Stepping Stones

The Witch's Forest - Emerging as the Hero in Your Own Life Story

In the most critical scene of Dorothy’s spiritual journey, Dorothy is captured and held hostage in the tower of the Witch’s castle, metaphorically separated from her helpers by her fear, while time is racing (the symbol of the hour glass). Here Dorothy faces not only the flying monkeys and the Witch, but the primal human fear, the fear of separation and death in a world of time. The fear of being all alone, vulnerable and running out of time stops many of us from expressing our truth and from living from the core of our being. But remember that the ruby slippers represent Dorothy’s soul, and no matter the challenges we face, we are never separated from this inner source of love, creativity, strength and power.

Just as Dorothy is confronted with impending doom, Toto, her intuition, once again reunites her with the internal strengths she earned on her spiritual journey. Toto leads the Lion (Courage), the Tin Man (Passion), and the Scarecrow (Focus) to free her from the tower. Now, freed from her fear and armed with the energies of courage, passion and focus represented by her three mythical companions, she is cornered again by the Wicked Witch. The Wicked Witch in this scene represents the last stand of Dorothy’s small self. The small self is the ultimate threshold guardian that resides within each of us. In this epic scene we watch the Wicked Witch goading Dorothy to give in to her deepest fears and powerlessness and to respond as her small self, as Dorothy, the small and meek.

But as the Wicked Witch threat