Letter from Cressida Pryor
March 18, 2021

Dear Friends,

I hope this letter finds you well and as protected as you can be from this current viral threat...I am waiting for my second dose of vaccine and thank the Goddess every day for the scientists and workers who have enabled this rapid development and delivery to happen...I hope that wherever you are this is on the horizon if not quite there yet.

We are now moving towards the Spring Equinox, that point of balance that often heralds storms and changeable weather as daylight balances with night and we tip towards the longest day...

My zodiac sign is Libra and I feel a great yearning for the Equinoxial parity and equality of ‘fair do’s’ compared to the ‘full on’ ‘all or nothing’ more dramatic energy of the Solstices...however this does not mean that finding balance comes naturally at all...

I recently came across the Japanese concept of ‘No tan’ that focuses on ‘light-dark balance’, often applied to help create asymmetrical balance in art work....where there is the uncovering of an understanding beneath the ‘surface story’ to bring the invisible broad shapes and forms into awareness. This practice applied to art works looks to find the core structure of the composition amidst all the immediately obvious and distracting tone, colour and detail.

It embodies an ancient Eastern concept, in which all things exist as inseparable and in perfect harmony as exemplified by the well known yin yang symbol…everything belongs and is integral to the harmony of the whole.

This is what we hope to embody together when we meet at Festivals, on line and in person…we create a space, within the frame of a specific time, to delve beneath the ‘surface story’ of our own lives and thereby hope to find the often hidden balance of soul and structure of our eternal being…the inherent form of our lives held within Her Divine Mystery.

And we do this on a group level too…so even though we might differ in certain beliefs or have different life styles we can still share a balanced interaction between these seeming ‘opposite’ life choices and differences…rather than fall into the more confrontational attitude in which one competes with the other and enters the trap of rival duality.

To facilitate and enliven the organisation of our Foundation Centre Festivals I suggested recently that the Circle of Brigid be reformed…and I am delighted that this has happened so we now meet every six weeks or so, a little before festivals for this purpose. This also gives a chance to think how to navigate their progress through the pandemic regulations in terms of balancing virtual and face to face festivals perhaps in the future… We have greatly enjoyed how virtual festivals have allowed attendance from all over the world…this has been enlivening and exciting and has turned a crisis into an opportunity for connection and new ideas. It, of course, has its drawbacks too and is not how many choose to connect…so the question is: how do we keep some of those benefits of virtual connection when we are able to return to face to face gatherings again?

Maybe the notion of No tan holds some of the possible ways forward…can we have some sort of balance that meets the needs of the widest number? I leave that thought with you and this prayer:

Divine Mother hold us and all your children close to your heart at this time
As we begin to emerge into the year’s brighter light may we find comfort in listening,
Courage in reaching out and truth in our living.
So may it be, amen.

Cressida
FOI Steward.