I am Safe to Share My Grandmother’s Teachings

Swan Lore Story

Today at the full moon eclipse in Leo I share with you the Swan Lore story of the vow to close down a Grandmother's teachings. This is the swan story received by artist and tattooist, Victoria Rose on Mt Tamborine in Queensland. It was also the very first Swan Blessing session that I held in Australia after journeying through the lands of England, Ireland and Scotland leaving dolls for the forgotten and interviewing the guardians and keepers of sacred sites dedicated to the women's mysteries and healing.

Victoria Rose and I had had interactions with each other for just over a year and I could feel that she wanted to journey to clear and unblock her own healer's story but that there was also a lot of resistance. This is completely understandable when we think about the centuries of persecution of women's medicine and wise ways. I understood the trepidation but let Victoria Rose know that the journey we make with the Swan is always a gentle and loving one. This is her gift to the women - to hold them with great strength and softness as they journey back to heal the fragmented story. We have been through enough trauma, we do not need to experience it again to heal it. We already know the pain, we have been journeying for lifetimes with memories in our DNA from our lineages and grandmothers, we may have memory of past lives and we are also sometimes carrying the collective memory or story of what has happened to the healers, herbalists and witches of the past.

This can lead us to believe that it's still not safe to share all of our gifts with an open heart and freedom again but I believe the planet needs the people of the earth who are connected to nature and her healing ways more than ever. And the important thing to remember is that we are living in different times and we have so much more support and wisdom opening up again to be shared with love.

We share these stories because they are all our stories. These are part of the ancestral folklore of women's medicine and wise ways and I hope they bring understanding to anyone who needs them. By releasing the stories of how the wise ways were closed down we create space to write and create new ancestral folklore stories for ourselves, our ancestors and the daughters to come.

Victoria Rose told me after her journey that this was a lifetime and story that she had journeyed to previously but had not been able to heal and complete the teachings. And so instead of empowering her it still frightened her. I believe it's so very important to come to resolution and healing with our journeys and I was honoured to hold space for this beautiful young artist to reach this resolution with the Swan.

I am healed, I am safe and I will serve as my Grandmother taught me

"I'm in a cave with a deep pool of water. As I look into the reflection, I see a woman. Her hair is dark and her eyes are wild with fear and confusion. This woman is me. I have heavy gold collars hanging from my neck down my chest with a long robe underneath. In a large stone temple, I'm there as a servant to the elites. I'm alone.

How did I get there?

In a beautiful valley. Mountains in the distance, woodlands open out to grass plains. It was here that I learnt the healing arts from my grandmother. This is my home. We provided a service to the community. I was at peace an very happy being connected to the land and my people. I do not want for anything.

One day the authorities turn up at our doorsteps and ask if I would go work in the temple. I refuse. They return and remove me by force. It was in the days after this that I promised I would not use my abilities ever again. This vow did not change what was to come.

I am back in the cave now. The lady of the sacred well is with me. I can feel a heavy helmet over my head sitting on my shoulders. The lady uses a tool and breaks it open. I am free from this bond and she takes me into the pool. In the healing waters I am scrubbed clean by the Spirit Grandmothers.

Out of the pool now the Swan has come to take me high in the sky. We are journeying to the Sun. I have gold antlers. Inside the Sun, I'm filled with light and all trauma is burnt away.

The Swan takes me back down to earth. It is time now for me to release the vows I had once spoken. I must say three things.

I am Healed.

I am Safe.

As I try to make my last statement, tears start choking, electricity shoots through me and I am convulsing.

Finally I say, "I will serve as my Grandmother taught me".

As I drive home I take a different route down the mountain. I pass black swans beside a pond.

Thank you Julia for this journey. Throughout I felt held in truth and honoured. I felt like I was understood and respected. I'm forever changed and have started to integrate parts of myself I had lost. It is an amazing gift you have given me.

Forever grateful to you and the Swan."

Victoria Rose

Artemis by Victoria Rose Tattoo

I am grateful to Victoria Rose for facing her fears and healing this story. She has also courageously shared her story to help anyone who may have similar memories. If you would like to see Victoria Rose's beautiful artistry and tattooing this is a link to her Instagram page. I think it's important for us to have artists working on our body that carry magic and healing. I know that many feel that tattooing is also a new way to re-write our ancestral folklore and to break through old laws stopping free expression. Many of us have memory of sacred markings and sigils on our bodies and the bodies of our grandmothers. Embracing tattooing again is like stepping over another threshold into freedom to adorn our bodies as we please and in a ceremonial way again.

Thank you to Nadia Turner who has allowed us to share her beautiful artwork The Wood Witch. Please have a look at the rest of her enchanted creations at www.waywardharper.com