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A Samhain Swan Story

A Samhain Swan Story

Last updated on: October 28, 2016 at 11:54 am by Melissa Hill

A Samhain Swan Story 2016-10-28T11:54:59-04:00 Melissa Hill

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It was Samhain when I first encountered them. We were doing our ritual at Rose Lake: state land reserved for recreation and research. I had suggested that we do water scrying and then go to visit a large square stone that we had dubbed the Oath Stone. For the scrying I held the bowl for everyone, trying to get angle so that the moon was reflected in the dark waters. I wasn’t sure if it was working at all. It seemed to me that my grove members were humoring my tendency for the mystical and dramatic. When it was my turn to look into the bowl my friend held it as I looked downward into the rippling darkness. I felt foolish staring into the water, trying to find some meaning hidden within. The waters remained stubbornly dark and water like. No hidden imagery at all. So it was with some disappointment that I led people toward the Oath Rock along the tree lined dirt path.

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The spot where the stone was located was about 50 feet off the trail. It was a five-minute walk from the ritual site. I was sure I could lead us there without a problem. There was, of course, a problem. I led my grove members along the trail, back and forth, looking for the proper place to go off-trail. Eventually, I gave in and told them to stay on the trail while I just wandered into the woods to find the proper spot. This was beginning to feel like a disaster. First the fiasco with the water scrying, then we went wandering in the dark like fools. Ugh.

So I bravely foolishly wandered off the trail. Like the Fool card I lept, but instead of rainbows and puppies I found myself embroiled in a wild rose thicket. At first I carefully moved the branches away from myself as best as I could, but eventually as the clock in my head ticked onward and the people I was leading continued to wait on the trail I pushed ahead harder. I had found the hill that was directly to the west of the spot I wanted to be, so if I just kept pushing east and downhill I knew I would find the hollow spot where a giant tree had fallen and a smaller three boled tree had grown next to the knee high cube of granite.

swan - 1

It was at this point that I began to have the visions. Superimposed over the dark chaos of branch and thorn before me was something else. I had glimpses of flying birds and the feel of softness against my cheek even as my legs and arms were torn by the bite of the rose. My sight would flicker back and forth between the internal world high above the woods and my external world struggling through the undergrowth. Finally I broke free of the thicket and into high grasses that quickly led to the downward sweep of the hollow I had been looking for. I called to my grovemates, who were only a short way away. As they poured beer and spoke of oaths fulfilled and promises they made that day I was elsewhere. Once the pressure of finding the place had eased, the inward pressure of vision increased and I sank downward into it. I saw the birds land and there was a rustic cabin in the woods. The birds became women and went inside. I saw a glow radiating from the edges of the logs and from the windows as if the whole thing was filled with nothing but light. I could not go inside. The light seemed to peak and then instantly I was within. There was a room full of winged women, some young, some old. I was among them, youngest of all, and I had wings on my back as well. It was a shocking vision for me and while my feet were rooted firmly on the frozen ground my wings were soaring far above in a starlit sky.

It was only later that I learned that the lore also indicated that swans transforming at Samhain is found in the lore. The Celtic god Angus Og falls in love with a woman from a dream. He searches for her and finds out that she is currently in the form of a swan, with a bunch of other swans. Her name is Caer Ibormeith and he is told that she transforms into a human at Samhain.

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It’s moments like that when I wonder: am I remembering these things unconsciously, or did I actually tune into a true spirit connection. Did my unverified personal gnosis get verified? I guess so. So for any of you out there interested in the swan maidens, now’s the time! Go get some new spirit friends and let me know how it went.

If you like my work, please support it! Check out my Patreon site and pay for a cup of coffee for me, or more honestly, keep me in wool roving for baby blessings and markers for kids activities.

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It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Samhain

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