Crossing The Threshold. Elders & Ancestors. To Be A Mythic Crone. Sacred Threads. Earth Threads. These chapters of my book became a narrative of Annalu’s journey and our last months together. It was a mystical weaving of souls and journeys. The energy of Anam Cara.

At the end of some chapters I include personal stories and I wrote a story of Annalu for the Mythic Crone chapter. Because she is. However it was becoming clear she would not be with us much longer and so I also wrote of her dying. I sent it to her and told her I could always re-write it. She said she loved it just as it was. But I didn’t. The writing may have been good but the ending sucked. So through the progression of her cancer I would grab a moment of hope and revise the story and change the ending. But the ending didn’t change. Now I have rewritten the story one last time. Here is some of that story.

As I write this book my Anam Cara, my spirit sister, my Crone sister has died. Cancer. Again. Annalu has been my heart partner, my thinking partner, and my inspiration as we walked this journey of becoming Crone. We created workshops, we walked the mystical landscapes of Ireland, we shaped and reshaped the Sacred Ireland journeys I lead to embrace and hold the unfolding of Crone wisdom. Living her life in right relationship with the sacred, with the Earth, and in community, the ancient ancestors always celebrated her return and her presence in their mystical, mythic, and megalithic landscapes. For Annalu was not just a wise Crone. She was a mythic Crone.

Over the years she and her beloved husband, Stu, a renowned palliative care physician, facilitated workshops for doctors and medical teams throughout the country that they might shift their thinking and their protocols. That they might come to understand that death is not a failure but a natural process to be honored, respected, and supported. They facilitated many cancer retreats where participants were able to transition from dying from cancer to living with cancer. Even those with a terminal diagnosis emerged with a new sense of peace and a renewed enthusiasm for life.

She held a deep knowing of this place of the death gate. And she was clear about how she would stand at that gate with grace and peace, with love and laughter. It was an honor to stand there with her when she crossed the threshold.

Beannacht,
Judith – judith@stonefires.com