The Inspirational Spark
I get inspired by the things I see in nature, all around me. Ever since I was a little girl, I loved to play with sticks, tree barks, leaves, flowers, pebbles, and other wild items. My art, you could say, it is organic. A seed needs to be planted for new inspiration to be sparked. I never know what it will be that ignites my creativity, but when I come across something that sparks, it’s like an avalanche or tsunami of ideas that need to be birthed, this is a story of one of those times.
Labyrinth Collection
On April 3 this year I was working a corporate event, and after my presentation was completed and we finished lunch, I went for a walk on the beautiful grounds filled with natural habitat at Five Oaks Centre, Brantford, Ontario.
They have a large, beautiful Labyrinth close to the Grand river, which I walked slowly and quietly towards, down the zigzagging steps of the hill in the light rain. It was very peaceful as I was the only person out there in the chilly, damp weather. On my way down the hill, I observed the harbingers of spring; wild violets and hepatica blooming, bright green mosses and lichens glowing in the grey weather.
I arrived at the Labyrinth and stood there in the quiet of the raindrops, chirping birds, trees swaying slightly in the light breeze and river sounds. There’s power in spaces like this . . .
A Labyrinth holds special meaning in many faith paths, but the general take on the spiralling pattern is that it is a path to enlightenment. A labyrinth has one intentional path – to take us to the center and out again on that same path. A walk in a Labyrinth is also very much internalized, introspective, and meditative. In Judaism, of which I was a part of for the first 12 years of my life, a Labyrinth is more than a path to enlightenment, it is also the journey to Wisdom and of Purification.
In my Paganism a Labyrinth is the journey of life itself, spiralling inward before spiraling outward again, the space which is a microcosm in a macrocosm, it is about the balance of light and dark, and the birth/life/death cycle of every human. The Labyrinth is also connected to the goddess Hecate, but this particular Labyrinth was not directly connected to her, even though I could feel her presence there.
It’s a connection and release point.
I walked the Labyrinth slowly, contemplatively and at each quarter, I noticed that my attention was drawn to a specific thing; a bluejay sitting in one of the giant maples on the outer ring, cooing to its mate; a cardinal stopping on one of the giant boulders to seemingly observe me; a gust of wind bringing the scents of wet earth; and the song of the river rolling by between the raindrops on dead leaves.
As I made my journey to the center, winding ever closer, these sticks began to show up in my path and I gathered them . . . It was though they were asking me to take them home and share the magick of that time and place. I brought them home, I dried them carefully, I sat with them, turning them over in my hands . . . I got to know them. Then the plan fell into place.
The charms, rustic, and prefect came from Mykonos, Greece. I chose the cord colours, and got to working the sticks. I left them as natural as I could, just polished the ends to smooth any sharp points, trimmed weak spots, and carefully drilled holes. Then I set to birthing these contemplative, peaceful sweephearts. These completed brooms are the results of my journey that day (everyday) and I now share them with you.
If you would like to experience the magick, and beauty of a Labyrinth for yourself, and you live in Ontario, Canada, then this website will be very helpful; http://www.labyrinthnetwork.ca/ontario-labyrinth-locator
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