The time has come to gather stories in the Hagitude Program (Module 5). Sharon Blackie presents her subscribers with a “Hagitude Story Pack” to read in preparation for the monthly Zoom® meeting facilitated by guest speaker Angharad Wynne. The reading packet includes:
- The Dream Makers, a story from the Black Cuilin Mountains of Skye in Scotland and reproduced from a version by Graeme Johncok on the Folklore Scotland website.
- The Curing Fox from the Cree Nation of North America that is reproduced with permission by Hugh Lupton from his book Tales of Wisdom and Wonder, Barefoot Books.
The online meeting centers around the following questions and issues:
- What myths and stories can we find to illuminate our path into Elderhood?
- How do we pass the stories on?
- How does one become a wisdom-keeper, a story-tender, a story-teller?
Building on the platform that stories are the building blocks of human connection, the module guides the participant to use the packet of stories to look for patterns and develop their own methods for crafting stories. This module offers guidelines that I have modified and adapted after my own experiences working with story structures and personal myths.
- Find a story that resonates with you “or let the story choose you.” I took a class on the JungPlatform by Craig Chalquist and what chose me was the Minerva/Athena Roman/Greek mythology tale.
- Create a story skeleton of eight bones. These are described as actions, images, or moments that are necessary to make the story what it is.
- Add flesh to the bones. Explore the characters, the landscape or setting, to make the story take shape in your mind. Use the imagination to make it yours.
- Give the story a voice or two. Allow the story to speak to you directly with character dialogue. Maybe the story will invite you into it. Allow yourself the creative space to make this story your own.
Blackie’s module provides a few more things to ponder:
- Get intimate with the story by reading it through a few times and ask yourself some important questions:
- What is this story really saying? That is, what is it’s teaching, what is it saying about life, the human condition, power structures etc.
- Is some of its morality out dated e.g. does it promote sexual and race inequality? If so, can you adapt the story to make it work for this day and age?
- What values and wisdom does it have to share?
- Why does this story in particular hold a fascination for you?
- Why might you tell it? In what context?
She leaves the subscriber with the encouragement to…
More than anything – ENJOY!
Sharon Blackie HAGITUDE Module 5: Gathering the Stories
If you love telling the story, people will enjoy listening … and remember,
STORIES WANT TO BE TOLD!
For more information on her Membership Program, go to her website:
To read the book:
Personal Myths Home
The Power of Story 