Change is Not the Enemy

You Can't Outrun Transformation

There once was a boy named Gwion Bach who was a servant to Cerridwen, the Welsh goddess of transformation, inspiration, and sacred rebirth.

Cerridwen alone possessed the knowledge of brewing Awen—the elixir of divine inspiration, wisdom, and poetic power. One day, she filled her cauldron with Awen, intending to gift it to her son. The potion must brew for a year and a day, and so Cerridwen tasked Gwion with tending her cauldron.

Near the end of the brewing, three hot drops of Awen splashed onto his thumb. Instinctively, he put his thumb in his mouth—and instantly received the full gift of Awen.

Realizing Cerridwen would be furious that he accidentally partook of the elixir meant for her son, Gwion flees.

Cerridwen, upon discovery of what’s happened, follows him in furious pursuit.

In an effort to escape the angry goddess, Gwion transforms into a hare.

But Cerridwen becomes a greyhound.

And so Gwion becomes a fish.

And Cerridwen becomes an otter.

He becomes a bird.

She becomes a hawk.

Finally, he transforms into a grain of wheat and hides among harvested grain.

Cerridwen transforms into a black hen and swallows him whole.

And instead of destroying him…

She becomes pregnant.

Gwion is reborn as Taliesin—one of the greatest bards and wisdom keepers in Welsh mythology. In later Welsh tradition, Taliesin becomes associated with the legends of King Arthur, where he appears as a prophetic bard and wisdom keeper.

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I love this story of Gwion. It embodies how so many of us—myself included—confront change.

Instead of facing it head-on, we run from it. We try to hide. We sometimes even try to negotiate our way out of it.

But as we learn from Gwion, we cannot escape change.

Transformation overcomes in the end, just like it does with Gwion

Not only does transformation overcome him—he is ultimately transformed for the better. Rebirthed as Taliesin, he becomes a legendary bard of Welsh lore.

How much suffering might we spare ourselves if we embraced change instead of resisting it?

Like Gwion, many of us exhaust ourselves trying to outrun the very transformation meant to remake us.

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I’ve been deep in the energy of change since returning from Egypt.

I finally had to admit that I am no longer the person who started the Essential Transformations newsletter. And I don’t want to continue writing only about oils.

I want to write about essential oils and the everyday things that inspire spirituality, just like this piece you’re reading now. And if I write an article that doesn’t have anything to do with oils, I don’t want to feel like I’m “off-brand.” I don’t want to force my ideas to incorporate oils if they don’t organically arise there.

So, I decided to embrace the change fully. This newsletter has officially been renamed UR Sacred AF. When you see this in your inbox, know you’re still getting the same soulful content from me.

In the fall, I will be going back to school to become a Clinical Herbalist through the Berkeley Herbal Center. It’s a three-year program that includes working in their low-income clinic. I’ve also been learning to make health-forward teas and tinctures, which I plan to make available for sale in the near future.

All of this naturally led to the reimagining of my website. I have named it Phoenix Temple. My intention is for it to become a place where I can continue growing my love of plant medicine and sacred living.

And, because it was born from phoenix energy, it will be a space that can evolve and transform alongside me.

As we have learned from Gwion, there is no escaping evolution.

I invite you to check it out.

Thank you so much for reading and walking this sacred path with me. If you’ve enjoyed this journey, please subscribe and share—it helps this little garden continue to thrive.

UR Sacred AF,

Camille Marie, Phoenix Temple

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