WISDOM PATHS
By Elaine Maginn Sonne, PhD (aka Myth Doctor)

With six decades of spiritual seeking under my belt I have the blessings and the scars to prove that I’ve learned easily from some Wisdom Paths and been flattened on others.  I discovered early on that we are guided from Age to Age, and Time to Time by Sages, Mystics, Shamans, Pagans, Druids and Wiccans who have entrusted us with roadmaps (Wisdom Paths) intended to lead us to our spiritual evolution. Many have advised that our primary Life Purpose is to seek out our unique spiritual journey within our inner realms of Wisdom and then perfect our gifts and talents as we weave our destiny into the fabric of everydayness. That message has frequently been distorted and is still viewed today by the majority as heretical. It is. No matter. (Definition of a heretic: one who is opposed to dogma!)
 
Myths and legends—my favorite Wisdom Path—entertain us with clever metaphors as they hide metaphysical secrets we must discover to step into our roles as healer, mystic, wizard and co-creator of our personal cosmos. King Arthur, Merlin, even Cinderella, are meant to reveal our heroic, mystical and beautiful true Self.  Every path (journey) is a Wisdom Road to teach us to follow the Inner Knower. She/He/It does not live in a pulpit, Her pathways are hidden from the ignorant and there are dozens, perhaps hundreds of Wisdom Paths to meander along —including meditation, journaling, chanting, prayer, labyrinths, affirmations, Mother Nature, Tarot, Chakras, singing, dancing, drumming—even exercise is a Wisdom Path when it takes you to a zone where you encounter your greatness. There is not just one path. And we are all ‘chosen people’ - chosen by a Creator to live our unique human life and evolve into a more loving, compassionate Being.  We are a diamond in the rough, here to shine our megawatt light into the darkness of ignorance, war mongering, political and religious greed so that we may fill the bank of humanity with clarity and kindness.  Big job!  But together we can do it.

The three ‘superstars’ of Inner Reflection, Buddha, Jesus and Lao-Tzu,  taught the Wisdom Path of connecting with the Higher Self . They insisted that You are your Wisdom Path because only You can access your Soul.  Whatever way you access it, is your choice.  I find great inspiration in walking the Labyrinth and I’ve walked the circles in France, Ireland, Sweden and in Los Angeles where I live.  It is a physical wisdom path of personal inner reflection that teaches you to trust your mind/body/spirit connection to reveal wisdom, healing, creativity and more as you move deeper and deeper into your center (physically, spiritually, emotionally).  The beauty of the labyrinth as a Wisdom Path is that you can never be lost, only constantly guided and protected with each new step. Mother Nature is another glorious Wisdom Path—star gazing, or drumming under the full moon is a creative, imaginative dance with the heavenly bodies that reflects nurturing and guidance into your physical body.

Saluting the Heavens is a Wisdom Path.  We are awed by the beauty and appreciate the Moon as the symbol of the feminine, the Sun the symbol of the masculine.  Awe and balance are requirements for survival and continued existence. I’m a Moon Goddess fan and I personally love to bask in the moonlight, drumming and contemplating all the feminine qualities of all the women who have gone before me as I visualize a shower of soft light enveloping me in the midst of darkness.  That soothing idea of protection in the darkness (the unknown) has been a comfort to me throughout the ups and downs of my life.

As a very curious and rebellious woman I have always sought out unusual pathways to spiritual evolution and I found an interesting one not long ago.  I’d like to share it with you.  It’s called the Magic Square of the Moon.  Magic Square legends originated in most cultures in the early centuries.  They were taught by the brilliant mathematicians Plato, Pythagoras and Agrippa who believed in the lost art of Sacred Geometry which held that if certain numbers were formed into a mathematically equal square they energized an area of magic around the person who viewed them or used them in ritual.  They are almost completely lost again. 

The Magic Square of the Moon below was believed to be especially effective under the Full Moon.  The magic derives from the fact that the numbers arranged in a square of equal sides all add to the same total, coming and going, up and down and oft times even from a diagonal.  This is believed to be geometry with a sacred energy.  Cornelius Agrippa had this particular magic square engraved and wore it as a talisman for special favor with the heavens and his soul.  Agrippa (1486-1535) wrote: “It is affirmed by Magicians of Ancient Wisdom that there are certain tables of numbers distributed to the seven planets, which they call the sacred tables of the planets, endowed with many, and very great virtues that represent that divine order of Celestial numbers—idea's of the divine mind, by means of the soul of the world.”
 
It’s an intriguing theory  - our soul available for consultation when looking at these numbers - and I plan to test it with a drumming and journaling session under the Full Moon of the Autumn Equinox.  It’s not your typical wisdom journey but it is unique.  If you wish to test it also—simply make a copy of this Magic Square of the Moon, take it with you into the moonlight and look at it while you meditate, chant, pray or simply contemplate. Maybe it is magic!

37    78    29    70    21    62    13    54      5
  6    38    79    30    71    22    63    14    46
47      7    39    80    31    72    23    55    15
16    48      8    40    81    32    64    24    56
57    17    49      9    41    73    33    65    25
26    58    18    50      1    42    74    34    66
67    27    59    10    51      2    43    75    35
36    68    19    60    11    52      3    44    76
 77    28    69    20    61    12    53     4    45

Respect for the ancient truth of ‘as above, so below’ came late to me but I now use it as an ongoing Wisdom Path to help me solve problems or show me new ways of evolving. The macro (universe) and micro (personal) connectedness keeps reminding us that we are made of star stuff and therefore we can shine just as brightly in all that we do. The much talked about ‘new paradigm’ of the all-connectedness of things is actually an ancient Wisdom Path rediscovered. 

If you have not tried any of the Wisdom Paths I’ve mentioned, you might consider exploring their meaningful influence on your life. One last magical Wisdom Path that I have used for many years with great success, along with my daily journaling, is writing and saying affirmations—passionately—in bold letters and shouts!  It’s a proven fact that thoughts become things, and you become what you think about. So think about this:   I am the megawatt light of my own life. I shine with brilliance and genius wherever I go. Write it. Shout it. Be it!

And until we meet again, may all your paths be free of puddles.

- Elaine