"For the Soldiers"
May. 13th, 2008 08:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
qosOn Saturday morning, before I left for the island, I had some strong feelings about what I was and was not to wear. I was not to wear my wolf wedding ring (although the white gold band was fine). I was not to wear LM's heavy shirt (which I like to wear as a jacket over a tank top). I was to wear the Tiwaz rune medallion.
I had not felt called to do any particular work on the island, just to bring my teacher to a very special place. She had work to do, it turned out, and I was happy to stand guard at the entrance to the labyrinth and bear witness -- and to greet the spirit of an old comrade who joined a larger company of spirits who were being blessed. It's not my work to discuss, save to say that the Tiwaz rune was appropriate for what transpired.
This evening I did my every-Tuesday blot for Tiwaz, and in addition to discussing the household, especially security, he thanked me for my part in the working -- and then went a step further. Pray for the soldiers, he told me. He didn't ask any specifics beyond that, leaving it up to my discretion. But the directive was clear.
It is a responsibility I am happy to take on, for I have always loved and honored warriors. I frequently deplore the way they are used by those who make policy, but I have always felt admiration for the men and women who live out the archetype of the Warrior with courage and honor. Besides, part of my particular expression of the hierodule path is mediating healing to men who have been wounded in their minds and souls as a result of participation in war. I am not in a position to offer healing with my body right now -- but I can still act as a priestess and pray for healing for those who have served (the living and the dead), and who continue to serve.
I had not felt called to do any particular work on the island, just to bring my teacher to a very special place. She had work to do, it turned out, and I was happy to stand guard at the entrance to the labyrinth and bear witness -- and to greet the spirit of an old comrade who joined a larger company of spirits who were being blessed. It's not my work to discuss, save to say that the Tiwaz rune was appropriate for what transpired.
This evening I did my every-Tuesday blot for Tiwaz, and in addition to discussing the household, especially security, he thanked me for my part in the working -- and then went a step further. Pray for the soldiers, he told me. He didn't ask any specifics beyond that, leaving it up to my discretion. But the directive was clear.
It is a responsibility I am happy to take on, for I have always loved and honored warriors. I frequently deplore the way they are used by those who make policy, but I have always felt admiration for the men and women who live out the archetype of the Warrior with courage and honor. Besides, part of my particular expression of the hierodule path is mediating healing to men who have been wounded in their minds and souls as a result of participation in war. I am not in a position to offer healing with my body right now -- but I can still act as a priestess and pray for healing for those who have served (the living and the dead), and who continue to serve.
