Nuzzling Old Skins

I was recently reading a book on grief, and the author encouraged me to look through MacFarlane’s and Morris’ Wild Cards deck and choose an image that captured my current threshold or transition.  I was immediately drawn to this card of the two snakes; however, what I chose to see in the card was a single snake entwined with its old skin.  Snakes shed their skin as they grow, but with that skin they shed parasites, dirt, even surface wounds and injuries.  Shedding is necessary for growth, but it is also a form of renewal, healing, and cleansing.  It is a loss, a letting go, a grieving practice.  I feel myself passing through a threshold this summer, revealing new skin, preparing for new work, new relationships, new boundaries, new interests.  And I find myself going slow with it, holding still with my old skin, nuzzling it with all my gratitude and wonder, remembering to cherish both the pain and joy of outgrowing.