Divine Feminine Initiation in “Carry On The Flame”
“Western women will save the world.”
~Dalai Lama, at the Vancouver Peace Summit, September of 2009
Carry On The Flame by Author Jodine Turner
Western women have unique mythic-archetypal roots that are empowering, wise, and filled with the transformative power of love. And we carry it within the depth of our very cells.
We find these mythic-archetypal roots in the history of, and our reverence for, the divine feminine. There are so many compelling examples.
I love to listen to the whispers of the land in Ireland, Scotland, and Wales that tell the stories of mythical Celtic women and deities. There are fiery heroines such as Boudica, queen of the Celtic Icene tribe, who fearlessly resisted invading Roman forces. There’s Danu, the mother goddess of the magical Tuatha Dé Danann, the early Celtic tribe immortalized as the Irish Faery race. In our western European history, we find the brilliant St. Teresa of Avila, Renaissance author and mystic. And we see the veneration for the Black Madonna throughout Europe, especially in France, with her secret Magdalene associations and her message of love incarnate.
There are other examples throughout ancient and modern history, and I’m sure you have your favorites. This history informs our ancestry and our lineages. It informs our bodies. The divine feminine is not only the feminine face of divinity; she is the divinity within creation, within physicality. And she is the evolutionary force of embodied love. The force that, when tapped into and developed, spontaneously emerges through us to help us to more fully love and be loved.
Through the venue of magical, visionary fiction, my novels carry keys to embodying love.
Metaphysical elements are embedded in the story. Readers have the opportunity to experience initiatory journeys through what the characters undergo.
Visionary fiction gives you a direct experience of the metaphysical, alternate reality, the paranormal, and as in Carry on the Flame, an experience of the Divine Feminine. Both in the reading and, as I discovered, in the writing of it.
In Carry on the Flame: Destiny’s Call, Sharay is a young priestess in modern day Glastonbury, England who must fight against her jealous aunt’s black magic aimed at stopping her from fulfilling her destiny to help humanity discover that the ultimate magic is the power of love.
Sharay is not a simple kick-ass heroine from the start; she works hard at both resisting and embracing how to transform her hate and fears so she can claim her power. Sharay’s story is our own story as women. And Sharay’s adversary, her greedy Aunt Phoebe, is not a two-dimensional black and white villain, but a person with a pained past that twisted her priestess abilities and turned her into the black sorceress she portrays in the story; a shadow side of the feminine.
One reviewer of my novel said,
In these perilous times, the presence of the Divine Feminine, embodied as ordinary women like Sharay, as you and me, is what is most needed to shift the planetary consciousness to love… Like Sharay, we can come to know and alchemize the shadow forces within us that suppress or deny love and beauty and engender separateness.
Sheila Foster – Founder of The Temple of the Sacred Feminine
Author Jodine Turner
Yes, Western women are powerful catalysts.
The Divine Feminine, being the force of transformation, worked on me as well as my character Sharay.
Completing Carry on the Flame was a much more difficult birth process than I anticipated. The quote by sports writer “Red” Smith says it all – “There’s nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and open a vein.”
Similar to Sharay’s journey, I, as the author, needed to embrace the power of love to heal and transform, to empower me to do whatever I am being called to do in this world. This meant I had to go through a personal initiation before I could give the proper depth to my characters and their story.
In Carry on the Flame, loss and grief were central to Sharay’s life. My writing ground to a halt for months until I actually dealt with a deep piece of my own grief. Once I was able to meet that pain and embrace it in the alchemical vessel of my heart, Sharay and her story came alive. If you have ever felt you have a calling in life that you resisted, if you are experiencing the challenges of stepping up to meet that call, if you feel you are not listening to your most authentic heart and want to, Sharay’s bumpy journey is yours. As it was mine.
Two of my favorite resource books: Women of the Celts by Jean Markale and Women in Celtic Myth by Moyra Caldecott.
Who are your favorite powerful Western women?
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Jodine’s new release is the visionary fiction, magical realism novel Carry on the Flame: Destiny’s Call Book One. Book Two, Carry on the Flame: Ultimate Magic, has a publishing date of October 31 2011.
Jodine has also authored The Awakening: Rebirth of Atlantis and The Keys to Remember which are stand-alone reads in the Goddess of the Stars and the Sea series.
Visit Jodine’s website. Subscribe to Jodine’s Blog. Like her Facebook Page. Interact with her on Twitter. Invite her to connect on Linkedin. Connect with Jodine on Goodreads.
Read reviews and order copies of Jodine Turner’s books on Amazon.com.
Category: Contemporary Women Writers, US American Women Writers, Women Writing Fiction
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Looking with much interest at your blog post ‘Carry on the Flame’, I noticed your reference to Moyra Caldecott’s Women in Celtic Myth. Moyra is a long-term personal friend living close by in Bath. I too am a writer of visionary fiction embodying mythological themes from the past, but also concerned with the future; the transformation of human consciousness,and the uniting of male and female principles, bringing them into balance. Recently too, I have received channelled communication from Mary Magdelene. Seems we have much in common. I look forward to discovering more of your work. Every good wish
Hello Esme,
A delight to connect. Glad you enjoyed my blog post.
Yes, indeed there does seem to be a lot in common between us! If you are living in Bath perhaps you also knew the author/teacher/musician R.J. Stewart when he lived there? How wonderful you know Moyra, her books are special.
Book Two of Carry on the Flame: Ultimate Magic, releases in about two weeks. I look forward to reading your work, too!
Blessings.
Much creativity going on in Bath, but haven’t heard of R,J,Stewart unfortunately. Moyra was made Bard of Bath in her 80th year, but sadly, began to lose the power of speech soon after. But what a career! 30 or more books so far to her credit. And now you have a new book coming out. Congratulations indeed! I shall look forward to reading more of it.
I didn’t begin writing until my 60th year, so a lot of catching up to do.
Esme,
To begin writing at 60 years young sounds like following your path of passions – wonderful!
The Path of Passion, as you say. Wasn’t it the great delver into World Mythology Joseph Campbell himself who said ‘Follow your Bliss’? I feel it’s when we are open to deep psychological and spiritual truths and living out their reality in our lives,(and open as well to facing our deepest fears,) that we are truly in touch with our passion. This truth I sense in your work.
Jodine, what a wonderful reflective piece about the divine feminine. I particularly loved the way you described your personal process to bring depth to your characters and their story as this;’embracing the power of love to heal and transform’ Beautifully stated. Thank you for sharing. 🙂
Thank you, Vacen. I’m glad you enjoyed the article and the part about love’s power.
After spending most of yesterday with an open vein at my computer, your article is most welcome. What a timely reminder not only of the many facets of the divine feminine, but also of how we heal through our stories and our writing. I quote from Carry on the Flame as Sharay is taught by Dillon, “Sharay . . . your body is the bridge between mind and soul, between spirit and matter, between the stars in the heavens and the sacred earth.” Beautiful.
Thank you so much, Lori! I’m glad my article, and Dillon’s instruction to Sharay, was helpful in the process of healing through our writing.
Thank you, Nancy!
Yes, alchemy catalyzes magic in our lives, our body, our heart, and our soul, doesn’t it? I love how you said it in your comment.
I especially love the alchemy of sacred union – balancing the masculine and feminine within – as a particularly powerful form of alchemy.
What a rich and wonderful article here! I especially appreciate your reference to the alchemical journey –
“Once I was able to meet that pain and embrace it in the alchemical vessel of my heart, Sharay and her story came alive.”
This is indeed our power. I’m a memoir writer, and I’ve been fond of saying, If life is a crucible, then memoir is the burnishing. But obviously for fiction writers too! As you bring your entire self into the writing as well.
“Carry On The Flame” is a terrific and inspiring title – I must take a look. Congratulations on the book and all the best with it!
Shoshana,
What a helpful, insightful guide you are to my writing career, and a wonderful witness to my process of transformation of Sharay…and me.
Thank you for your comments!
Thanks so much, Dana, for your positive feedback!
Let me know what you think of Women in Celtic Myth.(especially since you are a Celtic women yourself!)
Jodine, as a writer I was moved and inspired by your process of living the material you were writing about–that the divine feminine was working through you to transform you as it was transforming your main character, Sharay; that the grief of your main character was pointing the way for you to move toward and through your own grief. You and Sharay are offering such a profound and workable way to participate in the change of consciousness on this planet. Thank you!
Nice guest post, Jodine. I have Women in Celtic Myth – just started reading it. I have a lot of Celtic ancestors and am interested in their ancient beliefs. And Boudica rocks! I enjoyed Carry on the Flame and am looking forward to purchasing a copy of Ultimate Magic. Keep up the good writing!