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imagery
Taueret journey
Psychospiritual Approaches
definition
Hippopotamus:
The Hippopotamus is the midwife in the Cauldron. In Egypt, she is the goddess, Tarät (Taueret), who attends each and every birth. She is seen on the walls of the temples assisting at the birth of the sun each morning after it has completed its journey through the underworld.
There were three couches in the tomb of Tutankhamen. The first was the hippopotamus couch, which symbolized birthing into physical form. The second was the cow couch, which corresponds to accessing the astral plane. Third was the lion couch, which has to do with birthing the stellar body.
Talismans of Tarät were carried for fertility and during the birthing process. Although classical Egyptology interpretations often show her as a vanquished villain of darkness, I have always found her to be compassionate, sensual, and full of wonderful wisdom and guidance.
Hippos have disappeared in Egypt, where they used to flourish along the Nile amongst the also-vanished lotus. They were slaughtered for their teeth, which are prized for ivory that does not yellow with age. Hippo skins are extremely thick, although quite sensitive to the sun. According to one source, a hippo hide takes six years to tan by hand. The resulting leather is so hard that it can cut a diamond. Perhaps that's why in Mesopotamia hippo hides were used to make chastity belts!
Sometimes hippos appear blue, and they were often expressed that way in Egyptian art. They secrete a bluish, purplish, reddish liquid somewhat like our sweat if they are kept from their pools too long.
Hippos give birth in the water, in places where they feel absolutely safe. They must live where the river is shallow and the current slow, for they are not great swimmers and a swift current can carry them to their death.
When you journey through the Cauldron to visit Tarät, you have an opportunity to re-experience your physical birth in the presence of a midwife capable of holding a safe and secure place for what may have been a traumatic event in your life. Once you have resolved your birth trauma, you might have a variety of new experiences with this journey. Sometimes you can experience birth in a past or parallel life, or Tarät may teach you how to be born in ecstasy and joy, free from the pain that is most always associated with the birthing process. Each time you will be nourished with the milk of wisdom, the pearl of great price, as you enter life anew.
Hippopotamus journey
Do the alchemy. . . .
Because you are traveling to the Nile, Thoth may transform into an Ibis to take you to his homeland. It is that quiet, magical time between night and day, just before the first light of dawn illuminates the eastern horizon. You are brought to a path near the river. The drumbeats you hear are the heartbeat of Mother Earth. Warm and moist, the balmy air wraps around you in a soft embrace. You can feel the moisture from the dew that has gathered on the grass along the path. You come to a place where two flamingos guard the passage to the river. The surrounding mountains are blanketed with deep, lush, velvet-like terrain tinged with the same pink color as the flamingos.
Thoth leads you along the path to the great River of Life where the papyrus grows along the banks and the hippos can faintly be seen languishing amongst the lotus flowers, nibbling lush greens in the pale, early morning light. You are directed to one of the lovely lotus blossoms for your vantage point. There is just a hint of the hidden fragrance that this flower will exude when the sun shines forth to open its heavenly crown. Feel the strength and beauty of this exquisite flower.
It is warm and peaceful here. As you look out over the river, you can barely make out the silhouettes of some hippo heads with their gleaming eyes in the semi-darkness.
To get a closer look, you must follow the stem of the lotus, down into the water, down to the rhizomes, the horizontal roots beneath the surface. The water is warm and you will find that in this dimension breathing comes easily, even under the water. There is a heartbeat that is creating some kind of vibration in the water. You sense the presence of the hippos and realize the vibration you feel is created by the heartbeat of the hippo, conducted by the water. They have huge hearts.
Feel yourself connect to one of the hippos. Make eye contact and request her assistance as your midwife in this birthing experience. . . .
In order to explore and re-experience your physical birth, you must travel further down the root of your lotus, following these deeper shoots as they descend into the rich mud of the river bottom, taking you back through time, back through your childhood, back to your earliest memories, and further, back to the very source of your life. . . .
You are in your mother's womb, safe, secure, gently rocked and enveloped by the amniotic flux. There is the ever-present beating of your mother's heart. As long as the heartbeat is there you know you are safe, for the heartbeat is the rhythm of life. . . . Pause to get the feel of the womb.
You begin to experience a sense of striving to be born, striving to come forth into the light of life on Earth. Be aware, as the striving awakens within you, that you are choosing to be born. And now, as you re-experience your birth, do so with the full awareness and acceptance that you have chosen this life. . . . Pause.
As you come forth into the light of new life, and while observing your life from birth to the present, you have an opportunity to forgive others who may have caused you anguish or pain. In those places where you would judge yourself, forgive yourself. Accept that you are the beautiful, unique, wonderful being that you are. It is through forgiveness that you can resolve the past traumas of your life. . . . Pause to complete instruction.
As you move back up through time, back up through the lotus, you will find yourself once again cradled in the exquisite lotus blossom. Its soft color and delicious fragrance generate a feeling of well-being as you rock in the gentle current of the river, presently watching the hippos as they feed and play in the early morning calm. . . .
Now that you've experienced your birth, enjoy the feeling and look toward beginning anew. . . .
The lotus releases its roots, and the current of the river gently and purposefully carries you downstream. With wonder, you begin to anticipate the nourishment of life and love. . . .
The river widens into a bay. Here, in the slower current, you see Tarät, your hippo midwife once again. She beckons, and you dive off the lotus and swim towards her. . . . Tarät opens her mouth and there, on her tongue, is a beautiful, luminescent pearl. She gives this pearl to you. . . . You may swallow it or place it inside yourself. As you absorb this pearl, feel its nourishment and luminosity spread throughout your being. . . .
You can ride on Tarät's back as she swims slowly to the shore. She may even have a necklace that you can hold on to. . . .
When Tarät lets you off at the water's edge, take a moment to receive any further message or instructions she might have for you at this time. . . .
You may choose to give her a gift. . . .
Thoth is there. Take a moment to recount your experience with him.
Thoth will assist you back into your body. Be sure to ground and center. . . .
(Scully)
Reprinted with permission from the author, Nicki Scully, and the publisher, Bear and Co., from The Golden Cauldron, Bear and Co., Boulder, CO., 1991.
uses: birth, re-birth
note: available on cassette tape with music from author (c/o Cauldron Teachings, P.O. Box 5025, Eugene, OR, 97045).
Visit www.shamanicjourneys.com for more information.
see also other Scully imagery:
Cauldron alchemy and initiation
bear journey (heart)
gold journey (heart)
Kuan Yin journey (compassion)
Mut and Crone journey (healing intuition and wisdom)
rainbow butterfly journey (self-esteem)
footnotes