session 6
Cead mile failte. A hundred thousand welcomes, and thank you for your Dreams.
I am inspired to continue the journey deeper into SERPENT magic and medicine...Snakes carry the power of wisdom, prophecy, healing and resurrection.
When snakes appear in Dreams, they bring with them messages of healing (even when they are frightening). They whisper to us through forked tongues; the fork giving us a choice...do we go right or left, or wind in between, back and forth, forward and backward? The blood of the Gorgon (Medusa), given to Asklepios by Athena, either heals or kills, depending on whether it is drawn from her right or left side…every moment we have a choice, and as we become more conscious of our actions and their effects, our choices become more powerful.
we dream of SERPENTS: Asklepios' temple
I am staying in the temple of Asklepios on a large college campus. The temple is large and spacious, flooded with light. There are snakes in the temple. Some of us are planning to escape because people are coming (I don't know who), and we can no longer stay here. They might catch us. We have to let Asklepios and another Invisible One drive the car. I recognize Asklepios by his snake-entwined staff. The Invisible One is feminine. Some of the snakes come with us in the car. We have to go out to the very busy road and make a U-turn.
"The Temple and Cults of Asclepius" by Robert Thom Peel
the ASKLEPIOS TEMPLE oracle...
This is what I call a BIG dream - for the Dreamer at a personal level, and for all of us on a mythic level. The Dream takes us into the realm of myth and living legends.
Asklepios (also Asclepius) is a god of healing and medicine. His name means "to cut open"...to open up. His temples were places of healing and dreaming. The people would "incubate" in underground dormitories, sleeping with snakes who helped open up their psyches. Temple priests prescribed treatments based on their dreams. Those who gathered in the temple, dreamers and priests, believed that the dreams held all the information about the living body's needs.
Oh, if only we could honor dreams in such a way - to learn to work with them and interpret their healing messages!
Asklepios is a son of Apollo - the Bright One, Sun God. Apollo is present in this dream in the light-filled temple. In the myth of Asklepios, Apollo's mortal mother, the princess Coronis, is killed by Apollo's twin Artemis for her unfaithfulness. This Apollo is a bit hot-headed if you ask me ;)
He was raised and mentored in healing by Chiron - known today as the Wounded Healer. He had many children who continued the family legacy in the healing arts. Some say that Hippocrates, Father of Modern Medicine, traces his lineage back to Asklepios.
See, even the gods have “interesting” families…
How does this dream/myth relate to us? We are Dreamers. We are Living Myths. One of my teachers, Holly Hamilton, speaks about living a Legendary Life. The moments of our lives are not insignificant. Our dreams (waking and sleeping) are meaningful. We dream with the stars, the constellations circling round and round, blessing our Dreams and Consciousness with eons of wisdom.
Look back at the moments that shaped you and moved you. How is this life - your life - legendary?
I wonder if this Dream is, in some way, reliving the end of Asklepios' life. The Dreamer senses an imminent danger...Hades propositioned Zeus to kill Asklepios, for he was too great a healer, and his actions upset the balance of Life and Death...After his death, Zeus felt remorse, and placed Asklepios in the night sky as Ophechius, the serpent-holder or snake-charmer.
Next time the night sky is clear, look up into the stars, and feel into the mythical beings all around, above, and below you.
Who is the Invisible One in this Dream? She may be Hygieia, Asklepios' daughter or wife (depends on the story), goddess of health and cleanliness. Or, perhaps She is a priestess of the Eluesinian Demeter with whom He invoked the Great Mysteries. Or, his dead mother, Coronis. Or, the Maiden Goddess, Athena…Or...
This Invisible One is an aspect of the Dreamer (you/me/the collective) that is not yet known…Have you heard of the story about the ships on the horizon that were all but invisible to the people who had never seen a ship - “ship” was not part of their psyche…But, the shaman could see…
Whoever She may be, She is a beneficent being, at our assistance. Without both God and Goddess, the Seen and Unseen, movement in any direction would not be possible.
Consider the unseen forces around you (in the form of guides, allies, prayers) that support you. They are here.
Sometimes we resist change, we stay in a place/work/relationship for too long, or we hold back from bringing our gifts into the world. We cannot stay within the “safe” confines of an institution/corporation/student-teacher relationship forever…And, when we tarry too long, we may be forced to leave by external circumstances. These may come under the guise of trauma, attack, fear, or negative projections.
Have you ever found yourself in a trying circumstance that has forced you into change that you knew you needed to make? Begin to reclaim your sovereignty. You are not a victim of circumstance.
Dreams help us heal the rift between body and mind, soul and ego, ancient past and present. In this dream there is a hope for redemption and healing. Let Asklepios - your inner guide, wisdom, intuition, healer - take the wheel. Bring the snakes along - carry the magic and mystery, the wisdom and healing, the power of transformation into the world. Do not be afraid to make a U-turn, to turn back and retrace your steps. There are no mistakes.
A soulful life is not a direct path with sharp, clearly defined turns; but rather a winding serpentine journey.
Blessings on your journeys, dear Dreamers.
to asklepios (a prayer by hearthstone)
I praise Asklepios, son of bright Apollo
and fair Coronis, student of learned Cheiron,
greatest of healers and first among physicians.
In dreams you come, bringing healing to those in need.
Many great temples had you, Asklepios,
in Epidaurus and in all the provinces,
where the sick would come each day to pray for your help;
where the suffering slept, awaiting your wisdom;
where the healed left fine offerings in gratitude.
No illness is beyond your power, able one;
at your touch bones mend, pain is soothed, and fevers cool.
Kindly Asklepios, I praise and honor you.
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dream tip: read myths
Follow your dreams into the realm of myth and legend. Read stories about the lives of Gods, Goddesses and mythic beings. Open your mind to the Dreams of other places and times. You may find that some of your dreams carry archetypal or mythical themes and energies.
blessing
May the Dreamtime bless you with a Wisdom beyond reason. May you be well. May you be healed. May you be whole.
Blessed be.
sweet dreams…
JML
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