What Do You Mean By “Guides, Gods, and Ancestors”?
Poetry, Inspiration, and the Quest for a Clear Message
May the nourishment of the earth be yours,
may the clarity of light be yours,
may the fluency of the ocean be yours,
may the protection of the ancestors be yours.
From “Beannacht” by John O’Donoghue
Sometimes a wild god comes to the table.
He is awkward and does not know the ways
Of porcelain, of fork and mustard and silver.
His voice makes vinegar from wine.
From “Sometimes a Wild God” by Tom Hirons
I know this path by magic not by sight.
Behind me on the hillside the cottage light
is like a star that’s gone astray. The moon
is waning fast, each blade of grass a rune
inscribed by hoarfrost. This path’s well worn.
I lug a bucket by bramble and blossoming blackthorn.
I know this path by magic not by sight.
Next morning when I come home quite unkempt
I cannot tell what happened at the well.
You spurn my explanation of a sex spell
cast by the spirit who guards the source
that boils deep in the belly of the earth,
even when I show you what lies strewn
in my bucket — a golden waning moon,
seven silver stars, our own porch light,
your face at the window staring into the dark.
Well by Paula Meehan
This next section offers some context for why I offered this poetic trinity at the start of this message. (Hint: did you catch the mention of the ancestors, a god, and the guide at the well?)
It’s also an invitation to sign up for my upcoming program, the Autumn Writers’ Knot.
You may wish to skip to the end where you’ll find the link to the workshop I offered earlier this week, The Story Source: 3 Ways to Connect to Your Own Creative Inspiration.
The Mythic Quest: An Entrepreneur’s Ongoing Attempt to Clearly Describe the Thing they Love to Do & Share
His head adopted a quizzical tilt as he read these lines:
The guides, gods, and ancestors are your greatest creative allies.
What might happen if you asked them to help you shape your stories, your ideas, and your art?
I was chatting with my beloved business coach, describing my upcoming program for writers, the Autumn Writers’ Knot.
Jeffrey embodies his work - he comes to every conversation with a conscious, open-minded, open-hearted presence. He seeks to understand the essence of what you’re saying and translate it into something that can be understood by the wider world.
By Jeffrey’s body language alone, I could tell that everyone doesn’t simply “get it” when I start speaking of the guides, gods, and ancestors.
The good news is that there’s a really good chance you get what I mean.
You’ve met your own guides and have a sense of the gods (the mystical, the multifaceted, the fantastical, and the divine).
You’re here for the ancestor work, both reaching to the ancient past and thinking about what it means to be a good ancestor to those who will follow in your footsteps.
The folks who listen to my podcast, read my book and join my writing groups, and keep returning to my work, season after season, speak the language of myth and archetype. They seek out magic and trust that we are supported by an unseen world.
We’re not your typical writers, perhaps. Maybe we’re not your typical “spiritual” types either. (Not that I would have a definition for that weirdly and wonderfully vast word.)
We gaze at the world through a lens of synchronicity and those shivers or recognition are an everyday occurrence. We seek to root into the land beneath our feet, but also reach out arms across time and distance to find wisdom that takes us deeper than a thinning scrim of topsoil or our modern cultural echo chamber tends to allow.
Again, if you’ve followed me through the scraps of poetry through the description of a Zoom call, all the way to here, then I think there’s an excellent chance that you might enjoy the Autumn Writers’ Knot, an online retreat series for creative who are ready to be inspired by the Guides, Gods, and Ancestors.
We begin September 24, so get signed up and add it to your Sunday calendar now!
The Story Source: 3 Ways to Connect to Your Own Creative Inspiration.
It was a treat to share this work with members of the community this week.
In this workshop, I share:
how your physical body and surroundings influence your creative energy
how the elements - earth, air, fire, water, and spirit - are the building blocks of nature and your own creativity
how poetry can open you up to inspiration and new insights
how to develop a relationship with a creative guide
Grab your journal and set aside a quiet hour. Let me know what comes through for you and how meeting the elements and the guide in the glen has helped you find your own way to your creative source!