The Goddess who unties the knots
by Stefania Giudici
Introduction by Simona Vigo, ITI Writing Unit Coordinator, philosopher, counselor trainer, teacher of Biotransenergetics and Transpersonal Creative Writing.
Stefania Giudici's work is inspired by the Myth and by the ancient oracular traditions.
It alludes to devotion and free will, to respect for ancient ritual and tradition and at the same time to the claim of human freedom that scandalizes but moves the Goddess of salt water.
The tale is a fable inhabited by universal archetypes: the Goddess of the Sea, oracle of lovers; the masculine, the feminine, the sacred marriage between soul and spirit. It is written with a particular rhythm, like a Celtic ballad in which the prayer that forms the plot of the story occurs. The rhythm is that of the coming and going of the ocean waves, a metaphor for the immensity of consciousness, just as if it reflected the characterizing imprint of the “goddess with seaweed hair”.
The dialogue between structure and process of the story reveals the integration between the three inner instances: "he who feels, he who elaborates, he who acts". The writing is fluid, soft and glides like the waves of the sea, leading us into the dreamlike dimension of the song of the Goddess. A strong, sensual, austere and compassionate Goddess at the same time. A Goddess who tests those who show sufficient courage and will to descend into the depths of their soul in search of the precious treasures it holds. A hero and a heroine who at the end of their journey can find each other and finally see each other with clear eyes, an empty mind and a light heart.
To Stefania my gratitude and my deep joy for her work and her lively and enthusiastic presence, always the bearer of the rhythm of the sea.
Happy reading
Simon Vigo
The Goddess who unties the knots
All the stories that men told her were stories of non-love.
They arrived there, on the bay, when it was already dark. And they spoke to her, facing the sea. She was sitting on her rock, the only one to emerge in the cove. And their faces barely distinguished them.
Some spoke to her with trembling voices for the thrill of really seeing her there, on a rock in the middle of the sea, with seaweed hair, as the fishermen told in their stories.
Others barely whispered their prayers and really didn't seem to care about her.
Men always turned to her. It was an eternity that she listened to their stories and gave the responses of her with her purple hair, of seaweed. Since the sea and this emerald cove existed. Or even earlier.
Almost everyone began their prayers like this: "Goddess with seaweed hair", and then entrusted their lives to her: scream, whisper, hiss, sing, howl. Some were also written, on paper or fabrics that were then offered to the waves of the sea. She listened to everyone's stories. They were always stories of non-love.
It was a strange emotion to hear humans tell. And he tried it that day too, when she saw a man and a woman arrive with their hands knotted.
"Goddess with seaweed hair that unties knots" they too began like this.
"Please tell me how I can untie my knot of non-love" continued the female voice.
"Please tell me how I can untie my knot of non-love" repeated the male voice.
A gust of wind rolled the goddess's seaweed hair into a spiral down her back. At the same time as her mother, the sea, some violent waves slammed against her at her rock. And a star of fire, falling, illuminated the whole bay as day. The goddess was silent. It was not enough, this time, to take a dip in the sea and go out with your hair rolled up or down to indicate whether the knot could be untied or not. They didn't ask her if she could untie their knots. They asked her how to do it yourself. These two humans were cheeky, cheeky. They had the courage to put themselves almost on par with the gods. For this she decided to help them.
"The journey will be long and frightening," said the seaweed-haired goddess. "And above all you will have to do it alone." The two lovers looked at each other with fear.
“You will have to enter the darkest part of the cave of the heart. You will have to descend into the darkest depths, until your feet are bathed in the salty waters of the sea. It is there that I lay the knots that humans entrust to me and that I cannot untie. There you will also find yours. "
The goddess dived into the waves and disappeared. The two lovers kissed a hasty kiss between the lips, the word "Goodbye" remained stuck between their teeth.
He heard the voice of his mind: he made calculations, he used the map of the sky and the earth, he studied the latitude and the direction of the winds. He walked a straight path that passed through the low vegetation of the coast. He memorized every step and every myrtle bush. He placed stones at the crossroads of paths. He noted his route on the map. He went back a few times when he felt lost. But looking at the compass and the hump of the crescent moon, after three days he found himself in front of a cave that led down to the sea.
She followed the belly. When she hurt, she stopped and changed direction. If she, on the other hand, felt the butterflies inside her, as if in a state of love, she knew that she was going to the right side of her. She sometimes felt nothing, so she had to stop and wait. While she waited, she enjoyed the scent of the sea and its warm caresses on her hips. After three days, she found herself in front of a cave that led down to the sea.
As soon as he crossed the threshold, he found himself facing a granite staircase that led him down. The darkness was getting darker, but his mind's eye saw. There were piles of ropes. They were tangled and black and made the sound of thunder. He was afraid, but he kept going down: he wanted to find out the truth.
Instead, as soon as she crossed the threshold, she found herself facing a precipitous descent, made of sand and smooth sea rocks. She had to be careful not to slip. The darkness was deep, but her belly could tell her where to put her foot or grab her hand. And as she descended, she felt her thorns scratching her ankles and anguish squeezing her throat. Yet her belly was carrying her lower and lower, against her will her will.
They arrived almost at the same time. But the darkness prevented them from seeing each other, and the murmur of the mind and the rumble of the belly from hearing each other. Instead, they heard the voice of the seaweed-haired goddess: “You have arrived in the deepest part of the cave of the heart. But your feet are not wet by the water of the sea ”.
They didn't know what to do. They tried a song, one of many they had learned from fishermen. Notes of shipwrecks and mermaids, salty waters and starfish. They sang together, but they couldn't hear each other. They had known him for a lifetime and had always dedicated him to the sea. But only then did they discover that the sea did not care about this song.
He got angry, hit, banged, hated, hit until his hands bled. She cried.
Drops of his blood formed a trickle at her feet. He followed him until he stopped in front of a knot, which began to bleed. He tried to lift it, but couldn't. He tried and tried again, but the knot weighed more than all the rocks in the sea. When he ran out of strength, he fell to the ground, surrendered. At that moment the water licked his feet and legs. He didn't want to fight anymore. And he for the first time he felt loved.
The more she cried, the more the waves of the sea rose at her feet. She saw floating, among many, a knot, from which she gushed the image of a lonely child. Immediately her throat opened wide for the love of that little girl. She stretched out her arms, took this image of water in her hands and brought it to her heart.
At that moment they heard the voice of the seaweed-haired goddess: “You have untied your knots of unloving. Now you can love each other, because you know how to receive and give ”.
The cave lit up and only then did the two see each other. They lifted their knots, and these crumbled into a thousand grains of salt. Then they reached out their arms to each other and took their hands. Now their fingers no longer formed knots - the goddess smiled - but splendid interweaving of life.
Stephanie Giudici
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