Chalice of Babalon

Timo Ketola (2015)

“Lady of Babel” from “Handbook of Sacred Anatomy” by Jose Gabriel Alegria (2014).

Setting boundaries

Being direct and assertive

Making yourself the 1st priority

Being bold in what you believe in

Not allowing others guilt or shame you

Embracing your sexuality

Doing shadow work

Being self centered

Having your true desires met

Doing things your way

Being the main character

Letting go of what doesn’t serve you

Saying no

Indulging in your pleasures shamelessly

The primal vaginal snake image extends several more steps in this complex and well-developed myth of origin. Snake lives in a particular place, a waterhole, river, lake, or other body of water. Natural bodies of water are, as I have mentioned, equated with menstrual blood, possessing the same life- and death-giving capacities. In the Australian myth, Snake emerges from the waterhole womb to consume but also to wrap protectively around the two sisters. In other myths, Snake "swallows" a woman into the water and keeps her there forever. The collective flow is both protective and dangerous: the great menstrual paradox of life and death.