A Sacramental Cleansing
Well I made it to Pomfret and was greeted by Andrew with a bowl and a cup of water. I was told to put my hands over the bowl and he poured the water from the cup over my hands. Then he offered me a towel to dry them as he told me that someone had done the same ritual for him when he was on The Camino in Santiago, Spain as a pilgrim, so he wanted to offer it to me as well. At our dinner on Thursday, Andrew had told me about the practice on The Camino of taking a “passport” with you. It was a piece of paper that you took everywhere with you and you got it stamped at all of your stopping places. Having the passport stamped with sufficient stamps is what entitled you to the completion papers available at the end of the journey. He asked me if I had found a passport yet. When I said I hadn’t he gave me one and proceeded to write the first inscription in the leather-bound hand-made paper book. He then sealed his inscription with a stamp he had with Chinese characters. It was very cool. So now I have a book to catalog my journey with other people. I will have Mark put his inscription on a page as well and then have it signed by everyone else along the path. It should serve as a great memento.
It seems that Andrew is an expert on Medieval History and this is a truly wonderful thing (except when he pulls out the Greek dictionary and starts looking up word etymologies).
(Update 2013 – During this visit, Andrew talked to me about Sparta. Most people don’t realize that this is not my maiden nor my married name. It’s a name I took when I got divorced. I didn’t want to go back to the naive girl I had been when I got married and I was no longer the dutiful wife working on creating the American Dream. So I picked a powerful, warrior name that went with my strong association with my warrior aspect. It was during this trip that I learned that the Spartan women were the most self-determined women of their age because they ran the government while their sons and husbands were off to battle. They were warriors themselves as well, but the patron Goddess of Sparta was Artemis of the Lake. In researching this Goddess, I started the journey into the Divine Feminine that has taken me to where I am today.)
We spent a lovely evening visiting with a friend of his after aborting the attempt to do a poetry reading when we found out it had been cancelled. We got to bed very late and got up late the next day and headed straight out to the Three Musketeers Faire in Newport. I thought I wasn’t going to see these people for a while and yet, as the fates decreed – there I was. I have received an invitation from Michelle who has said that she will offer me class on seed beading and provide me with a supply of start-up beads (this is something I’ve wanted to do for a while). I also spent some time visiting with Maria from Ancient Fire Henna designs. Yet again she did a transformational henna piece for me. This time it was a snake since I seem to be working with that energy recently. The last time she did a piece, I really felt the effects of the transformation as it wore off. I’m wondering what will come of this one. We ate at Chevy’s on the way home and fell into bed at 9pm sound asleep because we were so tired from the last couple of days.
This Is The Pilgrim’s Passport that Andrew Gave Me
I told Andrew that I wasn’t sure what to expect of this journey and that therefore I was mostly without expectations surrounding it. I do hope that I will figure out what it is that I want to do or be provided with an opportunity to do something interesting as a result of the journey. Andrew suggested that I might consider teaching middle school at the boarding school he teaches at. At first I rejected the thought out of hand, but on second thought I am considering it. I do enjoy teaching the classes at the middle schools through New Hope and being that this is a private school, it would give me more latitude in teaching style which is one of the things that kept me out of the public school system. It’s a thought. We’ll see what else the journey brings for consideration.
Well, we’re heading out for breakfast here shortly, but I’ll touch base again tomorrow or so. Be well and happy – or (as Andrew is fond of saying) may your wells not run dry.
See the next step of the journey
* This is part of an ongoing series of posts detailing what happened on a spiritual pilgrimage that I took in 2002. To start from the beginning, go to July 2, 2013. To see the entire journey as it gets published, click on the category “You Want Me To Do WHAT?!!?” to see all of the posts.
