New Sword Woman Art!

I just created this icon, based on ( This image called Martel's Sword, which I found on the Trikinggames site )

ETA: Thanks to oakmouse who clued me in to the fact that Charles Martel was a historical warrior-king (and grandfather of Charlemagne). According to lore, it was his sword that Joan of Arc found when her Voices told her to search behind a particular altar to find her weapon. It is also said that the rust came away "as if by magic" when she went to clean it.

So this appears to be an image of Joan -- or a woman who is inheriting her legacy.

Centered

I was just going through an old notebook, sifting out what information and creative work needed to be transferred and what I should let go of -- and I found something that made me feel very good.

There's a page from July of 2006 that is full of notes about various archetypal roles, heroines, totems, tools, correspondences, and etc. I was trying to make a map of all the different elements of myself and find some way to make it coherent.

On the other side is the title "The Same Damn List" and it's four columns (each a different area of my life) of issues that I felt needed to be changed/improved/dealt with. They aren't lengthy lists, but they were depressing in the persistence of the items on them, stuff I'd never managed to get a handle on or overcome.

As I set the page aside, deciding I didn't need to keep it, I realized how far I've come since then. I no longer feel the need to map and label the parts of myself to try to pin down a sense of identity and purpose. I've dealt with a fair number of the items on that Damn List.

I feel centered, whole. I have far more confidence in myself as a whole person than I did last year.

It's a good feeling.