I frequently see the sunrise, but today was special.

It was special because I stopped and took notice. I stopped doing, and just let the scene unfold.

There was a blogpost in my email last night, from Blue Flame Magick's Kalgini, about Magick Routines - those rituals that you do daily, even in your down time - maybe ESPECIALLY in your down times, because that's when you need them most.

Over the past few weeks, I've developed a magickal routine for the first time in my 39 years of practice. Not that I haven't had long stretches in my life where every day, I made magick and spirituality to be a part of my day, but - I've never had a set routine for it - never had a "This specific thing happens at this time, every day."

I'll admit, I'm not hardwired for routine... and I'm not afraid to say no, when there's something going on that suggests that I should take time off. Last night, and the night before, I did no bonding with my spiritual family - the night before last was a bit rough for me, health-wise - it wasn't safe for me to walk. If it's not safe for me to walk, then it's not safe for me to expend energy in a magickal practice - magickal practice does not only take energy - it lowers blood sugar by sometimes over 30 points, can cause dehydration, can remove vital minerals from the body, and can wreak havoc on a destabilized body or mind. (YES, THERE HAS BEEN RESEARCH. THIS IS ABSOLUTELY TRUE. Which is why we eat and drink after any magickal or spiritual practice. Protein and fluids, boys and girls, and a refocusing on this world - that's how you stay healthy and sane.) I stayed in bed, and gave my apologies to those whom I owed one. Last night, I also stayed in bed, because after I have a bad day, I generally give myself another day off, to make sure I'm ok - to make sure that it's safe for me to expend the energy. As you get older, you learn these things - to conserve your energy, and to pay attention to your own needs, bodily and mentally, first.

But, the post about magickal ritual reminded me that even if I'm not in a place where I feel I can expend energy doing something spiritual or magickal... there's spiritual practice in the every day, which costs you nothing.

So today, I watched the sun rise... and this is what I experienced.



As the sky slowly turned from black to pale, and the undersides of the strip of clouds to the east began to ripple with umber, the constant susurration of the cars on the highway in the distance almost hid the sound of crows. They flew in packs of five and six - and always, they called out to each other in their little groups. They land as a group in their spot for the morning... but there's always one that waits. One that is about half a minute behind the rest. After they have flown and landed, one crow follows, calling out - and they answer, so that that single crow can find his pack, and join them. He stays behind, you see, to watch for danger. Birds of prey from above, beasts from below - he watches for trouble while the others seek out resources for the group. Once they are safe in their new location, then they call to him, and he flies off to find them... and halfway there, he calls, to hear from them where to go.

The light on the undersides of the clouds made them look like an upside-down ocean... sun-capped, shining waves, inverted upon the land. When you looked, as the clouds moved, you could feel the whole world moving.

It's probably leftover vertigo from the night before last, but I'm always awed by those moments when I can feel the sky turning above me.

Well before the sun rose, a single light shone in the dawn sky - Lucifer, Venus, the Morning Star, rising before the sun, cheeky as always, so that before I greeted the sun, I greeted the Favorite... though as things stand, I suppose that's exactly as it should be. I've always preferred the gentle, small, quiet lights over the brashness of day. Well before the fire crested the hills, SHe was gone - hidden by the light SHe heralds.

Occasionally, a lone sparrow would speed through the air, cheeping in hope of finding the flock. I found four of them huddled together on a power line, fluffed up in the cool morning air... but they did not reply to the lone ones at all. Now that the sun is fully up, they shriek to each other, unafraid... but in those long minutes when the sky was lit with molten gold, but the day had not truly crested the horizon, they silently faced the west, into the dark, and waited.

Every now and then, the scent of baking sugars wafted towards me on the cool morning air, as the three restaurants not even a block away woke up and began to prepare for the daily commuters, come to get their coffee and sweet breakfast treats. It reminded me of my own baking projects, and the urge to bake cookies so I could lick the smell right out of the air.

Behind me, occasionally, my three cats would twitch as they watched the world wake up - ears perking, tail tips swishing, eyes taking in everything they could. Every eye, ear, and tail flick was a subtle suggestion for the observation of a morning in motion.

As the sun crested, I finished my tea, shifted my weight on my cold, aching bare feet, and turned to go back inside. The sky was nearly white - all the darkness above the clouds gone, all the golds, fuschias, and steel blues washed out by the rising of the day star. It didn't take long for the warmth to begin to soak back into the world.

The cats began to beg for attention, breakfast, morning treats... and the drowsiness that always comes on me after daybreak began to seep into my head like wool, clouding the memories, wiping them away again with shadow.

I brewed another cup of tea... offered this small rose of experience to those who wish... and now I can sleep.

Dream deep,
-Raven

Thank you so much for sharing that beautiful experience. I feel like I was right there with you in that moment, breathing the crisp pre-dawn air.

I also want to thank you for this nugget of wisdom:

MagickFromtheMysts wrote:If it's not safe for me to walk, then it's not safe for me to expend energy in a magickal practice - magickal practice does not only take energy - it lowers blood sugar by sometimes over 30 points, can cause dehydration, can remove vital minerals from the body, and can wreak havoc on a destabilized body or mind. (YES, THERE HAS BEEN RESEARCH. THIS IS ABSOLUTELY TRUE. Which is why we eat and drink after any magickal or spiritual practice. Protein and fluids, boys and girls, and a refocusing on this world - that's how you stay healthy and sane.) I stayed in bed, and gave my apologies to those whom I owed one. Last night, I also stayed in bed, because after I have a bad day, I generally give myself another day off, to make sure I'm ok - to make sure that it's safe for me to expend the energy. As you get older, you learn these things - to conserve your energy, and to pay attention to your own needs, bodily and mentally, first.

I was unaware that it could affect your body resources so heavily, and will take that into account in the future. Many thanks for that.

@CrashingDown - you are very welcome.

Magickal ritual has a lot of traditions, but because they're "traditional," they're always done, but not always explained. As a practitioner, I think it's important to ask WHY a thing is done, because it may not be necessary - or it might be something you THINK isn't necessary and skip all the time... which actually turns out to be one of the more vital practices...

Like the feasts. A lot of people skip eating after magick or ritual unless they're in a group setting... because they don't actually know why it's done.

This is one of those nifty things I discovered from Ellen Dugan at a talk she gave one year at the St. Louis Pagan Picnic. She was talking about reading tarot professionally, and that after a couple of readings, she ate, and she just ever-so-casually mentioned the drop in bloodsugar. I asked if it was something that happened after every magickal or energetic act, and she said, "Of course it does." Like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Except that even my family, traditionalists as they are, had never told me this. None of the books I read after I started practicing on my own outside of family ever mentioned it, either.

I'm glad that you found it as helpful as I did when I learned it.

-Raven

I also love sunrise as well. Everyday at the morning I wait to see the sunrise. This give me special amusement all the time. Thanks for your article.