Students of my mystery school sometimes ask me who my teachers were and are. There are some people who were important inspirations, beacons on my path like Kano, the druid who initiated me onto the Celtic path and Mikael who awakened my love for oils and essences, but I also count the earth amongst my principal teachers. A teacher I’m still learning from, my initiation is ongoing. The druid path taught me to observe, I learned about the importance of being able to listen, of stillness, of connection. It rooted my ministry on this earth. When I felt the calling to leave my former life behind and start traveling, I knew that this would be a lesson in surrender to divine will and providence, a teaching in death and rebirth which would turn out to be a crucial ability in today’s world.
But I didn’t yet understand that this journey would be so much more than that, that it would be an initiation into the deep earth mysteries, a journey of remembering and awakening. I would enter into a real relationship with the earth mother, learn how to speak her language, how to see past the veil of forgetfulness that we are born into and that is actively maintained by fear of the unknown. The power places of this earth blasted through walls of resistance and conflict, initiating me into a deeper knowing that expanded far beyond any limitation. I have come to call this quality of relationship that we can build with the earth “Earth Tantra”. For this is what we are doing when we commune with Pachamama: we are weaving our energy into the rich tapestry of this earth and its history. Slowly we will start to recognise the signature of our soul, the cultures and places that are already part of our history, our lineage, our spiritual heritage and past lifetimes. By identifying the different strands that are part of us we complete ourselves until we resurrect ourselves fully. We understand that when we are born, we enter into a sacred covenant with the earth. She is our eternal kindred spirit.
We will feel drawn to certain places that can assist us in this process of awakening, initiate us into certain mysteries. For me, after two years of such initiations in different earth temples, I met my guru: Avalon. Its first initiation was to surrender to its presence, let go of what I thought my life would look like once again and fully commit and subscribe to its teachings. I entered into the mystery school of the land and an ancient process of weaving started, layers of myself and echoes of past ministries unfolding as the land would likewise reveal its dimensions in a blossoming infinite spiral. We started to ebb and flow into each other. But I noticed that people would come here for different reasons. Part of this place is like a field hospital for damaged souls, tending to the wounded until they can go out into the world again. Others come here to really meet and discover themselves, to clarify their frequency. And some stay on as guardians to the gateways of the land, others as teachers of its mysteries or both. I know I couldn’t have expressed my particular path had I been anywhere else in the world and my mystery school would probably not exist.
I believe that an essential part of any spiritual path is building a healthy relationship with the earth and it is important to listen to the place that is calling out to our soul, for there is a reason for this. We are called by the land that can best aid us on our spiritual journey, we offer our service and in return our growth and expansion are greatly aided. It is not always easy to choose the path and place that serves our purpose instead of making more comfortable or convenient choices, for it is a path of constant initiation, but the rewards are beyond any difficulty that might emerge. Not so long ago, in a post-Brexit Britain, part of me was tempted to make a more convenient geographic choice to live and work. However, as soon as I connected to the possibility of leaving, I could feel my soul ache and I felt very clearly that my ministry wasn’t over yet. I reconfirmed my commitment to the land and a whole new magnificent layer of Avalon’s mystery school opened up, giving me a glimpse of gifts that will take a lifetime to unravel and unpack. Our mutual creation is not finished yet.
Anaïs T.
