The Technique: Reforging the Sword

The meditation can be performed standing, lying down or seated. It is of benefit to maintain good alignment of the body. If seated, "God-Form" is the preferred posture: back straight, shoulders relaxed, palms on thighs, feet firmly planted on the floor.

Orientate yourself at noon, Sun high overhead, Earth beneath your feet. Get a sense of being poised between the two.

Starting at the top of the head, imagine a wave of relaxation slowly descending through the body.

Begin with the scalp, and as the wave touches, release all effort as you become aware of the natural vitality of every cell, the abundant blood supply infusing the tissues with radiant and healthy life.

As the wave descends, sense how it softens each part it moves through, loosening the tension in each muscle, releasing all the stress.

Move down to the forehead and feel the tension draining away… the same with the temples…the eyes… the back of the head… the nose… cheeks… mouth… jaw… neck and throat…

The wave of relaxation moves into the body, releasing the tightness across the shoulders, allowing them to gently sink… then spreads out into the upper arms…the elbows…the forearms…the wrists…hands…fingers…

The wave of relaxation moves through the torso, bringing vitality and life: the chest… the abdomen… the upper and lower back… the pelvis… genitals... the base of the spine…

The wave continues through each leg: the thighs…knees… calves… ankles… feet… and toes.

Gently become aware of the whole body, and if there is any remaining tension, let it go.

Begin rhythmic breathing. Breath in for a count of four, then out for a count of four. In through the nose, out through the mouth. As you exhale, feel any remaining areas of tension melt away as each breath takes you deeper into relaxation. Continue for a short while.

Now let your breathing normalise.

Imagine above your head a sphere of brilliant white light.

This is the Spirit centre, the seat of Divinity within. It rests gently upon the top of your head, just touching the crown. Visualise the sphere glowing with pure and radiant white light.

Let the sphere fill with light until the whole sphere is radiating with energy. This is your connection with Spirit, the source of infinite power that imbues all things.

Spend a little time building up the sphere, until you feel it vibrating with pure white energy.

Now imagine a column of light extending down from the sphere, through the skull and the head, through the centre of your body to the soles of your feet.

A column of light from the crown of the head through the middle of the neck, down through your chest, your heart, your abdomen and pelvis, following the course of your legs to the base of your feet, where they connect with the ground.

Spend a moment getting a feel for this brilliant white pillar of light, topped by a sphere of white light: a strong central shaft running through your body, holding everything in absolute stillness and balance.

This is the Reforged Sword, your stable inner core, a channel of alignment coursing through the centre of your being.

Now build up the spheres of power.

Return to the centre of the sphere of Spirit above the crown of the head. Get a feel for the white light glowing within, and imagine this light increasing in intensity until it spills downwards from the sphere, flowing down the central column to the centre of the throat.

Expand this new point to create a sphere of white light, the same size as the first, centred on the throat. This is the sphere of Air. It is deeply connected to the breath, as well as the voice. See it filling with radiant white light, and as you do, be aware of the word “expression” and its various meanings.

Spend some time with this sphere, building up the energy…seeing the light vibrate and rotate as it fills the sphere.

Now see the white light continuing downwards along the central column until it comes to rest at a point inside the body, level with the solar plexus.

Visualise a third sphere of white light centred on this point. This is the Fire Centre.

From this point is built another sphere of brilliant white light. The top of the sphere touches the heart, the lower half takes in the upper abdomen. See the light glowing brilliant white.

As you visualise this sphere filling with radiant white light, get a sense of the sphere, how we talk about the “fires of passion” and how desire burns in our hearts. Feel the sphere radiating with energy.

Now see the light descending further from this sphere down the central column to the centre of the pelvis. From this point, imagine another sphere of white light that encompasses your pelvic area.

This is the sphere of Water. Of creation. As this sphere fills with white light, consider the deep connection between water and the moon. This is the sphere of creativity, of lunar tides, of the dreamworld.

Build up the light in this sphere until it is glowing brilliant white.

Imagine the shaft of light descending further down, to the soles of the feet. Here the fifth sphere is centred on a point between the two feet, where they connect with the Earth. The upper half of the sphere extends to just above the ankles, the lower half extends into the ground beneath your feet. See the sphere fill with glowing white light.

This is the sphere of Earth. Get a feel of the connection you have with the ground beneath your feet, of the exchange of energy between you and the planet. As the light in the sphere gets brighter, feel the palpable sense of stability and grounding that it brings.

The sphere completely fills with radiant white light.

Once the five spheres are energised, bring your attention to the Sword as a whole: the wings at the top, the five spheres in complete alignment.

The Reforged Sword is vitalised with the energy of the cosmos.

Bring your attention to the sphere of Spirit above the head. Extend the central column of light upwards from this sphere to connect with the Sun in the sky above. See the light radiating out from the Sun into the cosmos at large, the source of all spirit and life.

Picture the Sun as a lens focussing the energy and intelligence of the cosmos and directing it into the Spirit Centre above your head, filling it with radiant white light.

The light spills out on either side, creating the wings of the Caduceus. See the light radiating out from the sphere, forming two wings of pure white light, perfectly balanced, reaching down to the throat and as far out on either side of the head as feels appropriate.

Get a sense of these wings as an extension of your mind, expanding the powers of thought and awareness beyond the limits of your head. Be aware of how acute your hearing has become, how much more vibrant your senses of taste and smell, and how the vision of your mind’s eye can expand to meet the universe. The wings are made up of a multitude of feathers, every one of them trembling with knowledge.

It is as if the outstretched wings are solar panels, absorbing the energy and information of the universe.

See the energy like a shower drenching your aura for a moment… then bring your attention back to the sphere of Spirit. Once more fill it with light. Feel its connection with the Sun and the cosmos and see this solar power filling the sphere of Spirit until it overflows down the central shaft, coursing down the Reforged Sword, enlivening each sphere in turn: AIR… FIRE… WATER… EARTH.

At the sphere of Earth, get a sense of the warmth of the Sun on the Earth, the energy from the Sun bringing healthy life to the planet.

Once more take in the Sword as a whole, empowered by the energies of the cosmos: the wings at the top, the five spheres in complete alignment along its length.

Now imagine the column of energy extending downwards into the Earth, penetrating the soil, passing through the rock deep beneath your feet, down, down, down, until it comes to a secret chamber, far beneath the surface of the Earth.

See the shaft of light entering this cave and filling it with light.

There is movement within this cave. You can just make out, somewhere in the white light filling the chamber, two small shapes, one red, the other golden yellow. They respond to the arrival of the white light by awakening and spiralling around the column of light.

The red and golden-yellow shapes begin to ascend, moving up through the Earth, spiralling round each other and the shaft of white light, drawing closer. As they come closer you begin to make out their form – they are two serpentine dragons, identical but for their colours – one red, the other golden yellow.

Closer still they come, nearing the surface beneath your feet, until finally their heads come to rest directly beneath the soles of your feet. Feel the effect of their arrival in the sphere of Earth.

The dragons pass onwards, twisting their sinewy bodies through yours, tracing out the shape of the entwined serpents as they ascend.

Their entwine up your legs, crossing from one to the other , until they reach the pelvis, their heads meeting in the centre of the sphere of Water. Be aware of their effect in this sphere.

The serpent-dragons part again, curving up on either side of your abdomen before meeting again at the Fire Centre. Feel how different their presence is here.

Parting, they move upwards towards your shoulders before turning in and meeting at your throat centre, the sphere of Air.

Traditionally this is where the heads of the serpent-dragons rest, just below the fringe of the wings. But they are living entities and their purpose today is to unite all aspects: the upper and lower, so let them pass on, crossing at the throat centre and flanking each side of the head to meet again above the crown in the centre of the sphere of Spirit.

Get a sense of what this feels like – the connection between Earth and Spirit. See the snakes as a whole from foot to crown.

You realise at this point that there are not two serpents but one, for the twin serpents are the dual aspects of the one Divine Serpent, the Serpent of Wisdom.

Now bring your attention to the wings spreading on either side of the head. Keeping the wings outstretched, slide them down along the shaft of light until they come to rest behind your back, stretching out from your shoulder blades.

These wings of light and divine knowledge become a template into which the wings of the Empowered Caduceus grow. Feel the buds start to emerge from your shoulder blades, expanding into the template, filling the space created by the wings of light, spreading out on either side of the shoulders.

The new empowered wings are an integral part of you. They are both powerful and soft: the inner skeleton is strong and perfectly articulated, while the soft white feathers create a vibrant canopy of light and energy.

Take a while to play with the wings, getting a sense of how they feel. Try folding them into the body, before spreading them once more. Bring your attention to the very tips of the wings and get a sense of how they feel in full extension. Visualise yourself flying, using the wings to soar and swoop through the air. Stand upright, and feel the weight of the wings counterbalancing your posture, drawing the shoulders back, opening the front of your chest, deepening your breathing and expanding the heart centre.

At the same time, be aware of the entwined serpents rising up through your body, enlivening it with the energies of the Earth.

Now you hold the completely empowered and integrated Caduceus in your system – the wings, the staff and the entwined serpent-dragons. Take a moment to feel the symbol as a whole in your aura.

Meditate for a few moments on your essence, standing as a bridge between the Above and the Below, the spiritual and the physical. Get a sense of the harmony of the two states, one an expression of the other.

With the Empowered Caduceus strong in your aura, bring your attention back to the present and when you are ready, open your eyes.

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