Moonstone Sanctuary — A Blog by Melissa Horrell
Set on Vancouver Island
There comes a moment in every woman’s life when the ground beneath her shifts — quietly at first, like a low tide pulling away from shore. A whisper, a nudge, a sensation that what once fit no longer does. These are the thresholds of our becoming: subtle, powerful passages that alter us in ways we only understand once we’ve stepped through.
Thresholds rarely arrive on schedule. They appear in seasons of upheaval, transition, longing, loss, renewal, or unexpected clarity. And though every woman encounters them differently, they ask the same questions:
Are you willing to leave the familiar?
Are you willing to trust the unknown?
Are you willing to walk forward, even softly?
This week, I want to guide you through the archetype of Thresholds — a theme woven through myth, nature, personal transformation, and the landscapes of Vancouver Island. It is a reminder that crossing into a new chapter is not only brave; it is sacred.
A Personal Threshold Moment
When I moved to Vancouver Island, it didn’t feel like a decision so much as a calling — the kind that stirs deep in the body before the mind can make sense of it. I had lived in eight countries, built a million-dollar wellness business, and led teams, retreats, and spa communities. But something inside me whispered: It’s time to shed, soften, and start again.
It wasn’t dramatic. It wasn’t loud. It wasn’t even convenient.
It was a threshold.
I remember arriving on the island and feeling the air shift — rich with cedar, salt, rain, and something ancient. It felt like stepping through an invisible doorway. A new chapter was waiting, even if I didn’t yet understand its shape.
What I know now is this:
Thresholds don’t require certainty.
They require presence.
And presence grows when we allow ourselves to pause long enough to listen.
Thresholds in Mythic Storytelling
In The Lord of the Rings, thresholds appear as crossroads, doorways, bridges, gates, and unknowable paths. Tolkien often described these moments as places where “the world grew quiet,” and the character was confronted not with destiny — but with choice.
When Frodo leaves the Shire
When Arwen chooses mortality
When Gandalf falls into shadow and rises transformed
When Éowyn steps into a new identity
Every threshold contains both loss and invitation. Something must be released for something new to begin. But crossing is always voluntary. Even when the world calls, we must take the step ourselves.
And so it is with us.
Thresholds are where internal folklore takes shape. Where we become the heroine of our own unfolding legend.
Vancouver Island: A Land of Natural Thresholds
Living here has taught me that nature holds her own thresholds — always in motion, always whispering. Vancouver Island is full of liminal places: edges, borders, and in-between realms where transformation feels almost tangible.
Here are a few of my favourites.
Cathedral Grove — The Gateway of Ancients
Walking between trees older than entire civilizations, you feel time stretch. The air becomes thick and reverent. It feels like entering a temple — a threshold between the seen and unseen.
Stand there long enough, and you begin to understand that growth is slow, steady, and sacred.
Ammonite Falls — The Descent and the Rise
The journey downward is a literal crossing: roots, mud, and shifting ground. The waterfall itself feels like a cleansing veil, a reminder that release is part of the path.
The climb back up?
That is rebirth.
The Wild Pacific Trail — The Edge of the Known World
Every cliffside view feels like stepping into myth. There’s something about staring into the vastness of the Pacific that rearranges the inner landscape.
You leave with more clarity than you arrived with.
Thresholds in nature remind us that transitions require movement — stepping forward, stepping deeper, or stepping into spaces that ask us to become more ourselves.
The Archetype of the Threshold Keeper
In archetypal psychology, the Threshold Keeper is the part of us that stands between chapters of our lives. She is not an obstacle — she is a guardian.
She asks:
What are you ready to release?
What must stay behind?
What strength do you carry forward?
Who are you becoming?
She reminds us that the past can’t be carried whole into the future; something must lighten for the crossing to be possible.
When women gather in retreat, this archetype often appears — quietly, subtly. A woman realizes she cannot ignore her creativity anymore. Another feels called back to her body, her truth, her voice. Another understands she is meant for leadership, service, or deeper nourishment.
Thresholds whisper before they roar.
Crossing the Threshold: A Simple Ritual
You can do this at home, at the forest’s edge, or by the ocean.
1. Choose a natural boundary
A doorway, archway, shoreline, log bridge, trailhead, or even a shadow line on a forest floor.
2. Stand on one side and place your hand on your heart
Take three slow breaths.
3. Whisper (or write) what you are ready to release
A belief, a fear, a pattern, a chapter, an old self.
4. Whisper what you are calling in
Courage, creativity, softness, clarity, leadership, renewal.
5. Step forward slowly and deliberately
As your foot crosses the line, imagine stepping into the next version of yourself — gently, without force.
6. End with gratitude
Thank the moment for meeting you. Thresholds love acknowledgment.
Journaling Prompts for Weeks of Change
What part of me feels ready for change — even if it scares me?
What is the old story that no longer aligns with the woman I’m becoming?
Where am I standing in the doorway but not yet stepping through?
What archetype am I embodying right now — the Seeker, the Warrior, the Healer, the Quiet Leader, the Visionary, or the Wallflower Sage?
What is one gentle action I can take this week to move closer to my next chapter?
When Life Calls You Forward
Thresholds are invitations, not ultimatums.
You don’t need to leap.
You don’t need to rush.
You don’t need a map.
You only need to be willing.
Slow courage is still courage.
Quiet transformation is still transformation.
Soft steps are still steps.
And when life calls you forward — as it inevitably will — trust that you are supported by both your inner wisdom and the world around you.
The forest knows.
The ocean knows.
Your spirit knows.
All you have to do is listen.
And one day, take that gentle step.
A Soft Invitation: Step Into a Real-Life Threshold
If this chapter speaks to you, you may be ready for a place where thresholds are honored, held, and witnessed.
At our Vancouver Island retreats — from the solo sanctuary of our Airbnb to our women’s circles and Spa Sisterhood gatherings — we create spaces where women step into new versions of themselves with grace, community, and inner guidance.
Sometimes, the doorway you seek is not metaphorical.
Sometimes, it’s a path beneath ancient cedars or a cabin surrounded by ocean mist.
And if this calls to you —
your next threshold is waiting.
