My retreat journal Part 3 of 6: The Cyclops Goddess

I experienced a life-changing weekend as I co-facilitated Creativity and Connection Retreat October 17-19, 2014 on Bowen Island with Laura Mack at Xenia Retreat.

Here are some journal excerpts so you can get a small glimpse as to how powerful the experience was for me.

Recall:

PART 1 October 17, 2014 FRIDAY INTO SILENCE

PART 2 October 18. 2014 SATURDAY MORNING INTO THE LABYRINTH

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Part 3 October 18, 2014 SATURDAY MIDDAY: THE CYCLOPS GODDESS

Laura explained the Symbols Way process and got us in the frame of mind to fully enter the process this afternoon.

As part of our facilitation posters, I had reflected the 4 archetypes in my own way, and I feel the imagery I chose worked well within our natural Xenia landscape:

The Warrior (SOUTH)- imagined as a blackberry bush- emotional gateway ANGER; The Sovereign (NORTH)- imagined as Opa the tree- emotional gateway JOY; The Love (EAST)- imagined an autumn leaf- emotional gateway GRIEF; The Magician- imagined as a raven- emotional gateway FEAR — The Warrior (SOUTH) EARTH- imagined as a blackberry bush- emotional gateway ANGER; The Sovereign (NORTH) FIRE- imagined as Opa the Xenia tree- emotional gateway JOY; The Lover (EAST) WATER- imagined an autumn leaf- emotional gateway GRIEF; The Magician (WEST) AIR- imagined as a raven- emotional gateway FEAR

But before each participant was taken through the Symbols Way process individually, we dove into more messy creative process. I took the participants through my chakra drawing exercise— taken from previous lessons I have shared with other students. I love building and re-interpreting.

We drew a human figure and then went on to drawing a 3-D eye. We wrote the chakra chart and started incorporating the lessons thus far. It was truly a GO WITH IT exercise, creating a CYCLOPS GODDESS that we just kept layering on top of!

Delicious.

Of course, I had to look up the meaning of the CYCLOPS to see why she was appearing:

Blind, yet seeing. Ego vs spiritual enlightenment.

CYCL: the circle, the wheel.

HERE WE GO. More magic! How appropriate that the words in the chant we sang on the way to the sanctuary last night were:

We’re spiralling into the circle, the circle of our wheel.

We are the weavers, we are the woven ones,

We are the dreamers, we are the dream.

We are the children, we are the chosen ones,

We are all part of the web.

Aaaaaah-mazing!

We also journaled around the matrilineal question: What was your mother’s name? And if you know them, your grandmother and your great grandmother’s names? What are some qualities you or others associate with each of these women? This was a great way to “set the scene” for beginning the Symbols Way process.