Awen - The Flowing Spirit

By Sunbird 16/10/04

Awen could be seen to mean Divine Inspiration, or even Divine Madness, but I feel it is more than this, Awen, an ancient Welsh word apparently meaning flowing spirit, is to me the word for a state of ecstatic connection to our source, to nature and divinity.

Universe is a Musician and Nature is the Music. Deep inside our Chests beats a Heart, Deep inside our Spirits beats a rhythm. For each person there is a different rhythm yet they all fit together. Our personal rhythm is our personal dance and when we learn it's steps we reach a state of true connection. We become connected with life, nature and the Universe and when this happens we cease to be ordinary, we become spirit in flesh. We become Channels for spirits and the divine to speak through us, dance through us, heal through us. When we reach this state we can do anything, be anything, because at this point of spiritual connection there is no disbelief, no doubt, there is only pure divine connection, time and space cease to exist in the way that we view them in physical reality. It is during this ecstatic state that we are able to journey (travel the spirit worlds), we are able to see/hear/feel spirits and work with them and it is this state that we call ecstatic trance today. In Mongolia the state is known as Ongod Orood and it is believed that the Shaman is no longer in control of their body, rather they have given it up for the use of deity or of their spirit allies.

I have said that this state is called ecstatic trance and it is during this state of shear ecstasy that we become inspired, through our dance, our connection, we are able to see how all things are connected and it is such a strong feeling that we often feel moved to express it, be that in the form of poetry, music, art, dance or another creative art. Thus Awen is a word that is applied to inspiration within Druidry. But Awen is far more than inspiration (being in Spirit) Awen is a living, moving, conscious, connection (flowing spirit). It is possible that Awen could be described as the inspiration of God/Great Spirit/Allah/Universe, perhaps even a connection with the creator itself. I feel that inspiration is our key to reaching the state of Awen.

The hardest thing to do though is to describe the feeling in words, it is not something that can be learned or taught, it is something that has to be experienced. We can catch small glimpses of it though when we look at a painting, or read a poem or story that was written by someone who was in the state of Awen. These expressions often depict the artist/writer as being able to fly, jump from mountaintop to mountaintop, run like a wolf, drink a lake dry or fly into the stars. They all speak with such a strong level of emotion that many "normal" people would not understand the passion that the person was feeling, thus it is equated to madness or divine madness.

Some of the things that happen during the state of Awen are; Speaking in Tongues, amazing feats of physical strength and resilience and incredible healing.

There are many ways of reaching the State of Awen, but there are so many people cut off from ever achieving it, not because they lack the ability to reach it, but because they have placed fears, inhibitions and self imposed limits on themselves. These act as locks. These Locks are the tools that the modern world uses to keep us disconnected, to keep us believing we are unworthy of connection to our creator and that "we had just better do as we are told because there is nothing better". This is rubbish. We are all capable of contacting our creator, we are all capable of true union, happiness and divine ecstasy, but we must believe that before we can ever reach it, we must believe in ourselves before we can dance our sacred dance and be in Awen. But as I have said, these fears, inhibitions and limits are locks, inspiration is the key.

Once we truly believe that there is nothing that can stop us, when we believe in ourselves, then it is easy.

We all find our inspiration in different things, some find it is music, some in art, some poetry, some literature, some find it in the sunrise on the first frosty morning of spring, some find it in church or in the sacredness of a stone circle, some even find it in sex. Wherever we find our inspiration we find our key to the locks of fear, limitation and inhibition, we find our road up the mountain, our door to divinity swings open and the floodgates of pure connection and ecstasy are opened, never to close again.

If you wish to reach the state of Awen, if you wish to have a connection with divinity and nature then you must believe in yourself and have the courage to loose yourself totally in whatever inspires you.

The Druidic Symbol for the Awen

The symbol at the top of this page is the Druidic symbol for Awen, it shows three points of light, three beams of light and three rings.

The Points of Light

For me the three points of light represent a sacred trinity, that of Father, Mother and Child, but they can be seen as other sacred trinities, perhaps Father, Son and Holy Ghost or Virgin, Mother, Crone. They could also be seen as the constellations of the Plough, the Pleiades and the Pole Star.

The Beams of Light

The three beams could be seen as the tongues of fire that touched the heads of the disciples, or as the rays of the sun breaking through a cloud. They can represent the three roads of a human, the road of light, the road of dark and the road of balance. For me they represent the energy that comes from the three points of light, and thus their individuality.

The Three Circles

The three circles can represent the levels of the universe (the lower, middle and upper worlds), they can represent the Physical, Mental and Emotional parts of this existence with the outside representing the eternal spirit. They can be seen as the three souls (Mind, Body and Spirit, mentioned in the page The Human Being ). I personally see them as ripples on a pond.

The Way I Fit It Together

I see the Symbol (which cannot truly describe the state of Awen) as a symbol of what affects the world and how. There are three points of light, these points of light I see as the sacred trinity of Father, Mother and Child, this is the sacred trinity of creation. There are three beams of light which to me are the energy that this creative union and the individuality of each member give out to the world. There are three circles (ripples), which show that whatever you drop into the stillness of a pool (spirit) will radiate outwards and change the face and edges of the pool forever.

Responsibility

Thus I suppose in short it works like this, Creation of any kind, be it verbal, mental, emotional or physical, will forever alter the universe.

What is important to remember though is that whatever we do changes the universe forever and that it can never be undone, what is more, when ripples reach the edge of a pool, they hit the sides and turn back on themselves, thus they come back to their original place of creation and that alters us forever, and that also cannot be undone. The symbol therefore is a reminder to be careful about everything we do.

So Why is there not just one point of light and one beam? Any creation requires three things, a seed (thought, need, idea), an egg (the change from thought, need or idea, into something physical, mental, emotional, spiritual), and the finished product, the creation itself (word, tool, baby, prayer etc.).

The Druidic symbol for Awen shows then, that there are different factors to a creation, that everything must be thought through properly and only when we can see what the end result is should we then create it.

So being in the state of Awen is easily achievable, but once there, do we have the responsibility, maturity, stability needed to use the state of Awen properly, are we grounded enough to not get drunk on it's power?

Awen is like a double edged sword. It is nature, and your intention can turn it for good reasons or selfish reasons. It can give you the power to achieve the miracles of love, healing, sharing or it can be all kept for yourself. Once you reach the state of Awen, you can never loose it, you are able to access it and use it all the time, you don't tire, you don't overwork yourself, you feed the Awen into your prayers, desires and your world.