You stand at the edge of a very large forest. It is quiet except for the sound of woodland creatures in the underbrush and the call of song birds overhead.
There is a familiar smell all around you of damp wood and leaves, the smell of a peat fire and crisp air. You inhale and immediately relax, somehow you feel you have returned to a place you have dreamed of many times and it feels like home.
Before you lies a leaf strewn path and you find yourself instinctively moving forward. The wind picks up and brushes against your skin. Your feet feel the spongy leaves and dark earth as your soft and sturdy leather boots take you deeper into the woods.
You feel a pulse in the air around you and hear the far off caw of a raven. The plants and trees here seem so alive, so bright. Without consciously knowing how, you realize you remember some of the names of the plants and how you can use them for healing. You make a mental note about their location for later. Your hand reflexively reaches for the pouch at your waist. It is empty now, but you know it will soon to be filled with medicinal and magical flora.
There is a familiar smell all around you of damp wood and leaves, the smell of a peat fire and crisp air. You inhale and immediately relax, somehow you feel you have returned to a place you have dreamed of many times and it feels like home.
Before you lies a leaf strewn path and you find yourself instinctively moving forward. The wind picks up and brushes against your skin. Your feet feel the spongy leaves and dark earth as your soft and sturdy leather boots take you deeper into the woods.
You feel a pulse in the air around you and hear the far off caw of a raven. The plants and trees here seem so alive, so bright. Without consciously knowing how, you realize you remember some of the names of the plants and how you can use them for healing. You make a mental note about their location for later. Your hand reflexively reaches for the pouch at your waist. It is empty now, but you know it will soon to be filled with medicinal and magical flora.
As you continue on, a mist begins to rise up from the forest floor. In the distance, the faint sound of a musical instrument wafts through the air. Something in you shifts and you begin to notice small details you hadn’t before. A robin’s footprints in the mud, the faint trickle of water over rocks, a white tuft of hair in the bark of a maple, a tiny mouse nibbling on something under a rotted log. You seem aware of everything all at once.
You close your eyes and take a deep breath, when you open them you see a path curving to the left in front of you. Your heart begins to race a little faster as you follow your intuition and go. One foot in front of the other takes you swiftly along the trail, the mist becoming denser with every footstep. The music you heard before grows louder and the smell of a hearth fire grows stronger.
You close your eyes and take a deep breath, when you open them you see a path curving to the left in front of you. Your heart begins to race a little faster as you follow your intuition and go. One foot in front of the other takes you swiftly along the trail, the mist becoming denser with every footstep. The music you heard before grows louder and the smell of a hearth fire grows stronger.
Up ahead you see a red door and a moss covered cottage surrounded by flowers and firewood, an ax rests in an old stump and you notice a garden around the side filled with vegetables and herbs.
As you get closer, the front door swings wide. There is a lady standing in the doorway with a huge smile. She is dressed in long indigo colored robes. Without a word she invites you in. You enter and she motions for you to sit at a long rustic table.
As you get closer, the front door swings wide. There is a lady standing in the doorway with a huge smile. She is dressed in long indigo colored robes. Without a word she invites you in. You enter and she motions for you to sit at a long rustic table.
Around the room, there are shelves of leather bound books, small and large glass jars filled with herbs, there are feathers and other tools, a stringed instrument sits in the corner and plants hang to dry. The air smells sweet and fragrant. You watch as the lady fills two clay mugs with a steaming hot tea. She places one in front of you. You wrap your hands around it and inhale and take a sip. It tastes earthy and a bit spicy.
Next, you watch as she walks to her bookshelf and pulls out the largest of the bound books. She turns and carries it over to you. The pages are yellowed and antique looking. She sets the book in front of you and you lightly run your hand over the embossed cover. Mysterious symbols arise beneath your fingertips. You feel as if everything in your world has just come into focus. Your whole body seems to be smiling. You look up at the lady and she is smiling too, her eyes bright.
"I have been waiting for you. Let's begin"
Next, you watch as she walks to her bookshelf and pulls out the largest of the bound books. She turns and carries it over to you. The pages are yellowed and antique looking. She sets the book in front of you and you lightly run your hand over the embossed cover. Mysterious symbols arise beneath your fingertips. You feel as if everything in your world has just come into focus. Your whole body seems to be smiling. You look up at the lady and she is smiling too, her eyes bright.
"I have been waiting for you. Let's begin"