“…and he came close and he took Angus in his two arms below the oxters with a strong grip and he pressed his body close to him and blew a long breath down into his mouth. And they were at the cliff’s edge. And the stranger lifted Angus Ruadh and dived with him together down, down into the sea.
“They dived down into the darkness of the sea. They sank deep, and deep down on the sand and seaweed of the bottom they came to a door. Now the stranger opened this door and himself and Angus Fuadh walked in.” From “The People of the Sea” by David Thomson (a collection of ancient Selkie stories.)
Angus was taken into the lower world by a Selkie who’s father had been wounded by Angus while in his seal form just the day before. Only Angus could heal his father, as it was Angus who wounded him in the first place.
Today I journeyed with a Selkie (or Selchie), down through the Ocean to the same doorway Angus walked through. I saw some of the same people he likely saw there, but my guide help me push further on, and I was brought even deeper to a place where the Selkie children play.
This was my second journey with the Selkie. The first came shortly after my last healing session for my spine. My healer tapped into a pulse, a thin stream through my neck that slowed my breath and led me on a spontaneous journey to visit with Selkie long displaced from their home water.
I have met Selkie in all the worlds, excepting this one. I believe they have well traveled paths to cross over to wherever they need to go. I have found some who suffer, but most are ancient and beyond the suffering we know. They all pull at me, to something more authentic than the way I now live. When they look at me they see my soul, they know I need to move like them, perhaps live like them.
The stories I’ve read and the songs I’ve heard about the Selkie recently are all about blood and death. The Celtic fishing folk hold much of the lore. The life of the sea is filled with struggle, and so are the lives of those who depend on it. The greater body of the Ocean is able to contain it all, and still bring forth children, abundance, love and magic.
I hope to have my own tales of the Selkie to share here soon. Right now my meetings can barely even be considered introductions – though the Selkie I meet seem oddly familiar.
Image: Northern Elephant Seals Fighting, Piedras Blancas, San Simeon, CA 02feb2008 by By Mike Baird from Flickr, used under
a Creative Commons license
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikebaird/with/2238575400/