Today I was listening to a book by Rebecca Campbell, Light is the New Black. I had read that book before, but each time I read it, it inspires me in new ways. I believe that Rebecca Campbell is my soul sister. Each line from her books seems to be telling my life story, from this life or past lives. Especially her last book Letters to a Starseed felt like a heartfelt letter direct to my soul from someone who could read the depths and corners of my soul more than even I could do. But that’s for another blog article.
I was blown away by the part when Campbell was exploring the meanings of her full name. When I first read the book, I didn’t stop to think about this part. Perhaps because I changed my name, and it felt complicated to delve into the meanings of my name. Which name should I contemplate on? My last name changed when I got married, and I switched my first name to a one which my soul called for.
This time around though, I paused. That pause, as often with pauses are, became a moment of insight. That insight led to deep self-healing. I want to share this with you, hoping that perhaps you will be inspired to contemplate on the mystery of your name as well.
I started with my maiden name. It means blacksmith. A blacksmith is someone who commands fire. In shamanistic societies only blacksmiths are more revered than shamans because blacksmiths are masters of fire. For the Buryats and Yakuts in Central Asia, a blacksmith and a shaman are of the same nest, or they are the feathers of a same bird. It is not surprising to understand my deep passion for shamans at my 20s. That planted the seeds of my spiritual practices.
Blacksmiths often stayed outside of the crowd of their villages in traditional societies. They were from the village but not of it. They did not quite fit in. They were considered “different.” Now, I don’t know of a research which tells us how the blacksmiths felt all about this, but I can easily imagine them feeling like not quite fitting in. It is a feeling too familiar to me, most of my life having felt like an unfit piece from another puzzle.
The most striking revelation for me stems from the fire aspect of a blacksmith’s work. How many times in my life I’ve told myself that I lack fire- like I lack ambitions. Now I know that this name is to remind me of the fire within me. It wants me to know that not only I do have fire, I am master of fire.
A big part of my life, I have felt that there is this part of my heart which is hard, cold and sharp. Like iron. I have worked hard to heal and soften that part of my heart. And this name provides the answer within. With fire, I can soften and melt the iron part of my heart. As a blacksmith, I own the skill and capacity to do just that. This name gives me the power with which I can heal the hardest part of my heart that I brought from a past life. What a great gift of a name.
When I married, I gladly switched to my husband’s last name. It means fir tree. My connection and devotion to trees – in many levels – go back many lifetimes.
My given first name is the name of a holly hill where Muslims visit as part of their pilgrimage ritual. I never felt this name was for me. Now, I can see that name as a reminder of the grandness of my soul. Think big, dream big, for you are big.
My middle name - which I totally ignored all my life - means abundance. Until today, I had no idea what it meant. Resisting abundance in my life easily echoed in my resistance to the middle name which implied abundance. Holly cow! Or holly hill!
And lastly, the name I am inspired to use as my first name now. Luna means the moon. From the moment I started using the name, it fit me perfect like a glove. I believe it is a good reflection of my soul- at least for this lifetime. This name made me whole, bringing me closer to home.
The Moon and Mercury are the most important cosmological objects in my astrological birth chart. They are big rulers in my life. Mercury helps me with communication, art, writing, publishing. It helps me be a good channel for light and wisdom. It is the masculine side of me. The Moon is the light vessel part of me. It is my connection to the Divine Feminine. It is not a coincidence that as I started doing psychic work, I started using this name. The Moon is archetypal for intuition, witches, healing, working with the cycles and elements of nature.
Like trees, the Moon is part of my wildness. Trees are my connection to the Mother Earth, and the Moon is my connection to the Cosmos. As above, so below, they bring balance to my spirit.
Are you ready to delve into the mysteries of your name?
As above, so below, ~ Luna