The Dark is Rising

I re-listened to the Dark is Rising, one of the novels in Susan Cooper's series from the 1970’s. The story feels so familiar with the current timeline we've been living. I also recognize that the dark has reared its head many times through existence on this earthy plane.

Here's a quote from Susan Cooper that I found on her website: thelostland.com

"There were two things about that childhood that helped to turn me into a writer of fantasy. Since we weren’t allowed out after dark (every house in England was blacked out at night, to be invisible to the bombers) and there was no television, I read everything I could find, from fairy stories to Dickens. And since every air-raid was a reminder that an enemy was trying to kill us, I developed a very strong sense of us and them, good and evil, the Light and the Dark."

🌚🌝

I've been contemplating the origins of the Twelfth Night with elder legends of the Wild Hunt. There is Odin, the horned God Cernunnos and his more modern archetype Herne the Hunter from Shakespeare.

From the matriarchy we have Holda, a complex archetype, often called the White Lady because of her white hair. She is the wise crone, who can embody the triple Goddess similar to Hecates. Holda, also called Holde, is a sky goddess who rides the wind, and a female leader of the Wild Hunt.

🦌🦌🦌

The symbolism of horns often represents that primal, raw power of nature, often referenced as the uncontrollable wild magic of nature.

In Coopers book Greenwitch, the "Wild Magic is equal in strength to both the Dark and the Light, but that it stands apart and is unaffected by either.”

This evening of the Twelfth Night represents the time of the wild hunt, we can use this energetic imprint to go deep within, access our shadow self, lurking at the fringes of our unconscious and releasing those demons out into the dark night.

A few associated perfumes for anointing: Q for the power of the Oak, where Herne is said to reside, Figure 1: Noir,  Figure 5: Bois, La Dame Blanche and Terrestre.

In related news, GreenWitch will be back shortly.