I watch a lot of TV.
It’s a quintessential Piscean escape tactic, but it’s also fodder for my imagination.
I was watching a show one day, and a character mentioned this term “sword mother”.
I sat up like a prairie dog and was like “say what”?!
The term held such power, but also carried a sense of nurture and care.
I’m gonna share a some writing I did about my sword mothers in a sec, but first let me define this term as I’ve come to know it.
And lemme define one more word while I’m at it: wield.
To wield is to use a tool/weapon skillfully and mindfully.
It’s one thing to wave a sword around and wreak havoc, it’s another thing to employ strength, precision, and intention.
We wield lots of things.
We wield our intellect and our emotions, our circumstances, our art, our words, our relationships, to name a few.
Anything we have that affects others can be wielded, or flung about to wreak havoc.
OK, now sword mothers.
A sword mother takes a novice and teaches her to wield.
She instills a respect for the tool itself (maybe it’s a sword or a bow and arrow, or maybe it’s physical beauty, money, wit, a position in a relationship, a life circumstance, charisma, charm, education, or entree. Basically, anything that gives you advantage.)
She helps you build the strength to wield it responsibly. with control and awareness.
Then she shows you when to wield it.
And when not to.
She teaches you technique, maneuvers, and savvy.
A sword mother shows you what to do when you have the advantage.
She shows you what to do when you’re tempted to take advantage.
In other words, a sword mother is a trainer.
Where does she train you?
In the Barracks, ground as sacred and necessary to The Warrior as the Battlefield.
in The Mystical Thread, we will spend 5 weeks learning how to go from Barracks to Battlefield, who your sword mothers are and why, and tons more.
Here’s one of the many things I’ve written about the Sword Mothers.
Fill the space
with Sword Mothers.
Go to the grove,
sit in their silk tents with prayer flags fluttering
and rub salve into this wound.
Sleep, and eat gruel
until you’re strong enough
to train with the Sword Mothers again.
Feel them defeat you,
their swords tapping your ribs, your heart, your neck.
Let them show you where you’re weak,
why you keep losing this battle.
Then sit
and listen to their stories
of glory and defeat
while the orange of the fire
lights their faces
and gleams against their teeth.
Go back to the Barracks.
Heal, rest, train, and listen.
Get strong,
And try again.