Tag: Bridge

Daily OM for July 26th – Dealing with Disappointment

Dealing with Disappointment

A Bridge to Acceptance

by Madisyn Taylor

The gift of disappointment is to bring us into reality so we don’t get stuck in the realm of how things might have been.

Whenever we do something in life with an expectation of how we’d like it to turn out, we risk experiencing disappointment. When things don’t go the way we had envisioned, we may feel a range of emotions from slightly let down to depressed or even angry. We might direct our feelings inward toward ourselves, or outward toward other people or the universe in general. Whether we feel disappointed by ourselves, a friend, or life in general, disappointment is always a tough feeling to experience. Still, it is a natural part of life, and there are many ways of dealing with it when we find ourselves in its presence.

As with any feeling, disappointment has come to us for a reason, and we don’t need to fear acknowledging it or feeling it. The more we are able to accept how we are feeling and process it, the sooner we will move into new emotional territory. As we sit down to allow ourselves to feel our disappointment, we might want to write about the experience of being disappointed—the situation that preceded it, what we were hoping would happen, and what did happen. The gift of disappointment is its ability to bring us into alignment with reality so that we don’t get stuck for too long in the realm of how things might have been.

As we consider other disappointments in our life and how we have moved past them, we may even see that in some cases what happened was actually better in the long run than what we had wanted to happen. Disappointment often leaves us feeling deflated with its message that things don’t always turn out the way we want. The beauty of disappointment, though, is that it provides us a bridge to its other side where the acceptance of reality, wisdom, and the energy to begin again can be found.

Earth Witch Lore – Bridges

Earth Witch Lore – Bridges

 

Rivers belong to the Water witch, but bridges, and the superstitions that surround them, belong to the Earth Witch. As one who finds solutions and builds foundations, who else could conceive of a way to cross running water while remaining earthbound?

 

There are a few mythical bridges that relate to other elements, such as Bifrost (the rainbow bridge leading from Midgard, the realm of the mortals, to Asgard, the realm of the gods, in Norse mythology), but more often bridges belong to the realm of earth.

 

A bridge is a gateway, because it rests between two bodies of land mass. While crossing it, you are neither in one space nor the other. The bridge transcends the two objects it connects in this manner; hence, it is a very magical and powerful place. It has been said that time does not work the same way on bridges as it does elsewhere. Some say that time moves more slowly when on a bridge, while others say that time ceases to exist all together and does not begin again until one has crossed completely over. Because of the time factor, a bridge has the ability to bring one back to a childlike state.

 

In many myths, a bridge is the path one must take after death to reach the other side. Some of the mythical bridges were treacherous, in order to keep out the living. Native American lore speaks of a shaking bridge one must cross to reach the other side. Often these mythical bridges are said to not tolerate the weight of a sinner and will cast the sinner off the bridge into the water below.

 

There is a tale in modern folklore that relates that you will hear a heartbeat if you stand quietly on a bridge. I have heard about a million variations of this urban legend with one common theme: that of the heartbeat belonging to a deceased person. While it is possible to hear a heart beat-type noise on certain bridges through out the United States, this is normally due to a nearby gas pipes or some other human invention. Yet the tale lives on because of the spooky reputation of bridges.

Because of the association with death, bridges are often said to be haunted. Celtic tradition warns that you should hold your tongue while crossing or passing beneath a bridge. The Isle of Man is home to the famed Fairy Bridge. Local legend says that if you cross the bridge without wishing the little people that live there a good day, you will not have a safe or happy visit. There is also a universal belief that two people who part on a bridge will never meet again.

 

Earth Witches know the lore to be true to this point–there is magic aplenty contained in the bridge. Spell work performed on a bridge tends to take effect immediately. Any type of magic that involves time manipulation will gain a boost by being performed on a bridge.