Magical Seasons
For the past several years I have noticed a most potent spiritual attitude and perception coming upon me during autumn, which is my favorite time of the year. This relationship may have something to do with facing death and overcoming it during this time (finding the source of new life within the depth of the shadow) or it may be older.
Perhaps over the course of our lives we begin to build up cyclical magical currents, unconscious at first, that wax and wane in conjunction with certain seasons, and as we get older this begins to break the surface of our consciousness, and to deepen? Perhaps this association has been going on all along beneath the threshold, and as it finally becomes more conscious, it carries a lot of power, because it has been building thru association for most of our lives?
Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote that “Nature is a language”, and that it wears “all of the colors of the spirit”. When you read him further, he goes into the idea that the human mind uses nature as material to express itself, turning nature literally into a symbolic language to express the inner state. I think that this line of thought is useful to this inquiry.
The subjective universe not only seeks to project its matrix outside of itself in acts of will and creation, it also constantly seeks analogues to itself that already seem to exist. They don’t, really, but our unconscious creativity infuses the objective universe with our own coloring, and we fancy that we see ourselves mirrored in an environment that already exists unto itself, whereas we are at the very least meeting it halfway. All of us are artists, and the majority of our artistry is unconscious (The Setian seeks to rectify this condition)
What I am getting at is this: no matter how the process may work, we are driven to find and create objective universe analogues to our subjective universe states of mind. Certain environments and locations and seasons of the year are, for various reasons, more conducive than others as canvasses for our subjective universe to project itself upon.
A season may be the perfect objective universe symbol of our subjective universe state in a time of transition. We feel more spiritual during certain seasons because our “soul” or psyche resonates and harmonizes with the objective universe symbolism contained in a specific season. With the yearly regularity of seasonal cycles, our particular tone of mind and state of the soul (whether it is oriented towards being or becoming, stasis or change) anticipates the arrival of the season that mirrors its own internal symbolism; an anticipation that may aid in the process that allows it to become more conscious.
For me to see the beauty and transition and eternity and clear blue deep of my soul reflected in the autumn sky can only ignite the mysteries of the quest within! To harmonize my internal symbolism with external symbolism creates a circuit that becomes more active than at other times of the year, and fuel-injects my desire for ongoing transformation. There is no way that autumn could not make me feel more spiritual!
What I am about to say can easily be deconstructed philosophically and rationally (but what cannot be deconstructed philosophically and rationally?) yet it is a viewpoint that is useful to this line of thought: I see Summer and Winter as possessing the qualities of “being”, meaning a type of achieved stasis (tho nothing stands still) for as symbols they perfectly represent a penultimate state. Summer is the rapid activity of high heat, and winter is the near-immobility of deep cold.
(It is worthy to note that the rapid molecular activity of heat inspires us to slow down and keep cool, while the slower molecular activity of cold inspires us towards an increase of activity in order to keep warm. In short – definitive qualities of these seasons necessitate some of the opposite qualities in the Self, both physically and psychologically) Spring and autumn are more characterized by transition and “becoming”, and can be viewed as periods of metamorphosis between the height of heat, and the depth of cold. Spring and autumn are the same process of transition, but in reverse; autumn descends from the summer summit to the valley of winter shadow below (symbol of death) and spring climbs out of the darkness of winter ice and immobility towards the mountain of summer sun. All of this is, as we well know, perfectly symbolized in ancient agricultural myths concerning gods of death and resurrection. “They” got it, and “we” get it, yet it remains a part of the mystery.
The seasons seem to perfectly symbolize aspects of our own psychological experiences with these matters. Facing the inevitability of decline and death inspires me to meditate on eternity and types of immortality and transcendence, as well as all that is fleeting in life (RHPers understandably think of eternity and transcendence in terms of “another world”, whereas I think of it in terms of this cosmos we know. As Julius Evola writes – “Esoteric tradition does not speak of an “other reality”, but of different dimensions of experience within the one reality”. This is how I view transcendence and immortality, as dimensions of this world I am in, but dimensions I cannot see from my current existential vantage point) Yet as Autumn walks towards the shadow of stillness and cold symbolized by the grave – which also symbolizes transition and transformation as represented in world mythologies that illustrate how one must “die” before they can be reborn on a new level - I am not only inspired to resonate with thoughts about transcendence and eternity, but also upon thoughts that seem to flow in the opposite direction, towards more life, towards health, towards a deepening of my experience of this existence. In the intensifying of both paths, the middle is reached, where transcendence and imminence meet. The realms of eternity are glimpsed thru the intensifying of this life that we are in!
The transformation of tree leaves in autumn symbolizes this “oppositional” trait to me, for as they die they blaze forth in incredible colors that inspire my psychological life, reminding me in an analogous way that the descent to cold and death is necessary for the resurrection of life itself, in all of its forms. Seeing the “big picture” removes the semblance of contradiction in the symbolism, and it becomes perfectly understandable that a leaf, or indeed any life form, should become more colorful and radiant before it dies. Can you imagine how we would experience autumn if everything turned drab and brown and gray? It might lead us to suicidal depression, and there is enough of that already during the approach of winter and lengthening of shadow. Instead the leaves become more colorful as they die, and the sky deepens into an ecstatic, transcendent blue. What a brilliant way to illustrate the beauty of the descent towards the shadow of death & transition, which is a prelude to the renewal of life.
My soul & psyche is by nature always focused upon transformation, and so it is natural that I would resonate spiritually with autumn. The symbolism of this season mirrors my subjective universe aspirations towards transition; towards the light that can be discovered in darkness, a darkness that is the doorway to transformation and rebirth.
Spring also fits within this inquiry. As the “resurrection” analogue of the seasonal equation, it calls to mind youthful and reckless currents, inspiring my most powerful desires to take road trips and see the world and be irresponsible and “rock and roll” and to begin new things. Both spring and autumn inspire travel and departure, yet autumn is more reflective and melancholy, whereas spring gives me a somewhat reckless, cavalier, more physical edge.
Spring is characterized by the same tempestuous violence that is associated with puberty and adolescence, which often rages intemperately not for any specific purpose, but simply because the energy is there and it must release itself, often destroying homes and lives and uprooting old trees and traditions in the process! This transitional season also involves a re-assertion of color that floods forth and overcomes the drabness of the winter abyss, yet it is interesting to note that the color is of a more uniform variety. Leaving aside the knowledge of natural science, it is fun to look at this in symbolic terms, which are ancient and numerous, even cliché. The predominant color of the transitional season of spring is green; a near uniform green that provides a perfect analogy to the energies of conformity that underlie and energize all youth movements, despite the masks of rebellion that they wear. The forward surge of physical and sexual energy indeed does have a recognizable uniformity, no matter what culture or era of history we are talking about. Also, in the same manner that the transition towards the shadow of winter cold and death can inspire an opposing trend towards more life and energy in an individual soul, so too can the transition towards health and energy inspire an opposing trend towards self-destruction and obsession with death. It is no accident that youth has throughout all times of history been sent off to war. Ancient peoples rightly feared the energy of youth, especially when it was not harnessed to some state and / or cultural goal, such as war and conquest and initiatory rites of passage.
The sheer energy of youth often blinds those who hold it from the possible consequences of their actions. The young crusader may think their rage and obsession is about “the cause”, only to discover later that it was about having “a cause”.
Let us not forget the fact that it is precisely when individuals rise with their first, most significant rush of power that they are tempted to challenge it in the most dangerous ways, such as partying, drinking, doing drugs, having casual sex, going on binges, fighting, engaging in high speed driving and racing, undertaking X-treme sports, and all the other detritus of modern life that intersects with youth culture in western civilization.
Spring - the season of energy and renewal, telegraphs death just as surely as autumn, the season of decay and death, telegraphs life.
Or in the words of a great lover of Autumnal wisdom:
Hail October –
wilt of the flower for ever it be an opening door to advance once again in Depth and Power.
- Werbinox
Perhaps over the course of our lives we begin to build up cyclical magical currents, unconscious at first, that wax and wane in conjunction with certain seasons, and as we get older this begins to break the surface of our consciousness, and to deepen? Perhaps this association has been going on all along beneath the threshold, and as it finally becomes more conscious, it carries a lot of power, because it has been building thru association for most of our lives?
Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote that “Nature is a language”, and that it wears “all of the colors of the spirit”. When you read him further, he goes into the idea that the human mind uses nature as material to express itself, turning nature literally into a symbolic language to express the inner state. I think that this line of thought is useful to this inquiry.
The subjective universe not only seeks to project its matrix outside of itself in acts of will and creation, it also constantly seeks analogues to itself that already seem to exist. They don’t, really, but our unconscious creativity infuses the objective universe with our own coloring, and we fancy that we see ourselves mirrored in an environment that already exists unto itself, whereas we are at the very least meeting it halfway. All of us are artists, and the majority of our artistry is unconscious (The Setian seeks to rectify this condition)
What I am getting at is this: no matter how the process may work, we are driven to find and create objective universe analogues to our subjective universe states of mind. Certain environments and locations and seasons of the year are, for various reasons, more conducive than others as canvasses for our subjective universe to project itself upon.
A season may be the perfect objective universe symbol of our subjective universe state in a time of transition. We feel more spiritual during certain seasons because our “soul” or psyche resonates and harmonizes with the objective universe symbolism contained in a specific season. With the yearly regularity of seasonal cycles, our particular tone of mind and state of the soul (whether it is oriented towards being or becoming, stasis or change) anticipates the arrival of the season that mirrors its own internal symbolism; an anticipation that may aid in the process that allows it to become more conscious.
For me to see the beauty and transition and eternity and clear blue deep of my soul reflected in the autumn sky can only ignite the mysteries of the quest within! To harmonize my internal symbolism with external symbolism creates a circuit that becomes more active than at other times of the year, and fuel-injects my desire for ongoing transformation. There is no way that autumn could not make me feel more spiritual!
What I am about to say can easily be deconstructed philosophically and rationally (but what cannot be deconstructed philosophically and rationally?) yet it is a viewpoint that is useful to this line of thought: I see Summer and Winter as possessing the qualities of “being”, meaning a type of achieved stasis (tho nothing stands still) for as symbols they perfectly represent a penultimate state. Summer is the rapid activity of high heat, and winter is the near-immobility of deep cold.
(It is worthy to note that the rapid molecular activity of heat inspires us to slow down and keep cool, while the slower molecular activity of cold inspires us towards an increase of activity in order to keep warm. In short – definitive qualities of these seasons necessitate some of the opposite qualities in the Self, both physically and psychologically) Spring and autumn are more characterized by transition and “becoming”, and can be viewed as periods of metamorphosis between the height of heat, and the depth of cold. Spring and autumn are the same process of transition, but in reverse; autumn descends from the summer summit to the valley of winter shadow below (symbol of death) and spring climbs out of the darkness of winter ice and immobility towards the mountain of summer sun. All of this is, as we well know, perfectly symbolized in ancient agricultural myths concerning gods of death and resurrection. “They” got it, and “we” get it, yet it remains a part of the mystery.
The seasons seem to perfectly symbolize aspects of our own psychological experiences with these matters. Facing the inevitability of decline and death inspires me to meditate on eternity and types of immortality and transcendence, as well as all that is fleeting in life (RHPers understandably think of eternity and transcendence in terms of “another world”, whereas I think of it in terms of this cosmos we know. As Julius Evola writes – “Esoteric tradition does not speak of an “other reality”, but of different dimensions of experience within the one reality”. This is how I view transcendence and immortality, as dimensions of this world I am in, but dimensions I cannot see from my current existential vantage point) Yet as Autumn walks towards the shadow of stillness and cold symbolized by the grave – which also symbolizes transition and transformation as represented in world mythologies that illustrate how one must “die” before they can be reborn on a new level - I am not only inspired to resonate with thoughts about transcendence and eternity, but also upon thoughts that seem to flow in the opposite direction, towards more life, towards health, towards a deepening of my experience of this existence. In the intensifying of both paths, the middle is reached, where transcendence and imminence meet. The realms of eternity are glimpsed thru the intensifying of this life that we are in!
The transformation of tree leaves in autumn symbolizes this “oppositional” trait to me, for as they die they blaze forth in incredible colors that inspire my psychological life, reminding me in an analogous way that the descent to cold and death is necessary for the resurrection of life itself, in all of its forms. Seeing the “big picture” removes the semblance of contradiction in the symbolism, and it becomes perfectly understandable that a leaf, or indeed any life form, should become more colorful and radiant before it dies. Can you imagine how we would experience autumn if everything turned drab and brown and gray? It might lead us to suicidal depression, and there is enough of that already during the approach of winter and lengthening of shadow. Instead the leaves become more colorful as they die, and the sky deepens into an ecstatic, transcendent blue. What a brilliant way to illustrate the beauty of the descent towards the shadow of death & transition, which is a prelude to the renewal of life.
My soul & psyche is by nature always focused upon transformation, and so it is natural that I would resonate spiritually with autumn. The symbolism of this season mirrors my subjective universe aspirations towards transition; towards the light that can be discovered in darkness, a darkness that is the doorway to transformation and rebirth.
Spring also fits within this inquiry. As the “resurrection” analogue of the seasonal equation, it calls to mind youthful and reckless currents, inspiring my most powerful desires to take road trips and see the world and be irresponsible and “rock and roll” and to begin new things. Both spring and autumn inspire travel and departure, yet autumn is more reflective and melancholy, whereas spring gives me a somewhat reckless, cavalier, more physical edge.
Spring is characterized by the same tempestuous violence that is associated with puberty and adolescence, which often rages intemperately not for any specific purpose, but simply because the energy is there and it must release itself, often destroying homes and lives and uprooting old trees and traditions in the process! This transitional season also involves a re-assertion of color that floods forth and overcomes the drabness of the winter abyss, yet it is interesting to note that the color is of a more uniform variety. Leaving aside the knowledge of natural science, it is fun to look at this in symbolic terms, which are ancient and numerous, even cliché. The predominant color of the transitional season of spring is green; a near uniform green that provides a perfect analogy to the energies of conformity that underlie and energize all youth movements, despite the masks of rebellion that they wear. The forward surge of physical and sexual energy indeed does have a recognizable uniformity, no matter what culture or era of history we are talking about. Also, in the same manner that the transition towards the shadow of winter cold and death can inspire an opposing trend towards more life and energy in an individual soul, so too can the transition towards health and energy inspire an opposing trend towards self-destruction and obsession with death. It is no accident that youth has throughout all times of history been sent off to war. Ancient peoples rightly feared the energy of youth, especially when it was not harnessed to some state and / or cultural goal, such as war and conquest and initiatory rites of passage.
The sheer energy of youth often blinds those who hold it from the possible consequences of their actions. The young crusader may think their rage and obsession is about “the cause”, only to discover later that it was about having “a cause”.
Let us not forget the fact that it is precisely when individuals rise with their first, most significant rush of power that they are tempted to challenge it in the most dangerous ways, such as partying, drinking, doing drugs, having casual sex, going on binges, fighting, engaging in high speed driving and racing, undertaking X-treme sports, and all the other detritus of modern life that intersects with youth culture in western civilization.
Spring - the season of energy and renewal, telegraphs death just as surely as autumn, the season of decay and death, telegraphs life.
Or in the words of a great lover of Autumnal wisdom:
Hail October –
wilt of the flower for ever it be an opening door to advance once again in Depth and Power.
- Werbinox
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