Birthday

I wrote about the various things I got to do on my birthday on my LJ, but this is in particular about going to East Heaven Hot Tubs. L and I favor their older, more traditional tubs, which are deep dark wood tubs, not the shallow plastic resin ones. Each room is a little different too. This one has a wood deck even with about half of the tub's rim. Part of it is against one of the shower walls, and past that bit of wall you can see the farther shower wall, which has a curve of blue tile on it, a sort of moon shape going onto the third wall of the shower area. The remainder of the tub edge is open to the walking/changing area and the steps leading up to the deck. There is a hanging plant in the space over the shower wall that's against the tub. We had an album by Enigma playing.

I love soaking in a hot tub, definitely a treat and one I don't get too often. And since we'd been going up on the hillsides clearing pipeline, it was more appreciated than usual by both of us.
Sans swimsuits of course, especially since it's just the two of us. I have a bad habit of leaving my swimsuit behind during changing to go home, so it's just as well, really.

Part way through we dispensed with the jets. They're nice for achey muscles, but they're also loud, and they change the dynamics of movement and heat of the water. L was taking a break from the heat, and I was enjoying the music, heat, water, misty air, the feel of moving in a semi-supported environment. Hot tubs of this sort are one of the most pleasant combinations of all the elements.

Something I don't usually do when other people are around is dance to the feel of the energy around me. It has to be a pretty special circumstance, like the one that I took an earlier name from of Moondancer. But this night was a good night for it, so I just slowly got into the feel of my surroundings, and then moved out, expanding, touching, reaching out... and then bringing it back in again. It seemed like a most appropriate time to heal, and more than just aching muscles. A time to celebrate movement and life, to give thanks and to accept strength and purpose.

I've never had much need for tools or prepared rituals, but sometimes they're useful. And certainly when sitting inside a cauldron, I'm not going to turn it down! Dancing in water with a goddess who revels in creation is a powerful thing. I did wonder briefly who it might be, in that most folks like to name the beings they meet, but a name is not terribly relevant to me. More important at the time was to embrace her presence and the gift of sharing space and time together, in such an intense way; something I would gladly do again. And not even knowing her name, still I pledged myself to her service, for I knew her to be a great power of the Earth.

When Cyfnos Gwynt mentioned in another post that she thought Ceridwen and I would be doing work together, that name fit for me. In fact, since some pagans relate Ceridwen to the full moon, it may be that I was dancing with her 25 years ago. That feels right to me as well.

Wales and parts of Britain have called to me since before I knew its name. As a child I traveled there in my dreams. Perhaps it was Her calling, and a few others, all the time. I left for a little while and traveled afar, life having its way with me, but now is the time for journeying home.