I am beginning another journey through this book and thought it might be nice to 'introduce' the book and its purpose to those of you who follow the posts here.
"The limbs of science are equal to the limbs of man; for there are 365 joints in the body, 365 days in the year, and 365 herbs through the earth."
___ "Auraicept na nEcces, anon Irish text
A Sunwise Circuit
Increasingly today, ancient wisdom is seen as something archaic, and forgotten, of use only to learned exponents of arcane lore. But, truly, the wisdom of the ancients is no different from the wisdom that springs from our own life experience. I hope that you will find a deep connection between what is written in his book and your own daily life.
As season succeeds season and one year cascades into another, so our lives spiral into new constellations of understanding. If we look over the years, we will see the unique spiral of our life-course interweaving its dance with that of the planet's own revolutions within the solar system.
The cycles of day and night are ruled by the sun, the cycle of months by the moon, the cycle of the year by the wheeling stars. In every age, human beings have looked to the heavens and been astonished and inspired. The course of a year is but a small compass for change in one human life, but it nevertheless provides a useful chart on which to plot our spiritual voyage.
The nature of each season brings its own wisdom and insight, testing the practical grasp of our understanding from winter's cold grip through spring's unfolding and summer's heat to autumn's bounty - and on again. Through each season's eye we see the earth and its inhabitants. The changes in animals, plants, trees, and landscape reflect back to us the changes to which we ourselves are subject.
In the apparent world - the realm that we perceive and know with our physical senses - the year turns its circuit of seasons, providing us with much wisdom. But the apparent world is not the only world with which we interact. Just as real, though perceivable only by our subtle senses, is the Otherworld, the world, the world of Spirit which all of us experience through the receptor of our soul.
Throughout the year, our comprehension of the unseen changes in the country of our soul fluctuates. Sometimes we clearly hear the music of Otherworld leading us on; sometimes we have to strain to hear it; at other times it seems to be absent. The changing seasons in the apparent world teach us to trust that, though the skies be cloudy, the stars still shine in the dark or the day; that though there are no blossoms, leaves or fruit upon the tree, the cycle of growth will turn again. So too in the country of the soul, we trust that silence will be replaced by singing and that inspiration will flow once more.
As we make our own pilgrimage round the seasons of the year, we simultaneously make what is called in Irish a turas (TU'ras) - a word that means 'journey', 'pilgrimage' and 'time' all at once. A turas usually refers to the circular, spiraling prayer and meditation form used by people in the Celtic countries as they walk sunwise around a sacred site.
As our planet spins around the circling year, we too simultaneously experience the turning of our soul toward the source of greatest spiritual light. Each season is a mystical gateway of opportunity and understanding, a sacred time of wisdom. If we live with awareness of the year's cycles, we will achieve a direct alignment with those sacred opportunities.
The essay post for today, November 1st, will posted in a separate entry.
It's such a lovely book.
ReplyDeleteMary