You may have noticed the lack of podcasts this year on Hedge Druid? There’s a reason for that. In the first half of the year the reason could be put down to a mounting pressure of “work”. Mostly this was spiritual work, and with all the good weather we have had in England this year then the Great Outdoors claimed a large part of my time, and this was reflected in the amount of time-consuming podcast work that I could do. Right, that’s my pathetic excuse out of the way. Now, what about the recent months? I did intend to re-establish the podcast once the weather got worse. It has worsened, but still I don’t feel inclined to get back into the studio to record and edit an hour’s worth of audio. Why not? I think there’s a deeper and wider reason.
I have been noticing that other pagan blogs have also begun to falter in their regularity and their commitment. Could it be that we all expanded too quickly, and pushed ourselves too hard to produce content? Possibly, but I think the real reason is due to a difficulty in maintaining momentum when this year has been out of synchronisation with itself. Let me explain.
The Moon, The Sun and The Earth sources
Last year our blogs flourished. Mostly these are blogs that are talking about magickal work, mystical happenings and spiritual progress. What general effect has happened that could account for the difference between last year’s ease and this year’s difficulty? Simple. It is the synchronisation of the phase of the Moon with the Celtic Festival dates. Last year the high points in the solar cycle were matched by high points in the lunar cycle. In other words, at the major lunar festival dates the Moon was also usually in its Full Moon phase.
The Celtic Wheel of the Year is a cycle that records the high points of the year’s energies. It tells the pagan watcher when the Earth itself is producing the most energy in its co-operative cycle with The Sun. In my experience, and I speak only for myself here, I do not use The Sun as my primary magickal power source. For me it is The Moon. Last year was therefore a “bumper year” in terms of the number of coincidences between the Solar and Lunar high points. Magick was abundant and easy. Motivation was plentiful, and so a great deal of work flowed, and many posts got produced. Blogs flourished that dealt with these subjects.
This year the story has been completely reversed, and how dispiriting must that have been to many of our pagan friends whose magickal sources are Moon-dependent? This year the Full Moon phases NEVER coincide with any of the Solar Festival dates in the Celtic Year. Only Spring Equinox came close. The result of this, goes my tenuous hypothesis, is that motivation has taken a battering. Magickal people must have found themselves either doing Sun OR Moon work, but never being able to being the two together.
What you may have seen is that partnerships of couples where one was sun-based and the other moon-based have been put under strain, and may even have come apart. Take our case, for example. Last year Kal (Sun) and I (Moon) worked together on every Celtic Festival. This year? We have barely been able to force ourselves to come together for one or two. It has been a monumental effort to make it happen, and when it has happened it has never been as powerful as it was last, year. Never as easy. We have had to work very hard. I daren’t even tell you what happened to our friends on the Walking the Hedge blog. So sad.
Predictions for 2012
My friends, take heart. Next year things are looking better. We will again struggle at the beginning of the year all the way up to and beyond the Summer Solstice, where we will have either First Quarter or New Moon phases on our Earth Energy days. Our friends in the Southern Hemisphere will be fine with that, but here in the Northern half we will lack those useful reflected energies for longer than we would like.
Then in August, for Lammas, things begin to coincide again. We get Full Moon coincidences for Lammas, Samhain, before just missing the Winter Solstice, but coinciding with the “dead days” before New Year. Therefore, I predict that 2012 is going to be a strange year, beginning with more mis-alignment, before coming right at the most important time of the year, at the culmination of our tasks, our quests and our desires. Who knows what energies will be available for the December 21st 2012 date? Let’s just wait and see what happens. So, when will you see the podcast again? Er…soon I hope!
Gwas.
You know, in a lot of ways, I think this theory holds some merit. I for one have faltered horribly on my blog but it’s not been due to motivation but to a complete lack of time. I think it’s fair to say a certain kind of “focus” towards getting stuff to the public’s eye. Since Summer I have found myself more and more focused internally to some fairly radical change and it’s only with the passing of Samhain that I feel it’s time to “get back out there.”
However, I think you may very well be on to something here.
That’s a good take on the subject – “external focus”. That’s certainly an element of what i was trying to capture there – that we who have been trying to reveal information have been distracted from doing so, that our focus has been shifted, mis-aligned, like the focus on a telescope being turned to move the lenses out of sync with each other. As you say,t he outcome of this has been for us to re-focus on ourselves.
Very good point.
Gwas.
There is definitely something to it. I must analyze my posts to see what times I was the most active in regards to that.