delight delight
Soon Dawn appeared and
touched the sky with roses…
—Homer, The Odyssey, translated by Emily Wilson—
In The Odyssey, the dawn becomes unsurprisingly human-like, with the ability to touch and create beauty at the start of a day.
Her name is Eos, and she is the daughter of Hyperion (Heavenly Light) and Theia (Divine, Radiance), the sister of Helios (Sun).
I’m (usually) in the Northern Hemisphere, where the light is less these days. Each day is shorter and shorter, and I find myself waiting for the sun’s first appearance.
It is the time of Samhain and ancestors, the reminders of a thinning veil.
But the ancestors are ever present, not relegated to a certain time of year.
They too reach out with their fingers, stretching into our consciousness.
Hoping we pay attention.
Here’s what I’m learning: I am not as separate from what I love as I have been told or warned.
I am as close to delight when I’m afraid as I am to the fear itself. This lesson is taught to me by my ancestors.
I used to be stuck in a story that reminded me repeatedly about separateness. That death took me away from my family of origin. That dying left me alone without my mentors. I focused on the distance from what I knew and forgot about the space this created.
Space to grow. Space to understand.
Space to dance in the complexity of not knowing.
Space to take the hand of the rosy-fingered love that brought me here.
Space to grieve what I did lose and space to seek out what I wanted to find.
And in that space, I have found myself. And this self is a being who doesn’t like raspberries because my mom said they tasted like perfume. This self is a human who is a little wary of bridges because my dad white-knuckled them when he drove.
I am a being who gets up early because I grew up in another time zone, and I think it’s still in my bones.
I’m a being who is delighted by bird songs, even though I don’t always know the bird. (I’ve always been with people who could name them instantly.)
I am a person who is the dark night and the slow morning, eager for the quiet pauses before the rush of everything else.
I dance in the love of all those who have come before me, family or not. Alive or not. Connected or not.
I recognize delight in this world because it was taught to me.
I trust the dawn because I have been through the longest nights.
And I have never been alone.
Blessings to your stories, to the ancestors you know, and to the ones who watch out for you.
Blessings of the growing dark (Northern Hemisphere) and the growing light (Southern Hemisphere).
Blessings of the dance that turns the world and reaches beyond what is known into what is possible next.
xo
Irisanya
Upcoming Magick
November 8 - 11: Worldwide Witchcamp - Online
November 16 & 17: Devotion Pentacle - Vallejo, CA
December 2: Circe Virtual Book Launch - Facebook Live
December 14 & 15: Pearl Pentacle - Vallejo, CA
Wanna see other classes from me? Reach out with your suggestions…
Need something else? I’d love to help.
Reach out by replying to this email or going to my website. www.irisanyamoon.com.
You can find my books here or at online booksellers. Or ask a local shop!
You can find out about my classes and workshops here.
My podcast interviews and chats are here.
My social media accounts are Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.