session 5

Cead mile failte. A hundred thousand welcomes, and thank you for your Dreams.

Last Sunday we wandered along a path of inquiry into the hidden sacred places within ourselves and Gaia. In the previous three weeks, we flew through the AIR and gave birth to Sky; we stepped into the ring of FIRE; and we immersed ourselves in the Waves of Consciousness.

This week, we begin an exploration into one of the most archetypal animals in the Dreamtime: serpents. My hope is that these dream oracles give you an entryway into the messages and symbols of your Dreamtime.

we dream of SERPENTS: the Mother of all snakes

"Serpentario" by Fabiana Berssanetti Copyright © 2014 — "Serpentario" by Fabiana Berssanetti *Copyright © 2014*

We go down to the basement to see the snake. She is the biggest snake in the world, wrapped around pipes, body draping, twisted and looping around herself, shades of brown with diamond patterns. I make the mistake of touching her as I look for her head. She starts shifting. I go to a corner to hopefully get away from her head. But, her head emerges right there and she focuses on me with those bright golden eyes. I am trapped. She strikes at me, catching my skin repeatedly, but lightly with her fangs - making puncture wounds in my right hand and foot. Then she pulls her head back into the loops of her infinitely long body and becomes still again. My mom rushes over to check on me. I feel fine, but my hand and foot are red and swelling, and I can see the bleeding wounds. She says I need to get help right away. It's life or death, and time is the crucial element.

the SERPENT oracles

Most people, at some time in their life - usually a time of great internal or external transformation - will dream of snakes. Let's go down into the basement and take a look around...

What do you see? What do you keep in your basement?

In one sense, the basement is the subconscious - a place of shadows and treasures. Memories (false and true) are put away for either safe-keeping or forgetting. The path of personal growth involves shadow work - looking at that which we have stuffed down, denied and rejected from shame or fear.

Even our power can be allocated to the shadows. In A Return to Love, Marianne Williamson speaks to this. I rewrote her beloved quote about power in Gestalt form (changing the pronouns into "I-form"):

My deepest fear is not that I am inadequate. My deepest fear is that I am powerful beyond measure. It is my light, not my darkness that most frightens me. I ask myself, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?" Actually, who am I not to be? I am a child of the God/dess. My playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around me. I am meant to shine, as children do. I am born to make manifest the glory of the God/dess within me. It's not just in me; it's in everyone. And as I let my own light shine, I unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As I am liberated from my own fear, my presence automatically liberates others.

Say this aloud to yourself, again and again, day after day, remembering its truth.

The "biggest snake in the world" is a symbol of this extraordinary power within. She is the Mother of all snakes, the kundalini shakti. She sits coiled three and a half times at the base of the spine (the basement of our bodies). When she is coiled at rest, she represents our inherent potential power. As kundalini awakens, she starts to move up the central channel, activating each chakra (energy center) along the way. In this way, the kundalini initiates powerful transformation.

In this dream, she stays in the basement...but a taste of her will be brought forth into the world through the Dreamer.

What kind of potential lies coiled and unrecognized within you? What actions can you take to awaken that power?

The snake is coiled around pipes - conduits of water. Both serpents and pipes carry life force energy. When a Dream presents redundant symbols, it seems to really want to call our attention to them!

How do you carry life force energy through your own body/life? Do you relegate it to the basement? Are the pipes dried up? Or, does the water of life flow freely?

To me, the diamond patterns on the snake are connected to the diamond (pentacle) suit of the Tarot. In the Tarot, diamonds represent the Earth realm of manifestation where Soul takes on physical form. As a four-sided shape, the diamond is a symbol of wholeness and mastery. The four sides hold and protect, but also contain and limit - in conscious balance, these energies bring forth incredible magic into one's life.

I/you touch this snake magic. To touch is to make contact with this energy of transformation and manifestation, causing a stirring of power. Yet, caution says to hide in the corner and stay away from her head - the most dangerous part.

Bright eyes open with a golden flash of lightning - the lightning of consciousness, aware of itself. In this moment, we are seeing eye-to-eye with the snake; we are coming to an understanding...This serpent power is seductive, enchanting and dangerous, too.

How do you engage with powerful forces in your life? Are you wary? Do you try to hide in the corner, away from the transformation of consciousness/life that is bound to happen?

The snake strikes, puncturing skin, injecting venom, and drawing blood (yet she does so lightly, without the intent to kill). The wounds are red, swelling, bleeding. Life force (in the form of blood) is seeping out, no longer held within the vessels (pipes) of the physical body. It takes someone on the outside to recognize that help is needed right away. And not just anyone...the Mother.

As you dream into this dream, consider your relationship with your mother and mother figures. Is she a reliable source of aid and comfort? Also consider your relationship with the Mother...When the moment strikes, who can you call on? Who is here for you?

As blood seeps out, the snake's venom courses within, transforming the chemical balance of the body. Transformation can feel like Life or Death situations, and truly, "time is the crucial element" ( I wrote a post about time magic that you might be interested in reading). The snake bite can be seen as a transmission of power, giving the Dreamer/you/me the choice of Life or Death.

Further, these bites are specifically on the right hand and foot. The right side of the body tends to represent the visible world. One layer of this Dream is teaching us to takes these powerful transformative energies through us and into the world.

What will you choose? Will you allow the "negative" life experiences to remain poisonous (trapping you as a victim of circumstance), or can you transmute these experiences into nectar?

to be continued...(this is just the beginning)

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dream tip: nightmares

Jeremy Taylor, a dream worker, teacher, author and Unitarian Universalist minister says this about Dreams: "All dreams come in the service of our health and wholeness." Yes, this also applies to nightmares - especially to nightmares! If we remember a nightmare, then we have the ability to work with the events and symbols in a conscious and creative way, integrating the messages for our transformation and growth. Next time you have a nightmare, I encourage you to write it down and share it with a dream circle, dream worker, or therapist. Honor the messages from within.

blessing

May you be blessed with self-recognition - feeling your inherent power and goodness. May you know your place in the great family of things, beloved sons and daughters of the Mother.

Blessed be.

sweet dreams…

JML

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