The mysterious depth

Strong and tender spine! A flexible and solid axis, a marvel of precision and organisation, a vehicle and protector of nervous information, the deep, central architecture of our entire skeleton, of our entire uprightness… an archaic structure resulting from the oldest traces of segmentation in the living world, the basis of crawling, of movement…. and of our verticality as humans!

We could bow again and again to this strange thing that inhabits our trunk, essential, vital to our life on Earth.

Without it, all the fabulous deployment of the multiple species of vertebrates populating the Earth would not have taken place. Without it, all the variety of forms would not exist: even though from fish to us, the organisational scheme and the cellular and embryological mechanisms underlying the creation of body segments are very similar.

It can be said of the entire vertebral axis that it is what allows it to assume a singular form in the world without itself being visible from the outside… We often forget that we have this in us even though it occupies a large part of our trunk!

A back which, like the holes of conjugation from which the nerves emerge, emits a singular music, source of the forms of which we vibrate in the cosmos… articulated, precise and sensitive flute.

The archetype of the Queen

Backward and yet powerful and indispensable to the existence and uniqueness of her kingdom… this is the essential quality of a good ruler. This is how we have named the whole part of the spine from the middle of the lumbar region to the base of the head …. the Sovereign family. A family of feminine archetypes because it is present in the middle of the body, an emotional centre that is linked to the sensitive world of the link, of the living that surrounds us… a femininity that also honours the balance between flexibility and structure that characterises our back.

In humans who stand vertically, this appellation of Sovereign is even more appropriate: it allows us to stand worthy in the midst of others, to be in our axis and open to the vulnerability of relationship… open as no other quadruped is!

The dorsal area is singular in this Sovereign family. These are twelve vertebrae from which twelve ribs emerge, a solid and equally supple envelopment of the space of the lungs, lungs which are sensitive, soft organs… one could say in love: in love with the air they receive in depth, air which we share completely with all living beings… The dorsal vertebrae support in the background this dimension of us that is so naturally intimate with others, that we could say tribal.

They are also twelve vertebrae located in the intermediate part of the back, between the lumbar and cervical vertebrae, a symbolically relational zone.

Background of what allows the tribe, sovereignty in the relationship with others … we named the dorsal vertebrae « Queen ».

The central teaching of the ridges: the legitimacy of support

The Queen connects us to the world!

And she connects us with the uniqueness of our form in the midst of others: the Queen who bathes our connection to others with her music, who makes us, within our community, not interchangeable beings, but beings who are indispensable by their difference.

We know how sensitive it is to feel worthy of being who we are in human societies! How many people feel legitimate within their family, their circle of friends, in this civilisation? So few! The consequences are terrible, because then the tendency is to seek this feeling of dignity elsewhere, in nature, after plants or animals… and to cut ourselves off from humans… or, what is even worse, to make ourselves smaller than we are, to melt into the group to be accepted.

The function of the Queen is to make us feel legitimate to give the best of ourselves!

And the Queen needs support! To give our best in the midst of others, we need to feel supported. That is why sovereigns are represented in thrones where their backs are supported and where they are surrounded by advisors.

It is said that Christ had twelve apostles! Just as we have twelve vertebrae and twelve pairs of ribs! To give widely to the world, we need support. In fact, the more we give of ourselves, the more we need « hands behind our backs »!

What a wonderful teaching from the backbones in a society that tends to believe that you are better if you do it alone! Receiving support is not actually a sign of weakness, but a sign of dignity… and even more so a gift we give to the world, because then we can offer our unique seed, the one that no one else can give.

Taking our place in the world by assuming that what we have to give has a unique value and giving ourselves the support to match it is true royalty! A royalty to which all, without exception, have a right… and which allows us to dream of a profoundly powerful and respectful world where each person takes his or her place without wanting to dominate the other, equally recognised as sovereign!

Back pathologies and loss of dignity

I think that all back pathologies are linked to a lack of legitimacy to be in the world with one’s own gifts, to be able to share them, and to have the means to do so.

Many backs are bent today, an obvious sign of devaluation!

Many backs are stiff too! This is a sign of a belief that one has to do it alone, with one’s willpower, and that one has to be wary of others. Fractures of the back could be the extreme of this stiffness… a solitary demand towards oneself that is mortifying!

The balance between flexibility and tone, openness and decisiveness is the component of the healthy Queen. It is also the nature of dance. The Queen is in essence a dancer who knows how to make choices, who has authority while remaining flexible… an area where each of us has so much to learn!

The Queen’s message

This archetype is very active at the beginning of April and calls us to stand like beautiful trees nourished by the sap of the earth and the fresh leaves that receive the sun. This season invites us to be strong in our roots, and open to the light of the sky… as well as to the beauty of the budding world in which we bathe… this season invites us to emerge into the world with all our gifts, to let them flourish and to give ourselves the support to do so.

At any given time the question the Queen asks us is always, « Am I really giving myself the necessary level of support, just to give my best? « .

A question that we have rarely learned to ask ourselves and which is an essential key to the proper unfolding of our life on Earth. This question refers to the Christian adage « help yourself and heaven will help you » which is translated here as « assume the legitimacy of your needs to give what you have to give, and the universe will provide it »!

May these words accompany you in a spring full of dignity and generosity!

Nicolas BERNARD

More about this symbolism (in French) : “The Cards of the Body“.

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Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)