Ship of Fools' story
Eight seafarers are on a lifelong journey from self to Self. The Great Goddess is present as maiden, mother, and crone. Soft power is evident where harmony of both feminine and masculine energy can bring about radical change. The men are locked in reflection and have reached the still point of the spiral. The shaman stands and reaches out but sees only the waters. Every being becomes a central axis, because the boat has lost its winds and is ’in irons’ sailing nowhere. It is double headed denoting confusion; however, the moon controls the waters and reflects the sun as the ego reflects the Self. Meanwhile, the maiden butterfly keeps the channels open for the gods and the raven rises while activating change and vitality. Looking to the land, the laurel tree shows the first sign of the group’s development, turning around the mind in order to observe themselves and their perpetual regeneration. The couch shell’s call reminds them of the central truth while the pathfinder monkey prays, contemplates, and tries to understand their universe. His headdress holds two feathers in which the seafarers’ souls will be judged for lightness of heart. The angel offers magnified hope and the secrets of its mercy is assured. Surrounding the boat is formlessness where creation dances into being. It is called chaos: water, darkness, night, eternity is the Deep, the void, emptiness, and a negation of ignorant perceptions of the journey. On the other hand, the sea creatures are the power of life locked in the unconscious. Despite the stillness, the eight want to push on to the ultimate. The eight are wholeness and completeness; sensing this, they seize the day and aspire to journey from ignorance to enlightenment. Jody Bare