Equinox

Today was not the Autumn Equinox. The day where light and dark are perfectly balanced is a couple of days off, but I chose to observe it today. What does he mean: "observe it?" one might ask. As part of my spirituality I count as significant, not birthdays of gods or prophets, or commemorations of great events, but the progression, the turning of the Wheel of the Year. The rhythms of nature, celestial and terrestrial, mark for me points of remembrance and reflection, meditation and pondering of the future, striving and acceptance. As do many others, I recognize eight points throughout the year that merit attention. My personal rituals involve finding one of the "wild" areas and walking slowly through it, allowing the illusion of being immersed in the wilderness connect me to The Other, and today I have chosen, as I sip the last of the Silver Tip Oolong tea and burn sticks of dragon's blood and sandalwood incense, to talk a little bit about it.

Spiritual experiences, including my own, are subjective and hold no truth that can be grafted onto any other person, or even applied to myself at any other time. The "map" that I use to connect and categorize, catalog and characterize, classify and compartmentalize, changes from year to year and sometimes from day to day. This framework arises from my own experience with the divine and my own vision and interpretation of it. Of course actively seeking out contact with the gods is not without risk, but it is also an adventure with great rewards.

Walking in a somewhat natural area, if one has ears to hear and the desire to know can expose one to a touch of the sacred; not just light and life, but dark and death and every place in and on the great cycle that lies in between. I often choose the sunrise or sunset time for these observances to better feel the contrast - for we are not all light, nor all dark; our life is not endless in this form, but death is part of the wheel as well.

Dá fhada an lá tagann an tráthnóna.

No matter how long the day, the night still comes