A Little Story about The Fool

Hi, I am Catherine. I am many aspects of one. Here in this space I am medicine keeper, witness, guide to those who are willing to take a leap, willing to begin, willing to discover, willing to be their own Fool, Their own Heroine/Hero, their own Healer. We have a part to play in our natural healing and I am one of many, who have been called to be of assistance to the ones who say the sacred Yes.

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​It’s April Fools’ Day and today seemed like a good day to speak to the archetype of the fool, a place I have myself often. In dominant culture, the fool, overall, is looked at as negative, there are often shame and guilt attached to being a fool. And yet in mythology, legend, and the spiritual realm The Fool is where the Hero or Heroine begins their journey into The Wild Unknown; a place where we are invited into a deeper discovery of Self and our purpose in the world. Our Wild is how we heal ourselves and the world…the little stitches, the ‘food’ we make, the ‘gardens’ we tend, the words we write, the songs we sing, the ‘steps’ we take. The Wild lives within and around me. I am a part of it and it is part of me. The Fool within, is what gives me the courage to step out into the unknown, journey down paths that are not familiar, step off the cliff and free-fall into new beginnings; all the while, trusting that there is more that I do not know, have not yet discovered and stepping out as The Fool is how I learn, how I listen, how I heal. Dominant culture would have us believe that The Fool is foolish- ‘a person or action, lacking, good sense or judgement; unwise’. I would dare say, that The Fool is one who is brave, one who is willing, one who’s desire is to #livelikeyoumeanit Anyone who has accomplished something that is deep and meaningful to them has at one point had to play The Fool. Has had to step out into The Wild. Has had to Trust beyond their human comprehension. 

​Recently, I held a day retreat for women, honouring the coming of Spring. The day was to start with a cold plunge, in the lake by my home. What the women did not know is I had a plan to do our lake plunge in the area by the natural Hot Springs that can be accessed at certain times. These naturalHot Springs, are ever changing, sometimes on a daily basis. The night before the gathering, I lay in bed voicing prayers around the desires I had for it to be ‘perfect’ and a certain way. It was during this time that my guides and Mother Earth herself reminded me that this is The Wild, so that is what it will be, WILD. I chuckled at myself, as it was true, and I needed to release my own expectations of what would transpire the next morning. I shared with the sisters, my experience and we all had a good laugh as we walked towards the Hot Springs and the lake. And it was perfect. Together, we experience the wild, and it was good. 

I hold space, not only for myself as The Fool, but for others who are brave enough to take their own Fools Journey. Those who dare traverse the wasteland of their traumas, whether that be ancestral trauma that they still carry in their cells and bones, or the trauma, the grief and challenging experiences that they have experienced themselves. The ones that marked them, big and small, and altered parts of them. I do this by offering spiritually based holistic and cognitive healing through one on one sessions, gatherings, ceremony, ritual, and retreat. I am a guide, a medicine keeper, and a witness to those who are willing to be their own Fool, their own Heroine/Hero, their own Healer. We have a part to play in our own healing, and I am one who assists. The Fool’s Journey is The Heroine/Hero’s Journey. To me they are one in the same. To walk this earth is to face challenge, feel pain, experience grief. We came here to do hard things, and we were not meant to do it alone.
​So Happy April Fools Day! I pray you you have the courage to play/be the Fool now and again. I will be there too.  And it is here I remain.