I love the peacefulness of a dark night. I love the magic of the dark moon. And when midsummer rolls around I find myself kind of falling into a funk. It’s like a sunlight overdose. I call it the “noon of the year”. But interestingly, when midwinter (Yule) rolls around, the peace and the magic of the dark are not enough to keep me at peace. Now there seems to be too much darkness. I know, that sounds strange coming from me. But every afternoon the day leaves sooner but instead of the peaceful night rolling in to calm me, I somehow feel cheated. It can’t be night at 5pm, but it is. It’s interesting that my mind prefers the darkness and would like it if midsummer would pass over with less intensity. But here, in the season of increasing darkness, I call out for just an hour or two more of light, please. I think my body takes it kind of hard, no matter what my mind tells me about the beauty of the night. Deep down inside, no matter what we think, what we know, scientifically, the world seems to be dying and with it, our bodies suddenly fear that the darkness is not a calming night but a never ending descent into the darkness of the underworld.
This slowly encroaching fear is why our ancestors stoked up the fires and got the neighbors together for a party to remind each other that life is still bright and hope is not to be forgotten no matter how short the days.. It’s why we tell the tale of a young king fighting to bring the light to his kingdom and the tale of the old king yielding his time of dwindling light. The Holly King is often depicted as a Santa Claus looking fellow and I like to imagine that the Holly King puts a gift of light in my stocking as he surrenders his throne. The light has been fading so low but on Yule, it will begin to return and thus the hearty cheer that we made it to Yule when that night finally arrives.. Much winter lies ahead, but no matter the weather or how dark it still feels, in less than three weeks we will know we are on the way back. “It’s dark, but it’s not scary” (Jewish Wedding Band)
Blessings
Chel
