Cerridwen, Cacao and the Snake
A few weeks ago, I took part in a Cacao Ceremony with the divine Annu Tara. I arrived at her home, set intentions, drank the specially prepared cacao medicine, and then embarked upon a 3 hour journey of revelation upon revelation.
Now, I should probably explain that I connect to goddesses, guides, and angels on a daily basis. They gift me with dreams, images, stories, messages and often with direct guidance. So, my connection with the cacao deva allowed me to enter into that intuitive space for a longer period of time than usual, and to permit a process of deepening my understanding of the guidance gifted to me.
One of the first pieces of guidance I received was in the form of a story. The goddess Cerridwen, the Welsh crone goddess of feminine wisdom, storytellers and shapeshifters, appeared before me, and took my hands in hers. I tilted my head to the right, so to hear her words better, and she told me a story. I’m sharing this story with you today, as today we welcome in the year of the snake. The relevance of this will be revealed to you in the telling of the tale….
I hope you enjoy the story and that the year of the snake brings you much wisdom, peace and joy.
The old woman lived in a tiny cottage deep in the heart of the forest. So, it was of no little surprise when she heard a knock at the door. Startled, she tentatively drew open the door to reveal an unexpected guest. Python lay on her doorstep, its great coils wound in upon themselves.
“Old woman,” Python began. “Could I trouble you for shelter? The temperature is dropping day by day, and my cold-blood requires warmth.”
The old woman nodded, and swung the door open a little wider to allow the snake to enter her home. Waving an arm outstretched, she indicated the totality of her living space. One room with a stove, a bed, a table and two chairs made up the sparse furnishings, but there was a homeliness to her space. It was clean, well cared for and, most importantly to Python, warm.
“You can choose where to make your bed, Python,” the old woman offered. “My home is your home.”
The snake instantly made its way to her bed, but it did not situate itself on top of the patchwork covers the way she expected. Instead it coiled in the space between bed and hard-packed earthen floor. “This will do nicely,” Python told her. “And, as a gift for your generosity and open hospitality, I will give you 3 dreams over the next 3 nights. After the third and final dream, you will know what it is to fully embody the goddess.”
The woman looked a little startled. She wasn’t really sure if she wanted this gift. But, she was a wise woman, and she knew that if Python had arrived at her doorstep and was offering her this most unusual gift, then it was for a reason. She nodded her acceptance, and the Python curled in its space below her bed, and fell asleep.
That night the first of the dreams danced through the old woman’s hours of slumber….
She is a child again of no more than 7 or 8, and she is running through the forest with her younger brother. The two children stumble across the body of an enormous dead stag. Its corpse has begun to decompose and the nasty sweet cloying smell of death and rot offends her nose. Her brother runs away in fright, but she feels strangely compelled to stay with the dead deer. She crouches down and stares into its huge black liquid eye now devoid of any spark of life. And the deer stares back.
The following night, her second dream arrives…
She is a young woman held in the embrace of her new husband. This is their wedding night and their desire has filled them with fire. Their lovemaking is fevered and clumsy and all-consuming. Their flesh begins to give beneath the hands of their lover, cleaving from the bone. Blood soaks the sheets, but neither notice as caught up as they are in the consummation of their promises to one another. And yet, when the enamoured couple awake the next morning, limbs entangled and bodies sleep-warm, they appear whole, complete, perfect.
The third night delivered the final dream…
The woman is older in this dream, gone is the plump youthful flesh replaced with softer lines and curves. She is straddled upon the prone body of her lover, and they are both approaching climax. The woman arches her back as her orgasm moves through her, her mouth open wide to release her pleasure. Seconds later, the spirit of the snake follows her inhale, filling her whole body, creating a feeling of exquisite fullness.
The old woman awoke with a start. Desperate for an interpretation of the three dreams, she looked for Python beneath the bed. But the snake had vanished.
