The Trillium flower is associated with purity.
With a root similar to ginseng, trillium is facing an endangered future. It grows less and less frequently in our rich, dark, and damp woods and rain forests. But it grows here, in our woods, where the Earth energies are still alive and accessible. We have even seen white trillium growing along our waterway.
To some it represents the Holy Trinity, The Sacred Triangle, the Trinity of Ancient Mysteries. It is also a symbol of the triune nature of humanity; of the Masculine, Feminine, and Divine Child born of the complete union of both aspects within us.
As we re-sided our Dutch barn last year, we replaced the windows in the gambrel peaks with turn of the century stained glass. A square and diamond motif in the north for the Four Directions, and in the south a Trillium, to honor a sanctuary deep in the woods here where Trillium grows. The imagery and colors bring a warm glow to the old pine interior, echoing the sense of cathedral space that has always spoken to us there.
When we were finished three months later, something extraordinary happened.
After dark, I walked my nightly rounds past the barn, enjoying the soft glow of light through the stained glass. And as I passed by, a shooting star flew over the peak. It was a remarkable sight, like a hailing for a job well done. I recorded it in my journal that night with gratitude.
But the next day, in the same way, it happened again— a shooting star passed just over the window as I passed by.
This was unusual indeed.
We don’t always get to know the meaning of a message when we are in the middle of its unfolding. But with time it may be revealed to us, like a flower opening, as our lives unfold, as we remember. And as a symbol, trillium has a history as long as our collective memory.
On the third day, walking by, the sky was just as dark, the barn as still and quiet. The faint light from inside glowed through the colored glass. It was presumptuous of me to hope, and I was actually embarassed to look if it might happen again.
Then there above the peak, the same as the others before it, passed the third shooting star!
Although I was standing still, my heart leapt. Across the days, across seasons, across the years, a flower burned softly into the night.
And I remembered; the Divine Child is already here.
