Pagan Portals - The Awen Alone: Walking the Path of the Solitary Druid

by Joanna van der Hoeven

Your spirit guide stands before you. You bow, reverently. Your spirit guide then asks you the following questions – you answer them truthfully, and from the heart. “How do you react when challenged by another, and how can you create peace instead of dissent?” “What patterns do you wish to alter?” “What dreams and aspirations do you hold that you never realised, but have the power to rethink now, and keep safe in order to bring to light in the spring?” “What is the face you wore before you were born?” (A very powerful Zen koan.) Your spirit guide steps forward with a heavy cloak, and bids you to sit down. You do so, and are wrapped in the cloak, covered in total darkness. You remain there – for minutes, hours, days – until at last you feel ready to shed the cloak, ready to face the light of the growing season and all that stands waiting in potential. With a cry, you cast off the cloak and spread your arms wide, welcoming the birth of new potential, and a certain fearlessness to see the light of day and the darkness of night. Your spirit guide smiles, and fades into the mist once again.