October/November 2006

Tall Tales, Sara Post, 2005

Above The Door News © Sara Post 2006


 

 

Leaves  Sara Post  2005

Autumn

The leaves are falling, falling as if from far up,
as if orchards were dying high in space.
Each leaf falls as if it were motioning “no”.

And tonight the heavy earth is falling
away from all the other stars in the loneliness.

We’re all falling. This hand here is falling.
And look at the other one…It’s in them all.

And yet there is Someone, whose hands
infinitely calm, hold up all this falling.

   --Rainer Maria Rilke (trans. Robert Bly)

Tilting Away From The Sun

Here in the northern hemisphere, the Autumnal Equinox of September has increased our awareness of the time of longer nights that started in June with the Summer Solstice. After the equinox our daily hours of darkness exceed those of light and Fall is upon us. In northern California early snow has fallen in the mountains and here in the valley we await the first rains. 
It is the Earth’s tilted axis that produces our seasons and gives us days of different length. Moving into winter in the northern hemisphere, the North Pole leans further away from the sun, casting us into greater darkness.  December’s Winter Solstice will mark a change, bringing slowly lengthening days until day and night are once again equal at the Vernal Equinox in March.  For now, the increasingly slanted angle of the October sun bathes us in a magical, glowing light. 

Persephone

Do you remember the myth of Persephone and Demeter?  The ancient Greeks created this story to explain seasonal change. Demeter, the goddess of the harvest, had only one daughter, the lovely Persephone.  Hades, the god of the underworld fell in love with Persephone and took her away to be his bride and rule with him in the underworld.  Demeter, distraught and mourning her loss, let the earth grow cold and lifeless.  Zeus ordered Hades to return the young girl to her mother, but during her

stay in the underworld Persephone had eaten six pomegranate seeds.  Those six seeds bound her to remain with Hades for six months out of the year.  During that time, Demeter returns to mourning—the winter season of the year.  Like all myths, this story is not “true” in any scientific sense, but its emotional overtones of withdrawal from life, mourning and death are deeply true and resonate with all of us during some seasons of our lives.  We are also comforted by its psychological message of renewal as all the world flowers when Persephone returns to her mother in the spring.

SoulStudio in November:  Gifts of Darkness
Friday, November 3, 6:30-9:30pm or
Saturday, November 4, 9am-noon

Mystery and imagination arise from the same source.  The source is called darkness.  Darkness within darkness, the gateway to all understanding.  –Lao Tzu

In a culture that celebrates light we may miss the value of darkness.  Darkness is associated with depression, ignorance, loss, death.  But it is also connected with the feminine principle, with gestation and the rest that leads to renewal. Shamans and saints have often retired to darkness to deepen understanding through contemplation. Darkness may indicate the shadow—a trial or realization from which we may emerge stronger and wiser.  Please join me at SoulStudio in November to create cards by exploring the gifts which darkness may be bringing to your life.

SoulStudio in December:  Gifts of Light
Friday, December 1, 6:30-9:30 pm or
Saturday, December 2, 9am-noon

Taking a Chance: Unseen Gifts  2005 Sara Post

…Illumination: a vision, a revelation, a flash of insight…you have touched upon a truth. You have seen beyond the surface reality....You hold in your hands the light, the power to illumine and thus transform and energize yourself and others.  –Wanless, Voyager Tarot

The darkness that gathers prior to December’s Winter Solstice must inevitably give way to light.  We may say that light is born out of darkness. How shall we receive and use the gifts that light brings? In December’s SoulStudio we’ll prepare for the return of light at the solstice, considering both its literal and symbolic meanings for our lives.  Together we’ll share insights and create cards to honor our experience of the gifts of light.

To reserve a place for either or both November and December SoulStudio sessions, contact Sara@abovethedoor.com or call (530)219-2379.  Investment is $40 for each session.

Art Exhibit: Stacey White Paintings at Communicare, Davis, California 
Through 2006

This is a show you won’t want to miss. Stacey White has painted her garden in wonderful, abstract, painterly ways.  I loved this show.  You will, too.  Communicare (formerly Davis Community Clinic) has a large exhibition space in its lobby. Call for directions, open hours (530) 758-2060

The Sweetness of Doing Nothing 2005 Sara Post
Last Words

All around, no flowers in bloom
 
      Nor maple leaves in glare.

           A solitary fisherman’s hut alone

                On the twilight shore
  
                     Of this autumn eve.
 
                                    --Fujiwara no Teika (1162-1241)

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