The Lady and the Serpent (part 2)
A personal rendering of a traditional folk tale from Norse tradition, full of embodied feminine wisdom.
Previously on the first part of this tale, we learned how the queen that could not conceive , had made an unexpected encounter with a wise woman that sensed there could still be a solution to her ordeal and advised her on a very clear ritual to perform to conceive an heir to the throne.
1 Prince Lindworm: Source:
https://www.deviantart.com/fresco-child/art/Prince-Lindworm-212066239
That night the Moon was full, and the queen went to her room at the castle after dinner and prepared herself alone for a ritual where she would put every ounce of her heart into the ritual the old woman had recommended.
She took a bath with essential oils, she combed her hair like she did on her wedding night, and perfumed herself with her favorite jasmine and musk scents.
She wore her favorite comfortable white dress, placed scented candles everywhere. She grabbed the wooden cup, placed it on a small table and knelt down in front of it. Poured some water she had previously collected from the waterfall earlier, as instructed by the mysterious old woman. Then she placed the wooden cup right in front of her on the table.
She proceeded to relax, and placed one hand on her belly and the other one on her chest, She stayed like that until she would only feel her heart beating and her belly expanding and contractine. After a few deep breaths, she started to feel the tensions in her body fade and a softening taking place in her forehead, her throat. As she kept breathing, her shoulders and jaw relaxed soon after. She kept breathing, focusing on the tiny waves she was feeling from her heart, now reverberating throughout her arms, her core and legs.
Now she could relax even further and noticed a tension in her lower back that she did not know she had until now. So, as she was putting her attention unto that area, she wondered if she could also release some of the tension there like she had done in her forehead just earlier. Now a light and gentle grin started to form on her face and shortly after her whole body started to rock back and forth in an incredible subtle fashion. It was barely perceptible at first. But then she kind of felt so grounded and safe by the atmosphere she had put on for this ritual and the support she had received by the old woman at the waterfall, that she started to get more into it and surrendered more to the amplification of that soothing that was now taking place.
After a few moments, she now felt the urge to move her hand from her heart to her shoulder and then went and squeezed her lower arm and back in a circular motion the same way back to her heart. Shortly after, her other hand that was on her belly started to move on towards her ribs and back as the other hand was going. This felt now oddly comforting. She would have preferred that someone else had been there to hold her and made her feel protected, secured and good enough, like when she was a toddler. To her this didn’t feel desperate, but refreshing.
Moments later, she felt not only that her body was sensing her hands stroking her, as if this was someone else touching her but also, how somehow her hands were almost discovering how this may be felt if this was someone else. It was the first time she was feeling how one could feel actively sensing through touch and feel one thing, and be on the receiving end of that touch and feel something slightly different at the same time. She felt both object and subject at the same time. Eventually a deep sigh took place throughout her body, indicating it was accepting the gift and that she had done well so far to do this.
While in another occasion she would have loved to keep this innocent exploration going, a voice in her head told her to focus and proceed with the ritual.
So she opened her eyes and looked at the moon for a moment. It was brighter than ever and no clouds for the coming hours were on sight. Then she started to pray. Pray for a son. A son so noble, so grounded that he would be in service of this kingdom and its people. A son that would carry the wisdom traditions that had been initiated through good and difficult times. Learnt from before and which deserved to remain in place for the balance between the other neighboring kingdoms, the woodlands, and mystical creatures living among them. She envisioned a boy, who inspired respect, strength, and able to listen. A boy guided by truth and justice that would carry their noble lineage. In her prayer, she was envisioning how calm and confident he would be. How humble, contemplative and wise he would become, and always passing up the praise to the ones who deserved it the most.
The images became so vivid, she could almost feel his presence through time in the room right behind her.
As her breathing was ever so deep and intense, a wave of love that made her shiver all over started to make its way from her lower back and up her spine. Then it went up her upper chest, then to the back of her neck and head. It was as if she was suddenly been lit up from all her being and now could feel a constant buzz that kept going down her arms to the point she could feel the palm of her hands tingling. Now tears were emerging and rolling down her cheeks and she started to sob soon after. He deep longing for a child had now triggered an emotional release that was more acquainted to gratitude, truth and a sense of alignment and destiny than sadness.
That’s when she remember to bring the wooden cup with the water from the waterfall close to her heart. Thanked the universe for this opportunity and got a few extra teardrops to fall on that recipient.
As instructed, she then placed the wooden cup on the ledge by the window where a large pot with ground was already set. She then stepped back gently, cleaned her face with an handkerchief, blew out the candles and went to her bed to get some rest and sleep.
That night she fell asleep with a gentle tingling around her heart and a warm feeling in her belly.
The morning came, and she opened her eyes. It seemed still really early as she heard no sounds, and wondered if it was too soon to check the wooden cup for flowers. But after a few minutes, she got up and returned to the window to check on the cup.
And indeed, right next to it she could see clearly that two little flowers were present. One red. One white.
She was now so excited and that she jumped around out of joy and stamped her feet with pure elation but still with a bit of disbelief that the ritual might have just worked the way the old woman had predicted.
But now a disturbing thought arose and now she wondered: Which flower should she be eating first? Was it the red one or the white one? Or both? In which order? A little panic started to emerge. It would be so silly to mess it all up now after all those efforts.
She thought: “The Old woman said: one flower. ONE! I am pretty sure. The white or the red? White seems right, but the red one seems slightly bigger and brighter. Like it’s almost a sign it should be this one I should be having. But what if it’s the white one? Why is it so small and almost pale in comparison. But maybe it’s to remember to be humble, innocent and pure? But what if I was meant to have the red one, that evokes power and courage?… What if I eat both? Maybe I could double my chances?… Oh but then in what order???…”
Source: https://www.youtube.com/@OverlySarcasticProductions
At that instant the queen, started to curse to her herself for not remembering the exact instructions and wished she had at least repeated back the instructions instead of simply nodding and running away. Or find some sort of way to mark her hand with a twig, flower, leaf or anything to help her remember the color of the flower or if it was one or two to eat and in which order!!!
She put her head in her hands, and shook it sideways in disbelief. But then decided to simply lay down on her bed for a moment and asked her heart:
-How should I proceed?
Heart, tell me, tell me, please:
Which flower should I eat first?
She let the question resonate for moment.
Heart, my dear Heart.
Please tell me, tell me: Which flower should I eat ?
Tell me what should I do?
Then she thought this started to sound like a prayer. So she continued with that mantra, for a while.
Until at one time, she stopped and a deep sense of stillness and clarity was evident; leading her to open her eyes. She stood up. Turned towards the cup on the window. Walked slowly but with determination this time to approach the flowers again.
She looked up at the moon and the sky. Took a deep breath. And picked up the red flower. Put it in her mouth and started to chew on it.
It felt DE-LI-CIOUS!
It was so velvety on the tongue, firm and fresh at first but then lightly crunchy on her teeth like the freshest of rose petals and tasted as sweet as violets. She,\ took the wooden cup and drank the water and she felt like the water had been on journey from a distant glacier, down through the highest northern mountains and the most lush forests. It tasted sweet, with a tiny hint of lingonberry that made her feel somehow like she had made the good decision.
Then the queen looked at the white flower and stared at it for an while and thought to herself:
-"I wonder how this little white flower may taste like?”
And without waiting for an extra heart beat, she picked up the white flower and put it in her mouth. It had a similar texture but was way more subtle. It reminded her of mead wort and almonds. This was was almost melting in her tongue and the flavor faded soon after, but then remembered to take another drink from the wooden cup to ensure at least the magic from the waterfall and her tears would do the rest and help her to give a son to her beloved king.
When she had swallowed everything, somehow she felt relieved and felt no regrets and had made the right decision. She felt very grounded afterwards and went to see the king later that day.
When the king saw her, there was something about her that had changed. He approached her and he asked her:
”My Sky woman of the dawn! How are you today? Is there anything I can do for you today?”
She made her way to his chest and curled up her arms around his back the way a boat is relieved to come home after a long journey away in tumultuous sea.
She just nodded, and said:
-“This is nice.”
To what he replied : “ What? The hug?”
-”No… THIS!”
And after a moment of silence, he said:
-”Yes.”
About nine moons later, contractions were felt and it seemed the time that everyone in the kingdom was waiting had finally arrived.
Thank you for valuable time and hope to you enjoy bits of this story. The remaining two parts will be available in my two following posts. Consider subscribing and leaving a comment to help me refining my writing.