He who danced to the sound of a drum wearing the garland of the great serpent on his neck

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I had a meeting with my friends Anne & Barry last night. They're facilitating my leaving ritual, and as we were discussing it, they asked me which deities I would like to bring in, to protect and bless me on my journey. That's a very good question.

For many years, Artemis, Goddess of the moon and of the hunt, has been my patron Goddess, and while her wild independent maiden spirit is still part of me, I feel that this has really shifted and expanded in the last couple of years. Just over the past 18 months or so, I've worked a lot with the Goddess Inanna in all of her aspects, as well as the lover Goddess Venus/Aphrodite. Then, earlier on, I've done much work with Kali, Goddess of surrender and letting go, most apt for this process really, but to travel entirely with her powerful and often destructive energy would be a bit too intense, I think, unless it is balanced with that of a gentler deity.

Shiva popped into my mind almost instantly as one of the Gods to connect with. He is the divine dancer, God of tantra and yoga, and I've been feeling very drawn to him lately, especially since my interest in both yoga and tantra has grown stronger over the past year. Shiva's dance represents both the destruction and the creation of the universe and reveals the cycles of death, birth and rebirth. As I'm hoping to delve deeper into the tantric yogic path, in particular in the Himalayas, to travel with Shiva may be very interesting, to say the least!

Last week, the gorgeous Fran from Karma (http://www.karma-buddha.co.uk/) gave me the tiniest little statue of Ganesh, the elephant God and remover of obstacles, to protect me on my journeys. Despite his size, he feels incredibly powerful, and will probably come in very useful when I'll be trying to get that Chinese visa in Mongolia!

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Comments

[Tassos]

Manaia
You know, I am not sure if I ever mentioned much about the bone carving you have. It's a Manaia, the Maori guardian of spiritual energy. It has the head of a bird, body of a man and tail of a fish, creating a balance of Sky, Earth, and Sea... It seemed appropriate for you, back then. -t

[Travelling Priestess]

Manaia
No, you never mentioned that. I'm glad you did, as I will take it with me now. Txx