OK, I'm setting off on my Hallowquest journey.
Lesson 1:
1)What preparations do you need to make?
Well, I have the deck (1st version with black border), the Hallowquest course book and a notebook to keep impressions in. On a practical level, I will need to make sure that I have my cards, notebook and pen easily accessible. This will ensure I have a regular prompt and make it easier for me to keep up.
2)What changes to your routine?
This is the bit I will need to think about carefully. I will easily keep up with the meditations and daily draws while on holiday but it is going to be difficult to keep up this discipline once the school term starts. I need to find a regular quiet time and can do that fairly easily for 4 out of the 7 days a week. It's the other 3 I'm going to have to think carefully about...
3)What is the most important factor in the course for me?
I drew 3 cards at random: Sword Knight - Grail two - Grail King
The Sword Knight reminds me of setting off on this quest in the first place. He is motivated by an ideal which echoes my own feelings. I
want to get on that horse and find that path. He holds the sword of light reflecting the illumination I seek. In fact, all 3 cards have a wonderful light, illuminating quality. The tower on the hill reminds me of Glastonbury Tor and an Otherworldly presence.
Grail 2 is such a beautiful image - the 2 turtle doves speak so clearly of love and devotion. I get a strong feeling of peace when I look at this card. It reflects my real-life relationships and also my desire to find that peace and devotion in a divine relationship.
The Grail King is an image I love. It reminds me of woods and how much I enjoy resting next to trees. The energy is very similar to a spot I know in real life.
He is inviting me to join him and reminds me that there will be help when I find the quest confusing. He gives me the chance to explore hidden mysteries. Both grails also speak to me of deep healing and nourishment.
The Card Meditation:
I chose to focus on the Sword Knight as he speaks to clearly of the quest I'm starting.
I meet the knight and he waves his sword in front of me. 'See how my sword is illumed by light.' I explain my desire for the quest. 'The light of the Sword is not the aim. The aim of the quest is to become the sword yourself so that the whole of your being is illumed by divine light. Are you up to the task?' I explain that I'm not sure but that I'm willing to try. He invites me onto his horse and we ride to a woodland stream. He reaches down and pulls a golden grail from the stream and tells me to drink. 'The light cannot illume a sword which is broken. Begin your quest with the grail.' I drink and notice a long, old, rusty sword standing in the ground beside me. 'I will lend you this sword until you have one of your own.' (I wanted to write won instead of 'one') A beautiful woman appears and gives me a richly embroidered scabbard. It looks like cross-stitch and the colours red and white intertwine like dragons. She declares I will get a new one when I have a sword of my own.
I found that this meditation soon took on a life of its own, leading me to places outside of the original image. I find the notion of becoming the sword yourself very interesting as it speaks of the deep transformation which is possible. I feel heartened by the suggestion to start with the Grails - this was on my plan according to season anyway and also feels intuitively right...emotional healing needs to be done. The pun with the words one/won is also giving me much food for thought.