A Sacred Pilgrimage
From Florida to Arizona: A Bucket List Dream
Full Moon in Sedona Arizona - October 2023
I always wanted to go to Arizona after listening to Little Fluffy Clouds, by the Orb, as a teenager on coloured vinyl. I had a strong desire to watch the clouds float by from a mysterious place with endless skies. Little did I know then that one day this seed of desire, would take me on a sacred pilgrimage, across the United States, seeking answers to find more peace and simplicity in my life.
How it All Started: The Banyan Tree
The Banyan tree symbolises many things. But the element I like the most about it, for this story, is how it connects to life through its huge network of roots. It was the synchronistic connections, described below, that led to me to take the trip, and reconnect with many high vibrational people and some new ones.
In mid-2023 I happened to get in contact with a fellow Shamanic Art student I had met in 2019. She had posted on Instagram a picture of a Banyan tree in her locality, which was dying. We discussed sending healing to the tree, and the conversation led me to contact my teacher Imelda Almqvist and it was then that I found out about a retreat Imelda was running in New Mexico last October (2023).
This coincided with vague plans to attend another retreat in the same month led by my other teacher Ellen Kratka, which was being held in Sedona, Arizona. Neither women had taught in these neighbouring states of the US before, which I found highly significant, and I felt compelled to go.
They also coincided with the two October eclipses, the first solar eclipse on the 14h was nearly fully visible in Santa Fe during retreat number one, and the second lunar eclipse which occurred on the 28th whilst I was in the magical mountains of Sedona.
A Sacred Pilgrimage
A sacred pilgrimage can be an hours walk, setting a strong intention, or a journey across the world lasting a month as mine was, or longer. It is an experience everybody would benefit from at least once whilst here on this earth, to find deep answers when life feels challenging, stagnant, or lacking in fulfilment. They can also be taken when finding answers that have not been easily gained using other methods of enquiry.
Everything that happens during this intention filled journey offers a clue to the observant pilgrim. Every detail good and ‘bad’ combines to unlock the subconscious rumblings of answers, decisions and the opening of new pathways.
These may take months to unravel and come to fruition, but it is an experience that changes you fundamentally and there is no going back.
My experience of undertaking this adventure lived up to all of the above and was one of the most amazing adventures of my life to date. The eclipses cocooning it were the container I needed to experience a life changing transformation.
Watch my video of exploring the Vortexes in Sedona here:
