It’s the Winter Solstice, 12/21/2018! A magical time of year as we celebrate the longest night. Tomorrow the sun will shine just the tiniest bit longer before the full moon rises, repeating the cycles of light and dark.

I turn 60 today and am feeling very much like a dragonfly. Let me explain…

Just a few weeks ago, my good friend Marla suggested that we buy each other dragon oracle decks for Christmas. We are both energy healers and had just finished a session with powerful dragon energy. When I looked for cards on Amazon, I just wasn’t attracted to the decks featuring dragons. But, my eye was caught by an oracle deck called the Wisdom Keepers by Rosy Aronson. The images were gorgeous. It wasn’t until the decks arrived that Marla noticed that the backs of the cards contain the image of a dragonfly. So we had found our dragons after all.

As I was reading about the cards, I discovered they embody the 64 archetypes found in the Gene Keys teachings developed by Richard Rudd. Rudd claims that our DNA is an actual code that can be unlocked with the right keys, guiding us into the field of our own genius. Heady stuff!

I have long been fascinated by our DNA. In fact, I have a M.S. degree in Genetics and thought that I’d make my career as a molecular geneticist, As it turns out, I wasn’t suited to working in a laboratory and moved on to other pursuits. But my curiosity about genetics and energy healing led me to deep dive into the Gene Keys. Rudd describes 64 gene keys that correspond to the 64 hexagrams of the Chinese I Ching and to the 64 codons programmed into our DNA that specify amino acids that are our body’s building blocks. The keys are a holographic map that imprints at our birth. According to Rudd, each gene key embodies a shadow aspect that influences our life. When we activate the key through a journey of contemplation and exploration, we can embrace its shadow and open to the gift it brings.

The 55th gene key, called “The Dragonfly’s Dream” is an important imprint in my life. The shadow aspect of this gene key is victimisation. The gift that comes when we activate and transform this gene key is Freedom. Rudd likens this activation process to the lifecycle of a dragonfly. The following is excerpted from his book:

Dragonflies spend much of their early lives underwater. As underwater insects they are known as nymphs, and unlike most pond insects they do not have to come to the surface for air. For most of their lives, nymphs live totally underwater where they are highly successful predators, feeding on anything from leaf litter to small fish. During this stage of its life, the nymph goes through a series of moults - stages of maturity in which it sheds its skin but still remains a nymph. These stages of the insect’s life can last several years, and during this time it has no idea whatsoever of what kind of future lies ahead. It is undergoing a series of hidden mutations. Then, one day, all of a sudden, some sleeping gene deep within is triggered and the nymph does something totally out of character - it finds the stalk of a nearby plant and climbs out of the water. For the first time in its life it tastes air and direct sunlight.

Once the nymph has left the safety of its underwater environment, the sunlight begins to work on it, catalysing what will be its final moult. It is at this stage that the true magic occurs, as the advanced creature hidden within the nymph cracks the outer larval skin. Over a period of several hours, four crumpled wings appear and the distinctive slender thorax begins to uncurl. What is of great metaphorical relevance at this stage concerns the element of water. As the emerging dragonfly rises out of the element of water and prepares to be reborn into a new life in the element of air, the water that still lies within its body becomes the key to the transformation process. Through a process of hydraulics, the water within the nymph’s body is pumped into the emerging wings and thorax, causing them to unfurl and spread out for the first time. In other words, the dragonfly assumes its aerodynamic shape by means of the water from its old life. This water is what drives its mutation from nymph to dragonfly. As soon as all the water is expended and the dragonfly is fully extended, it takes to the air and begins its new life.”

2018 has been a challenging year for me. Lots of emotions, the element of water, and what feels like a series of moults. In the past couple of months, I’ve been propelled out of my comfort zone and into new and unfamiliar territory. I think I feel crumpled wings beginning to emerge. Can’t wait for my new aerodynamic dragonfly self to fully emerge and take flight.

All of you dragonflies out there, dream well this long night. We are many. As we awaken, release the victim programming, and claim our freedom, we change the world.