The flowering dogwoods hung like clouds as I walked in the pine needles and stones. The titmouse declared the sky blue, the dew was burning off, and it was already hot. Among scattered shards of bark and acorn tops, a box turtle shared my path among smooth roots and snags.
From out of nowhere, it started to rain.
Last autumn I had carried this turtle to a persimmon tree there. It had been left by another, enclosed and trapped in a courtyard, with no access to food or water or shelter. The energy of the mountain was magical that day, and the voluptuous fruits littered the hillside, filling the air with sweetness. As I walked up the rocky path, I sang and the turtle looked up at me from the box. When at last I set it down at the tree, it took a few quick steps away. Then it stopped, and turned its head, and paused. He seemed to look me in the eye, as if to say “Thank You”, and wandered quickly off.
As I encountered the old turtle today the rain had made his colors bright again, and his contours gleamed like glass. I noticed that he had an interesting mark on its shell. There was an elegant image, in the center of his back, just two lines and dots, as if drawn with a calligrapher’s brush. I was captivated and entranced.
As I knelt down to see it closer the silent sky woke me with a flash.
. . . . .
Everything is vibration.
Cymatics is the area of science dealing with vibration and light, creating images apparent through resonance. When subjected to vibrations of varying frequencies, simple materials such as sand or water produce images that are instantly recognizable. Forms we see all around us in nature appear, dissolve, and reassemble as the frequencies transition higher or lower.
When waves intersect in a particular frequency the waves resonate, creating patterns as lines in sand on a drum head, or in light in a pool of water. Nothing is actually changed, only the apparent organization of the vibrating particles, in motion, as they disperse or converge across a plane.
All things can be described as an energetic signature.
Some healing modalities such as Homeopathy and Sound Healing utilize specific vibrational tendencies to induce resonance for healing effects. It is possible to access different frequencies with factors of a master number, such as the speed of light, where it is implied and multiplied into manifestation. Homeopathy uses the vibration frequency as a seed that is carried and amplified throughout a solution from its original infusion. Sound Healing uses vibration to induce healing in our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual bodies, as we receive its harmonic resonances.
Among these patterns, the Om symbol, the Sri Yantra, and the turtle shell are three we might recognize.
. . . . .
As lightning struck the mountainside, the heavy air crackled all around and the turtle and I blinked and hunkered down.
Who was its image for? What was the possibility–– would a turtle ever see it, or could it be meant for another? What was the chance that I might see it?
I was so taken by the convergence that the moment had risen beyond coincidence. In finding meaning in its mark, a deeper connection was made. As I held him in my hand again, he gently closed the door, pretending it was the rain.
I returned home soaked and cold to see the image anew, revisiting it again and again. I carved it into ceramic and wood, and pressed it into paper, and leather, and clay.
The old turtle is the earth spirit, and one of my totems. I can still see his face today.
The turtle’s mark became my chop, the signature for the awakening work.
.
hard autumn rain––
on the turtle’s shell
a turtle’s face
