大象传媒

Hello beloved readers, and welcome to Murmurations. Every solstice and equinox, I will generate and cast a spell to share here, where I鈥檒l otherwise be writing and reflecting on the patterns of life in our current world. 

The solstice marks time, the longest and shortest days of the year, or, conversely, the shortest and longest nights. Humans have tracked solstices for such a long time, building structures that allow our reverence for the cycle of our planet. Solstices give me a sense of rhythm and pace that I can expand into. The winter solstice is a time for deep rest, for hibernation, for resting inside the abundance we gathered through the year鈥攚e can let the harvest be enough to nourish us until spring. Let the darkness invite us into deeper release. 

Next month, I will introduce you more deeply to this Murmurations column that 大象传媒 will publish monthly, but we wanted the first touch to be a spell. 

tucked into
stargazing wonder
we arrive so quickly to the
night of the longest moon

we too 
are rock moving water 
even when we feel adrift 
we are in orbit 
there is a force greater
than we can comprehend
we are enraptured
from the root
and never alone
even in shadow you hold us

and we sing a song
only the ocean can hear
sometimes it sounds like 
we are sorry
or 
we are dying
but sometimes 
we sing
we are of you, we are of you 
we are one*

we sing to the thumbprint of moon
ink on ink
shadow slipping through the cloudy cold
of winter
we sing 
of breaking the earth鈥檚 heart
and realizing it is our own

we sing forgiveness
we sing of the fire
between skin and dirt
the rivers within us
the storms we conjure
before we sleep

tonight we dream our longest dream 
of the farthest future 
we look in those children鈥檚 faces 
without regret 
without shame 
whispering: we will change everything for you

it is because of these dreams 
that we will remember 
to hibernate 
to slow down to the pace of snow
to feed on the memories
of a year we call good
because we survived it

we place our mouths to the sky
and cast this spell

may we all have a warm place
may we all have a soft blanket
may we all hold a steaming cup in our hands
may we all know a sated belly
may we all have a shoulder for our grief
may we all set down what we cannot bear
may we all be unhunted 

may we all remember we are sacred
may we all touch our bodies in worship
may we all have room enough to stumble
as we dance to the moonlight鈥檚 subtle music

we dose this enchantment
with our holy intentions

and in this taste of eternal darkness
may we honor all that is black, and shadow
in ourselves, and in the world
may we crawl into the cave
carved especially for this season
and hear nothing but the quiet of stone
may we know, without question
that there is time for our rest
may we remember surrender
touching the dirt that holds our ancestors 
and our futures
with reverence

and in this way
may we all know the love of earth

*This line comes from the whales of Bahia, via Michaela Harrison.