It sounds cliché but there is some truth to it…. “finding the light brings us out of the dark”…. or “we can’t know the light with out the dark”. Light is the crack opening because the door is unlatching. Light emotes from the cracking of the container….. the stars pierce the time space void to twinkle in our nightsky and remind us of our origins and potential… After long periods of winter darkness we are drawn to the warmth and sunshine of the returning Spring season.
Light and dark are an archetypal dance. Darkness has played the role of the mysterious, the unknown, the subconscious, dreams/nightmares and the place one must wander to find the magic within. The Fool’s journey is to hear that call to the darkness…. the abyss of the unknown. Light is the illumination, the idea, the insights, realizations, awakenings, consciousness and the synthesis of that journey through the dark into life…. living and the recognition of the present moment as where the magic resides in the mundane. Chop wood. Carry water… or that boring day job that pays the bills.
It is the return to the ordinary that becomes the feritle soil for re-enchantment. Magic is not all blue lighening and sparks. It is the ability to take what is there and shift it into something for the greater good. The archetype Magician of the Tarot is a master over the elements. That means exploring the materials and reactions of the universe. Sciences. Arts. Service. Understanding how to move from one state to another… mastering the mechanics and the mechanisms of the world and utilizing imagination, the potential and energy to create something new or be in awe of the world as it is.
Every age and era has a new set of challenges and realizations that are the hallmark of that time’s growth. Each of these has the potential to tear down the past taboos and reorder things for a novel experiment in society and human conditions. Today, we stand in the middle of a cacophony of changes, voices and ideas fueled by the internet/social media into a paralyzing mush of incoherent babble. The darkness is an assault on our sense of who we are in a world that does not exist beyond a pixilated screen for most of us. The dark is a meme, the emotional hooks of a snippet of video, the outrage of a seemly endless discovery of horrors about humanity. Some of this is the blatant manipulation of information/disinformation to trigger response(s). The collective disorienting nebulous consumes the rational and distorts the ordinary. The fabric of life/living frays and pulls… the ground tembles and shakes…. the equilibrium of the mind is sloshed about…. the will to live seeks a certainly… a crack that reveals the door way out of this bad trip…..
The simple cure starts with the awareness that the our mind is being high jacked for the power dynamic that is manufacture for maximum control and affect. Doesn’t matter which side or the content, the affect is the same you are disconnected from your sense of center. Your mind is held in the grip of chemical reactions that override the rational thinking. The pay off in the mind/body is a euphoria by dopamine or any of the other pleasure producing chemicals. When we side with a meme or respond to the support of our tribe of like minds we feels the rush of it. It is no different than any other kind of addiction. It creates a false reality of confidence competence and belonging. And like all addictions it is progressive and the need for more to stimulate pleasure is a destructive feed back loop. It never ends well…. the carnage and loss…. yet from darkness light can come.
Re-enchantment begins when we start to focus on the present moment and looking for the light…. the opportunities to care for each interaction and experience. It is not about what we know but what is there in each moment. It’s not about being right it is about being willing. The world will start to become less polarized, less stark, and the emotional hooks will snag less. The universe will be more about the middle spaces of nuance, interbeing, equality, respect and diversity. Solutions.
Enchantment is that wonderful balance of curiosity, attention and awareness. By it’s very nature it draws you into discovery. It allows for you to decipher the clues and explore with the senses. Your body is not a burden but the perfect vehicle. There is room for failure as a learning tool. There is cooperation and collaboration as the mechanics to navigate the world.
Re-enchantment is each of our jobs to dismantling this darkness.
Shaman @ Large 