From Larkin's corner of the woods...
Gathering, packing, cleaning prepping… the only thing I’ve really wanted to do these past few weeks is talk to all my friends. Some I haven’t spoken to for months, others I get to see twice a week, and each time we’ve connected about this oncoming trip I feel like a big heavy stone has been dropped from a pack on my back. None of them I can take with me. Many would rather stay. A few revealed passing gleams of something that might have been jealousy, and I know I’d feel it myself, but shoulders straight and chin steady they all give me words of support, and so the stones keep falling. I look at my to do list, take the plunging turn out my driveway onto the highway, gather, gather, and still the stones keep tumbling away.
Someone will live with my dog. My neighbors and landlady are getting to be closer to friends. They’ll step in if they’re needed. And at the bottom of the novella I wrote for my puppy’s human replacement are a list of his farm godmothers. An emotional support cat even showed up for him (very politely introducing himself in a crystal lucid dream as a friend for Asa, and then pinging my phone through a friend of a friend who was trying to find him a home). He’ll be well cared for too. Milo the medicine cat, and Asa the little sky bear.
The creek behind my little house is swollen with fall rain, and getting to be colder, like the glacial lakes I used to dive and play in. Walking there the other day, I heard it asking to wash over my feet, but I’d worn the wrong shoes, and thick wool socks, that misty day. I came back the next, when the sun was shining and the light was strong. Chrystal clear water, folding like fabric around my feet; my nervous system opened, drained and calmed. The creek gave me a blessing - to travel far and then come home, and some other things besides. To flow with discernment. To orient towards clarity, and cultivate directionality - to know which way I go. And also how. Why. Animals start making themselves known - I've seen three snakes just this week, and stepped out my front door to find the most beautiful, arching turkey feather.
There is no way I could undertake such a journey without this kind of support and feel confident that I could do it safely. Otherwise, a bit off balance, I would stumble with momentum and grip tight to maintaining it until I could finally fall. This time, I don’t even know if there’ll be a fall at all. That’s something new for me. There’s that feeling of diving; turning onto the highway right after a blind corner. Jumping into water without having measured the depth, or height, or strength of the currents that day. Walking on to stage without a clue of what you’re about to say. And then there’s the thrilling glide of pulling a boat into the current - setting the paddle at just the right angle that you’re gracefully turned without needing to push at all, and feeling your body, held in the boat, unite with the consciousness underneath. Rivers are so playful. They’ll make everything so very interesting, and then they’ll surprise you with peace.
As my landlady said, when I jumbled a long winded version of “and-by-the-way-thank-you”, “Good. That feels right.”
I love to imagine that this might be how people left for a journey back in the day; taking weeks just saying goodbye and receiving the blessings of the people and loved ones that were home. Not from everyone. Most of all, from the wise ones. From anyone who would want them well and safe out on the road.
And Juliette's...
It all feels like a dream, weaving in and out of conscious reality, preparing for this voyage. Just a few months ago I was preparing to move across an ocean—everything was in place, and I was so ready. But fate twisted in another direction and now I’m wandering a bit, meandering through intense states of emotion all leading to this journey, and it feels right to do it this way.
It still seems like a whispered idea in some ways, just thoughts between friends. And as we planned, this whole world began unfolding. It’s like the plan was there all along, we just had to open up and see it. I took some time one morning to just see what sacred sites piqued my interest, and ended up listing exactly the number of places we would have time to see. And then something incredible happened.
Larkin sent a message about a friend who lives near Rome, by an ancient temple dedicated to Diana, set in a phenomenal caldera. And my entire being, every cell in my body, and so much force all around me, just shouted YES.
Almost immediately thereafter, my logical mind began questioning the decision. Diana? I mean, sure, I have been devoted to Artemis for years, but I know nothing of her Roman counterpart. Oh how deeply naive and limited is logic, albeit incredibly helpful in many instances. Regardless of logic’s persuading, I still felt this immense and wonderful yes. Truly full of wonder, in all the spaces I could feel, and thus like so much of this planning, I set aside logic and trusted.
After some time had passed, I finally took a moment to read and listen about Diana Nemorensis, the epithet of Diana we are journeying to visit. I didn’t know how many epithets she had, and I certainly didn’t know about her pre-Hellenic worship, and let’s be real, I didn’t know anything about her. Just the yes.
It turns out, Diana has been worshipped in many facets over many millennia, often conflated with other goddesses (Artemis, anyone?), and it appears her origins trace back to indigenous Italians pre-Rome. The Diana of Nemi, Diana Nemorensis, is most likely a harmony of Diana and an ancient wood nymph of the land, a being on the tongues of many, but never on the plume. I found amazing information about her from a YouTuber who goes by Chaotic Witch Aunt, a devotee of Diana, and an absolutely fascinating human, and I definitely suggest checking out that channel for more information. I would love to tell you myself, but I am a student at the very beginning of this learning!
Listening to stories of Diana, reading stories of Diana, these little pieces of information settling perfectly into the threads of this tapestry we are witnessing be woven, I can feel an energy pulse through my body, a knowing that my feet crave the caress of that land. And I can’t wait to share with you.
<3 <3 <3
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