Meet The Archetypes Of The Seasons

Getting comfortable sitting or lying down somewhere where you'll be safe and undisturbed for the next little while,

I invite you to take a few deep breaths in and out to bring you wholly and completely into this moment and into your body.

When you're ready and you begin to breathe at a rhythm and a pace that feels comfortable and safe for you,

Start to visualise in your mind's eye yourself on a grassy path.

To your right are a set of trees,

Quite a thick woodland but a very beautiful woodland,

And you see as you look to it that this woodland is full of the joys of spring.

Birds sing with their nests full of chirping chicks,

The flowers are budding on the trees,

Not yet fully in bloom but just with the promise of what is to come.

Everything is a beautiful light green colour.

There are promises ahead of the fullness of what will be but for now the forest is a place of new beginnings,

Of springtime.

And so as you walk along your path you soak in that spring-like energy,

Noticing as you do the breeze on your face,

The way it moves against your skin and shifts your hair oh so gently as you take one step and then the next forward.

As you walk along this path you feel the ground beneath you,

The air on your face,

The sun beating down upon you and the gentle smell of rain in the air.

But mostly you just hear that birdsong,

Gorgeous,

Glorious birdsong.

And so you continue walking and as you do you come across a figure on the path in front of you.

This figure doesn't stop you in your tracks but does give you a gentle smile and invite you to pause and talk with them for just a moment.

This figure carries that same energy of the woodland,

Of the new beginnings and the freshness of spring.

Their voice has the timbre of birdsong and as you speak with them you realise that this is the archetype of the springtime,

The archetype of that maiden new moon energy of new beginnings of the east and of the air.

Allow this person to greet you and allow them to share with you any insight they wish to share as they bless you with their spring-like,

Eastern air energy.

You This figure finishes talking to you and gives you a gift,

A single spring flower absolutely beautiful to look at and as you hold it in your hand you remember the energy of the springtime.

You bid your farewells to this figure and you continue on the path leaving them behind you as you start to walk forward the path now starting to curve round in front of you still in a circle around that woodland that stays on your right.

As you look to that woodland you notice that it's beginning to change,

That the greens are deepening,

That the flowers are moving from their bud stage into full bloom,

That those baby birds that chirped just a few moments before are now taking flight,

Soaring.

You notice that the Sun has become brighter,

Hotter,

That you feel thoroughly warmed right the way through to your bones.

You start to feel that energy of that sunlight as you walk,

The gentle breeze on your face now giving way to warmth,

The earth below you also baked in that Sun.

You allow yourself to keep walking and as you do you come across another figure on the path in front of you.

Knowing what to expect now you recognize this one as the archetype of the summer,

The mother.

They who are fire and the south illumination,

Passion and creativity and as you pause and greet that person with a broad smile allow them to talk to you to share with you all you need to know about that energy of the south and of the Sun about their energy and about what that means for and within you.

You you As this figure finishes talking to you they reach out and give you a gift.

This one is a flower that is in full bloom,

A glorious sunflower,

Bright,

Beautiful,

Thriving.

This figure gives it to you and pops it behind your ear to wear in your hair a reminder always of the height of Sun,

Of the fullness of the moon,

Of the heat of summer,

Of the south and of fire.

You bid them farewell and thank you and head off on your way again continuing around this path which still curves around the forest on your right.

As you walk you notice that the air becomes a little cooler,

A little crisper.

You notice that that Sun gives way to a dampness in the air,

A light dampness that is refreshing,

Not heavy or painful but simply cooling,

Soothing in a way that washes away the heat of the summer and that brings in something new.

You look to the woodland to your right and you notice that the trees have begun to turn.

You notice that many of those birds have now vacated flying away and being seen above the trees in great flocks that head off to warmer climes.

You look to the ground and notice many of the other animals foraging for food,

Food that will carry them through,

Amongst fallen leaves of reds,

Yellows and oranges.

You see the trees as they turn to those beautiful autumnal shades and you feel the calm and the cool,

Crisp air around you.

As you continue on the path you find yourself faced with another figure,

This one the archetype of the autumn,

Of the wild one,

Of the West and of the water and the waning moon.

Again they greet you with a broad smile and you stop to say hello and talk to them,

Allowing them to share now anything and everything they wish about that autumnal energy,

About that waning moon,

The West,

The water and the wild one and what that means in the world and for you personally.

They finish sharing all they need to you and then hand you a gift of their own,

A small bouquet of autumnal leaves,

Of the burnt oranges,

The yellows and the browns that form the gorgeous palette of this seasonal archetype.

You accept them graciously and hold them close to your heart,

A remembrance of the beauty that comes with letting go,

Of the beauty that comes with sliding ever closer into that place of rest,

Of change and seeing your goodbyes you head off again on your path,

Walking around once more with the forest to your right.

As you walk you feel the air become colder still,

The dampness giving way to a more biting cold.

You notice that the earth beneath your feet has become firmer,

Thicker,

It's become harder thanks to that cold air around you and as you walk,

As you stomp your feet on that ground,

You appreciate the earth for all that it is,

For the sturdiness of it below your feet.

You look to the forest to your right and you see that now those trees are bare,

Those last leaves having fallen,

The birds having long fled for warmer climes and many of the woodland animals having took themselves away to hibernate for the winter.

You keep walking and you come across another figure upon your path.

This figure is the archetype of winter,

Of the north,

Of the earth,

Of the dark moon and of the crone and as you greet them they smile,

A wide smile to you and invite you to pause for a while and listen as they share their wisdom about this season,

This energy,

What it means for the wider world and what it means for you personally.

You you you As this figure finishes sharing all that they need to share,

They hold out their hand and offer you a gift,

A single snowflake,

A snowflake that when you take it from them and hold it in front of your face doesn't melt or change and as you look at it you are made aware of the beauty of that snowflake,

The beauty that can be found in the cold,

The beauty that can be found in the stillness and of what can be created when we allow ourselves to rest into that stillness and get quiet.

You say your thank yous and goodbyes and you head off again upon your path,

Walking forward,

The forest remaining on your right and as you walk you notice that the temperature begins to heat again,

You look to the forest and see that things don't look quite so cold,

Don't look quite so lifeless,

That tiny green shoots are beginning to sprout out of the earth,

That slowly but surely the animals are waking up,

Wandering back gently,

Somewhat sleepy from their winter naps,

You see the birds begin to fly back slowly but surely into the forest,

Beginning to make their homes there again and make themselves known with their glorious sun and you find yourself back,

Back to where you started at the front of this forest,

Back to this place having traversed the whole of the seasonal cycle,

The cycle of the Sun,

Of the moon,

Of life and of nature.

Recognising all of that within the world and each of those archetypes within your own self,

Carrying their gifts with you and more,

Carrying their wisdom within you about the world and about your own journey.

Carrying that wisdom forward with you I invite you to come back now,

Back into your body,

Allowing that picture to fade in your mind's eye and coming all the way back to a place where you can hear and feel the physical world around you,

A place where you can touch the clothes that are on your skin,

You can move your head,

Wriggle your toes,

Place where you can stretch out and get wholly and completely back into this moment,

Back into your body,

Back into this time and space and when you're ready you take one big deep breath in and out and open your eyes as you come back into the moment.

Thank you.