, we need to remember the roots of the word healthy. Hail and Whole. Whole and Hail. Wholeness of mind, body, and spirit is not an illusion or a pipe-dream. It can be accomplished if you but put aside the lessons of adulthood, and remember.[3]
ENERGY RETURN
As with all active magic or prayer, searching for healing can involve some difficulties and issues. The most intrinsic and difficult issue to accept is that some people truly believe they can’t be healed. No matter what energy treatments they receive, no matter how many doctors’ offices they visit, they don’t seem to get any better. Or, if one health problem disappears, another one materializes right away. You may have friends who seem to fall into this category or you yourself may have this problem. The first thing to realize is that everyone can be healed, but it’s not as simple as getting a medication or meditating every day. Dis-ease comes from our environment. Our connection to the world as children, teenagers, and adults affects our health. Personal relationships from the past, as well as the present, play a part in dis-ease. Any kind of unseen airborne material, such as mold, asbestos, and smoke, affects our health for many years after we’ve left the contaminated space. Abuse of any kind can physically materialize in our body time and time again, especially if we have not reconciled the situation physically, mentally, and emotionally.
If you or someone you know seems to be caught in the loop of dis-ease, take some time to honestly look over the environment of your life. What has it been like? Are there any common trends or themes? Do the same sorts of people keep showing up? Does the same situation occur time and time again? If so, these are signposts for you, pointing you toward the deeper reasoning for your dis-ease. You might even find that your dis-ease stems from an experience in the womb, a time when you were completely immersed in your environment, at one with everything around you. If you discover something unsettling or feel like you need help in finding the root cause of your dis-ease, go to a reputable therapist who specializes in hypnosis. Hypnosis will aid you in letting go of our structured, adult way of thinking, helping you to access memories that you may have consciously forgotten but stored away in your subconscious. Hypnotherapy, along with acupuncture, can supplement traditional Western medicine in your quest for wholeness, aligning you with the world and connecting you to life’s every moment.
MANTRA
Create high.
Create low.
Create all,
From down Below.
Many doctors advocate the healing power of laughter. Have you ever see the movie Patch Adams, starring Robin Williams, where he dresses up like a clown to treat his patients? Or what about the Matthew Broderick flick The Road to Wellville, a truly funny, tender, wacky, and grossly overlooked movie about a Victorian-era wellness retreat center and the husband and wife who arrive to be “cured.” I can still see all those tightly corseted and jacketed, well-bred Victorian ladies and gentlemen standing on the veranda chanting, “HA HA HA HA HA HA HA. HO HO HO HO HO HO HO,” while I roll on my couch chortling to their simulated laughter.
And that’s really what Uzume is all about—the bizarre, the silly, the absolutely ridiculous that, being so far removed from everyday reality, casts light on the truth of our current situation. Uzume is so disinterested in social norms and accepted standards of behavior that she shocks us out of our lethargy. Gasping, laughing, twittering behind closed doors, we arrive at the root of ourselves because we are no longer focusing on the rules and regulations of everyone else. In that once instant, when we are truly involved with the surprise and the awe of Uzume, our body and mind and spirit snaps together, re-connecting to form a whole, healthy being.
Uzume is the Japanese Shinto goddess of mirth, merriment, laughter, and healing. Her name means “Whirling” and she is alternatively called The Great Persuader, Heavenly Alarming Female, Heaven’s Forthright Female[4] and the Terrible Female of Heaven. She is among the lesser Shinto gods, having only a few stories told about her in the Kojiki (Record of Ancient Matters, 712 ce) and the Nohongi (Chronicles of Japan, 720 ce), yet she retains a strong presence in Japanese folklore rites and in Japanese society.[5] An annual Shinto ritual festival, called the Kagura, is dedicated to Uzume and a modern red-light district performance, the Todukashi—part art, part sex, and part myth—highlights her enduring power. Both of these mythic entertainments relate back to the first and most well-known myth about Uzume, the luring of the sun out of the Rock Cave of Heaven.
The sun in Japanese mythology is a female, the goddess Amaterasu, who brings light to the world and ensures the growth of the rice plants in the fields. Amaterasu has two brothers, Susanowa, the god of storms, and Tsuki-yomi, the god of the moon. Amaterasu and Susanowa are lovers and have children together; she is the illuminating force in the heavens, while he is the powerful, angry energy that protects his family and friends. One day, however, Susanowa turns his wrath upon Amaterasu out of jealousy for her central place in the world of humans. He defiles her sacred weaving room with a dead horse (an animal sacred to Amaterasu) and, in some versions, kills one of Amaterasu’s attendants and even wounds the goddess herself. He destroys her crops by placing excrement on the newly sprouting seedlings.[6] In short, Susanowa destructively unleashes his frustration on the things that Amaterasu most loves.
Devastated by the betrayal of her love and fearing further injury, Amaterasu leaves the sky and retreats to the Heavenly Rock-Dwelling, where she seals herself in with a large stone door. The world dissolves into an endless night. The other gods become nervous and seek ways to draw Amaterasu out of her self-imposed prison. The wisest of the gods suggests a course of action that the eight hundred gods follow. They craft a rope of beautiful, shining jewels and use it to hang a mirror from the branches of the sacred Sakaki tree. One god gathers the birds that sing through the night, a.k.a. barnyard fowl or roosters. Another takes the shoulder of a stag and the bark of the cherry tree to perform divination. Still another recites poetry and liturgy to appease Amaterasu. But the sun goddess steadfastly remains tucked away in the rock cave, hiding her light from the world. [7]
Finally, the goddess Uzume arrives at the doorway of the Heavenly Rock-Dwelling. She is dressed as a shaman and carries a wooden platform or tub with her.[8] Climbing on top of the tub, Uzume begins to drum with her feet, creating a deep, rhythmic tone. As the drumming increases in tempo and her dancing becomes more and more frenzied, Uzume begins to perform a striptease. First she releases her breasts, baring them for all to see. Ecstatic, possessed, fully in the moment, Uzume reveals her nipples and pulls up her robes to showcase her gleaming genitals. She is laughing and hollering and singing and drumming and creating quite a cacophony of sound. The other gods are entranced by the mad dance and join with Uzume in laughing and singing. They cannot believe Uzume’s actions!
Amaterasu hears the party-like atmosphere outside the rock-dwelling and is surprised that the gods can make merry without her. She asks them, “Methought that owing to my retirement the Plain of Heaven would be dark, and likewise the Central Land of Reed-Plains would all be dark: how then is it that the Heavenly-Alarming-Female makes merry, and that likewise the eight hundred myriad Deities all laugh?”[9] Uzume tells Amaterasu that they are laughing and celebrating because they have found another deity who is brighter and more illustrious than her. Curious, Amaterasu opens the cave door a crack and looks out. She does, indeed, see something bright and shining and opens the door wider and steps out. Immediately she is blinded, confronted by her own image in the mirror. The other gods close and bind the cave door so Amaterasu cannot slip back inside. With Uzume’s help, Amaterasu remembers her true nature and decides that she would rather be the sun in the heavens than the sun in a cave.
Utilizing a mirror, a makeshift drum, and a sacred striptease, Uzume brings mirth and merriment to a dire situation. If Amaterasu had not left the Heavenly Rock-Dwelling, all the people, animals, and plants on Earth would have died. Of course, this archetypal myth is seen in numerous cultures (Demeter and Persephone spring to mind) but the inclusion of a cave and a bright, illuminating light are unique to the Uzume story. Uzume lures Amaterasu out of her cave not only with her sacred sensual dancing but by taunting her that some other deity is better than her. This, of course, is not true. When Amaterasu looks into the mirror, she is blinded by her own radiance. Hiding in the cave, overcome with grief and fear and past trauma, she had forgotten her own greatness. Only by looking at the truth of herself in the mirror was she able to remove the negative influence of the past on her emotional well-being. She let go of guilt, shame, and fear and left the past in the past, giving herself the freedom to live fully in the present. Amaterasu remembered her true self and reclaimed her goddesshood.
Uzume can do that for us as well, guiding us to an understanding and appreciation of the self. We are unique, fascinating, passionate, and pleasurable individuals. We do not need to embrace the difficulties of the past. Rather we can embrace the possibilities of each moment as it unfolds around us. In another myth about Uzume, from the Nihongi, she confronts a giant with a fearsome appearance as he is blocking the way for Amaterasu’s son, Ninigi, to descend to Earth. Uzume appears to the creature, named Saruta-Hiko, and bares her breasts and genitals to him. He laughs and asks her why she is stripping for him. She replies that she wants to find out his reasoning for blocking the road that Ninigi wishes to travel. Saruta-Hiko states that he wishes to be a guide and attendant for the son of the sun goddess. In other words, he has no ill designs upon the boy. Uzume believes him, and Saruta-Hiko proves to be a valuable friend for Ninigi. However, without the courage of Uzume to confront and ascertain Saruta-Hiko’s intentions, Ninigi might have missed out on a useful relationship with a powerful ally.[10]
In both myths, Uzume ferrets out the truth of an individual by revealing her own reality, symbolized by showing her breasts and genitals. The sacred striptease prevalent in both stories could indicate a stripping away of the norms of society and getting to the truth of a situation, of an individual. It takes courage to leave behind outmoded societal ideas that no longer serve you as an individual. It takes strength of self to leave behind the old stories that people have told you and to revel in your own magnificence. But this is at the heart of healing. If you believe in your innate worth, in your benefit to this planet, in the necessity of your life, then you are living a truly whole, actualized life. Uzume teaches Amaterasu this lesson within her first myth, as Amaterasu remembers her beautiful Divine state. In the second myth, Uzume learns this lesson once again by questioning Saruta-Hiko and realizing that he has kind plans for Ninigi.
Sexuality is a large part of understanding and internalizing wholeness in our lives and Uzume knows and lives this truth. Uzume has the courage to be bawdy and sexual in front of gods and demons alike. She is completely comfortable with her own body and its fertile, creative abilities. She embraces her life-giving energies as she metaphorically gives birth to Amaterasu and Saruta-Hiko. Without her, neither the goddess nor the demon would have been able to fulfill their life paths. Amaterasu would have stayed in her cave and Saruta-Hiko would have been either destroyed or ignored. Here, in her sexual state, Uzume is the creatrix. Through the acknowledgement and celebration of her sex organs, Uzume carries the inner spark of creation. And so do we.
We can honor our roles as creators by celebrating our juices and secretions and sex organs. With the act of sex, with our semen and our eggs, we create life. Life! We bring children into the world simply by the mingling of our organic, biologic selves. We are truly amazing individuals! All of us! But the time has come to continue our birthing abilities, expanding them to all aspects of our lives. Not only can we create babies, but we can create our own reality. We can manifest our perfect lives, if only we have the courage, if only we embrace our sexuality, if only we strip away the unnecessary. Uzume teaches us that wholeness is but one laugh, one dance, one bared breast away. Our healing resides within us if only we let go of anger and fear and let in humor, sexuality, and love. Are you ready to live a life of wholeness? Are you ready to choose to manifest your dreams? Uzume is here, waiting to help you.
Pathway to Uzume
Let’s be honest—not much shocks the modern world anymore. We see live war coverage on the TV, explicit sexual scenes of every kinky fetish on video, and twenty-four-hour coverage of devastation and atrocities, both human and natural. Kangaroo with two heads? Been there. Man eating live, dung-covered cockroach? Done that. Bat boy abducted by aliens? Yesterday’s news. We are jaded by the constant stream of information fed to us via internet, television, newspapers, and magazines. And it is time to turn it off. All of it. For how are we supposed to expose ourselves, emotionally and physically, with late-night TV blaring in the background?
Uzume teaches us that to get to a sense of healthy wholeness, we need to remove the old. Old baggage. Old ideas. Old stories. And, especially, old clothes. Get rid of them and revel in the completeness of you, as you are, in the moment. So here’s what you need to do. Choose a day and cut yourself off from the information nation. Don’t answer e-mail, watch TV, or read a newspaper or magazine article. Instead, pay attention to yourself and to your world, as you see it around you. Go for a walk. Press leaves or flowers. Peruse your closet and give away anything that you don’t wear. Spend fifteen minutes patting your dog . . . in silence. Spend an hour coloring or making jewelry or painting or writing. In short, commit to yourself. Trust me, you’re worth it!
In the evening, when the call of the television beckons, tap into the sexual nature of Uzume by reading a risqué novel or a sex manual. Play Kama Sutra sticker tag with your lover, using the Kama Sutra Sticker Book. Massage your significant other or go out for a professional massage. Re-connect to your body by eating chocolate-covered strawberries, lighting jasmine- or ylang-ylang-scented candles, and slathering cinnamon-vanilla lotion on your hands and feet. Buy yourself flowers (the sex organs of the plant) and enjoy their sweet smell. In short, turn off the mental manipulations of the mind and sink into the bubbly behavior of the body. When you do, the creation and birth of the true you will follow.
MANTRA
Balance, balance is the key
To gain health of sun and sea.
The concept of duality becomes immediately apparent upon close investigation of the British goddess Sulis. The goddess’ Roman heritage is as obvious as her British ancestry, as evidenced by her alternate name, Sulis Minerva. The Romans entered Britain in 43 bce and stayed for almost 400 years. During this time, it was quite common for them to adopt traditional British heritage and re-mold it to fit the Roman mindset. Gods and goddesses were not immune to this particularly devastating Roman practice. In fact, since the Druids openly defied Rome and urged their fellow Britons into rebellion, the gods were some of the first British icons to be Romanized. Yet, it is rare to find hybrid versions of British goddesses—Sulis Minerva is a notable exception.
Sulis is intrinsically linked to the Roman town of Aquae Sulis, which boasted the only hot springs in all of Britain and was named after her. The hot springs have been considered sacred since the Neolithic times, but it was the Romans who constructed elaborate temples and baths around them. The main spring emits a quarter of a million gallons of 120-degree-Fahrenheit water each day. Forty-three different beneficial minerals have been found in its waters, including iron, magnesium, potassium, copper, and radium. During the Roman period, an elaborate system of lead pipes fed water to numerous bathing pools. The sick and injured would rest in these bathing pools, allowing the healing waters of Sulis to wash over them. Although the temples and baths crumbled after the Romans left, Aquae Sulis, now known as Bath, continued to be a popular spa and retreat center. Throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, it was quite common for royalty and nobility to travel to Bath to “take the cure,” indulging in the warming, healing waters.[11]
Although the baths were an important part of the Roman construct at Aquae Sulis, equally important were the numerous religious sites. Altars, carved invocations, and offerings litter the Roman ruins at Bath, many of them naming Sulis or Sulis Minerva directly. In fact, thirteen stone inscriptions name the goddess Sulis and three mention Sulis Minerva.[12] Approximately 130 curse tablets with Sulis’ name on them have also been found throughout the bath complex. The sheer numbers attest to the importance of Sulis as a goddess, even though her story has been lost.
Many of these inscriptions request the health, well-being, and/or safety of an individual since he has “willingly and deservedly fulfilled his vow.”[13] As this phrase appears several times on inscriptions dedicated to Sulis, it is important to look at it closely. The expression indicates that Sulis works hand-in-hand with humanity. A reciprocal goddess, she grants wishes and goals based on the sincerity and gift of the supplicant. Should you request the aid of Sulis, you would need to offer to do something for her in advance. An interaction with the goddess would, therefore, involve two parts: first, asking for her help, stating what you will do to gain her well-wishes and second, after performing your stated activity, going back to the goddess and letting her know that you have fulfilled your vow and you’d be interested in her granting your desire. The creators of these carvings vary from retired Roman soldiers to freedmen to citizens of Roman-occupied British tribes. In short, they span a wide variety of social standings, occupations, and even cultures. Rich or poor, working class or upper class, the carvings indicate that Sulis was a goddess for all people. She appealed to everyone, listening to all pleas without judgment or rancor, as long as you fulfilled your promises. Since Sulis was known for giving a gift in return for a gift, is it any wonder that archeologists have dredged up votive offerings in huge quantities in the baths and springs around Aquae Sulis?
Water goddesses have long been honored and praised through gifts thrown into their respective bodies of water. (The goddess Coventina, whose sacred area is near Hadrian’s Wall, is yet another example of this style of goddess-worship in Britain.) These goddesses were often thought to be connected to the world beneath the ground, the Underworld, the originating place of the water that bears the goddess’ name. Sulis is no exception, and her association with the Underworld uncovers a darker element to this healing goddess, that of leveler of curses and retribution.
The curse tablets dedicated to Sulis or Sulis Minerva all request that something heinous happen to the offending individual who stole a missing item. No item was too small, as evidenced by the curse tablet stating: “Docimedis has lost two gloves. He asks that the person who has stolen them should lose his mind and his eyes in the temple where she appoints.”[14] Another tablet asks that the person who carried off Vilbia be turned into water. The most famous Bath curse tablet says: “To the most holy goddess Sulis. I curse him who has stolen my hooded cloak, whether man or woman, whether slave or free, that . . . the goddess Sulis inflict death upon . . . and not allow him sleep or children now and in the future, until he has brought my hooded cloak to the temple of her divinity.”[15]
The curse tablets show Sulis to be a goddess of justice and fairness, of right action and judgment, qualities associated very strongly with the Roman goddess Minerva (a.k.a., the Greek goddess Athena). Yet, I think it would be wrong to assume that this darker aspect of Sulis relates only to her Roman identification. When approached for boons and favors, Sulis must be appeased before the wish is granted. Her offertory inscription stones indicate a goddess who demands reciprocal action and desire, who requires a gift from each and every supplicant. With this in mind, the curse stones make sense, for they are simply an extension of the goddess’ personality and her traditional interaction with humanity. Sulis requires a give-and-take relationship with humanity. She offers aid and grants relief only if she is given a gift as well. It would be easy to categorize this behavior as selfish, but it is actually more self-reliant. Sulis takes care of her own needs in order that she can care of everyone else’s needs. Her well does not run dry because she constantly replenishes it with the well-wishes and offerings of her supplicants. She does not believe in interceding with mankind until an individual’s needs are great, as indicated by his or her offering.
As a self-assured goddess, Sulis is not depicted as the consort of any god. Most of the inscriptions and curse tablets simply utilize her name only. However, there is one altar stone that pairs Sulis with the god Anicetus. Anicetus is a little-known Romano-British God of medicine, “described on a dedicatory tablet as ‘Sol Apollo Anicetus.’”[16] The Latin word sol means “sun” and Apollo is the god of light and inspiration, often depicted as driving the chariot of the sun across the sky. So, the god Anicetus reminded the Romans of their sun god Apollo, possibly linking him to the sun, or at the very least, the qualities usually represented by the sun. Interestingly enough, although Sulis is traditionally symbolized by water and hot springs, her name comes from the proto-Celtic word for “sun,” from which the Old Irish súil (eye) is derived. Her temple also includes a pediment (a triangular carving of a scene) with a circular, sun-like figure in the center. This figure has been called the “head of Medusa” or “the gorgon head,” but it looks more like a man than a woman. With wide eyes, a mustached mouth, and radiating hair, the figure appears to be in the throes of ecstatic divination or communion with the Divine. Could this sun-like figure be a depiction of Anicetus, or is it a priest serving at the temple of Sulis? Based on the archeological evidence, we cannot definitively say, but it is an intriguing notion to consider the connection between Sulis and Anicetus.
Sulis, as a healing goddess, focuses on maintaining balance in the body, mind, and spirit. Her entire personality and forms of worship indicate her comfort with all aspects of life, including those of a less-savory nature. Sulis was known through the Romano-British Empire for her curative capabilities, but she was also highly sought-after for retribution, as evidenced by the cursing tablets. Goddess of healing springs and quite possibly of the sun, Sulis linked the opposing elements of fire and water together. She may even have completed the universal cycle of balance, the pairing of man and woman, by working with a little-known god of medicine. Sulis balances many opposing forces in order to heal.
The focus of Sulis’ healing is not about letting go or giving in or finding out. She doesn’t ask you to delve into the darkness of your soul or expose yourself to truth. Rather, she requests that we experience life right here and right now. All of life. The good and the bad. The dark and the light. For it is only through acknowledgement of the All that we can attain true balance in ourselves, gaining health of mind, body, and spirit. At that moment, we are a perfect vessel. Sulis knew this truth and encourages us to realize it for ourselves and implement it in our lives.
Pathway to Sulis
We all know that balance is important to a fulfilling and happy life. Yet, most of us allow this truth to slip through our fingers on a daily basis. We run here and there, never stopping, never breathing, just doing what needs to be done. Groceries, laundry, carpool, work, work, work! It’s enough to drive anyone batty. Is it any wonder that Americans are overweight and depressed? With short (if any) vacations, a time-sensitive culture driven by movement and speed, and little down-time, we live completely out of balance. Where’s our siesta? Where’s our five-week vacation?
Living in a culture so completely out of balance makes it especially difficult to find individual harmony and health. It’s so easy to make those New Year’s resolutions but so hard to find the time to follow through. We simply don’t have the hours or the energy to do something good for ourselves. (Crazy!) So, when starting on the path to achieving balance, health, and well-being, it’s important to start small. Tiny. Miniscule, in fact. Otherwise, our great intentions and grand ideas get shoved aside. They become too big for us to accomplish.
So, let’s take a step on the pathway to balance and start with a simple exercise that can be done while watching TV commercials, waiting for the toaster to pop, or even photocopying papers at work, if you feel comfortable. See this exercise as a beginning that you can build on, one tiny block at a time. In essence, you are shifting your mindset, as well as your activities, by choosing a life of balance, rather than a life of imbalance. Your mind needs time to acclimate to this new way of thinking and this truth is something we don’t always consider when creating our resolutions. Slow and steady steps are the way to help your mind, your emotions, and your body attune to your goal of balance.
The exercise is simple. Stand on one leg and bring your other leg up so the thigh is perpendicular to the floor (knee bent). Bring your hands to your heart, palms together in “prayer position.” Your elbows should be pushed out to either side of your body. Breathe deeply and focus on maintaining your balance. Switch to the other leg when you feel ready. As you become more comfortable with this position, rotate the ankle of your non-support leg in a circular motion. Be sure to rotate in both directions. Eventually, this will become easy for you and you can move your non-supporting foot to the inside of your supporting leg, either at the calf or thigh, pushing your knee out to the side. Once you have mastered this position, push your arms up over your head, keeping your palms together and your elbows straight. This last position is known as the Tree Position in Hatha Yoga. But remember, the goal is not to rush to attain the ability to do Tree Position. Take your time. Allow your mind to catch up to your body and your body to catch up to your mind. While you’re balancing, think of Sulis and how she unites fire and water, retribution and healing, aggression and release. Before too long, balance will be an everyday part of your life.
MANTRA
Patience.
Wait a bit.
Allow the healing (wisdom, knowledge) to surface.
Unlike many Celtic Irish Goddesses, Airmid (AIR-mit) is content to wait. She does not force her opinion upon others. She does not push to get things done. Airmid knows that life takes time, that growth and healing do not happen quickly. As a goddess of healing, especially herbal healing, her personality and mantra preaches patience. After all, even a goddess must bow to the temperamental mood swings of the gracious Earth Mother.
Airmid grew up in a family of healers. Her father, Dian Cecht, is the healing god of the Tuatha dé Danann, the mythical race of gods known as the Children of the Goddess Danu. One of six children born to Dian Cecht, Airmid and her brother Miach were gifted with their father’s healing touch. Airmid’s mother was the abundant Mother Goddess of the Tuatha dé Danann, Danu, which explains her connection to herbs and healing plant life.
As with many Irish legends, the story of Airmid begins in the midst of battle, when the king of Ireland, King Nuada, has lost his hand. Disfigured, King Nuada is no longer eligible to rule Ireland. (Celtic rulers had to be fit both mentally and physically, as the physical condition of the body indicated the health of less obvious features, such as the mind and the spirit.) Wishing that King Nuada could continue to serve as king, Dian Cecht, the healer of the Danann Lords, steps forward with a plan: he will heal Nuada and restore him to the Irish throne. Dian Cecht asks Creidne, the god of bronzecraft and intricate metalwork, to craft a hand made from silver. Through his magical healing skill, Dian Cecht brings the hand to life so that it moves and works like a natural hand. It is attached to Nuada’s arm and he is made king once again.[17]
The glory of Dian Cecht shines brightly until his son Miach and daughter Airmid arrive at the gates of Tara. They offer an alternative healing cure for the king’s hand and are invited in to voice their proposal. They claim that through herbs and incantations, they can heal the withered, wrinkled, dry stump that was cleaved off of Nuada’s body. Once whole, this newly wrought hand could be reattached to Nuada’s arm. Dian Cecht, furious at possibly being overshadowed by his children, demeans their plan in front of the whole Hall of Tara. However, Nuada gives them permission to work their craft.
Miach begins a long and arduous healing ritual, lasting nine days. At the end of that time, he presents a completely whole hand to the king, crafted through the magical nature of the body, the word, and Mother Nature. In the high hall of the king, Miach is met with a flurry of praise over his healing ability. But he also encounters the biting sting of a sword blade. Furious at being overshadowed by his son, Dian Cecht challenges Miach to heal several wounds on himself, inflicted by his own father! Three times Dian Cecht slices into the skull of his son and three times, Miach heals himself. On the fourth attack, Dian Cecht cuts right to the very center of the brain, actually removing it! Miach cannot heal such a grievous wound and dies, at the foot of the king, by the hand of his father.[18]
Throughout Miach’s magical healing and his ordeal with his father, Airmid disappears from the story. She does not aid her brother in reshaping King Nuada’s hand. She does not help her brother when he is attacked by their father. Perhaps she withdraws out of respect for her father’s feelings, or perhaps out of fear for her father’s actions. Her delay may stem from her brother’s arrogant attitude and healing techniques or from her quiet demeanor or unwillingness to take sides in a family dispute. Perhaps she loves her family so greatly that she cannot choose one family member over the other. Or perhaps Airmid does not have access yet to her own healing power, as it is hiding deep inside herself.
Whatever the reason, Airmid’s healing magic blossoms only after the death of her brother, after it is too late to save his life. Angry at her father and distraught over her brother’s death, Airmid spends an entire year[19] visiting his grave every day on the Hill of Tara, spending long hours at the site, ignoring her other responsibilities and duties. Airmid delves into a period of sickened grief, focusing entirely on her brother’s death. Through this anguish and depression, she accesses a part of herself that she has never experienced before. The death of her brother forces Airmid to delve into the very depths of her soul, gaining her own wisdom and insight. She steps out of the shadow of her magical brother and controlling father and (in integrating the shadow) becomes powerful in her own right.
On the anniversary of her brother’s death, Airmid notices several beautiful green shoots growing from the grave. Paying close attention, she realizes that they are various healing herbs, 365 healing herbs, to be precise—one for each joint and sinew of her brother’s body. She leaves the grave and returns the next day, ready to learn the remedies of the herbs. On this day, a year and a day from Miach’s death, Airmid gathers the herbs, laying them out on her apron or her cloak in a pattern that indicates their healing properties. There is no mention in ancient sources of how Airmid gains the knowledge of the herbs. Some scholars have speculated that the way the herbs were growing on the earthen mound indicated their usefulness. Others believe that the herbs actually spoke to Airmid, telling her their healing powers. Perhaps her brother visited her in a dream or transferred all his considerable herbal knowledge to her in her sleep. Or perhaps Airmid already knew, intuitively, the properties of the herbs, and her brother’s death brought this inner knowledge into her conscious mind. Miach’s death catalyzed the birth of Airmid’s healing power.
Unfortunately for Airmid, Dian Cecht follows his daughter to the gravesite and upon seeing her gaining the wisdom of the herbs, rushes out of hiding and roughly shakes her cloak. The herbs scatter and Airmid no longer knows, for certain, which herbs worked for which ailments. Despite Dian Cecht’s behavior, Airmid does not lose the inner wisdom she has acquired during her solitary days of mourning. The knowledge of the herbs is hidden once again but waiting, always, for someone to dig a little deeper, to access their inner psyche and subconscious wisdom. Airmid, quiet and wise, daughter and sister, is the connective stream between us and the plant world. She is the forgotten knowledge that we all intuitively share. She guides the mothers and daughters and sisters who have been passing down information for centuries. Dian Cecht exclaims in The Second Battle of Mag Tuired, “Though Miach no longer lives, Airmid shall remain.”[20]
In order to know the healing within the herbs—the intuitive knowledge of how to make ourselves whole—we cannot rely on the bright, obvious answers provided by Miach. (These were destroyed by his jealous father.) Instead, we must travel within the self in order to find the inner knowledge, just as Airmid gazed within to understand the meanings of the herbs.
Intimately connected to the growing cycles of the Earth, Airmid knows the beauty of life after death, the cyclical passing of one season into another, the blossoming and withering of the fragile plant world. Having experienced this cycle firsthand through her year-long vigil on her brother’s grave mound, Airmid has found her reservoir of healing power in the gentle, unobtrusive knowledge of the herbs. Unlike her father and her brother, Airmid knows that healing comes from within each and every individual. We simply need to find the time to listen to ourselves, to our own intuitive wisdom. Once we do, the answers will become obvious to us, just as the knowledge of the herbs became obvious to Airmid.[21]
Pathway to Airmid
Once again we see our ancient ancestors guiding us away from the hustle-bustle of the modern world and into a period of introspection, where we are confronted with ourselves, where we can access our own wisdom and make ourself well. In the case of Airmid, perhaps it is time for some tea, and in the tradition of the great Irish bards, poetry.
Go to your local grocery store or health food store and peruse the tea aisle. Take your time and really see each and every box of tea. Don’t rush! Since we are working with the goddess Airmid, focus on the herbal teas but don’t ignore any tugs or twinges of intuition if you feel called toward the black or green teas. Read the labels on the boxes and decide to concentrate on only one aspect of your health. You might choose peppermint tea for digestion or chamomile for relaxation. Whatever you decide, choose a box of tea that fits your needs, your pocketbook, your taste buds, and your personality. Your goal is to find a tea that you will look forward to drinking every day.
Sometime during your day, at least once a week, find a half-hour to simply sit and think and be. This might be after supper, after the kids have gone to bed, or before heading off for work in the morning. The time of day doesn’t matter, as long as you can find some quiet time alone. Brew your tea and sweeten it with sugar or honey, if you wish. Don’t leave your teabag too long in your hot water at first, as you might find that the tea is too strong for you. Play with the length of time that you allow the tea bag to steep until you have found your perfect cup of tea.
Sit down on your couch or at your dining or kitchen table. Don’t read a magazine. Don’t balance your checkbook. Don’t make a list of things to do. Simply sit. Look out your window at the sky and the world around you. What do you see? Take in the different colors, the beautiful textures, the slow spinning of our beautiful Mother Earth. Drink your tea. Breathe deeply. Be in the moment. And, if you want to, pull out a poem and read it out loud, sharing it with the beauty of the world around you. There are numerous poems of value and worth, of beauty and depth, so choose one that moves you. One of my favorite poems is in the form of a children’s book, entitled Where Have the Unicorns Gone, by Jane Yolen. Simple, luminous, and poignant, the plight of the unicorns corresponds directly to the message of Airmid: Look within to the wisdom of your emotional center, ignoring the darkness and negativity all around you. You have the power to access that which is hidden.
RITUAL FOR HEALING:
THE RATTLE OF HEALTH
Suggested Ritual Days
April 7: World Health Day, as declared by Pan American Health Organization
September 30: World Heart Day, as declared by the World Heart Federation
October 1: National Child Health Day, as declared by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
October 10: World Mental Health Day, as declared by World Federation for Mental Health
December 1: World AIDS Day, as declared by the United Nations
There are many more health days sponsored around the world that deal with specific problems and issues. These are all listed on the National Health Observances Calendar, which can be found on-line or through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Items needed
your favorite meditation music
two candles and candle holders
rattle
a white sheet
Lay out your ritual items on a low table (like a coffee or end table), making sure there is a comfortable place to lie down nearby. You will need to be completely alone and uninterrupted for this ritual, so plan your time accordingly. It would not be a good idea to perform this ritual while the football game blares in the background, in between ferrying your children to their activities, or while waiting for your girlfriend to get off work. This is an intense ritual that demands space, time, and concentration.
Once your ritual space is set up and you have turned off the phones (including your cell phone), the TV, the radio, and the computer, put on your meditation music. If you don’t have favorite meditation or relaxation music, be sure to listen all the way through a CD before you begin this ritual. There’s nothing worse than being in the midst of ritual activity and having your music completely change tone and tempo. The first song is not always indicative of the entire album!
Listen to your music for a few minutes, relaxing, allowing all the stress and worry of the day to roll off your shoulders and drip from your fingertips. Tense and then relax each of your muscles in turn, releasing tension. When you feel calm, light your first candle. This candle represents the ailment you no longer wish to have in your body. This could be physical, such as arthritis, or mental, such as depression. Take some time to truly think about this ailment. How long have you had it? Where does it stem from? Why does it persist in lingering? Consider all the treatments you have undergone in order to rid yourself of this ailment. Have any of them worked? For how long? To what degree? What can the cures tell you about yourself and your ailment?
When you feel like you have explored all aspects of your ailment, turn to your other candle and light that one. This candle symbolizes your life without the ailment, you in full health. Think about what the end of your ailment would mean to you. What would you be able to do? How would life change for the better? Who would benefit besides yourself?
With these thoughts in your mind, pick up your rattle and begin to shake it over the area that best represents your ailment. (For instance, if you are working on depression, you might choose to shake the rattle over your heart or your mind. If you have arthritis, you might shake the rattle over the body part that most bothers you.) Keep focusing on your healing and the positive benefits for you, your family, and friends.
Rattling is an old shamanic technique used to shake up energy and move it away. It is a very powerful form of energetic healing that can cause some discomfort emotionally and physically. If you have an ailment that has been with you for quite some time, don’t try to remove it all at once. Go slowly. Rattle for five minutes a week, building up to longer and deeper time periods of dispersal of energy. Go with your intuition and if something hurts, stop rattling. You might feel fluctuations in your body or your emotions. This is normal! But, if you start to become distressed or overworked, if you begin to hyperventilate or experience trouble breathing or if you begin to feel sharp pains, stop rattling immediately and move on with the ritual. Do not stop the ritual mid-way, as that may cause further damage to your body and/or mind.
Once you have completed the rattling session, blow out the candle that represented your ailment. If you feel you have eliminated the ailment with just one rattling session, great! Bury or burn the candle. If you feel you may need more sessions to fully uproot the ailment, save the ailment candle, along with your healing candle. As the healing candle burns on the table, wrap yourself in the white sheet and lie down. Ideally, the light from the healing candle should be shining on you. Breathe deeply and visualize white healing energy all around you and within you. The white sheet represents the healing energy from the universe, from the Great Spirit, from the God and Goddess, from the angels and faeries, from your ancestors. By wrapping yourself in the white sheet, you are filling any energetic holes created when the rattle dispersed the harmful energy. You are filling these energetic gaps with pure white healing light. Listen to your music and relax for a few minutes. When you feel ready, sit up, blow out the healing candle, and remove the white sheet. Your healing ritual is complete. Store your ritual items in a safe place so you can use them again.
[1]. Merriam-Webster Dictionary.
[2]. Housman, Additional Poems (1939).
[3]. This section on healing and wholeness is not meant as a judgment against Western medicinal advice. There are many times when it is necessary to treat serious medical issues with medication, surgery, and a doctor’s care. The essay “Healing: Remembering Wholeness” is meant to explore the topic of health from a spiritual perspective, opening minds to alternative ways of viewing the world, life, and the notion of health. It should not be considered medical advice.
[4]. Koleman, “Profile of a Goddess: Ama-No-Uzume.”
[5]. Ziehr, “Ame-no-Uzume no Mikoto.”
[6]. Goddess Gift, “Amaterasu, Goddess of the Sun; Uzume, Goddess of Mirth and Dance.” Chamberlain, The Kojiki. Read before the Asiatic Society of Japan in 1882, reprinted 1919, Vol. 1, Section XVI. “The Door of the Heavenly Rock-Dwelling.”
Moss, “A Mirror for the Sun Goddess.”
[7]. Chamberlain, Kojiki, vol. 1, section XVI.
[8]. Most modern interpretations claim that Uzume carried a tub with her, as indicated in the Nihongi. In the Kojiki, the Japanese character is written phonetically and relates to a “sounding-board.” Either way, the item Uzume carried was meant to amplify sound and lift her up off the ground.
[9]. Chamberlain, Kojiki, Vol. 1, section XVI.
[10]. Ziehr, “Ame-no-Uzume no Mikato.”
[11]. Gray, “Bath, England.”
[12]. Evans, “Sulis.”
[13]. www.Roman-Britain.org, “Aquae Sulis/Aquae Calidae . . .”
[14]. Fairgrove, “What We Don’t Know About the Ancient Celts.”
[15]. Evans, “Sulis.”
[16]. Squire. Celtic Myth and Legend, chapter XVI, 275.
[17]. Gray, Second Battle of Mag Tuired, verse 11.
[18]. Ibid., verse 34.
[19]. The Second Battle of Mag Tuired never states the length of time that Airmed visits her brother’s grave. However, since 365 herbs grow from his burial site, one modern interpretation of the legend claims that she visited for the length of a year (365 days) and on each day a new herb appeared. Another modern interpretation states that she visited for the span of a year and on the following day (the 366th day), a blanket of herbs covered the burial mound of her brother. Neither theory can be verified by ancient lore.
[20]. Gray, Second Battle of Mag Tuired, verse 35.
[21]. Much of the story of Airmid first appeared in Goddess Afoot!, 108–112. For more information and intimate workings with Airmid, Irish Goddess of Herbal Healing, including a guided meditation and ritual, please see chapter 6 of Goddess Afoot!