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You are not weird, you are magical. Mermaids, Goddesses & Water Spirits

By: Marjory Mejia

La mirada de la sirena by Mercedes Palacios

These words has been brewing in me for a long time. I hear whispers, they tell me that:

they taught you to blend in
tame your spirit
shrink your heart

to dim your light
become numb
succumb

but you don’t fit in
you are different
you listen to no lies

You lead with your heart
your overflow,
a sacred gift.

Weird means magical

You are not weird, you are magical; dear Yeye explained once. Weird etymology:
“fate, destiny” “that which comes” “to become” “to turn, bend” “odd-looking, uncanny.”

I could bask in the flow and glow of these words forever, like a tree swaying in the wind, growing deep to reach high:

“But then they danced down the street like dingledodies, and I shambled after as I’ve been doing all my life after people who interest me, because the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars. ~ Jack Kerouac, On the Road: The Original Scroll

The Feminine

I prefer deep waters, the sacred, mysterious, and primordial realm of the feminine, mother of all. No wonder I love the bathroom as a sacred space of release and renewal. I must have been a mermaid in another life, breathing underwater. Ah, this mythical divine creature lures my imagination, my body, my soul, my heart. Spill it out:

Intense, deep, and magical. Not for the faint of heart, like the honey that dances in your tongue to then strip your bones naked to chew on the bone marrow. Your heart whispers in flows you don’t yet understand. I like the song of your blood when you shut up.

“I want to work in revelations, not just spin silly tales for money. I want to fish as deep down as possible into my own subconscious in the belief that once that far down, everyone will understand because they are the same that far down.”
~ jack kerouac, ‘Letter to Ed White’ (July 1950)

Mermaids

The artwork of Mami Wata by Moyo Ogundipe in this post celebrates the Goddess and her ripples, and was part of an exhibition at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, featured in this beautiful book, Mami Wata: Arts for Water Spirits in Africa and Its Diasporas.

Deep bow. I’m enrapt by these healing Goddesses, Spirits of the Water, Mythical Creatures, Archetypes and forces that exist in the depths of the human psyche and soul, the feminine realm. In joy!

“Mermaid shapes that still the waves with ecstasies of song.” ~ T. Swan, “The World within the Ocean.

6. Mermaid and her human alter ego by Andreas Chrzanowski

Art Credit: 1. Mermaid Kat, Katrin Felton via iamamermaid; 2. Mami Wata by Zoumana Sane; 3. Mermaid by Biljana Kroll. 4. Anais Nin quote composition: Photo by Brad Miersma & Design by Ashley 5. Mermaid by Mercedes Palacios; 6. Mermaid & her human alter ego via streetartnews; 7. Quilt by Laura Gadson ; 8. Mami Wata by Moyo Ogundipe

“Even when I’m dead, I’ll swim through the earth, like a mermaid of the soil, just to be next to your bones.” ~ Jeffrey McDaniel from The Archipelago of Kisses

I wrote this post yesterday morning and as I was driving back from a sanctuary by the ocean that heals injured wildlife, I saw a mural of a mermaid. I’m so delighted by the graceful dance of synchronicity at work in my life.

Art opens a window into the soul to tap into a powerful realm, one never experienced before, one that will transform you forever. It is true, artists dance on the edge of two worlds; magically shape-shifting, visioning, drawing medicine from the deep well of spirit to heal the soul.

“No ha de ser el miedo a la locura lo que nos obligue a bajar la bandera de la imaginación.” ~ Andre Breton

Dear ones, mad ones, magical ones, sensitive ones, lovers of waters, explorers of mystery, artists chewing on the bone marrow of life, nourishing your roots and exploding like spiders across the stars,  I love you. Here is to dreaming, creating, loving, protecting and healing our sacred spaces, our waters, our wild life, together.