I’m in the middle of rereading The Maiden King for about the sixth time. It is an old Russian fairy tale retold in psychological fashion by a poet, Robert Bly, and a Jungian analyst, Marion Woodman. It’s about reclaiming the divine feminine within and balancing our inner opposites. The firebird comes at the point in the story when the protagonist is about to recover what has been lost for a very long time. The firebird, or phoenix, is a mythical bird that represents the glorious inner transformation that is all flame and intense creative energy. It’s the unlimited potential within us all that’s rarely called into use which is a shame because it can take us where we want to go. Just as in the fairy tale it doesn’t come until we actively seek it out.

For the Firebird to descend we have to call it. Not hesitantly ask or wishfully think. We have to dig into the deepest corners of who we are, own what we find there, and claim what was ours all along. We have to be willing to live our lives with nothing hidden or discarded. This journey is about gathering enough courage to live the complete truth of who we are, not just the pieces we pick and choose. The firebird demands everything from us if we are to climb on his back and ascend to new heights. This total honesty with ourselves is what saves us from the devouring maw of darkness.

Calling down the firebird is also about what Bly calls living vertically. We have grown accustomed to our horizontal life, job, food, bills, rest, repeat. This kind of living is comfortable and expected, can be scheduled and rearranged at will. But life is more than that, we are not just grazers on the planet. Soaring and descending is what Bly means about living vertically. It’s about experiencing the depths as well as the heights, it’s ecstasy and despair. These are the parts of our life that are given as an unexpected gift, although at times it can feel more like a curse. Living vertically gives our lives greater meaning, it’s these experiences when lived consciously that have the power to reinvent us.

The firebird is the energy that asks us to rise from the ashes and embrace life. We either say yes and expand into something greater than our imagining or we keep ourselves stuck and bottled up. It is a choice whether we get on the firebird and rise or are left behind to live half a life.

Ecstasy is easy but descending to the depths can be terrifying and this is where most of us give up. But there is no reward without some sacrifice. We risk shedding the status quo by taking a leap of faith. We don’t know the ending but it is safe to say listening to our inner voice and trusting what is there will take us where we need to go.

Which life will you choose?

kb