Divination: Reclaiming the Old Ones - The Gift of the Dragon

By Melanie Paquette

Hello my fellow lovers of folk arts and folk wisdom. We’re just coming out of the tide of Beltane – it's a potent time as the wheel turns and spring seems to burst forth overnight. It also marks the halfway point in the cycle that started at Samhain. I always feel like these are good milestones to reflect on the cycle so far and what might be yet to come for the rest of the cycle.

And lately, dragons have been on my mind – I mean, more than they usually are.

Every time I come into the Ninth Wave Arts space (and I’m here a lot), I spend a bit of time with our dragon, Saoirse-Nashira. Sometimes, I put my hands on her and feel her vibration. I’m often seated across the room from her where she catches my eye. I’m sure she’s shaking her head at our silly antics, and sometimes I’m sure I can hear her voice joining us in song.

I’ve reflected on her words over the past 6 months

— about the stories she carries, her thoughts on how we are connected to everything around us, our practice of naming ourselves and our givings and receivings during sharing cup, her observations about how we are remembering and reclaiming what it means to be part of community, and how difficult humans sometimes find it to be in community. And of course, the human fixation on the weather and our fascination with the sky. 

And so I wondered … what else can Saoirse-Nashira help us reclaim, remember, and embody? This is the story the cards the Ace of Cups, Death, and The Empress told me, with the help of the dragon herself of course.

Something new is being birthed every second, every nanosecond, in the smallest fractions of time that humans are unable to measure or even conceive of.

The old ones planted seeds long, long ago. For many of us, these ancient beings have faded from memory and their stories are long forgotten. But the seeds they planted are emerging all the time – we only need to stop and pay attention to see them. Once we’re aware of the precious stories that have been saved for us, we can help them grow stronger with the fullness of our emotions – the warmth of our laughter and celebration, the compassion and sacredness with which we tend to ourselves, others, and the land we live on, and even the tears we shed – whether they are tears of joy or sorrow. As we allow our cup to overflow with this offering of emotion, we can begin to reclaim the wisdom of the old ways and strengthen the bond of community. 

Something big is coming – the old ones are giving us signs – the changing weather patterns, the eclipses, solar flares, geomagnetic storms, and the human-made conflict occurring around the world.

It feels as though a great upheaval, a cosmic shift that will alter the fabric of reality itself, is coming. It’s easy to feel fear, to retreat, to cut ourselves off from each other. We fear the sting of the scorpion – the ally of Death. The sting of a scorpion is rarely lethal, but it sure does hurt like hell, and you’ll remember it forever. We can prepare for the sting, but we can’t prevent it. Instead, we can allow it to wake us up, to cut through the mist of illusion and enchantment and clear the path of transformation. Then we can see the message of Death for what it really is – a passage, a doorway to new beginnings, endless possibilities, and the infinite potential available to us if we stay connected and aware. 

Once we’ve allowed our emotions to nurture the seeds of the old ones and embraced the sting that leads to the doorway of possibility, we’ll find ourselves embodying strength and resilience, nurturing seeds of creativity and abundance within our souls and the collective souls of community.

We become the Empress – the essence of the old ones reclaimed. We become the ones who will plant the seeds for those who look for magic in the future.

I’m reminded of lines from a song we often sing … 

We are the old people
We are the new people
We are the same people
Wiser than before

All that from connecting with the dragon and drawing a few tarot cards. I hope you look for the new things being birthed, embrace the shift and the sting with grace, compassion, and wonder, and that we all find ourselves living in a land where magic flows like water and the whispers of destiny dance on the song of the wind.

Melanie hosts workshops and offers Tarot readings. Check out her offerings on our website.