Journeys: Thoughts from a Druid Path

Journeys through the world around us, from a Druidic perspective.

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A Flash of White

Posted by on in Paths Blogs

A Flash of White

 

                I try to run every morning. This morning was no different. While it was cold, around -3C or 25F, the day was partly sunny, and the forest was beckoning.

                Today is the last day of Autumn, that liminal time between what was Autumn and what will be Winter. In the forest, one finds oneself unplugged from the electronic world. There are no electronic stimuli of any kind. There are no interruptions, there are no commercials, there is no social media, gathering cataloging, and marketing. There is just the forest, the trail, and the sky.

                The forest is my church. This Holy Day is the last of This Autumn. It is unlike any other day in the forest, and in some ways, it is like many other days. After spending so much time on these trails, today the Orange Trail, I see the seasons progress around me, Spring then Summer then Autumn the Winter and again.

                The cycles of the season and my awareness of this happening is the gift of the Nature Spirits, those spirits that teach us of the cycles in our lives. The forest works through an annual cycle that looks much like the last one and looks somewhat different. The Sun is the same. The Sky is the same. The forest is the same.

                Yet, as they blend and filter and settle, each day is unique. Some days there is wind, another there is sun, another rain or snow or fog. The forest is the world, and the variations are the nuances in our own lives: the same actors in different scenes on a stage of limited audience. Here, only one is watching, yet there are many eyes.

                At times, the sun filters through the trees in the most breathtaking display. It is times like these, that I wish I had a camera with me to capture that beauty, that passing beauty, but it is not to be. I commit them to memory and hope that that feeling that that awe will stay with me, as the memory distances itself from the event, and as it fades in time.

                As I was running this morning, as I neared the end of the trail, I saw a flash of white off to the right. Having run these woods, these trails, many times I knew the distinctive sign of a deer. I kept running, since I like to act as though I belong in the forest. On rare occasions, when I run past deer, they stand there, as I pass by, not running away. While this is the exception and not the rule, my goal is always to blend into the forest, moving along the trail as I move along in time.

                Off to the right, I saw a doe, moving of to the northeast, and behind it, I saw another deer. I could see its new antlers, two points only, indicating a young buck. He turned and looked me in the eye. He turned his head, raised his antlers slightly, and moved along, following the doe.

                I have always felt that when creatures cross one’s path, there is possibly a symbolic or magical meaning behind it. I am reminded of an incident many years ago when I was going to meet a friend for the first time. I didn’t know her room number, but I was going to ask the resident assistant when I arrived.

                As I walked down the alley towards Rall Hall, I saw a rabbit jump into the path ahead of me. It paused, looked back, and then hopped once to the right, stopped, hopped three times to the left, paused, and then hopped one more time to the right, before moving out of my field of sight.

                When I reached my friend’s residence hall, I asked the resident assistant what her room number was, and they told me “131”. I have never forgotten that event, nor the feeling that sometimes, the signs are right in front of us, if we only take the time to notice.

                With the birth of the new season, and the birth of the solstice year the very next day, I took this event as an omen. This represents one of those open systems, where there are no rules or manuals to guide a seer. I just went with my intuition, constant companion, and opened myself up to what that flash of white would portend.

                With the movement on the right, the recognition from the buck, and the slow blending into the forest, I found this portent as a good omen and a positive sign of the days and season to come. I continued my run to its natural conclusion, completing my prayers and working, thinking back on the face I had seen.

                I kept running on my path, and the deer continued theirs, and our moments together I took as a blessing. I thanked the forest for the beauty I had seen, for a path to run, and for a message delivered in a flash of white.

                 

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Tagged in: adfdruidry Druidry RDNA
I am a long-time pagan and charter member of ADF, Ar nDraoicht Fein, a Druid Fellowship. I am a Senior Priest in as well as the Arch Druid of ADF. I am a Druid of the Third Order, RDNA; Druid Grade, OBOD; and a Second Degree Druid Companion in AODA. I love Druidry!  

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