The ritual itself was led by Katrina Messenger of Reflections Mystery School, and I have to say, I hope it's not our last experience with her! She was effervescent, a strong speaker bearing vast knowledge, joyful from the inside out.
Oh, how I hope to follow in her footsteps. :)
Speaking of footsteps, during the ritual, we were led through a trance that had us connect to our ancestors. I had done this a couple times, but with limited success -- I'm not sure if it was a mental block or lack of experience or what, but it had admittedly been a while anyway and I was wary based on getting... pretty close to nothing.
So to say I was skeptical was an understatement, but I went along with it and sat on the cold slate ground with my knees tucked up under my armpits and a tealight candle cupped in my fingers, waiting for... well, who knows what I was waiting for, but I was ready to accept whatever it was that was offered to me.
Imagine my surprise when the trance came more easily than I thought it would. Perhaps it's because the veil is thinner and my ancestors were happy to meet me, or I was somehow more receptive to everything than before. Without going into great detail, though, I can say that this experience was eye-opening and allowed me to see far more than I ever thought possible.
One interesting thing was that there were no spoken words. Sure, people's mouths were moving and there was commotion all around caused by (what I perceived to be) laughter and dancing, but I couldn't actually understand anything said. I'm sure they sensed this, so at some point, they started filling up a great basin with water, which revealed within a symbol I had never seen before:
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I was confused, but figured they were trying to get a message to me without actually having to "speak" (at least, not in a language I would have understood). The symbolism meant little to me, too -- why water? why surrounded by all that laughter? why can no one explain this?!
I mulled over it the remainder of the ritual. It wasn't really bothering me, per se, but it was definitely weighing on my mind, as this is the first clear-as-day message I've ever received from another world. Quite frankly, it scared me a bit.
After the ritual concluded, I approached a friend and asked if she could identify it for me, as I imagined it was a rune:
"It was kind of shaped like this..." I explained, holding my fingers up to make a sharp-pointed P.
"Oh, hold on, I think I have that one," my friend said as she went through her rune tattoos and jewelry. She finally landed on one and pointed to it. "This one?"
Excited, I said, "Yes, that's the one! What does it mean?"
"Oh, that's Wunjo," she replied. "It's a happy rune!"
I was determined after that to find out what it was (though I have to admit, it kind of settled me already that it was a happy message that was communicated to me, ha!), so right after putting Tycho down for the night, I set to my internet research.
Wunjo ("won-joe") literally means "joy", with an esoteric meaning of hope, harmony, and perfection. Its element is ice or water, is associated with Odin and Frigg, and corresponds to astrological sign Leo. It also signifies happiness, light, and emotional satisfaction.
... okay, so that's all well and good. So why did it appear on my journey?!
Further reflection revealed that the answer literally surrounded me as my ancestors laughed, danced, and expressed their own joy with me. I felt welcomed, accepted, even joyous in their presence, and as they filled the basin I held with water and the Wunjo rune (later, I recalled that it was the tealight they were filling), it started to overflow with the same.
As the 14th Dalai Lama said, "Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions." I've known many people who want so much to find happiness, chasing those things and people around them that they believe will bring them what they so sorely desire. After all, one's typical "make me happy" list includes things like a partner in life and material things.
However, you know that sense of satisfaction you get when you finish a project, accomplish a goal, finally end something that you put your blood and sweat and tears into? Imagine that feeling. Blissful, isn't it! You created something great, and you can revel in the fact that you and you alone did it, by virtue of your own motivation and desire for success.
These feelings are the essence of Wunjo: That joy is manifested not through things outside you, but within you.
I like to think myself as a joyful person (ahem... hence, the name of this blog!), so to find that my ancestors were the same for the most part should not come as a surprise to me. I feel that they are the influence to how I am today, and that on my journey through life, they are always there to fill my cup to abundance with happiness, contentment, and blessed joyfulness.
And of course, they're there to remind me that, like they are within and live through me, so should my joyfulness. :)
So for that... thank you, ancestors, for showing me from where joy is truly manifested. Thank you for your guidance and your endless showering -- sometimes literally! -- of bounty and happiness in my life, and may my cup overflow so that others around me are surrounded by the same.
(bliss) he enjoys who knows not suffering, sorrow nor anxiety,
and has prosperity and happiness and a good enough house.
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