Cerridwen

Goddess of Healing, Transformation, Death and Rebirth

The Universe at Your Fingertips

The Universe at Your Fingertips

Did you know that there’s a powerful sound healing practice that you can do for yourself – and tune into the whole universe at the same time?

The humble little tuning fork can help you to do that, and more.

I’ve always been fascinated by tuning forks ever since I was a little girl. At that point I didn’t understand why, but clearly the vibrations and sounds were having an impact on me back then, and stayed with me into adulthood.

After experiencing them in sound healing treatments, I bought one for myself and started to experiment – and then learned more about them when doing my sound healing training.

The beauty of the tuning fork, for me, is its accessibility – anyone can learn how to use it on themselves and can feel the benefits straight away. They’re inexpensive and readily available and they illustrate so well, and so simply, how sound and vibration work.

If you need a quick boost or support, and don’t have a lot of time, then I’d like to share a couple of really simple practices that I use, aided by my trusty little 432 Hz tuning fork.

I always have this one in my bag, especially if I’m away overnight or if I have to go into the office rather than working from home. If I’m feeling tired, anxious or stressed, giving the tuning fork a little ‘bing’ (technical sound healing term… J ) and holding it against pressure points for a few moments, really helps me to reset. The vibrations of the fork can be felt and heard, if you’re working close enough to your ears, and they are very soothing and calming.

432Hz tuning forkGood spots for me are behind the ears (great if I have a sore head) and the collar bone area (if anxiety or tiredness are creeping in). If I’ve been doing a lot of typing and am feeling the strain in my hands or wrists, I also find that holding the fork to my wrist bone or knuckle/finger joints is really helpful. If I need a spiritual boost then holding the fork gently to my third eye, or sweeping it through my crown chakra, will help remind me that I’m connected and can tune into those higher vibrations. And holding the fork to my feet or ankles helps me to physically ground again if that’s what’s needed.

The reason I use the 432 Hz fork so often is because that’s the frequency associated with the universe and nature, with all things, with all sources. It’s also the frequency linked to the ‘Om’ chant and, given its universal connections, is considered to have a particularly calming and healing effect. It’s therefore a good all-round tool to carry and can work in any situation.

You can get weighted forks, Solfeggio tuning forks, chakra forks, and you can learn to use these in fairly specialised ways, working with the aura, the chakras and the human biofield. You can use them to clear space and energy, to check in with your chakras/energy centres and can expand a tuning fork practice in all sorts of beautiful, healing ways. But the simple, personal practices that I’ve shared above are equally powerful and bring just as many benefits.

If you’re curious about sound healing and how it can help you, then you can pick up a tuning fork for a few pounds – it doesn’t have to be a special instrument, the vibrations and sounds are just the same!

I’d love to hear how you get on. You can connect with me at my own sound healing page on Facebook, Sounds Fyne – and also on Instagram at crone_in_training where I share some sounds as well as general musings.

Priestess Aileen 

Aileen, Priestess of Cerridwen

Argyll, Scotland

Samhain is one of the most magical times of the year. Often considered the Witch’s New Year, it’s a time to take stock, to reap the last harvest of the year and, of course, to take a look ahead at the year to come. In Pagan communities of all kinds, people will come together particularly at Samhain for celebration and ritual. What if, though, you’re not part of a like-minded community where you live? What if you’re still in the broom closet, but really want to mark this new beginning, to make the most of a magical space and time where the veils are gossamer-thin? What if you’re just starting out and you don’t have any special magical tools? This little ceremony is for you. It is simple and you need only a pen and paper. It can take as long as you wish it to, or it can take a few snatched minutes in a private space at work – what’s most important is the intent, the energy that you put into it. You can do this alone if you want, but you can also build it up into something bigger and do it with other people. We work with Cerridwen, so if I was doing this, I’d start off by saying a prayer to her. She is a Goddess who understands how it feels to be working hard without a break. She understands what it’s like to feel separate and different to the other people around you. She is a Goddess of transformation, of renewal, and Samhain is her time…when you call on her, especially when setting intentions for the year ahead, she can help. You can use your own words or if you would like, I have included the kind of words we might typically use if we were starting out on a ritual with Cerridwen. Welcome Cerridwen, Mistress of Magic and Mystery. You are at the centre of all that we do. We ask you please to bring your healing to this space. To let your magic flow all around us, and work its wonderful transformation and renewal that is so needed in a world that hurries and pushes. Lady, please bring to us the creativity and regeneration that comes from spending time with you. We stand before you, still and quiet, as all of that wonderful power ebbs and flows around us, ready to restore and renew. We breathe your magic in. Hail and Welcome, Cerridwen, Mistress of Magic and Mystery. We bring all of that energy to our centre now, with gratitude. Blessed be. We can draw on these energies, from the Goddess, not only here today but when we leave this space, when we return to daily life and go about our business. Remember that all of this magic has been called in for you, today. We are now going to ground and centre - when the world pulls at us and makes its demands, it can be easy to forget just where we truly are. And where we are, at all times, is connected to the earth itself, and to the skies above. We have both roots and wings, and we will take just a few moments to remind ourselves now. If you can, close your eyes, but if that’s not possible, then please simply relax and listen, again. Focus on your breathing and allow yourself to breathe gently, slowly, naturally. As you give yourself that gift of deep, nourishing breath, notice how you start to feel more relaxed, calmer and more at peace with yourself. Feel where you are connected to the earth - through the soles of your feet, where you sit, where you place your hands. Feel strong roots of connection growing through your feet and reaching down, down to the very heart of the earth, where there is warmth and the love of Mother Earth herself. Feel that warmth and love travelling all the way back up through your roots right into your body and up into your heart, that wonderful direct connection with Mother Earth. Feel a thread of energy travelling up now, up through your body and through the crown of your head, reaching all the way to the stars where it wraps around and connects with one bright, shining star. Feel the lightness and wonder and magic that comes to you, right from the star, as its loving energy travels down that thread and back to your heart. You are beautifully, wonderfully connected to the earth and the stars, right here, right now, and at all times that you take a moment to ground and centre yourself, to give yourself this gift of reconnection, in this way. Bring your focus back to your breathing, slow and gentle. Wiggle your toes and come back to the place where you’re sitting. But know that you come back with all the power of that grounding and centring, that connection, along with the wonderful Goddess-energies that we called in earlier. Now it is time to do some work! With the help of Cerridwen, we are going to think about some of the things that may have held us back over the past year. The things which have not yielded any fruit or useful harvest for us. The things we want to let go, as we move into a new time, a new year… Cerridwen is known for her mighty cauldron - the cauldron that brewed the Awen, the magical inspiration for so much creativity that exists in the world today. Her cauldron is also one of transformation and release, magical alchemy working with us to identify things that no longer serve us and help us change them into more helpful patterns. Today we are going to put into the cauldron some of those things! Take your paper and pen, and take a few minutes to write down five or six of the things that you would like to let go of. These could be things like anxiety, procrastination, fear… or anything else at all that you can see isn’t serving you, or your highest good. Take as much time as you need and, when you’re done, take a look at your list for a moment. Now - for the next few minutes, make a new list on another piece of paper. This list is all of the things that will help you overcome and work towards transforming those challenges. Perhaps it is courage, or boldness that you need…or something else altogether. But please take time to write these down. Now you have two lists - well done for taking this time to focus on yourself , for taking stock and for thinking about the positive things you would like to bring into the year ahead! Look at your first list - the list of challenges and difficulties. We are now going to put those into Cerridwen’s Cauldron – metaphorically speaking… Look at the first item on your list - take your pen and very carefully, deliberately, score it out. (If you have a felt pen like a Sharpie, that would be ideal!). Score over that word until it is no longer visible. It is going into the cauldron to be transformed. Now, do the same for each item on your list. Score them out, with each stroke of your pen think of these challenges becoming less and less... With each stroke of your pen, imagine that these challenges are being burnt away, in a cauldron, going through the transformative, cleansing, renewing, bright energy that Fire brings, to help you move these on. Now, please turn to your second list - the list that will help you to overcome those challenges. Take a look at each of the things you have written down - take time to speak them to your heart and soul, you do not need to do this out loud right now but please do so when you can. Look at each word you have written down. What do you need to do to make them reality? Give these written words value and importance - draw around them, a circle, a heart, any pictures that might help you to bring them to reality. Make them beautiful, for they are beautiful things, and they can be good and helpful companions to you as you set out on this new, fresh time in your life. Keep your list and add it to a journal if you have one, or keep it somewhere safe where you can look at it and be reminded of this time you took for yourself today. Look at it again - add to it if you want, drawing on the energies we have brought to this space today, remembering how peaceful and inspired you felt. These are qualities that we want to keep, we are not throwing them to the fire, but we will ask Cerridwen to bless them. I have added the kind of words that we would use, but you can use your own too. Cerridwen, we have given to your fire those things which no longer serve us. And, inspired by you and supported by your energy, we have set out the things which will help us, which we will work towards, to support us in future times of challenge and to help us grow in joy and vitality. Lady, please consume in your fire that list of challenges. And Lady, please bless the work that we will do to grow and thrive. Blessed be. We hope that this short ceremony helps to restore you and provides inspiration and support to draw upon in the days to come. We can never completely avoid busyness but we can take time out for ourselves so we can cope with it. Thank you for taking that time for you today. As you return to your day and the days to come, I hope you can keep the peace and nourishment of this sacred space and time in your heart. Aileen, Priestess of Cerridwen Argyll, Scotland Instagram @crone_in_training

Aileen lives on the west coast of Scotland and initiated in October 2022 by Lake Bala. Her main work is in sacred listening and sound healing. You can find her on Instagram at @crone_in_training or on Facebook at @aileenmacnicol and @soundsfyne

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