For the Love of Merlyn

by: Aynne McAvoy

 

I grew up believing in magic and wizards. I went through my adolescent years reading stories of the wondrous magical kingdoms, kings and Knights of the roundtable.  I remember I read every book that I could find that had anything to do with magic and wizards.  There was never a doubt in my mind that either one existed.  I watched the Disney show every Sunday evening on TV, and I went to the movie theater on Saturday afternoons to see all the magical movies that Disney produced.  

 

Most children have heard of the story of King Arthur and the Sword and the Stone, and of the most famous wizard that ever lived, Merlyn. As I grew older into adulthood, I was told that it was time to put away childish things, and to leave the fairy tales behind.  There was a part of me that always resisted this part of growing up, and even though that part of me had to remain hidden away for many years, I continued to believe in both magic and Merlyn.

 

I remember hearing of the Wiccan religion, and their belief and work with magic (Magik).  Most of the information that I initially heard about this beautiful religion was wrong and it is sad that there is so much misinformation out there, even to this day.   I also picked up some books along the way on magic and spells, but most of them didn't feel or sound 'right' to me.  The majority of those books were not in tune with my own inner harmonies, so I kept searching.

If one believes that magic exists, then one also may believe that Merlyn was an actual historical figure. There are many books available on the topic, such as the 21 Lessons of Merlyn by Douglas Monroe, or the Lost Books of Merlyn also by Douglas Monroe, which deal with the Celtic storytelling way of keeping history alive.  I have no wish to reinvent the wheel here by repeating what these books say, only to suggest to interested readers of this article that there is much more available to research on this topic.  However I have learned from Douglas Monroe that the old story telling ways of our ancestors from any nationality (in this case the Celts) are often much more reliable that history in history books is often written by men with their own agendas rather than fair and unbiased reporting of what was.

 

A few years ago I discovered that a well renowned author and speaker, Deepak Chopra, had written some books on Merlyn.  I own two of these books, The Return of Merlin and The Way of the Wizard.  (**You will find two different spellings of this wizard's name here.  Since I am not completely sure which is the correct spelling, I am using both. This is not a misprint.)

Deepak says that in his home country of India, it is not unusual to believe in wizards; that most people do.  However he defines a wizard as someone that not only can simply perform magic but someone who can cause transformation.  "A wizard can carry you beyond limitations into the boundless." 

Deepak states that a wizard exists in all of us.  I agree.  That 'wizard' is often called by different names, but it could be described as one who has learned to use the energy of the All that Is that surrounds us.

 

We also remember that Merlyn the wizard lived in a crystal cave.  Perhaps that was the basis for my love of crystals of all kinds, and my home here in Florida is truly surrounded by crystals inside and out.  There is a nearby town that is alleged to be an energy vortex,  that also alleges it sits on top of huge buried crystals.

 We in the 21st century know that crystals are indeed natural amplifiers of energy, and crystals are used in all manner of material items on our planet at this time.  However, when these tales of Arthur and Merlyn and the crystal cave began to be told so many hundreds of years ago, no such common knowledge existed!

 

So we mull this question over in our minds; does magic really exist?  Did wizards really exist?  Is it possible that the great and marvelous Merlyn truly did exist? Is it possible that there was a man who lived long ago, that was so in touch with the energy of the All That Is that surrounds each and every one of us at all times, that he began to learn to use this energy in a positive way?  We know that our modern day marvels would appear to be witch craft to those who lived any time prior to the late 1900's.  Surely someone so in touch with the energy of the life force might be called a wizard in that time.  It is my speculation that this man did indeed exist; that he was a thousand years or more ahead of his time in his understanding of the elementals.

 

There are such men and women alive today that are becoming wizards in their own right, as they rediscover the natural energies that surround us all, and learn to manifest their desires from their internal to their external.  Books and movies such as the Secret and the highly publicized speakers associated with this book and other similar books are not really telling us anything new.  This knowledge has been circling the earth in what could be called the Belt of Knowledge for ions.  Anyone, at anytime, can access this knowledge, and it has always been so. 

 

These people who are now accessing this energy and knowledge are you and me.  Should we call ourselves wizards?  I think perhaps that should I ever learn to become invisible (sans the use of Harry Potter's invisibility cloak) as I have wanted to learn to do since I was a child; I should then perhaps properly call myself a wizard.

 

A few months ago, a tiny black angora kitten came into our lives. I was doing psychic astrology readings at a place called Merlin's Mercantile here in Palm Coast at the time.  The owners of the store were looking for a home for him, so he became part of our family that very day and I named him Merlyn.

 

Merlyn came into our lives as we were especially struggling to make our adjustments here in our new environment.  He was here for my first birthday here, the first Christmas here and the first New Year's Eve here, without our friends and family.  He brought smiles and laughter, and cuddles and love into our lives.

Everything about Merlyn teaches love and acceptance.  He is a little wizard cat, that helped us through some difficult days with his love.

 

I have always loved Merlin the Wizard, and now I love this kitten named after this great master. Most of all I love what this great wizard stood for; transformation.