Friday, October 29, 2010

From the Wetware: "Descent 101"

Before I jump into the topic du jour, I wanted to share a smidge from my experiences last weekend...
Remember how I mentioned that the weekend of the full moon would by the time of Planting the Vision that we've been carefully cultivating (consciously or no) this past year? Turns out I did some excellent "seed-planting" during a kirtan, of all things, on ze coast. For those who don't know, a kirtan is an event where people gather and do some devotional chanting in Sanskrit, to one or more Hindu deities. Hey, takes all flavors to spice up ze soup, right?
I should've known something was brewing when I began to spin just before the actual chanting began, but the shift into an altered state and doing the energy-weaving during the chants took me by surprise. There were four, maybe five chants total during the first half of the kirtan - so I planted four or five "seeds," manipulating the energetic currents at chest level, then grounding each "seed" into the Earth. My inner scientist was most fascinated by the whole process.
The second half of the kirtan was spent returning the majority of my awareness back into this reality. See, not only did I have to drive home, but I needed to be the lead in a mini-caravan, and I needed to be completely re-centered! I managed to get home just fine; making a return trip to the coast the next day, though, proved to be a rather interesting experience! And why do I keep thinking this Work that I do won't affect me directly? (LOL)

Now to our topic: everything you need to know about the upcoming Descent.
First off - this is NOT something bad or scary or undesirable. Let's toss that idea out the window right now. When Descent energies are present, it simply means that if you've been acting in an extroverted fashion, you will be encouraged to shift your personal vibration into more of an introverted and introspective frequency. If you're already introverted by nature, these feelings may become more intense. For the next six weeks, give or take, this is going to be a significant time of soul-searching, navel-gazing, and consideration of Why You're Here and What You're Meant to Do...for many of you, but not for all of you.

Depending on where you are in your personal journeys of spirit, this may also or instead be a time of significant cleansing, clearing, and purification. Old fears and ignored Shadows will rise into your awareness, to be dealt with NOW, please!
Northern Hemisphere residents will (probably) find that Winter's stillness makes this a more subtle and "quieter" process; Southern Hemisphere residents will (probably) find this process more dynamic and "messy" because of Summer's active energies.
Yea, even though the Descent concept is associated with the colder, quieter months of Winter, it looks like this event is going to be global, judging by the activities seen unfolding on the TV, along with the messages being downloaded from the Star-Nations. A keyword through the near future is going to be Intensity. Put simply, if you're at the stage for it, shit will hit the fan. Get your hip-waders and breathing masks ready.

If you've already done the Work, this is going to be your opportunity to Hold Space for other folks as they do their Underworld journeys. This may be as simple as visualizing serenity and "aha!" moments for the world and/or for your community, or as involved as actually having one of your BFF's stay with you for a while until s/he gets back on his/her feet.
There will be an opportunity in November to do a massive space-holding and seed fertilization if you're in a place to do so; I will post more info about that shortly (likely after Samhain).
As mentioned previously, we should feel the Descent energies lighten up starting around Yule, and definitely by Christmas. All indications so far are that the New Year will be kicked off with a BANG - and a good one at that! :-)

As further assistance for what the Descent entails, let me expand a bit on the archetypes I introduced earlier. (drawings courtesy of Getty Images)Inanna is the Sumerian "Queen of Heaven." She descended into the Underworld to visit Her sister Erishkigal (although some say She went to search for Her lover, Tammuz). On Her journey, She was forced to relinquish a part of Her material garb at each gate, so that She arrived at the final gate (literally) stripped of everything that marked Her as a queen; while in the Underworld, she experienced the Death Mysteries.

Persephone is the Greek Queen of the Underworld. The traditional mythology has Her abducted and forcibly married to Hades, the Lord of the Underworld. However, Her story is being rewritten in certain circles - She descends to the Underworld by choice, to see if She can alleviate the suffering of the souls trapped there. She chooses to eat the pomegranate seeds so She can return each Winter to Her dark realm, to help the souls on their journey to rebirth.

If you'd like some more info about either Goddess, go Google 'em. This way I encourage you to do a bit of your own learning. ;-)

The other keyword through this time of Descent is going to be Compassion, for yourself and for those who are going through more intense portions of the journey. Know when to engage the Shadows, when to nurture yourself, and when to hold space for others. Listen to your intuition. Follow your heart through the dark times, and you will find yourself in the light of the dawning New Year once more. This, I know; this, I promise. Catch y'all on the flip side... :-)

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