This week our guide is Vellamo, a Water-Fae from Finland who rules over all water sources, the rivers, lakes, streams and the sea. In the card she represents The Queen of Cups and she is depicted glowing white, her hair and skin illuminated by the full moon. She stands in dark waters, at the shore by a forest. The moon’s rays create shining white ripples on the water’s surface and green leaves make their joyful presence swirling in the air. In Finnish mythology, Vellamo’s purpose was to care for all beings living in the waters, to protect all fish and to provide enough fish to the fishermen. Her gentle and loving character and her care for all beings was often materialised in her giving supernatural gifts to those she met when she occasionally climbed ashore. Vellamo also kept cattle, and her sacred and magical cows provided a never ending milk supply to those in need. Her cows were well desired and symbolised the act of feeding with love. However, if anybody tried to catch one of her cows, Vellamo would call them back into the water and her domain.
Vellamo brings a message of balance and harmonious relationships, both with ourselves and with others. Since she protects the fish, she is able to guide them away from polluted waters into cleaner areas. In this way, Vellamo reminds us to cleanse our feelings, enabling us to sieve through the toxic mud of stuck emotions to feelings of peace and clarity. She also brings news of wealth and an assurance that we will always be provided for. As the Mistress of the Water, she is invested in maintaining a clean environment for all living beings, particularly those in the waters. We can learn from Vellamo to cleanse our dwellings to ensure the free flow of energy so that we can thrive in a healthy manner.
Vellamo’s water energies are synchronised with the current Scorpio season and the Scorpio new moon and her energies, as explained by Flavia here. Our own energies have been nourished by both the Sun and Moon in Scorpio, and this may have felt like a deep cleanse which we have some resistance to. Instead of putting up a defensive wall, we can use this time to tune into the depth of our emotions. It might be revealing to notice that we have a craving to acknowledge how we really feel. Use the coming six months to honour your feelings, and take time each day to be truthful with yourself. You don’t have to share your progress with others, this is your own private journey of how you actually feel. Then, at the full moon in Scorpio in April 2021, take stock of your transformation. Don’t plan the change – let it be a surprise.
Meditation with Vellamo
Try this meditation with Vellamo
Sit down in a quiet space. Take a few deep breaths and relax.
Look at the image of Vellamo on the card. Observe how she is standing alone in the dark waters under the shining white full moon. The whiteness is reflected in the stars, in the ripples on the water’s surface and in Vellamo herself, her skin and hair are glowing white. The dark water may be cold but she is used to this, this is her home. Note the contrast of the dark and the white in the image, and the vibrant green leaves floating in the air. Let your feelings guide you to a focus point for your meditation.
Stay in meditation for 5 to 10 minutes.
After the meditation, journal about the below questions.
What emotions have you not yet honoured which are buried deep within you?
How can you shine your own truth in a soulful way?
Additional practice – shed your skin with the Snake Goddess
In this week’s additional practice we are looking at the Snake from the Amulets of the Goddess, Oracle of Ancient Wisdom by Nancy Blair. The image of the double snake amulet is based on a seal carving found in Crete, dating to 2,000 B.C.E., where the Snake Goddess was important as a figure of regeneration and healing. In several depictions of the Snake Goddess she holds snakes in her hands, often with the snakes undulating up her arms or with the snakes being part of her dress. The Snake Goddess held a powerful position as a priestess and embodied the powers of letting go of the old and embracing the new. Thus paralleling the snake shedding her skin and being a symbol of death and rebirth.
For the healing ceremony, lie down in a comfortable position. Imagine that you are in the Temple of the Snake Goddess and that you are lying down on a comfortable mat on the floor. Above you, in the ceiling is a circular hole through which you can see the stars and the constellation of Scorpio. You pull a blanket over yourself and nestle into your favourite sleeping position. When you feel ready, close your eyes and take few deep breaths and relax. Feel how a deep red light is enveloping your aura. Then feel how the red light is entering your root chakra. It is a very calming, cleansing and balancing red energy. Sense how the red light is going down to your knees, feet and toes, and making a connection to Mother Earth below. Then feel how the red light is travelling upwards from your root chakra to your sacral chakra, the solar plexus, the heart chakra, the throat chakra, the third eye chakra, the crown chakra and beyond, making a connection to the celestial sign of Scorpio in the sky above. Sense how the healing energy of the red light is making a connection between all your chakras and then expanding into your whole body. Stay in the healing energy of the red light and just be. Note any messages you receive at this point.
Take a deep breath and say thank you to the Snake Goddess and her healing gift. You can repeat this practice anytime you want to shed your skin, cleanse and balance all your chakras, and your auric field.
Mirasol