Mythology of the Sorceress
The Sorceress archetype in Vinotok rises out of the experience of weaving worlds together. She identifies junctures of connection, sometimes threads from disparate realities, bringing them into a unified web of points.
The Sorceress is one of the ancient archetypes throughout human history, across a variety of cultures, that walks between worlds. Physically she is often an edge-dweller, retreating to the fringes of society and the wild. Here, animals, rocks and water have voices as much as humans do, and she puts her ear to the ground to listen to both. Her intimate relationship with nature is so porous, she is often a shapeshifter, seen in the forms of creatures such as birds and bears. She communicates easily with and travels to realms of spirits, deities and magical beings. Therefore, understanding the languages of many, she is a synthesizer, a translator, a communicator, bringing the more-than-human voices to the surface for civilization to hear.
Because of her ability to walk between worlds, the Sorceress can be a complicated container of the all. Yet, instead of dueling or oppositional forces, she represents the balance of both creation and destruction, light and dark, birth and death, in the transformative dance of the ever-evolving becoming towards the whole. Her lightness can be the creative pulse and life force of spring and flowering. Her demand for balance, and hence the destructive forces of nature, seen in the wrath of storms, disease, earthquakes, and drought. Ancient humans saw her as not one to be messed with.
The Sorceress has also been translated as healer and shaman. One might see her as the woman of herbal remedies, potions and spells. There is often magic in the Sorceresses’ midst. Because of her power, the Sorceress archetype has often been misunderstood and demonized, but in truth she is a balancing force whose wise voice should be heeded. The Sorceress archetype of Vinotok reminds us to put our own ears to the ground and listen to both the earth and the people. She encourages us to watch for the enchantment of the hawk, the elk and the wind alike, to hear their voices, and from this dedication of awareness, ever strive towards balance and harmony. What the Sorceress of Vinotok represents is inclusion. An understanding of the interweaving. She is the synergy and alchemy that occurs when all voices are harmoniously present.
Mythology of the Fire Furies
The Vinotok Fire Furies are an elemental force in creating the plans for a safe Ceremonial Fire Circle at the village Crossroads. They do this by interacting with mankind and the necessary planning to create and honor order and respectful behavior between human laws and the laws of Nature.
The origin of the Furies in Western mythology is Greek. However, the Norse honored the Three Norns or Wise Ones as the Deciders of Men’s fate. Representing That which has been—named Urd; That which is becoming—named Verdandi; and That which may become—named Skuld, the Wyrd Sisters could cut the thread of Destiny at any time, especially if they felt that humans were overstepping bounds or meddling with Nature.
In Greek mythology the Furies could create all forms of natural justice through the elemental forces. The Furies held humans responsible for their actions, interrogated them on their practices and acted as liaisons between the Great Powers as they meted out justice.
The Furies hold us accountable. The ancient Furies are a Force of Nature. Our Vinotok Fire Furies are a Force FOR Nature.
Charge to the Furies’ Ritual
Destiny Makes Her selection. You are the Furies.
You cross through the realms of Earth, Air, Water and Fire.
You stand forth, held in the palm of the land, the hearts of your people.
You speak for the Earth, for the water and fire, for the folk and for the flame.
Receive this torch from the People of you Valley.
May you be honored in lighting the way and bearing our truth.
May you carry the chage of creating sacred ceremonial space.
May you be known as Priestesses of the Crossroads, and the Center point of our coming in unity.
May you hold this firebrand high, lighting the way through darkness and into the Light.
May you be embraced and held by the power of your Charge.
May you embody the Age, Wisdom and Power of the Great Feminine.
The charge is begun, the torch is lit. The time has come, the ritual is on!
Marcie Telander, Godmother and Founder
Sorceress + Fire Furies Meditation Activity
Finding your place: Take this opportunity to unplug from technology. Get a special notebook or journal to write in, and a pen to write with. Leave your cell phone at home. Reserve a chunk of time so you can be contemplative and slow. Walk out to a spot in nature in an easy saunter, as far as you can go in the time you’ve allotted. Find a tree to lean against, a rock to sit on, a stream to sit by, a meadow to sit in. Take a deep breath, settle in.
Contemplating Mystery: Opening to mystery is like throwing a fishing line into the vast ocean and waiting patiently. You develop the qualities of receptivity, waiting and listening to what may speak to you or touch your heart in spontaneous, sacred moments.
Settle in to your spot, and listen to the silence of the landscape and the stillness of the trees and rocks all about you. Begin to turn your attention toward what evokes a sense of mystery. Try not to look for anything particular to happen, as this is not a results-focused exercise. Penetrating int the mystery cannot be forced or willed to happen. Turn toward the unknown rather than the known, and contemplate silence itself. Let the thinking, rational mind quiet, as you learn to listen not from your mind but rather from your heart and intuition. Try to drop the labels, descriptions, and evaluations of the life around you, and simply be, resting in awareness.
Choose anything you encounter in nature as the focus of your contemplation, through preferably it will be something that will stay around long enough for you to dwell upon it. For example, you may want to choose an old tree, as stream, or a leaf from a plant. Once you’ve chosen the object of your attention, engage all of your senses so it comes alive for you. As you look long and deep enough at this leaf or rock or tree, you may begin to sense beneath the surface appearance, beyond your ideas and views about it. Rest as deeply in the present as possible, without any agenda regarding what should happen.
Even in something as minute as a blade of grass, you can sense or touch the mysteriousness of life. You may know how plants germinate, grow, and photosynthesize or that the color green is not inherent to the grass but is only a reflection of the light off the surface of the grass. But as much as you know intellectually, it is still mystifying that blades of grass sprout from tiny seeds, that they instinctually know how to reach toward sunlight, and that they grow in this unique, particular shade of green. Sensing into the interconnections between a leaf and innumerable conditions—from the sun burning in space, to the moist dew of the morning, to the gopher that tickles the tree roots—may take you closer to an understanding of the mystery of things.
Be mindful of how a leaf or a blade of grass can invite you into tranquility or rapture, into a sense of delight or curiosity. When you are present, receptive, and open, the natural world may speak to you in the language of mystery and wonder. You may feel that communication as a sense of silence, stillness, or breathtaking wonder. This dimension of mystery or awe can take you to a place beyond language, that is nearly impossible to articulate and is best left silent. Yet such moments can uplift our heart and make our spirit soar and sing. As we engage more and more in extended periods of silence, stillness, and quiet contemplation of nature, the mysteries of life and the universe will continue to reveal themselves to us.
– Adapted from Awake in the Wild by Coleman
Poem for the Sorceress
oh maiden long learned your craft, oh mother those who choose truth, oh crone of wild rapture
since time first began before blood was warm
the people call to unseen guardians
spirits derived from the depths of the past
for one to protect all and wield wisdom
a magic presence composed of control
by necessity plots on our behalf
and connects us to flora and fauna
no longer human more so a being
those who raise their gaze meet her piercing eyes
find dark strange provoking ancient power
bestowed by nature on her heartfelt soul
honor her cunning name her sorceress
oh maiden long learned your craft, oh mother those who choose truth, oh crone of wild rapture
Anna Claire, Wordsmythe