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Writer's pictureRaven Shree

Pomegranate Prayers

Updated: Dec 4, 2023

I had a pomegranate throughout the pandemic.

When I bought it, it was red, plump & juicy

and filled with so much aliveness.


…but I was sad.

The weight of the world

had locked me into a dark place

and I did not have the desire

to consume the joy of this fruit.


.. so it sat; uneaten.

Over time it dried out & lost its hue.

It became cold, hard & shriveled.

I held onto it though.

Something about this pomegranate

reminded me of myself;

withered & old, dried out & brittle.

No longer a form of spirited beauty

but the decay of life packed into a carcass

of something past its prime.

This dried pomegranate

was a mirror of what my life had become.


I held onto this pomegranate for 3 years.

Not knowing what to do with it.

Not knowing what to do with myself.

…and so, it sat on my altar;

a reminder of the life force that had left me,

and the dried casing I’d become.

Prayers on the Carcass

I recently took this dried pomegranate

to a special place in the mountains

where I talk with the soul of the world.


I brought the pomegranate here as an offering.

As I contemplated letting it go

a sadness welled up in me.

I had grown attached to this pomegranate.

It was an altar object I’d been connected to

throughout the pandemic; every day,

as a beacon of my becoming,

or maybe better said...

my unbecoming.


I took a blue marker from my pack

and started writing on the pomegranate carcass

things I wanted to release, such as:

  • stagnation that has festered in my body, mind & spirit

  • fear that keeps me restricted & small in so many ways

  • dryness that minimizes the flow of life force energy through my being

As I held the dried pomegranate in my hands

and wrote my release prayers on it

some of the blue ink rubbed off on my fingers;

a not so subtle message from Spirit letting me know

I wasn’t going to be releasing everything today.

Some of it was going to stay with me.

It’s imprint had bled into me.

Not even my tears can wash it away.

I wrote my prayers anyway.

Crashing Open

Then, I threw the dried pomegranate

covered with my prayers and tears

down the mountain side,

honoring the element of air & flight

and the release of its weight from my being.


It crashed down, smashed into a rock,

and broke into so many pieces.

I was shocked!

The pomegranate was so dried and hard

I wasn’t expecting it to break.

But it did; quickly & completely.

…and of course… I had to go look at it.

How’s that for metaphor

around having a hard time letting go !!!

I went down the mountain & looked at the innards;

the core of my hopelessness splayed open.

Seeing the dried seeds exposed to the elements was inspiring.

What was once held inside

was now free and open to be dispersed

to live a new life in this amazing terrain.


Something about watching this old pomegranate

break open so fast and completely

gave me hope that I could break out of my imprisonment

and create a new life.


I contemplated this as I walked back up the mountain,

as I looked at my stained fingers

from the marker of my prayers.

I knew aspects of my hopelessness

was still going home with me.

Not all was released.

But not all was retained either.

Something had shifted,

and for that, I was grateful.

To complete my ceremony,

I pulled some Oracle cards to inspire the experience.


From one deck, I pulled the Swamplands Card,

which reflects how hard it can be to walk through

the boggy muddiness of the swamplands.

From another deck, I pulled the Shadow Card,

which showcases essence energy

I've been locked into these past couple years.


Together, these cards reflect back to me

how steadfast I have been

standing still in the shadow. Not moving.

It’s been a bleak couple of years for me.

As I walked out of my ceremony site

I contemplated the following questions:

  • What seeds in me are ready to be exposed to a new life?

  • What wants to burst out of me and find expression?

  • How can I crack open & experience new wonder & magic in my life?

As I gently contemplated these questions,

I saw the first flowers of Spring.

This made me smile.

Surely this is a sign I am on the right path.


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