SIGN OF THE TURTLE

S.K.Watts (Lady Walking Turtle)

Grandfather Turtle had come to the end of his days. Having spent the last hours of his long and distinguished journey through this world pondering the meaning of his life, memories of the past flooded over him. Stories that had been passed down by ancestors, and then bestowed upon him by his loving mother, were now as fresh in his mind as the first time he had heard them. He experienced peace within this reflection and drifted through eons of legend and lore.

Much of his youth had been spent listening to tales of how Turtle had grown entire continents upon his back from just a handful of mud. It was the Turtle; his mother had assured him, who had held up the World when all others had failed; since only Turtle could support the weight of the earth and still moves effortlessly between land and water. Turtles were born of the Cosmic Egg from which all life sprung. Grandfather Turtle had especially enjoyed hearing about how it would be his very own ancestors who marked the beginning and ending of winter, by the direction in which they traveled to hibernate. They would spend this time sleeping silently, content within the knowledge that it was so with all that had ever lived upon the Earth. The world itself followed the same rhythms of ebb and flow.

How confident he once was that he was truly special, and how proud his mother had been. There was no time wasted on doubt or regret in his youth, too much living needed attended to. But now, it all seemed to have passed in a heartbeat. Alone in the dark… there was still time left for doubt; even some for regret. Would this one meager life leave behind a mark it had existed? Could there still be light after all would turn to darkness?

The Old One was becoming very weary now. His head rested upon the rock in front of him, and no longer was he concerned with the action of pulling in his feet and tail to protect them from danger. A momentary aching overtook him to once more experience diving into the pond absorbed in moonlight, or basking under the heat of the sun. He ached for another glimpse of something that was magnificent. Just as he sighed and began to drift as if being pulled by an unseen force, a blinding brightness appeared in front of him. He was vaguely aware of straining to lift a neck and head, which had become suddenly very heavy and foreign.

Eyes wide with wonder, he gasped in astonishment! The most beautiful Turtle he had ever seen stood just inches from his nose! She was glowing with a strange brilliance. Encircled with blazing color! The image was iridescent, almost translucent, with shades of greens and yellows never seen before. The Lady was standing upon two feet and not four…her neck bent to gaze at him in a way his had never done. The vision spoke with a voice that echoed one he had known from his youth.

“Why do you wonder Grandfather about your life at this time within your passage? Do you not know that you were here upon the earth to profess a bit of perfection for the world around you?” She tilted her head and awaited his answer.

“Perfection? I have so many things I did not get to finish. There are so many things completed that I would have spent more time on, had there been some time left for me. Too many places I did not swim, and not enough exploration accomplished. There was much that should have been said, but wasn’t.” Two weary eyes filled with water. It had been a long time since he had known his own tears; this was not something he could afford when the younger ones had searched for answers. His head now bowed in sorrow, reality that this life had truly come to meet it’s ending engulfed him. Uneasiness still troubled him; he still felt that something important had been left undone.

The apparition would raise his head with her thoughts, and then transported his back through time, to the stories of ancestors. She assured him they had all been the truth. It was the turtle that would quietly carry the sign to profess that order and perfection were everywhere… even within the smallest of creatures.

Grandfather Turtle had just enough energy left within him to ask what sign had he carried all through his life that he had missed? Now anxious to know this secret while there was still time to be astonished. As he held his breath in anticipation, She began to speak.

“Your shell is both a map and a key. You are the clock with which the world measures all the days of life itself, and your spirit is one of many reasons that history remembers you in the stories of creation. You marked the beginning of recorded time, and with that presence, began the ticking of its clock.   You are the record of balance that keeps time in tune. The rhythms of your life are the strokes of measure itself, marking the changes and connection for all. And, the markings in which you carry a signature of the light.

Recall now my son…

You have borne twelve plates on one side of the shell above you, each representing to represent one sign of the Zodiac. Yet another reminder of that what is above is also here below…

Twelve more on across your shell announce the twelve months that divide the year. An additional measure of symmetry and order…

These twenty-four plates together form a circular vessel in which are safely harbored thirteen more…each one of the Full Moons of the lunar year…

Delineated on your belly are the Equinoxes and the Solstices /and the division of the dark half from the light half of the year. Drawn by lines of energy, which you hold close to Mother Earth, to be replenished and nourished…

Four legs represent in a clockwise motion like that of the Sun, the movement of the organization of time itself; the Cardinal directions and the sands of time carried upon the Winds. Four Elements assigned by direction also begin at your feet. Your head reminds us that there is a   Fifth Element, which is that of the Divine. Together these messengers map out the shape of a Star, another reflection of that which is ideal…a reminder and path for those who will see…and shimmer of the light that is within...

Your toes are The Four Cardinal Directions, and The Airts. They are the vehicle and the choices with which you may choose to travel within the time you have been given…

Your head and neck; The Yang, actively moving with strength and purpose, and balance for that which would be blind…

Your tail; The Yin, quietly guarding the secrets of creation…and all the mysteries held within the darkness…

Your shell separates in duality by way of two parts, symbolizing again that which is above is also below in all the realms. And they are connected together with what exists in between; revealing the mystery. That which is in between is connected to them both and this too is already connected to the All….

You physical life while bound to this world was confined to the fundamentals of Earth, Air, and Water, as are many lives upon this world. The fourth physical element has long awaited your continued company..."

Grandfather had not yet noticed he was standing upright, having become immersed in the wonder of all that he had just come to know. No longer was he aware of the physical realm around him, just the excitement and warmth of new knowledge. There would be one last breath to be exhaled, which would then banish forever the worry and regret he had known for what now seemed to be ions lost within time.

Suddenly, the Grand Old Man came to realize that the signs of the ideal had truly been marked upon his being, but were not meant for him to deliberate in this world. They had been the reminders and a map for others to follow, as he had only been the messenger during his visit. For him, this wondrous new wisdom was the single gift he would carry from one world into another, and his nourishment for the journey ahead. Life itself has always been a symbol of perfection. A mark of that which is Divine.

The Aged Turtle now radiated within the same magnificent glow as did his guide. It seemed that they were floating upon the waters of the universe into the realm of the stars, towards a familiar goal and destination. There was only one last question that remained to be answered before he would abandon recent thought, and become absorbed into a voyage and purpose.

“And The Fourth Element that was saved for last?” He asked the beautiful vision that had been his last on Earth…

“You have become now the brilliant Fire in the Night Sky. A sign for those you have left behind, who will come in time to know this same light had been shared with them when they were in your presence. You were the spark that ignited the best of the fires of passion and creativity within them, and consequently, that same flame which burst forth the moment the light within you became the radient energy without. Energy that is both perfect and eternal."

She smiled upon him in the very instant they were absorbed within the system he had always watched with wonder. Time ceased to exist for Grandfather Turtle. The ticking of the clock within him no longer ruled his existance. A circle was now completed, and had returned to the beginning. All was in truth, perfect. Grandfather Turtle would exist within that which is perfection. As it was in his beginning, and until the ending of time itself.

Note: The turtle has been a part of our world since the very beginning of time. Turtle is one of the Celestial Animals who rule the constellations. It has been said that winter does arrive when the stars of the Spiritual Turtle rise in the Northeast, and then travel to rest in the Northwest. These lights, which can be seen by all, are where Grandfather Turtle has gone… to join again with his ancestors: who are the source and purpose of his energy.