Light as a Feather
Amy Sullivan
I arrived late for the ceremony at La Nebbia Winery running toward the moon mothers already assembled in a circle on the grass to honor the Egyptian goddess Maat. Calling in the four directions, I was delighted to notice that everyone was donning a feather. The traditional saging and calling in of the ancestors and friends who couldn’t be with us, got me thinking of my 17-year-old kitty cat because she is starting to make her transition to the other side, so I called her in. I didn’t think Maat would mind.
Maat is the goddess of balance often depicted holding a set of scales. When you die, the myth goes, she puts a feather on one side and your heart on the other. “If your heart is heavier than the feather, you are not allowed to enter the Queendom of Heaven,” Tammy explained. “So it is our job tonight to lighten up. We all have tragedies in our lives. Woe is me,” she said dramatically swinging her hand to her brow. So first we wrote out our heaviness that we’d like to release, and one by one tossed the crumpled up papers into the fire with flare.
This was followed by writing a list of our gratitudes. That list was folded and stashed next to our hearts. Now I know what bras are for! We paired up and told our circle sisters their qualities and strengths. Even though I had not met my partner before, we knew each other on some other level and drank in the sweet nectar of acknowledgment.
As the glow of the full moon emerged through the trees, it was time for a dance, the greatest heart lightener of all. To the tune of Carole King’s “You are Beautiful as You Feel”, we formed two circles undulating and weaving Celtics knots until finally coalescing into each other.
Excitement rose as we gathered by sparkling lights in the trees surrounding a gentle fountain to tell our jokes. The mood quickly turned to bawdy and bodacious as off-color, dry and inane stories followed the goblet around the circle.
Feeling Merry (Mary) and jumping for Joy (inside joke), we closed the circle promising to meet up in spirit at 5 AM for the lunar eclipse. Funny thing was… my old kitty cat woke me up just in time to see the moon almost fully eclipsed. At that final stage, I did indeed look as though Mother Moon was wearing a feather of light on her head.
By Amy Sullivan
Thank you Amy for this wonderful post. I love the way you write and truly enjoying your new book, Chasing Serenity. Learning the ways of the modern day mystic will be a divine treat for the women of our community. I am looking so forward to your gatherings.
Sincerely,
Tammy
The Way of the Modern Day Mystic Gathering and Walk
Based on principles and practices from the novel
Chasing Serenity by A. O. Sullivan
Do you want to be the hero in your own story?
Maya C. will be on hand to share what she has learned about becoming a modern day mystic and bringing the sacred into great and small difficulties of daily existence. We will gather at Florey’s Book Co., where we will set our intentions. From there we will take a short walk down the beach to build a Medicine Wheel.
Dress for beach weather and hiking.
Bring a journal for writing and an offering that represents some issue that you are currently working on for the Medicine Wheel
Where: Florey’s Book Co. 2120 Palmetto Ave., Pacifica. CA 94044
When: Saturday April 25th and/or Saturday, May 16th 10 am – 12 noon
Suggested Appreciation: $20.
RSVP: Amy Sullivan, MFT, 650-455-2145, info@amysullivanmft.com
Moon Mothers of Half Moon Bay 