Hunter's Moon over Malvern
(October 4, 2009)
Ahhh ... too cloudy for a Hallowe'en Moon ...
The Skin Between
They say the skin between the physical and spirit worlds grows thin during the month of October, and thinner still during the night of Hallowe’en. Now is the best and greatest opportunity for all manner of wraiths, ghosts, disembodied and dead personalities to pass through the curtain from the hidden realm of the spirit to the prosaic land of the living. Before I heard this, I wondered why I have always felt freer, lighter, and happier in October. I sensed an air of expectancy, as if something special waiting just around the bend (Now, I still wonder, but what’s life without a bit of mystery?).
And, Hallowe’en? Before the last decade brought sudden and inexplicable fears of hobgoblins and witches; before Hallowe’en Parades were deemed dodgy, and forced into a box labeled Wholesome Harvest Festival; before hospitals started offering to X-Ray Hallowe’en candy (does your health insurance cover that?), Hallowe’en was labeled F-U-N, and, nothing more.
Now, the spooky festival is either a dangerous party or a reason to party dangerously. We go full out ghoulish or try to rescue another holiday for Christendom. Witches compete with angels; goddesses war with [pregnant] nuns; candy cigarettes have been replaced with bags of generic sweets that bear the guarantee: “A scripture in every snack!”
Meanwhile, no one but the neo-Pagans wants to talk about the thin skin between the worlds. Come to think of it, no one wants to talk about the thin skin between the people either. And, probably for the same reason: thin skins are truly scary. Where the skin is thin, you never know what you’re going to get. Good spirit, bad spirit, neutral indifferent spirit. Flu, STD, Hepatitis C. Lover, hater, interloper. Those who open up, those who open you up, those who walk or run away. Those who shred the tissue between, unrepentantly, stare you in your third eye, and dare you to blink.
Tcha. Such a crapshoot when the armor of the world or the armor of the person is breached. So terrifying when the defenses are down and you don’t know what’s coming over the wall.
Trick or treat.
.jpg)
12 comments:
Madame Coyote! I have been waiting for this! So good to have the opportunity to read your words...
"A scripture in every snack?" Eye rolling here. Let Halloween be what it is, an uninhibited attempt to experiment with the "other world", unsuccessful as that might be. And I really loved those candy cigarettes, although I probably wouldn't have let my kids smoke/eat them.
Thin skin, an interesting concept that causes fear but allows us to sense and feel with its tiny breaches.
As usual, your post gets me to thinking.
I've missed you! Glad you came back.
Hey! You're alive and between the worlds! Is your armor up or down?
Well look who the Halloween moon brought on out. Talk about a treat! How about a little update for your fans?
Lorelei! You are the best and most patient. Thank You!
Janie - I could not believe it when I saw that bag of candy. I almost bought it as proof of madness, then decided I did not want to subsidize the madness. I like your thought about skin, fear and feeling. Can't open up if one doesn't feel. Thanks!
Mountain Mama - My armor is down. Will I regret it? Oh well ... :-)
ORH - LOL! I have been away too long. So sorry. How have YOU been? Hope all is well in lovely Cal(as the trees lose their leaves here, and PA turns into the Haunted Forest ...).
Coyote Fe, so very glad to see you back on this autumn full moon. I have been haunted by wild dreams these past few nights and I regret I was not very open to those on the other side. Thank you for opening my eyes and another fine post.
Smiles
Glad to read your words once again, Miss Fe and that you are still part of the prosaic land of the living....
More, more!!!
Belated Happy Halloween! Great Grand Eli wanted to be Spider Man but was ecstatic when he turned out to be a Power Ranger once he found out how muscular it made him look!
A lovely picture you painted to go with the moon.
A scripture in every snack is a sure intrigue.
I would think it is eventually about fun, about tradition.
I know what you mean, Fe. The sanitizing of Halloween, of all holidays, is really too much to take.
When I was a kid, even though I was a Southern Baptist kid, I believe I would have been really pissed off to get a bag of treats with a scripture included. I believe a little yard rolling would be in order, if not some egg-throwing. What about a sack of flaming dog poop left on the doorstep?
My friend and I were recently talking about how modern society has evolved to become so integrated with technology. Reading this post makes me think back to that debate we had, and just how inseparable from electronics we have all become.
I don't mean this in a bad way, of course! Societal concerns aside... I just hope that as the price of memory drops, the possibility of transferring our brains onto a digital medium becomes a true reality. It's a fantasy that I daydream about every once in a while.
(Submitted by NewPost for R4i Nintendo DS.)
Interesting post... Looks like flash memory is finally beginning to become more popular. Hopefully we'll start seeing decreasing solid-state drive prices soon. 5 dollar 32 GB SDs for your Nintendo DS flash card... sounds good to me!
(Posted on Nintendo DS running [url=http://knol.google.com/k/anonymous/-/9v7ff0hnkzef/1]R4i[/url] R4Post)
Post a Comment