Heroine’s Journey
The story of the grail begins with the hero’s or heroine’s journey. A brief look at Joseph Campbell’s path of the hero’s journey is from a wound. An adventure of healing oneself by a journey into the unknown. Facing trials and tribulations, getting the healing elixir and the return home. The short version is the process of transformation.
Historically, this story is told from the male perspective. However, to try something different. The focus is to present a female perspective. In part, acknowledging the re-emergence of HER story. This past week, came across a young woman’s posting her van life experience. The woman acknowledged that she had had a challenging childhood trauma. Had taken up the van life to adventure and explore gorgeous places. And in this adventure was coming to terms, healing, and moving beyond her trauma. Her unspoken hope was to live a life fulfilled with meaning and purpose. It was obvious she was on her heroine’s journey and succeeding.
An obtuse jump: For the past 70 years we have seen a swelling wave of the women’s experience and story. Back in the late 1970s I stumbled across “Woman’s Mysteries. Ancient and modern: A psychological interpretation of the feminine principle as portrayed in myth, story, and dreams. M. Esther Harding 1936, rev’d ed. 1955.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Esther_Harding). It was my introduction to feminist psychology and ancient matriarchal societies from a Jungian psychological interpretation. This prompted a cursory dive into the Nag Hammadi text (http://gnosis.org/naghamm/nhl.html), the Gospel of Mary (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospel_of_Mary), the re-visioning of the Cathars. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catharism), and more recently the channeled writing of “The Sophia Code: A Living Transmission from The Sophia Dragon Tribe,” Kaia Ra, 2016. (https://kaiara.com/about/the-sophia-code/).
I wonder if we find ourselves with women’s spirituality coming to the forefront and outpacing the organized patriarchal notions of spirituality. It’s interesting that the emergence of the feminine spirituality is coinciding with concerns of our planetary existence and our recognition that Gaia, mother earth as a celestial being.
So, what Timmy? Begging another abrupt jump. The movie “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, 1989.) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiana_Jones_and_the_Last_Crusade The plot of this movie follows Joseph Campbell’s stages of the hero’s journey. Though the movie concludes after the grail ordeal and before the “road back.” The movie does not present the hero’s long journey to return home. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hero%27s_journey
Note: I am not confident that Campbell’s stages and process of the hero’s journey apply to the heroine’s journey. My male biased observation is that the hero “sees and does.” While I suspect the heroine’s experience is more about “feeling and being.” Regardless of the aspects and differences of experience, it’s a wide-open opportunity for women claiming their heroine’s journey.
The juvenile rite of passage into adulthood, or the contemporary “gap year” between high school and college is the beginning of the adult’s journey. The heroine’s journey is the grander passage toward the completion of the journey culminating in the return home. Whereas she the heroine, with the help of her familiars (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Familiar) returns to her home/community. She returns with the elixir AND as the elixir. Gardens spring to life as she passes by is the evidence of the elixir. This is not the story of returning home as in the hero’s version of the return of the prodigal son. But as the journey of becoming, being and the ineffable presence to BE… the mystical chalice (holder/container) of all things which are.
The Journey (short form)
The short story is a person leaves home goes on the great adventure. After, many trials and tribulations finally arrived at the castle’s inter sanctum. Knocks on the door of the inner sanctum where the ancient gatekeeper asks for the answer to the riddle. The heroine is admitted into the inner (esoteric) chamber. And must choose the authentic grail cup. If the wrong cup is chosen, then all is lost. If the correct grail is chosen, then the heroine is given passage to return home. But the path home is not the same path which she has traveled to get the grail.
The path to the grail took courage, strength, determination, skill, intelligence, etc. However, the path home uses all these qualities. Plus is now presented the challenge to bring, offer, and be the elixir to others. Her task is to discern the use of the elixir of those who are in need and request her help. There is no path home, because being home is the path. This roughly parallels the bodhisattvas’ vow. A representation of a female bodhisattva such as Green Tara, Mary Magdalene, and others. Perhaps there are the male and female paths of becoming a shaman or a crone. Perhaps the desire for the heroine, is that she longs for simple tasks with a peaceful day in the garden, starlit nights, music, arts and her many animal familiars that are by her side. Similar but different is the hero’s return to attend the simple farming tasks, the telling of tales from his journey and enjoying the company of his brothers in arms. However, both the crone and shaman’s task and role is keeping, holding, and protecting the holy grail. With the infrequent occasion of a knock on the door and presenting the riddle/challenge. Meanwhile, they wait for the heroine/hero to arrive and pass through the gate.
The Grail
The Holy Grail it’s symbolized as a transformative, magical, and mythical relic. They often referred it as a religious artifact, an Arthurian tale, or a transformative object. The following is a brief presentation of wondering thoughts about the grail. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Grail
The Grail as Feminine
By nature, design, and myth the holy grail is feminine because it receives, holds, and is the womb/chalice of transformation. There is also the ability to drink from the grail. It’s interesting to wonder about the associative symbology with water, especially relevant to the age of Aquarius.
What if the holy grail is an esoteric metaphor for consciousness? Specifically, consciousness is the grail cup in which we hold or experience. Experience is the elixir (water/wine) of life. That we drink (experience) and share experience from this chalice. In the Christian ritual of communion, the chalice (grail cup), holds the blood (life water) of Christ/Jesus. Communion is an intimate exchange or sharing of thoughts, feelings, and experience via the communion (sharing). We cannot drink, share, or live without the ability to experience. And experience presupposes consciousness.
In the grail metaphor, there are the notions of life, elixir, water, blood, wine, etc. The intimate exchange and sharing the elixir (wine, water, or life) via the grail. The grail being the container, holder, protector, and keeper of life/experience/knowledge, i.e., consciousness.
The grail, consciousness, experience are multi-layered dimensions that act as transceivers (transmit, receive, and carry) meaning, purpose and knowledge. They come in condensed or collapsed packages that are encoded and decoded relative to the encryption capacity of the sender and receiver. For example, a cup or bowl of water has a reflexive, reciprocal, and has archival properties. Mythology, fantasy, and emerging in psychic awareness; a bowl of water is used as a looking glass, mirror, to send and receive and is a portal to other dimensions via energy, light, frequencies, and entanglement… the psychic realms. We have a body, mind, heart, and consciousness. All can be seen as different levels of containers and portals to multi-dimensional experiences. In Eastern/Oriental thought, music, art, dancing, poetry, etc. is feminine in nature. Observed as the lunar cycles of waxing (emerging) and waning (disappearing) portals or potential to access opportunities or dimensions. Therefore presenting symphonies of novel experiences from the womb of creation.
Consciousness is the grail cup in which we have and hold experience. Experience is life, the living water that flows. It is the tool that allows us to experience life. Even the ego is just a lessor tool which helps to perceive and organize our experience. Again consciousness, the grail is a container of experiences, i.e., it holds the living waters/experience of life. Also, there are elements of sovereignty and free-will evidenced by consciousness being able to focus on what we fill our grail with and pour out (share); both externally and internally. The grail acts like a multi-dimensional portal. It is dynamic. It is open and receives (surrender) and also offers, gives and blesses.
Also the grail is infinite… expanding and contracting. The “I Am” the grail, proclaims or states into being (existence) the alpha and omega. Consciousness, becomes the reciprocal fractal. The recognition that you are all; the being, the journey, grail, bridge, crossing the bridge and become a new being. The new being which is the recognition of being the Devine. That we are both the testimony/evidence of and witness to the great ascension or transfiguration.
Is this the expected great event happening on this planet? Have we glimpsed of the future? The challenge is to get from the past to the future. The past has brought us to the bridge. The bridge of NOW is the bridge of being. Being focused, is the challenge to BE. It is the “I am” as both the being and the bridge to cross the great abyss. The great abyss is the NOW. And “now” is the bridge from the past to the future. NOW is the great BEING… so BE!
Esoterica
In other posts, I’ve noted that consciousness is like a vehicle, a projector lens, and a tool in which to experience and be our divinity. Viewing consciousness as the holy grail; the heroine’s journey, biblical references and a diversity of religious thoughts, rituals and perspectives begin to fall into place. Is this a “key code” to access myths/stories, emerging concepts of physics, a diversity of religious thoughts and other esoterica?
Disclaimer: This post is merely wondering intuition and not particularily well informed. Additionally disadvantaged by being a male, I could way off and would welcome any insight, correction, and feedback. The intention and hope are to provoke or stir the pot. As usual, use your sovereign discernment as to its value.
Blessings,
Tim