A Cauldron Wrapped in Chains – My Year With Cerridwyn – A Guest Post From Melinda Sabo
This guest post by Melinda Sabo is part of a series celebrating the My Word Goddess Readings by honouring the gifts of the goddesses that stepped forward in 2014….
I became interested in Goddess archetypes and religions rooted in the Divine Feminine after reading “Dance of the Dissident Daughter” by Sue Monk Kidd in early 2012. That year I learned about my shadow self with Persephone. I decided to focus on her in particular after a discussion with a friend about how crows were Persephone’s underworld messengers and the symbol of the Muse in flight. I’m obsessed with crows and creativity so she was a good fit. I enjoyed spending a whole year exploring one Goddess so much that in 2013, I crossed the Mediterranean to Egypt to explore the Goddess Isis in detail. During my research, I discovered the amazing work of Goddess Guide, Soul Writer, and Selkie – Amy Palko. Amy helped me to take my cerebral study of the Goddess into my heart, soul, and daily routine.
Late that Autumn, I worked with Business Coach, Fabeku Fatunmise to help define and launch my creativity coaching and seminar business. Fabeku’s vision of my business at that time was of me sitting on a large rock under the stars staring at a cauldron that had rockets attached to it, but that was held down by chains. All the potential of a rocket-propelled bubbling cauldron and all the heaviness of padlocked shackles. As a part of my work towards personal liberation and professional success, in December I purchased a 2014 Goddess Reading from Amy and discovered Cerridwyn, the shape-shifting Welsh Goddess of storytelling and transformation. The first image I pulled up of Cerridwyn revealed the coy smile of a beautiful woman tending a bubbling cauldron of creativity. Wow. Shivers. What a great match!
On the cold dark nights of early 2014, I lit fires, brewed tea, and dedicated myself to following Amy’s exercises. I decorated an old box with glitter, bright paper, green paint, and a print of Emily Balivet‘s amazing “Cerridwyn’s Cauldron.” I filled it with hand-written love letters to my future self and to Cerridwyn as well as scribbled on scraps of paper which named the things I wanted to transform in 2014. I hung additional copies of the print near my home altar and also at work. I created a vision board full of wishes for my writing and creative pursuits and I read everything I could get my hands on about Cerridwyn.
Throughout the seasons of 2014, Cerridwyn helped me rewrite my own story so that I am now the protagonist and no longer a minor player. I learned to stir the pot and work the magic of personal transformation. I moved into a job that gave me more time and energy for my art and my budding creativity business. I showed my paintings for the first time. I started selling art online. A non-fiction piece I wrote was published in an anthology. I pitched my novel to a senior editor at a publisher I respect and received a request for the full manuscript. I booked my first three creativity coaching clients as well as my first public speaking engagement and I finished my website. As the momentum of my life spiraled off in brilliant new directions, my personal life changed for the better too. So many of these things seemed almost impossible last January and yet I ended the year a completely different person – wholly transformed and with a long list of dreams come true.
The chains are discarded and the rockets are firing up for a fantastic 2015. Amy’s Goddess Readings are now an official part of my New Year’s ritual and this year I’m paired with Cybele. She’s an ancient Goddess who came down from the mountains with an escort of lions to live and lead with an almost feral passion and intensity. She’s a wild one. I look forward to a year of mischief and dancing balanced with truth and focus. Cybele will lead me on new adventures, but I know that Cerridwyn, Isis, and Persephone are walking nearby.
Melinda Eliza Sabo lives in the American Midwest. She is an Idea Chaser, Fiction Writer, Travel Photographer, Visionary Painter, and Creativity Coach who believes that life should be an artistic journey: truly well-seen and well-lived. Further musings on creativity as well as information about her art, creativity coaching, lectures, and seminars can be found at www.MelindaEliza.com.
Are you ready to meet your goddess of 2015? Do you long to know which goddess will be guiding you throughout the coming months? To find out, book your reading now –2015 My Word Goddess Readings. Available for only a few more days!
