Pilgrimage

Peregrinatio

Finding the solution is a journey-it may take time to solve. Whilst this negative situation will eventually pass, take action regarding it, no matter how seemingly insignificant that action might be. Time spent in nature is important to your healing. Travel with a deeper purpose.

And so I walk,

Kissing the ground with my soul,

With every step,

My heart blossoms and is whole.

The closer I come to

The place I would finish,

The longer the path seems

My old self doth diminish.

From the time Aradia’s feet touched the earth, she began to walk, spreading the word of the old ways, stopping to gather followers around her, teaching, and always relying upon the kindness and hospitality of strangers. Her travels, full of love and devotion as they were, were the fulfillment of a sacred promise. She was on a pilgrimage, “a journey of spiritual significance.”

Many indigenous cultures created formal pilgrimage routes, which have been in existence for as long as there has been an oral history. Such ancient routes have been found in places as far flung as Hawaii and Australia. The pilgrimage route that encircles the Himalayan peak of Mt. Kailash-considered by some Buddhists and Hindus to be the physical manifestation of the mystical Mount Meru-attracts millions each year. And walking the Camino in Italy and Spain is now more popular than ever, whilst some streghe still make a pilgrimage to the ashy slopes of Sicily’s Mt. Etna.

Sometimes pilgrimages have distinct destinations. They may be marked by a temple or by the attainment of a certain level of knowledge or by the receipt of a talisman. But some pilgrimages are circular and never ending. Either way, the power of making a pilgrimage is in the doing, in the experiences the pilgrim has along the way.

In some legends of Aradia, her pilgrimage ended when she married a mortal king and became his worthy queen. In other versions of her story, Aradia became a reclusive witch, teaching generation after generation of women the craft and becoming fiercer as time went on. In still other stories, after ensuring that her gospel would be passed on through the lineage of the night women, Aradia is said to have returned from whence she came.

Inspired by Aradia, we should undertake a pilgrimage-a journey that will change us in the doing-at least once in our lies. Short or long, a pilgrimage is ultimately transformative for the pilgrim, who will never be the same again.