The “Great American Eclipse” occurred today. Some areas were able to experience a total eclipse of Moon passing over Sun and experienced the full marvel of such a rare event. Some areas like mine saw a far less drastic celestial shift. Still though, it was truly a rare event and the first of it’s kind for many.
I thought about writing something eclipsey all day since it occured, since the world around us turned a strange shade and, for a moment in time, the entire nation was transfixed on living magic. I initially thought to piece something together alluding to how love can eclipse hate or something like that, particularly considering some of the horrific recent events in America. I had serious reservations, however. While it is effortless for me to attribute love and care to our Moon I have a difficult time carelessly associating hatred and bigotry with He who is Sun. So no, that wouldn’t work for me at all.
So let’s discuss how an eclipse can lead one to rediscover magic around them. If asked to define what a magical work might be I would likely attempt to describe it as taking a moment of wild rarity: coincidence or happenstance or a flash of this or that, and knowing better how to guide it to you. Each and every time I commune with the Gods in my Inner Grove, or feel their touch in a moment of prayer or meditation, I feel that magic. I actually feel the energy in my skin and bones and blood and hair. It’s the feeling of a good twist in a film, or seeing something unbelievably beautiful. It’s a fleeting moment. It’s a fleeting moment I feel every time.
When I take omens at the altar, I too experience sensations that would otherwise feel random and fleeting. I feel sparks of inspiration. I feel calm and grounded. I fly or I fall as if in a dream. I see pieces and then a picture. This, too, is magic. This, too is that rare feeling.
Let’s not even talk about high day rituals and the symphony of sensations that erupt from there. When one person has the fleeting, sure. When forty have the fleeting sparks, whoa.
So that eclipse, right? It was a pretty big deal. Vendors were capitalizing on the craze, people were packing up cars and driving to other states to witness the full majesty of the event, people were going on and on about it on social media. It warmed my heart to see so many people around me legitimately psyched about such a rare celestial occurrence. And you know what? That’s magic. Even if you didn’t cook up a spell or plan a ritual or specifically send a prayer or song or kind word to She and He as They touched for that rare moment in so many years, even if you did none of that you got to experience true magic of life, of the earth, of the stars.
I urge you. If you acknowledged that moment of magic, hold it dear inside you. Find a way to expand on it or celebrate it going forward. Moments of true magic and hope and joy are not always in abundance and even if you feel truly overfull of blessings it would be so very kind of you to guard that glittering seed of magic and plant it somewhere so that others may prosper.
And if by chance you may have not noticed that fleeting spark, not felt that telltale shiver of great power, of that rare moment, perhaps look back and remember the moment while it is still fresh. Go back in your mind’s eye and see if you can find it, now that you’re looking for it. Magic has a funny way of poking holes in time.
Go. Seek magic. Do good. Love and honor life. This I ask of you.
Bear Branches 