The Shamanic Witch: Spiritual Practice Rooted in the Earth and Other Realms by Gail Wood

Author:Gail Wood
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781609255060
Publisher: Weiser Books

Merging with the Universe: The Dance of Ecstasy

The drum started to beat its rhythm and my heart began to keep time with the drum. I could feel the beat moving me deeper into trance. I was in a cave, rich and wet. The cave walls glistened with water drops, and everything had a rich, lush burgundy color. The cave floor was moist and springy with the dampness. Suddenly I realized I was in my own womb. An old woman dressed in a long, hooded cloak came out of the shadows and I recognized her as the Ancient Mother of Water. She told me to forget my worries and live in joy. Suddenly we were by a large, beautiful pool. She threw back the hood of her cloak and shook out her hair. It was gray and springy, and still a glorious head of hair.

She looked at me and grinned. We looked at the pool and several women popped up from the water, all with gray hair. They each raised one hand. The Ancient Mother threw off her cloak; she was dressed in a one-piece bathing suit, the kind they design for older women to disguise their so-called figure problems. She struck a pose with her hands on her hips and her chin up; looking to all the world like a super-hero. She dove into the water, and she and the other women treated me to a fabulous water ballet. Their exuberance and delight in the water and the dance was contagious.

I ran to the edge of the pool, drawn by their feelings, their splashing, and their pleasure. Polar Bear nudged me from behind, in the small of my back. I dove in, and the water embraced me. I could feel the happiness of the swimmers surround me like electricity conducted through water. I was electrified and overjoyed. I let the happiness fill me and I danced in the water. Hands joined with mine as I danced. I merged with the water until I was part of this throbbing, beautiful dance of water, contagious glee, and magical togetherness.

It is hard to describe the state of ecstasy in prose. Ecstasy is a poetic experience that moves our conscious thinking mind into a place where there is no thought, no criticism, no self-consciousness, no analysis, and no sense of time pressure. Ecstasy moves into the world of feeling, pictures, and symbols, and when we embrace that place and merge into its flowing love, we are the ecstasy.

The word “ecstasy” comes from the Greek word ekstasis, which means the withdrawal of the soul from the body in mystic or visionary trance. Phrases like, “I took leave of my senses,” and “I was beside myself,” are echoes of an ecstatic state. The word in classical times was linked to insanity and frenzy, indicating a distrust in uncontrolled, rapturous states. This moving outside of our egocentric selves helps us to move more freely among the spirits who reach out to us. We are free, unfettered, and open.

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