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Wings At My Feet |
By Starfeather |
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My connection with feathers began before I noticed. As a young adult, I spent many hours walking the beaches of Cape Cod picking them up, along with sticks and shells and stones. The gathering and walking were part of my emotional healing process. I had old spaghetti sauce jars full of feathers that I collected simply because I loved their beauty. |
Slowly, I found my path to Spirit through meditation, yoga, beach walks, and a study of metaphysics. During one of my classes, we explored guided visualization as a way of receiving guidance. As I entered the meditation, I asked, “What is my life’s work?” I had hoped to get a couple of clear sentences written on a chalkboard in my mind, but instead I got a movie. I saw a starry night sky with four white feathers coming to the center. These sparkling feathers were tied together with a golden cord. It was a powerful image with rich symbolism and it affirmed my path as a spiritual artist. |
I believe that the purpose of “making art” or the creative process is for healing and that the finished piece is a reminder of that process. I saw the white feathers of my vision as a sacred paintbrush. Opening a small studio/gallery called “Art & Soul,” I created a workshop called “Painting Inside Out,” encouraging people (including myself) to express and heal their innermost selves. We painted in a free-flowing intuitive way, often using images we received from guided meditations. Some of my paintings had a Native American theme, and feathers showed up often in my work. The eagle feather, for example, is a classic symbol of connection to Spirit, for it has touched the clouds and fallen to the earth. |
There aren't any eagles on Cape Cod, though. All around me artists were painting seagulls, sand dunes, and quaint scenes of Cape Cod Bay. I cared less and less about the commercial aspects of art, and more and more about exploring this inner-art, meditation, automatic handwriting, and other psychic abilities. My focus was definitely changing. I began to wonder if I was doing the right thing, or was I losing touch with reality? |
One day in my confusion I decided to turn it over to Creator. I went for a beach walk and said, “Hey, look! Am I on the right path or not? I need a sign, something that I will know for certain, something that affirms my beliefs.” I walked further on, but saw or felt nothing that was in any way like a sign. On the edge of despair, I stopped again, and opened my arms to the sky. “This is IT for me,” I pleaded out loud. “Please show me that you hear me. . . that I am connecting. Or I must turn away from this path.” My heart was raw with anguish, and I saw nothing. I felt no response. |
Saddened, I looked down to take my first step to head back home. There at my feet were a pair of seagull wings, one by each foot. This was my sign: wings at my feet! Suddenly, I felt truly seen and affirmed, as if Spirit had indeed written a big YES on my spiritual chalkboard with those seagull feathers. This sign gave me courage to continue on my path, relying on the universe to support my life choices. |
A couple of years after my vision of the four white feathers coming together on the starry sky, I met the man I was to marry. A week after we met, he called me “Starfeather” as a sweet nickname. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end: I had not told him about the vision. When he called me Starfeather, it felt like he was speaking to my soul as the deliverer of my spiritual name. |
The vision took on even more reality when a woman, whom I hardly knew, presented me with four sparkling white feathers. She said she was walking on an island path when she had a strong premonition that she was going to “find some feathers for Starfeather.” Moments later in the path were the four white feathers, which she brought back to me. I have made a special beaded fan with them, which I use in my healing work. |
Over and over again, feathers have been important signs for me. They are a way of receiving affirmation and acknowledgment that Spirit is not a figment of my imagination. Feathers are a physical manifestation of the Spirit that connects us all. They help me remember that anything is possible. |
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