PANTHEON
I shouldn’t be blogging on my laptop. A monstrously magnificent thunderstorm is roaring in the heavens above. I’ve got all the windows open and Madonna’s “Ray Of Light” album blasting. I’m full of energy and hope and possibility. I love storms.
The primal power of storms always awakens the immanent divinity within me. I feel relaxed, sensual, grateful and very aware of my own life force. While most people are hiding out, taking cover and waiting out the storm I feel the need to celebrate. Why do thunderstorms evoke this feeling in me? I think there are two reasons.
First of all a thunderstorm is bigger than me. It is powerful, awe-inducing and completely encompassing. It is in such grandeur the Gods are felt and the Wild Hunt make their rounds. Odin, Manannan, Arawn, King Arthur, Herne the Hunter, Harlequin and Herodias are riding past and I could be swept up into furious calvacade, subject to wonders untold. A world of mythic dimensions hangs suspended over my head for a brief time and I am entranced.
The other reason is that Goddesses of Lightning and Storms are truly fabulous, from pantheons ancient and new. I get a thrill just thinking about Oya of Yoruban myth, or Storm from the X-Men. They’re elegant, electrifying women. The strong feminine in control of immense storms signals to my soul that I too can control the energy, the passion and the drive of anger, cleansing and furious, intense questing in my own life.
Sometimes we’re afraid to exercise immense power over our own lives. To prune our priorities and immerse ourselves in quests of passion and meaning. When was the last time you cut back on your obligations to give you time to nurture your spirituality? Is it hard to say “No”? When was the last time you stayed up all night writing, reading, playing music or engaging friends in conversation deep and liberating? Has it been longer than a year?
I challenge you to practice being a storm Goddess or God. Fellas may find liberation in Zeus, Thor, Taranis or Shango. Oya is a Goddess of thunder, lightning and storms. Frigg and Holda ride in the Wild Hunt. For those of you who work with modern mythos, Storm of the X-Men was worshiped as a Goddess in Africa before joining Dr. Xavier.
If there isn’t a storm see if you can find a recording of thunder and rain. Put on some dance music. Get active: dance, practice a stretching routine or do some light housework.
As you move feel the electrical impulses throughout your body resonate with the storm. Feel the energy pulsing through you. Revel in it. Imagine you can shoot little bolts of lightning from your fingertips. Focus on how that makes you feel. Do you feel powerful? Confident? Sensual? Alive?
Focus on that feeling and think of areas of your life where it’s sorely lacking. Maybe you need to be more confident at work. Maybe you need to get out on the dance floor when you go out with friends instead of sitting on the sidelines. Maybe you need to clear sections of your time and let someone else organize the next potluck. Maybe you need to be more aware of your body when it feels good, instead of waiting until you feel bad to pay attention to it.
Once you have a grasp on the powerful, confident sensual feeling of the storm, and feel relaxed and attuned to your own body, express gratefulness for the experience according to your own tradition and practice. Then be sure to ground any excess energy. In the coming days when you feel you need storm energy imagine lightning flashing in your eyes, stand straighter and feel the power of your own body. Be prepared for flashes of insight and for your confident attitude to encompass all around you.
You are the strength and beauty of the Storm and you leave the world refreshed, revitalized and cleansed in your wake.
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