And so I have begun the second stage of my Sage’s Golden Path Retreat. This is the beginning of a six-month long journey through the very heart of my Gene Keys chart. The Venus Sequence, or Venus Stream as it is also called (which I personally prefer, because it’s a very watery kind of journey … you are literally following the river of your emotions!), is the deepest part of the Gene Keys teachings. It is all about love!
A vivid dream of a rattlesnake in the house becomes a personal reflection on fear, feminine knowing, initiation, and the medicine hidden inside a dream.
Right in the middle of my Venus preparation, I consulted the Dream Arc Oracle on a question that I was contemplating – my fear of ageing and death.
Now I am travelling with Toad. Join me on this side quest!
This month we are leaning into Adventure as our theme. And YOU are going to pick the adventure you want to go on. There are five images for you to choose from and each leads you on a different inner adventure. Have fun!
I have been in a deep pause for the last few weeks of simply being with all four of the Gene Keys of my Activation Sequence, as I sit in this gap … the Activation Sequence in the Sage’s Golden Path Retreat is complete, and I am patiently waiting for the Venus Stream to open.
The four Gene keys of your Activation Sequence are the pillars of you in this lifetime. If the 4 Gene keys were an epic story … what story would they tell?
I have been contemplating my Purpose Siddhi of Wisdom for weeks now, as I rest in the gap between the Activation Sequence and the Venus stream.
I love that I get to revel in this Gene Key for weeks and months on end; it is like marinating myself in a rich, aromatic jus. The meat on the bones of this Gene Key gets more tender, and tastier, the longer I contemplate it. And let’s face it, this is my Purpose key, I’m going to be contemplating this for the rest of my life.
When we first embarked upon DEVOTED with Hayley, she chose some Dream Arc creatures to accompany us on the journey, to support us in our inner work. One of these was the Vision creature associated with the Siddhi of Gene Key 35, the Siddhi of Boundlessness. It is the Quetzal which is really the most beautiful bird and so perfect for this Siddhi of Boundlessness. Oh, and isn’t “Boundlessness” just the most wonderful word?!!
This was such an exciting Podcast for us to record. We’ve been doing these CWACOCs for just over a year now, and since the outset, we have been longing to have Hayley Curtis as a special guest.
We just knew that our first conversation with Hayley had to be about Fractal Line Magic.
Hayley is a genius on this subject of Fractals. She brought us together; she brings so many beautiful souls together.
I do like the notion that my Siddhi of Wisdom (Gene Key 48) is an emanation of the earth itself! The earth has innate Wisdom; she knows when to grow and when to lie dormant. She knows when water is needed, and when fire is needed. She has her rhythms and her own resonant heartbeat. She has her times of harvest and her fallow times. She has her new spring growth and her winter die-back.
I just love the idea of my Siddhi of Wisdom being a gift from the gods. I am not a religious person, I don’t believe in just one god. But I rather like this notion of a whole pantheon of gods (or fairy godmothers, or goddesses, or fae spirits!) bestowing gifts upon me to bring to earth with me. I rather like this notion that, of all the people on earth, I am part of a special cadre chosen to bring Wisdom!
We are offering you a question today to set you up for the month to come with Bite-Sized invitations towards transformation. Simplicity is our theme for May.
In this essay, I am diving into my Gift of Resourcefulness itself.
When I first got my chart, over three years ago now, I thought that Resourcefulness sounded rather prosaic, not very exciting or interesting, definitely not magical or esoteric. But I have come to love this Gene Key so much. It is the deepest Gene Key, and it is my favourite.
In this episode, instead of beginning with our usual question … “Where am I now?” … we realised that, as we near the end of this time around the Activation Sequence, and since this Purpose sphere we’ve been diving into for the last month has been HUGE for us both, we really needed to dedicate this entire episode to asking, “Where are we NOW?!!”, and to discussing what it’s like to be women with purpose.
Your Purpose is your root; it is your anchor into the earth and into yourself. It is the Gene Key from which the tree of your whole profile grows. It is not just a root; it is the taproot. A taproot is the primary root of a plant, that grows vertically downward. In the plant world, it is the central element or position in a line of growth or development, and that is exactly what this Purpose sphere is in the living entity that is your Gene Keys profile.
The Gene Keys teachings tell us that we are here to learn from the challenges of our Shadows. I am working with my Purpose Gene Key as part of the The Sage’s Golden Path Retreat. My Purpose Gene Key is 48.3, and the Shadow is Inadequacy. Inadequacy is the fear of not having enough, it is the fear of not being worthy enough, and, according to Richard Rudd, it is rooted in uncertainty about the future.
On my inner quest I am on the Purpose Key, the last sphere of the Activation Sequence, and thought that it would be fun to imagine my four keys in this sequence as video game avatars with strengths and weaknesses related to the key.
What Deeply Fulfils You … It’s not a question, it’s a statement. It’s an invitation to open yourself up to this Purpose Gene Key. All of the Gene Keys in your chart play important roles in your life. If you’ve read any of my other essays or articles, you may have already realised that Gene Key 48 is my favourite Gene Key. It’s the deepest, it’s the well of Wisdom. It holds everything!! What’s not to love about that?!!
There were some things that Richard Rudd said right at the opening of the Radiance sphere, that I came back to right at the end of that month, as I waited for the Purpose month to open. He often speaks about the Sage words and lines as being like acupuncture needles, that get straight to the heart of the matter, and it felt important to look at all three of these together, and now it feels right to share them with you.
I am so glad that the way the Sage’s Golden Path Retreat has been structured means that now we’re in the Purpose sphere, we actually get to be here for two whole months! This Purpose sphere is huge! And the Gene Key I have here (48.3) is deeeeeeep!! It is, after all, the Void, the well, the black hole at my centre!
So, what is “Purpose” in the Gene Keys lexicon?
The Contemplation of my Purpose Gene Key of 48.3, invites the light of Wisdom, which is the Siddhi, to become deep, empathic, compassionate action.
The Sage teaching tells me that this place in my chart, with this Sage Line, is a powerful “moment of recovery”, and it has the power to reorient my whole life.
In this episode we dive headlong into our Purpose Sphere Sage Words, Lines and Sutras! Your Purpose is not about doing anything, but simply about being who you are. Come, join us on this deep dive into Gene Keys 37 and 48!
For the first few days of being in our Purpose sphere inside the Sage ‘s Golden Path Retreat, my journaling and my contemplation were focused on the Sage Word and Line (check out this article for more about that … Affinity and Beyond … and then on the Sutra that goes along with my Purpose Gene Key of 48.3.
And I absolutely adore the Sage Sutra! It is so typical of Richard Rudd … poetic and right on the button!!
We are moving into our Purpose sphere as part of the Sage’s Golden Path Retreat, and I am already in love with my Sage word and Line for Gene Key 48.3, which I have in this pivotal place in my chart.
We often ask ourselves, “What is my purpose?”. What I am asking myself is, “How does this new Sage word and Line fit with how I see my Purpose in the world”?
We are offering you a question today to set you up for the month to come with Bite-Sized invitations towards transformation. Acceptance is our theme for April.
Accepting life exactly as it is means cultivating an impeccable internal attitude which is based in trust.
Richard Rudd says that “Acceptance carries the seed of love.”
Come and bask in a month of loving self-acceptance with us!
“The Siddhi of your Radiance is an emanation that breaks through from the essence of your being … Beyond your Gifts lies the realm of the Siddhis, which we might refer to as Divine Gifts.”
“Divine Gifts” … isn’t this what all of this Gene Keys work is leading towards? Am I not trying to tap into perfection and oneness, unity and presence, timelessness and truth?
Oh, the freedom and liberation there is in having the Gift of Authority in my Radiance Sphere … I get to be the author of my own life. I get to write the story of the life I want to live. I get to slow down and savour this story of mine.
Let me tell you, when I first came to this Radiance Shadow of Control, I didn’t like it! I didn’t even like that the word was in my chart. I’m on my fourth journey through the Activation Sequence, and “Control” is still a thorny subject, or a thorn in my side!
The other day I was watching a British detective drama called Bookish. It’s set in 1946 in London. I thoroughly enjoyed the show and was so immersed in the time period my imagination went to town.
I saw my Radiance sphere key, 40.2, with its Sage word of Irreverence living as a character in that place and time.
And so, my Travel Essays continue, with a deeper dive into my Radiance sphere. I have Gene Key 21.3 here … the Shadow of Control, the Gift of Authority, the Siddhi of Valour.
I am absolutely loving The Contemplation within the Sage’s Journey … “Sometimes we have to change our direction and even go back the way we came.”
In this episode of our Podcast, we had the most delicious conversation about what being a Crone means to both of us.
We talked about this glorious rite of passage that we go through as we move from our Mother years to our Crone years.
We talked about body image and embracing our Crone bodies … wrinkles, curves and all!
We talked about acceptance, and creativity, and so many other juicy aspects of being a crone!
This week, we have moved into the Radiance sphere in the Sage’s Golden Path Retreat with Richard Rudd and Team64. I was excited to read what my Sage word and line would be.
Reconsideration
The power of re-examining our decisions and adjusting accordingly
The Pathway of Breakthrough runs across the centre of your Gene Keys chart, from your Evolution Gene Key to your Radiance Gene Key, and it is of supreme importance in the whole journey of your Golden Path, because it is the Pathway that links your outer work in the world to your inner work.
“One of the key conditions necessary for a breakthrough is an ability to dwell on our life as it is now, rather than what it has been or what it might be.”
Despite the fact that when I first entered the Evolution sphere in this iteration of the Golden Path with Richard Rudd and the Sage’s Journey, I felt kind of stuck, I have managed to write an awful lot! I have already shared five essays about my Evolution Gene Key, and I haven’t even scratched the surface of the Gift (Perseverance) or the Siddhi (Honour)! There is so much that I want to share with you, but you’re going to have to wait for the book!
I’m contemplating my Evolution Gene Key (20) while in the Pulse of Gene Key 55. I find it so delicious to combine whatever Gene Key contemplation I happen to be in with the current Gene Keys Pulse. Watch my video as I put together some great puzzle pieces.
For those of you not familiar with the Gene Keys, they are 64 archetypes of being a human. And each of the 64 Gene Keys has 6 lines, akin to the 6 lines of the I-Ching, which give a particular flavour and nuance to the archetype in question. For the Sage’s Golden Path Retreat, Richard has expanded the teachings, and has created a word and sutra, a contemplation and a mythos for every line of every key.
In my Evolution sphere, I have Gene Key 38.1, the Shadow of Struggle, the Gift of Perseverance, and the Siddhi of Honour. This GK38 is all about Warrior energy.
The concept that “attitude is everything” is woven through the whole ethos of the Gene Keys teachings; it is, in fact, woven through your entire Gene Keys chart.
And nowhere is this more apparent than in your Evolution sphere.
I have Gene Key 38.1 in my Evolution sphere; this is the Shadow of Struggle, and it is, quite frankly, a bit of a double whammy for me. You see, the whole Evolution key is all about struggle … we evolve, just like every species evolves, through struggle.
My beautiful friend, Meghan, did a fabulous Wizardly Words on Wednesdays post a couple of weeks ago, about “Up Levelling”. Yes, we know that “up levelling” isn’t a Gene Keys word, and you would be right in thinking that the main point of our Wizardly Words was to give you our take on, and our personal definitions of some of the words in the Gene Keys lexicon.
In so many of the Gene Keys, as you listen to Richard Rudd’s audios, you will hear him say, in one way or another, “you do this through creativity”, or “you access this gift through creativity”.
We have now moved into our Evolution sphere in the Gene Keys Sage’s Golden Path Retreat, and once again, Richard Rudd has gifted me with the most perfect word and line to encapsulate my Gene Key 38.1 … the Shadow of Struggle, the Gift of Perseverance, the Siddhi of Honour.
And the word he has chosen for 38.1 is “sincerity”.
In the Gene Keys teachings, genius is defined as “the natural manifestation of a human life when it is allowed to expand without force.”
When you are working with your Life’s Work, this first Gene Key in your Golden Path points to how your inner genius wants to express itself.
In this essay, I explore my inner genius for Dynamism.
Ever since I first heard my guide, Hayley, talk about the concept that we all come into this life to play our piece in the great collective puzzle of life, the idea has intrigued and, frankly, terrified me!
What even is my piece? Will I ever find it? Will it be good enough?
How will I know if I’m playing my piece “right”?
What???? What kind of Wizardly Word is Up Leveling? I thought in this offering you and Lizzie were exploring the Gene Keys vocabulary, not some word that originates with Gaming, you might be saying to yourself. Come watch my video and find out what I’m talking about.
The Sage’s Journey has begun. This is the beginning of a new chapter for me. This is a return to the beginning of my inner journey. But that does not mean it is a backwards step. Oh no. This is a spiral path that I am walking as I do this inner work.
This is how I spent my final week of my glorious Devoted journey … I sat with my journal for five days, for many hours, and I moved through each sphere and pathway that I have dug so deeply into, over the last year. But me being me (and indeed, who else can I be?), I wrote a lot more than “a few sentences”!! This is a very long long-form article!! You might need a pot of tea for this one.
My 40 Day Spiritual Journey came to an end on Christmas Day. Honestly, I still feel very caterpillar-like … quite squishy and unformed inside. And I know that that is merely a place I am at in my inner transformation and I honor and respect it. Come along with me in my video as I do my best to share some of what these 40 days have meant to me.
It has been a tradition of mine for almost 30 years to sit with my journal at the end of the year and look back to see what I had done, or what had happened, during that year that I could celebrate.
This has always been the time where I find the nuggets of gold in the year, the moments of joy, the achievements.
Every year, I choose one or two words for the year, words that embody the energy that I want to bring to the coming year … here I am, two weeks from the end of 2025, and in this morning’s journaling session, I realised that I actually HAVE been living in the energy of these words this year.
It has been a tradition of Lizzie’s for almost 30 years to sit with her journal at the end of the year and look back to see what she had done, or what had happened, during that year that she could celebrate, and we thought this would be a fun way to finish our podcasting year.
The deeper I go on this inner journey, the more trust I am finding within myself, even when I find that my Gifts are hidden breath layers of self-doubt, beneath layers of inadequacy.
My Gifts are scary, because what if it turns out that I am not good enough to live up to these Gifts … Dynamism, Perseverance, Authority, and this 48th Gift of Resourcefulness? What if I’m just not bloody good enough?
I have come to see that there are two sister themes that run through my entire chart, indeed, through my entire life … Love and Trust.
I have a sneaking suspicion that these run through everyone’s charts, like golden threads that hold the tapestries of our lives together … love and trust … these are our greatest treasures.
You may be wondering if A Cauldron of Crones is meant for you, especially if you are younger than your crone years, and indeed you may struggle to identify with the archetype of the Crone at all.
So, I thought I would tell you about why it is important for me to share this inner work with the world, and what sort of women might benefit from embarking on their own inner journeys.
I have been called by the Dream Arc bird, the Robin, to take a spiritual journey imagining myself as a ‘great one.’ I have chosen to emulate Teresa of Ávila. I invite you to watch my video as I share how this invitation to adventure came about.
Lizzie and I are offering you two questions on a Monday to set you up for the month to come with Bite-Sized invitations towards transformation. The subject? Forgetting and Remembering!
We are both on the Pathway of Initiative in our Golden Path journey.
This is the first pathway in the Pearl Sequence, and it joins the sphere of the Vocation and the sphere of the Culture. We spoke about how our website, A Cauldron of Crones, is us moving into this Pathway of Initiative, it is us taking our inner work out into the world!
“The Pathway of Initiative challenges you to do something with all the transformational insight you are gaining from your journey along the Golden Path.” Our website is exactly this … taking this work that we are doing and turning it into words, images, videos and treasure maps, so that other people can start their own journeys.
I come this week bearing the gift of the term Embrace. This completes the trio of words Lizzie and I began a month ago, Allow, Accept and Embrace.
“Half the secret of prosperity is actually knowing what prosperity really means for you.” Listen to us have a juicy conversation about our new definition of prosperity and success.
The Pearl Sequence, for me, is about learning a new relationship to money, and to adopting a new attitude towards prosperity, and to redefining what I mean by “success”.
Words saved my life.
Writing righted my life.
And now I don’t want to stop.
I know that I will never stop writing. My journal is where I can lay my burden down, my journal is where I can explore how I feel, where my fears are coming from.
My journal is the garden where I plant my seeds of ideas, my seeds of who I want to become.
In late 2010 a young friend of mine asked me if I would like to do a creative project with her … for the whole year of 2011! At that time I had been a widow for four+ years and sole support of my youngest son who was in high school. Saying yes was a small decision that changed my life!
Where we talk about remembering … and forgetting and why we are devoted to a lifestyle to support our remembering.
Getting playful with our Gene Keys, we both wrote children’s stories to illustrate one of keys in our charts. Meghan chose GK 36, Lizzie chose GK 48.
Lizzie and I are offering you two questions on a Monday to set you up for the month to come with Bite-Sized invitations towards transformation. How brave do you think you can be this month? Feel into each question and pick the one that holds an invitation for you.
In the article, we look into the heart of each Gift in our charts and see the Gift of our Core Wound Gene Keys beating in time with it. We ask ourselves … “How does my Core Wound Gift make this Gift bloom?”
Here we explore the concept that our Core Wound Gene Key is actually also the CORE of every other Gene Key in our charts! In this first article of a pair, we look at our shadows.
Where we talk about finding our Core Gene Key inside our other keys, and explore how the roots of our Core Shadow are underneath every other Gene Key.
Introducing Bite-Sized Bravery, a new offering to gently nudge our readers into self reflection. It will come out on Mondays as a way to inspire our upcoming month. We’ll offer you a question to bring into your consciousness for a bit. In this post we playfully explain the structure with a humorous example.
You have probably guessed by now that we both use the Gene Keys in our inner work. We have both been seekers for decades, looking for ways to understand ourselves more, and ways in which we can grow as human beings. The Gene Keys is the way we now choose to do this work.
In late April, 2025, I began traveling with Crane as one of my Dream Arc quests. Crane, representing the Vision of Mythical Presence (GK 20 my Evolution Sphere), is taking me on a journey to visit and commune with all the vision birds in my Gene Keys chart through an artistic project. Join me as […]
I am not much of a journaler, but I am an artist. I process inner transformation through my eyes, hands and voice using creativity. I think of this eye-hand part as Visual Spell Casting. Often you will find me doing this through the medium of Art Journaling.
Where we talk about our favourite sphere and how the Venus Sequence impacts our relationships.
Where we talk about the Epic Tale of the SQ Gene Key and go on an exploration of Puzzle Pieces.
Where we talk about Soul Friends and Sharing the Journey!
Where we answer a question from our Gene Keys Guide, Hayley, and we explore the topic of self-love
I am learning patience, as I learn more about myself. The patience is being born out of my trust in life and my trust in myself. It’s taken a long time and a hard road to get right here, right now, and it was worth it.
From a bee sting and a beautiful illustration by Elisabeth Elvira Alba (on Patreon) I, Meghan, put together this page while contemplating the message from Bee in The Dream Arc “Only when one sacrifices one’s attachment to identity does one enter into the higher mystery that lies beyond the human ego.” Last night as I […]
When Meghan suggested we write a blog together, I responded with a resounding YES! Our “blog” very quickly morphed into this website. Within a couple of days of the idea being hatched, we’d come up with the name, A Cauldron of Crones, Meghan had bought the domain name, and she had launched herself into creating this glorious space. A Cauldron of Crones is our home on the world wide web of women.
I think it’s fair to say that I am an entirely different person to the one who started this journey. But I am still the same, because this strong, loving, trusting woman is the real me.
Where we talk about the Gene Keys we wish were in our charts!
Where we talk about our favourite Gene Keys and about the Art of Contemplation.
The One About Who We Are (And How We Got Here)