*Butterfly Sonata No. 1*

One of the most ordinary activities in the Universe, getting the mail.
I'm walking back, a few magazines and letters in my hand.
I notice a white butterfly flitting among the foliage in front of me.
I smile, and I turn on the path.
Then the white butterfly flits directly across my field of vision, darting ahead of me.
I follow it around the corner, and see...

Orange Monarch-type butterflies, at least four, maybe six, perhaps even eight.
They launch nearly as one, stimulated by the white butterfly passing by.
And then they dance in the air, complicated maneuvers around the hanging plants.
Now and again they pair off, spiraling madly through the air at "breakneck" speed.
(that is, if they had necks to break) ;-)
Courtship dances? Territorial dances? I don't know, but it's almost impossible to follow their intricate passes completely, as they bank and dive and swirl - with nary a collision!

Time stops.
I drink in the sight of these butterflies, with my eyes, with my heart, with my soul.
Wings of Satsuma-tangerine orange, of sunset orange, beating beneath a deep blue sky, beating among the green of hanging plants...with the most brilliant purple flowers I've seen in a while.
These flowers: light lavender petals surrounding indigo centers, from which tiny yellow stalks arise in clusters. They take my breath away when I notice them, until I remember to breathe again.

The butterflies flit about this slice of perfection, now rapidly, now slowly, but always in motion.
Behind me, I hear a hummingbird's twitter, a crow's caw.
A junebug drones his way through the tableau. I know it's my grandfather, just as I know my grandmother is one of the butterfly dancers. These humble insects are their respective totems.

At last, the butterflies seem to have restored harmony among themselves. Their flights become smaller, soon to return to sacred stillness.
I bow to them and resume my journey homeward, grateful beyond words for this gift of Beauty*full Grace.

~and journeying~

So it begins, this alchemical transmuting of the heart center.

I find myself tip-toeing inward, ever so slowly, along the spiral path.
I have beheld what lies at the center of this spiral, and though I was stunned, I must say I was not entirely surprised...
I beheld a portion of the Shadow-Matrix in my heart center, and know myself to be a horcrux! along with countless others in this agreement we call Western Civilization!

(For those of you scratching your heads and wondering what a horcrux is, I refer you to the Harry Potter books. Without giving away any juicy bits, it is an object that has a portion of the wielder's soul embedded in it, for protection. And if you haven't read the books, what on earth are you waiting for? Hie thee posthaste to your nearest open-minded library! You ought to be finished with them by the time I finally post again!) ;-)

Preparations started gently at the new moon...a mudra here, a mantra there. Tonight, at the first quarter moon, I ramp it up just a notch. Come the full moon, I will immerse myself more fully, and at the last quarter moon, dive deeply into the second phase of my intensive. I will arrive at the pivotal point of this process right around August 3rd - which happens to be the anniversary of my father's death.

On that day, I always feel significant energies surrounding me, heightened by the fact that it falls two days after the official celebration of Lammas: the celebration of the First Harvest, and also the traditional date of the sacrifice of the Sacred King/Sun Lord. Initially, the energies would all but overwhelm me in grief; within the last few years, though, I've been able to use those energies to work some dynamic transformations within my*self. This date looks to be just as juicy as previous years, if not more so!
Afterwards, I shall be co-creating with my friend P. as the "triple-8 gate" (the date of 08/08/08) opens up on the earth-plane. Perhaps there will be an initiatory experience - who knows? And then, finally, I should be able to get back on track with my "official" priestessing!

Whatever will be will be.
I shall allow the future to take care of itself.
Let me refocus on the NOW, and surrender to the journey as it unfolds along the spiral path...