Ann Beeching - Artist - Walking the path of sacred animals

Story of the Grandmother of Time

In 2002 I had a dream.

I am walking in the deep woods, and I come upon a huge tree. I am instantly connected to this tree. As I walk slowly around it, I see that the ground is much lower in back than it is from the direction that I approached. In this depression a large egg shaped cave is cradled in the exposed root system. The egg is glowing. I touch the leathery skin of the shell and step back. It is alive. I see a silhouette moving against firelight. Then watching from outside it looks as if beak and claw is piercing the shell. As it opens and I step in, I see that she is dead, just sitting there in a chair with her long gray hair streaming out to the floor beside her. I know that she is the Grandmother of Time. I cry and hold her and feel as if I have known her for lifetimes, and have wept with her before. I sense her stories and spells and wisdom told to me over and over, and feels as if I will not hear them again, that this time I have missed them. I hold her and cry and rock her body in my arms.

I look around the cave room and begin to remember what I have to do. I lay her out on a cloth and take off her clothes. I see that most of her body is already decayed. I brush a worm out of her mouth and caress her face. I weep more, feeling her presence even as her body is leaving me. I wrap her body gently in the cloth, and pull her to the plateau where the birds come. I open the cloth and then step back and sit down to wait.

It takes several days, but when her bones are picked clean, I gather them up in the cloth and take them to the river. I wash them carefully, feeling the essence of her still there.

I bring them back to the cave. I look through the jars and pots lining the cave walls till I find the red powder. I am sure it will be here, Cinnabar to prepare her bones. I paint each bone red with the powder, touching and holding each bone, hearing her voice inside me as I wrap it gently in a cloth. When I am done I carefully position them in an earthen jar and lay them in a hole I have dug in the cave floor. All but her skull, I cannot bare to be without it, and so I gently place it on the central table so that we can talk.

I believe that I am all the parts of the dream.

As I explore my own inner world, I come upon the tree of life and enter the cave in its roots, the womb of the great mother, the place of death and birth. I find that what I believe about the Grandmother of Time has died, and I know I am to care for and honor her memory.

The cave is filled with herbs, sacred objects, and spirit animals, everything I need as the new Grandmother of Time is available to me. I am in a relationship with nature, and I listen and follow the steps to do the task before me.

I can return to the cave for guidance, but now it is time to step out of the tree of life, to be born back into the physical world.

Shaman Emerging From the Tree of Life

Painted in the early 90s, at least 15 years before The Grandmother of Time, represented my emergence from another trip into my inner depths. At that time I only knew part of the story.

The 2009 Calendar is available now.

2009 Calendar Now Available

Every month has its own unique energy. Every season has its own magic. And most animals have qualities that are more easily manifested at specific times of the year. Strengthen your connection to Nature throughout the year with activities, meditations, and magical practices to tap the medicine and power of animals.

Bring yourself back into universal rhythms and create a magical flow and empowerment in your life.

Prints Available

Prints are also available for all of the paintings used in this calendar. To order unframed prints in either 8" x l0" or 16" x 20" sizes, click on the buttons below. To inquire about larger sizes or Gicle prints on canvas, or to purchase the Original Oil Painting if available, please contact me at ann@annbeeching.com. I look forward to hearing from you.

Swan Dreaming (January)