Two years ago I woke up at sunrise to the sound of many birds. I inhaled fresh pine, unzipped my tent, and felt cold wind nip my cheeks as I looked up three sentry peaks encompassing the valley I camped in. The next few days I would hike on trails that would make my legs collapse and challenge me in ways I didn’t think was possible. Through the sweat and grime, I felt for the first time at peace.
I didn’t feel like I was anything other than an entity of movement, at home in an ancient forest, and far away from the demands of the modern day nightmare I was actually trapped in.
I could go on about my past leading me to that moment of freedom, but it’s so familiar, and honestly not the point. Just picture horrible working and living conditions, in a crumbling relationship and experiencing a magnitude of loss. You probably see it clearly, with yourself having lived it or in it now. But for that brief time I had no other obligations than to myself, and felt just as small as the hundreds of insects traversing up trees.
And it was actually liberating.
Liberating can be used to describe a temporary moment of relief, like when one goes on vacation and comes back to their daily lives feeling rejuvenated. Almost like thermodynamics; when pent-up hot air moves to a less pressurized and cooler environment until it’s reached equilibrium. But in my context, I mean something like entropy; a state of stable normalcy cascading into a state of chaos and undoing in the most beautiful way.
I mean liberating as is in the girl who went into those woods never came back.
I haven’t looked back since. That moment sparked a movement in me to change everything I could to reflect that natural state of feeling home and wild. Part of that includes my almost obsessive tendency to be in wilderness and understand nature. And I believe this is where science, philosophy, and magick all come together. For generations humans have wanted to unlock the secrets of nature and mankind’s place in it. Much of ancient Celtic artwork, with knots weaving, represent the intricate balance in which nature hangs and how little of it we actually understand. With science and technology today, we can measure and study the beautiful patterns of life. How lucky are we?! But there is still a place for magick in which we find more about ourselves than we might have thought.
Magick is rooted in exploring the human condition and the elements and finding transformation.
That is why it’s important for us to seek our understanding in places of quietness that are untouched by human hands. It’s important for us to feel so small in this vast universe. It’s empirical we experience death and rebirth in the most sacred of settings.
I’m honored that I will be part of a magickal gathering this June at the Sacred Flame Solstice Celebration. I feel like a careful choice was made in selecting Palomar Mountain as the place we’ll be dancing, singing, and drumming under the stars. I can’t think of a better way to be rooted to the Earth and our tribe than to be out in nature among the woodland pine and chaparral.
About the Blogger: Elura is an artist painter and graphic designer in San Diego. She enjoys many art forms such as dance, singing, and music and has studied the arts for 14 years. She took a special interest in nature and holistic healing on her own personal journey, and is avid on creating sacred spaces.
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