esson 17b: Investiture of the Sword

visit the Round Table and walk round and round and round. Finally, I go to the center and just stand there. From the 'inside' I get a different perspective. I am blessed with knowing that the more things change, the more they stay the same. *Some* things one just has to accept and learn to deal with, instead of going crazy trying to change them.

   "Now you must learn the difference between the 'center' and the middle,' a voice says, and I see the Sword Queen approaching. "The center is complete and still; the middle is divided or joining, shifting, and not an easy place to be! Come, Moonchild, and walk with me.
   "You are a Fool, with one foot on land and one on air. The Rainbow Road supports you and keeps you from falling off the cliff, but it's not an easy--or necessarily balanced--way to walk. You are bound to run into rough sports, but you get past them. You must remember that air and earth border each other, but don't mix together much. Fantasy is enriching, but doesn't always translate to reality very well. Try using your sword to help you draw the line"
   She hands me a bag of beans. "This will help," she says. "Wake up and smell the coffee!"
   "And now, leave the path of earth and air, and let the water take you where it will . . ."
   I want to scream: "Ahhhh, noooo! No more water! Instead, I climb into the Sword Six boat, and wave goodbye to Lyn.
   "Have a safe trip!! she calls.³

   I float helplessly along, not enjoying it nearly as much as I did last time. Now, rather than lying in the bottom of the boat, I sit up to watch where it goes, willing it to move along a little faster. On the shore, I see something fluttering on a branch. A breeze catches it and blows this blue ribbon into the boat, and I think of how both the boat and the ribbon 'go with the flow.' It pisses me off; I feel I've spent enough time going with the flow. I pull the sword out to use as a paddle, and the boat sinks.
   I flounder in the stream, happy that my possessions are tied on to me, but the sword is lost.

   A floating stone comes along, and I use it as a life preserver and paddle to the shore. I grab the sword protruding from this stone and with a great heave (or ho?), pull it out.
   I swing the sword, slashing violently through the air, and give a great warrior's cry. The sheep scatter. I feel full of power and purpose. (But there is no ribbon for me here.)

   I continue on until I reach the underground cavern of the Cauldron. The women are still busily about their work, but they make time to pause and visit with me. We make some coffee with Lyn's beans and sit around having a real coffee klatsch. I realize that, merely by being created from two X [ooh, there's that X again!] chromosomes, I am automatically a member of the exclusive club, "Women of the World." And, no matter how much I may sometimes feel like an outsider, I will always have this in common with half of the world's population. The three bless me with their female companionship.

3) Lyn is a safety advocate. {back}