Recently, I’ve been spending a lot of time in Middle Earth. That is, I’ve been watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy on repeat, and listening to the audiobooks (narrated by Andy Serkis!) when I’m ready to go to sleep. The actual books are back at my old place.
Oh, right. I’ve moved house! But that’s a tale for further down. I was talking about Tolkien.
One of the things you may or may not know, is that the “creation myth” of Tolkien’s universe involves the supreme being (Eru or “The One”)—along with assistance of some “angelic” beings he previously produced—making the world through music and chanting. Song, in other words.
The world was sung into being.
I like that, which might explain why I start my day at least an hour before sunrise.
For over a decade, I have stood on my porch in the dark, cup of coffee or tea in hand, sometimes a cigarette or a pipe, and watched as light gradually filled the world. And as the light came, the birds began to sing.
It’s an amazing experience, in my opinion. So much so that I’ve been a silent witness to well over two thousand sunrises, and still enjoy each and every one of them immeasurably.
Silence is key, though.
Night and the early dawn are never truly silent. Not in cities, nor in the woods. In the semi-rural area I called home for the last twelve-or-so years, the hours before sunrise were a time of owl hoots, fox calls, and the occasional bark of a bear. (Seriously, bears bark. Look it up.)
No, it’s not the silence of the world that’s necessary for the experience of dawn to be fully felt. It’s the silence of the listener. And this silence goes much, much deeper than sound. It’s a stillness which is difficult to describe. The human being becomes less a human and more a being, if that makes any sense.
Forgive me this rambling. I’m blissed out on meditation at the moment. Meditation, and the fact that I’ve moved to a place even more semi-rural and silence-inducing than my previous abode.
It’s been a stressful, sometimes exhausting transition. Still ongoing, of course. There are several more lengthy car trips to make in order to collect the rest of my things. And there are several more pieces of furniture to acquire so I can proper settle in here, though thankfully not many.
Through all of that, though, I feel overwhelmingly positive about not just where I am now, but where I will be soon.
Thus, in a roundabout fashion, I come at last to the point of this post…
What to make of this little blog of mine?
I’ve decided to focus less on writing “How-To-Magic” content here, and instead write more about my personal thoughts and experience of magic. Travelogue versus tutorial, said another way.
One of the most significant reasons I’ve moved in the first place is that here can devote even more of my time and energy to the study and practice of magic. And when it’s time for me to share what I’ve learned, well, I’m no longer convinced that a blog will suit my particular needs.
What will? I’m still working that out.
Anyway, I’m still open to consultations if you’re looking for a tarot reading or a natal astrology reading. If you’re looking for that sort of thing, I’d be more than happy to help.
But enough rambling and muttering.
The birds are singing, and it’s time for silence.
Have a blessed day.
Hello Jeff,
That’s the Spirit!
Very interesting, I’ve been through the “Silmarillion” several times now.
In likeness: “Wizards are Old, but Vigorous, with Many Powers of Mind and Hand?”
A friend gifted me a copy of “The Hobbit” in 1964 (High School). Now I think my Wife and I have just about everything Tolkien ever wrote, as well as Most of what other people have written about him! Not to mention the original boxed sets (4 DVD’s) per box each, of the “The Lord of the Rings”, as well as Jackson’s “Hobbit” too. There’s so Much More to Tolkien than the average person “in the street” might think, or… “Care to Think!”. (Thinking is Hard Work?”)! Tolkien was not only “Worldly Wise and Highly Educated”, but also very perceptive and Intuitive, as were some of the other “Inklings”!
Perhaps George Lukas was on to something when he revealed a large influence on Star Wars and Himself was Joseph Campbell’s: “The Hero with a Thousand Faces”? which Tolkien had played out well prior.
Not to mention the fact that “we” also practice the “Arte” as well!
For my part I’d be much more interested in the “Results”, as opposed to the “How To” any day!
And yes, Crowley’s “Liber Resh vel Helios”, or W. E. Butler’s redaction (removes the Thelema) of that, certainly goes a long way to enlivening certain of those points in the Solar Day! ;^)
Cheers,
The Code Smith