The Art of Transformation

The Phoenix invites you to recognize where you are in the cycle of rebirth and experience it fully. Rather than bypassing where you are now, and rushing into the next phase, savor the moment and the possibility and wisdom it can bring. Life is full of rites of passage - and to grow, we must move through these rites and allow them to unfold in their own time.

There is the burn, the death and the rising. There is the disintegration, the separation, and the creation. There is the destruction, the possibility, and the regeneration. There is the confrontation, the transformation, and the awakening. There is also an elusive fourth phase - interwoven in all the others - which is omnipotent and shapeshifting. This fourth phase is the liminal, the betwixt and between, the undefinable energy which fills the space between pivotal moments. It is akin to the space between breath, and the thin yet perceptible gap which makes up doorways.

This fourth phase is a gateway and in constant motion. Unlike the other phases, which tend to be forthright and often times dominating in their declaration of irrefutable change, the liminal can be deceivingly present, manipulative, subtle and therefore hard to fully grasp or settle into. The liminal, like smoke, cannot always be seen, heard or captured - it must simply be sensed. So whether you are in the burning of the fire, the suffocation of the flame, the rising of the ashes or in the liminality of the smoke, seek to honor that space for it is where the magic of your life and your alchemy happens.

No matter where you are on this journey, The Phoenix reminds you that to fully live, you must experience all stages and no one stage is more powerful than another - no one stage can be summoned before its time, no one stage can be bypassed without severe consequences. Certain stages can prove more difficult than others for our particular being to confront or move through and this deserves recognition and compassion. 

This mythic bird of legend governs the art of transformation and the power of trial by fire. The fire will burn, the fire will grow, the fire will dwindle and need to be fed. Fire is the will within and the discomfort all around. Fire is unavoidable - so this is your signal to embrace the fire life offers and use it as a force of transformation rather than fear you will be burned - for fire must learn to be handled, and it is only experience and failure which can teach us the art of flame-keeping.