Hearing Heron

Just for a microsecond, I got transported back into a far distant time here on our beautiful planet. It was the time of the dinosaurs, a prehistoric land millions and millions of years ago.

I have been reflecting recently on my place within the history of time, so I am not surprised by the synchronicity of this experience. I was there. The air was different, the vegetation, the sounds and smells. This strange rawness and newness enveloped my entire being.

Heron bestowed this gift upon me.

Heron has been coming to me over these past few weeks with a number of messages, all related to new beginnings, fresh starts… because of course where there are endings, there are always new beginnings to follow. There have been a number of endings in my life over recent months, and as the long nights fade into a distant memory, and the warm sun kisses my skin once more I watch new opportunities unfold in front of me, ready for me to embrace.

It was when Heron called out to the wildness that I was transported back in time. I was sitting on the terrace at Roburnscar cottage, the venue we use for our weekend residential retreats in the Forest of Bowland. I looked out down the valley, an ancient woodland of oak, beech, hazel, elder, birch and pine, bursting full with life… early spring flowers, deer and buzzard. A really wild place, as close to paradise as you can get, surely. Towering above everything, stretching for the sky there were three huge evergreen trees, and it was in-between these that Heron flew and chanted his haunting call.

Heron has a real prehistoric look about him, and his call is just as ancient. Framed by the trees, it was this sight and sound that catapulted me backwards in time. Cemented again through a reading about an ancient plant, Skunk Cabbage, which Jason shared before our next journey session in the bell tent only a few minutes later.

It’s these moments, which are brought to me as I walk the shamanic path, which are among those I cherish most. They bring me ever greater awareness of the wonder of our Earth, over her 4.6 billion year life span. They draw me to acknowledge where I sit in her chequered history, and help me put my thoughts into perspective once more.

So thank you Heron. I hear you.