Tracey's Travel Guide to the Mysteries of Ancient Egypt, Our Past and Our Future
Decoding Egypt, a Personal Journey
The Nile River. Since humankind has lived along its banks it has been a source of life, symbolizing fertility and abundance. In stark contrast to the desert area surrounding it, the Nile offers all that one needs to live in balance and harmony with nature. In fact, today 95% of Egyptians live within just a few short kilometers of this northern flowing river.
Floating on the Nile for a week was simply spectacular. Spending time on the waters, slowly moving through fertile grounds, by temple complexes, and using it as our sole means of transportation from site to site provided the backdrop of a lifetime to contemplate my own place in the world.
Water is Life
We came into the world through a fluid-based sanctuary, then were thrust into the land we call earth with all of its overload of sensory stimuli. Some say we spend our entire lives seeking a way back to that harmonious place inside mom's womb where we felt safe, protected, and had all that we needed to live and survive. Others feel that by connecting with the water element in our outer world that we can connect to this intrinsic need to return to the womb and find that inner peace outside. Water is life. Water is healing. Water is cleansing and washes away the dirt and grime of the day, leaving one feeling refreshed and renewed.
On our trip for the first week we had the luxory of returning to our boat everyday and sailing down the Nile. The view never got old. Although there were days when it was too hot to enjoy a long stay on deck, I tried my best to stick it out as long as I could to soak in the sights and the energy of the Nile River.
As water represents the sacral chakra, which I've always felt had a direct connection to the throat chakra, it felt important to tune into the energy — you know, it being in the world's fifth chakra and all. In our sacral center we birth and create. For women it is the location of our own womb, and for all it is the place where the literal spark of creation, starts. No energy moves upward until this power center ignites. The question has always been, what precisely is the invisible principle that initiates this spark?
In yogic terms it is Shakti energy, the divine feminine power. I always loved the image of Shiva, the divine masculine, seated at the crown center in meditation. The "Lord of Yoga" is deep in contemplation until Shakti begins her dance, which is so energized that Shiva awakens. And as she makes her ascent upward, he moves downward, and together they meet at the heart. That is my favorite yoga story that describes the unification of energy coming together through love at the heart-center. And, it also proves, once again, that it is the woman who does all the real work. Anyway...
In Egypt, the goddess Anuket is said to be the embodiment of the Nile River. She is associated with childbirth, and her name means "embrace." This feminine spiritual energy connected to the water element is so alive and present on the Nile. My goodness, is she alive. If you follow me, then you know by now my tagline: "Everything is Energy." So when something occurs I look for the energetics behind it.
The Spiritual Path of Least Resistance
On the third day on our boat, I experienced a complete liquid evacuation. That is as kind as I can say it. When this happened, I was concerned. I mean, as you can imagine, I didn't want to miss any of the sites to stay by the bathroom. Sparing you all the details of how I managed this situation, I did actually continue to have this fluid issue throughout the trip. On a surface level, we can chalk it up to what has been labeled "travelers diarrhea." But from a deeper perspective I understood that this cleanse, this release, was a natural part of my processing of all the energy that was Egypt and the Nile as a part of my deep integration.
Water is such a strong force. With enough consistant pressure, it can carve a path through solid rock. I've watched how water in nature has devistated places time and time again, and I have a deep and profound respect for this element. Many people forget that we are nearly 70% water ourselves. And since whatever happens above also happens below, we humans are affected by the same factors that affect the tides and flooding and erosion.
Did I mention that our first day in Egypt began on the Giza Plateau pre-dawn during the night of the Harvest super full moon? Imagine the Sphinx sitting in front of the Great Pyramid with the full moon behind it, and the sun rising in front of it. At this time the planet Venus was visible as well as Saturn. Venus we know as the planet of love, named after the goddess of the same name. Spiritually, Saturn represents karma, life lessons, and our responsibilities. If we look at the energy that these two planets create together, we see an urge of responsibility towards our loving relationships and for clearing out any old, heavy energy surrounding them. There was a lot of energy in the sky. And I was feeling it all in my body.
On the fifth day on the Nile and managing my "situation," there are photos of me where I simply look pregnant. My stomach was destended past my boobs. I felt enormous, like I was carrying something heavy inside of me that was ready to come out. Anuket was most definitely with me. I had experienced activations in temples, remembrances with fellow travelers, and a surge of energy from this planetary power place like I'd never felt before. Everything was off the charts. And something had to give. All I could do was embrace it all.
The path of least resistence means that, well if we are talking about water, it will flow down a pathway where it can easily flow first. If there are impediments, it will flow around it, unless there is enough consistent pressure to knock through it, as I said before. Spiritually, we have a tendency to work on the easy stuff first too. Why? Becuase it is the easy stuff! But the hard stuff, the stuff you need to consistantly batter with tireless truthfullness — no matter how bad it hurts to look at it — that stuff we will tend to wait until we have no other choice but to work on it, like when the Universe creates a way that you cannot escape it.
I've done a lot of healing work on myself over the years. Last year when I went to the world's heart chakra, I had a beautiful spiritual heart-opening. But the truth was that I still had some old stuff in my heart that I needed to deal with. I didn't even know how to deal with it, to be honest. So I just kept plugging along. The trifecta of 2023: losing my beloved dog, Bodhi, being in probably the most energized planetary places on the planet, and experiencing a supermoon with Venus and Saturn for harvest time meant there was no better time like the present. The Universe, in its expansive knowledge, had carved out a path of least resistence for me. I couldn't fight it any longer if I tried.
I lost ten pounds of energy by the time I made it home from Egypt and Peru. I went from the earth's fifth chakra to the world's second chakra — and I already explained the connection between these two. When I finally made it home, I had finally healed those old wounds. And I have the mighty Nile River to thank for being the spark to ignite the opportunity to make that happen.
Continue with me on a journey of discovery in Decoding Egypt, a Personal Journey for my next installment, part 4.