This morning as I went to make our early morning cup of tea, I saw a blaze of red through the glass door at the end of our passageway. It looked almost as if the neighbour's house was on fire! Reaching the door, I realised the early morning sunrise was painting fantastic colours on the cloudy horizon. I called my wife to come and see. And as we watched, the sunrise quickly faded to a golden yellow. It was beautiful, but I found myself recalling the old proverb: 'Red sky in the morning – shepherd's warning'. Another rainy day I thought!
We both suffer from a mild version of Seasonal Affective Disorder. Being the time of year when darkness wraps itself around us at an early hour, the nights are long, and daylight cloudy. It is easy to end up feeling a bit glum and tired of the endless sogginess and lack of warmth. I found exercise helps, so have started to take regular walks or bicycle rides.
Yesterday, while walking along a pathway that wound its way along the bush-covered banks of a local stream, I was enthralled by the sound of Tui in a Kowhai tree. And there, under the canopy of trees surrounded by the bird song and the sound of flowing water, the earlier gloom of the Shepherd's warning for another rainy day soon faded. It felt good to be alive, surrounded by the gift of nature.
So it was, I began to think about the transient nature of our moods. Do I have moods? Or do moods have me? I know negative moods affect my judgement and perception, while positive moods can increase my sense of happiness and hope. The ancient Greeks knew this also. They were good observers of feelings and moods and good psychologists! We see this reflected in their myths, especially in the drama of Persephone.
Persephone was a young girl who enjoyed the beauty of nature. One day she was captured by Hades and taken to his underworld kingdom. There, she becomes his bride and queen of the dark. Her mother Demeter misses and searches for her, and finally is told by Hekate, the goddess who rules the darkness, what has occurred. In the end, Hermes, the guide of souls, brings Persephone back from Hades. However, before releasing Persephone, Hades requests that she is to spend four months of each year in his underworld home. And so the annual season of winter was born.
Greek myth is telling a story about the drama of our inner life. We all have our Hekate, our own dark angel who stands at the crossroads of our life. She has four symbols:
The first is a Key which gave her entry into the underworld and her freedom to come and leave as she wished. Hekate is never overcome by the darkness, nor does she get lost within it. Our Hekate, for example, can be a therapist or Spiritual Director; self-knowledge or faith; dreams or a meditation practice. What would be your key that leads you to wholeness and spiritual and personal health?
The second is a Whip. Our dark nights not only plunge us into darkness, they also batter us, causing us to feel we are being torn apart. We may feel we are even losing our mind. The Psalmist refers to this experience in Psalm 126:
Then when suffering ploughs her furrows in the tender soil of our hearts
and we go forth weeping, we shall rejoice when we bring our harvest home.
The third is a Dagger. In the darkness, there is a time to be still and a time to be active. Sometimes we need to work for change or healing. One way to do this is by doing something active and/or creative.
And the fourth is a Torch. Hekate stood at the crossroads holding two torches, one each hand. The first represents intuition and the second, action. We need to learn to trust and act on our intuitions.
I wonder who is your Hekates? Who is your guide when you have choices to make? What tools have you found to lead you through the dark seasons of your life?
Kia mau te rongo me te pai ki a koe i to haerenga
May you find peace and goodwill on your journey.
Phil
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Moore, Thomas,"Dark nights of the Soul - A guide to finding your way through life's ordeals, Avery; Reprint edition,2005.
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