mistressofdreams

The title of Emily Bronte's evocative poem could almost be a hymn to the Moon, for it
asks the question....When I touch thy strings, Why dost thou repeat again Long-
forgotten things?...The celtic lunar Goddess Ahrianrad might be able to reply, for it is
she who holds in her hands the silken threads of humanity's inner soul-life, upon which
she plays to weave the subtle web of destiny, dreams and visions which comprise her
domain. She is the Moon, the Lunar Woman, and the wisdom of the ancients tells us
that the tides of light and shadowof which human beings are made flow though us
ceaselessly, and that whilst the conscious, rational, everyday self is ruled by the Sun,
our converse, deeper aspect comes under the sovereignty of Selene or Luna, the moon
Goddess. She rules the soul and the memory and there emotional waters which are
both refined and turbulent, high and low in scale. That deep surging ocean is the sea of
life itself, from which all creation eventully emerges into sunlight. It is into the hushed
echoing deeps of those fathomless waters that we return each night, to experience 'the
little death'. Later when the time is ripe, we withdraw entirely into the sanctuary of the
inner worlds to seek the adventure of fresh challenge and self-realization, a fate which
humanity calls 'death'.

As mistress of vision and Goddess of Dreams , we could learn much from the Moon
Goddess of of our own inner nature and soul-forces by deciding to respond creatively
and consciously to our dreams. Generally, we tend to keep Luna's precious secrets
locked away from ourselves, and take no heed of the nightly voyages we make into her
strange worlds, which are filled with wisdom and beauty, qualities we can well
perceive by learning such simple techniques as dream-continuation, recall and re-entry.
The 'fruits and flowers' of dreams which are the measure of enlightenment and renewal
which can come to our outer daily lifes when we begin to converse and commune with
the Moon Goddess of sleep cannot be thought of merely as enhancement. Our dreams
contain the essence of that which is profoundly vital in the establishment and
maintenance of beautiful and harmonious living, so that we may be at peace with the
outer community because we are at peace with ourselves. If there is, as some say, a
'Dreamer dreaming us', then it would seem consistent to belive that the mysterious
process we call dreaming, both asleep and awake, contains the veritable secret of
creation itself.

If the Moon is indeed the Mistress of Dreams , and wields the Wand of vision, we may
learn much from contemplating the wonderful story of Endymion and the Moon from
ancient legend. The mythic sequence is that Luna the Moon woman, ascending her
astra stairway like a dove, came one night upon Endymion , the shepherd of Nature ( a
symbol for humankind, in its role as stewardof the planet) as he lay sleeping. She fell in
love with him, but found that she could possess him only when he slept; therefore, she
set out to enchant him so that she could reach his soul during the day as well as at
night, her own domain. This old tale seems to corroborate in mystical terms the
archetypical idea that the Dreams of Endymion are valuable assets to uor waking hours
as well as to those spent asleep. We must learn to 'wake within sleep' and like
Endymion, 'watch the bright rivers of our dreams' even as we voyage out upon them.
In the Moon woman's world, everything is possible, especially to be an observer and
participant simultaneously. Sleep is a source of refreshment and revitalization not only
for our physical bodies, but also for those much finer, more subtle bodies of mind,
emotion and spirit.

Many figures in mythology play upon magical harps whose lovely strains send their
listeners deep into the underworld of sleep, there to follow a magical pathway of
dreams whose messages are treasured as wise teachings. The Moon is said to be a
great gateway 'of pearls and crystal, ivory and horn' though which we wend our way
each night to the shining lands of the soul; to her belongs the past and all secrets and
mysteries. Perhaps this vision of her would frame the best answer to Emily's haunting
lines ' Why dost thou repeat again/long forgotten things?'