Leah Swann
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12/8/2015 2 Comments

When the wise woman shows up...

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--- Raizel ---

I remember vividly writing about Irina's first encounter with Raizel, the old wise-woman of the South.  As  in many fairytales, the crone is there at the beginning,  when Irina is a baby... but I really felt Raizel's power when Irina meets her in the forest. Running through my mind was the word 'interest' -- Raizel has a deep and profound interest in Irina. The wolf-girl is being looked on by wise and ancient eyes,  and she is both warmed by it, and in awe of it. To hold the interest of someone older, who poseses a profound intelligence, can be quite an experience:


      "There, behind the hare, was an old crone. Her skin was as withered as a
      fallen apple...and she wore a floor length wrap made of furs, and held a           basket of stones over one arm. Her eyes were partly obscured by the folds       of her eyelids, and they gleamed darkly, like wet stones in a river. 
                 The crone was studying Irina with such concentration that it                      seemed to pour from her in waves, wrapping Irina warmly and firmly.             Irina had never seen the woman before, and yet she felt she had always           known her.
                  Instinctively, barely conscious of what she was doing, Irina knelt."
                                                                               
                                                                                  p118, Irina The Wolf Queen.


Have you ever had this kind of experience, this feeling of interest from an older person, a teacher, a mentor,  or grandparent perhaps, someone who helped you grow into who you are?


2 Comments
Colleen A-M
12/8/2015 02:33:55 am

Yes, one of my mother's closest friends continued to be the interested, insightful wise person. I remember when our first child was born wanting to find similar people to fill that role for them. I think you are right that it is that deep interest that is the basis of the wise relationship.

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Leah
12/8/2015 02:05:17 pm

Interest is close to love, I think, and on the receiving side, it's about being witnessed. With these characters, I had the sense as I was writing of one great soul recognising another great soul. Raizel wants to stir up and call out what she is perceiving in Irina, who both wants to rebel and also rise up to the challenge. It's lovely to receive this experience in life, and one of the great things about getting older is developing deep interest in others, and seeing ways of calling forth of all the beauty in their being.

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