In this March edition of her blog in the ‘Wheel of the Year‘ TA Earth series, Rose shares her understanding of true magic.
What a beautiful, powerful, suggestive, enchanted and loaded word! I feel I have little authority to speak on such a majestic subject, especially when so much has already been said and written. So I can only try to put into words my own understanding.
I was asked to say something about what real magic actually is, as opposed to the popular idea of witches, spells, waving wands and meddling with energies we don’t really understand. But do I believe in magic? Yes of course! Could I do magic? Probably. Why don’t I try? Because I don’t feel it is for me to interfere with the order of things.
But I believe we are born magical and that humans are multi-dimensional beings living on a garden spinning in space, children of a glittering cosmos, in a world full of unseen, interdimensional, otherworldly energies and realities, beyond the two dimensional world we see around us.
Magic is in nature
It seems to me that the most obvious place to look for magic is in nature, because the whole of creation is infused and alive with divine enchantment borne through different dimensions. Nature is an interconnected, living, numinous web of life in which everything is communicating a wild intelligence.
Much of magic has been forgotten, hidden or purposefully censored from our consciousness. Our ancestors once knew how to work with the magic in creation, to use magic to keep things in balance and to midwife certain energies between the worlds. Some people were trained to work in different ways with the magic of the inner worlds, intercommunicating through different dimensions from the angelic realms to the animal kingdom, with animals, birds, plants, with nature spirits, with earth herself.
The alchemist, magician, shaman and high priestess, all worked with very ancient, deep, primal forces, operating under certain strict laws and with highest respect. Their job was to maintain balance between this world and other realities.
Ancient knowledge
I think much ancient knowledge was lost when our pagan culture was banished, the wise women were killed off, the mystery schools were closed, ancient libraries were burned and goddess worship was outlawed.
But fairytales, told around the fireside over millenia provide a psychic map. Offering wisdom and teachings, and brimming with accounts of magical creatures, shapeshifters, hidden doorways, spells and transformation. Unforeseen assistance shows up just when our hero or heroine needs it most. A bird can speak and guides the way through the dark forest, humans are turned into animals. And then, a spell is broken and they are transformed into prince or princess. Help is always at hand, showing up when we need it most and arrives from a source of magic. These are the moments when just the right book mysteriously appears right in front of us, or synchonicities occur. Chance meetings, unforeseen assistance. Suddenly, there is a phone call and you get that job or that trip of a lifetime.
Magic is a form of grace. It is given.
Misuse of magic
But you only have to look to fairytales for sage warnings about the misuse of magic for power, profit or self seeking, for tales of darkness and evil acts perpetuated by use of dark arts. Stories told around the fire for millenia, warn us of dark enchantments cast by seemingly friendly characters who only later turn out to have other dastardly plans. Sleeping beauty pricks her finger on the poisoned thorn, falls under an evil spell and sleeps for 100 years. The child accepts the sweet and is bewitched by a dark charm. We fall for the seductive advert and buy something we don’t need.
This is magic manipulated, harnessed and used for selfish purposes. It is not given, it is not Grace.
Unfolding
Other than that, I need to look no further than the sunrise, or the flower unfolding in my garden. To hear the owl hoot at night or see the vast moon cast her light on a wild sea. To know that I live in a world where magic is constantly unfolding around me. If I simply open my eyes and heart, I can step into a world that was never ours but to behold in awe. Where there is something much bigger than us, governed by invisible forces and full of divine magic.
Please watch the video blog for more:
If you have enjoyed this blog look out for Rose’s April ofering, coming soon.
Rose is running a series of workshops on the TA Earth theme coming up over the next few months. Click on the links below for more information.
Rose Rylands is a Storyteller and walking guide based where she grew up on the East Coast at Whitby. Her mission is to connect people to the earth as a place of magic, mystery and meaning, to arrest ongoing harm to both ourselves and the natural world.
“My passion is to connect people with the earth as a place of mystery, meaning and magic through story. I suppose I am a sort of cultural custodian of my own small space and beloved bit of earth.”
The next video blog from Rose will be coming out mid-April.
Rose Rylands Workshops
Storytelling: Connecting head, heart, earth and hearth, Sat 17 April 2021 1 – 4pm
Spiritual Ecology, Tues 15 June 2021 1 – 4pm
Loss of Language, Sat 10 July 1 – 4pm
What is TA Earth?
TA Earth series explores our connections with our home planet and the world around us. We are inspired by Hayley Marshall and Giles Barrow’s pioneering work, Eco TA. Moving ‘toward an ecological understanding of the individual embedded in relationship with others and the wider natural world’.