Of all the spirit allies I work with in my shamanic practice, I love, love, love to work with the sacred fools. They offer the invitation to play and generate laughter, they encourage that theatrical performance which is, in reality, an honest reflection of the truth beneath the show.
The sacred fools will be the first to laugh at their own misgivings and they will laugh the hardest. They give us the courage to do the same, for having the strength to laugh at our faults is empowering, so much transformation takes place at the boundry between what is hilariously funny and what is incredibly meaningful.
When working in groups with the sacred fools, humour is often an excellent way to crack open the shell of uncertainty and access the softness and truth within, meaning we can get right up to our edge, pushing up against our boundaries, the liminal place where the magic happens.
Possibly my background in street theatre drew me to the trickster energy of the fools, that feeling that anything could happen, only the fools know what they will bring each day. They always tell me straight but are my fiercest defenders and greatest cheerleaders.
These sacred fools I make are the result of a process that begins with me taking a walk with an intention to find a piece of wood that would like me to notice it. Shamans believe everything is alive and intention is everything. When I have noticed a piece of wood that would like to work with me, I begin to interact with it, holding, molding, carving, conversing. Sometimes I know instantly what the piece would like to be, sometimes it takes a little more time and occasionally, it changes completely part way through the process. The intention remains strong throughout, to develop a relationship with this piece of nature and allow the spirit within to become present and visible. Wrapping is an important part of the process, done consciously, ever mindful of the intention, this empowers the object and seals in the magic. I will carry out journey work with the object and often receive information intended for the recipient of the object, this can happen even before the recipient is known to me. Sometimes people who buy these works just fall in love with them and know they want them in their home or studio without being particularly interested in all that came before. Maybe the spirit of the piece knew all along and found it’s own place. The last stage will be to smudge the little guy before they go off to be with their new keeper.
I will be guiding people through this process; finding material in nature with the intention to create something in collaboration with it’s spirit on my retreat. We will be engaging in ceremony to offer ourselves to the spirits of the place to receive the blessings of creativity.
My next retreat will be 12th to 17th September 2021
you can read more about it here