Turning Towards the Light by Sara Wright

I won’t walk in this fog bound soup – the air is so toxic it’s literally not breathable – let’s hope this is not a prelude to the rest of the summer like it was last year. The solstice marks a turning of the wheel in ancient cultures – a process (more than an event) that is still celebrated by countryfolk and by those who are attached to the land.

As we move deeper into the first days of summer many (most) wildflowers are seeding up even as the sun’s heat intensifies around the longest, days of the year… As I walk through the woods and around my home, I note the first yellowing leaves dropping from fruit trees, others are shriveling, insect ridden. My beans are spiraling skyward … Overall, a vibrant deep green canopy appears to replace luminous lime, and for a moment luminous fireflies light up the night…gardens are overflowing. Tadpoles are birthing back legs, and within the month a radical transformation will have occurred as miniature froglets begin their adult lives in seeps, brooks. ponds or greenery…  a miracle of Becoming. There is a poignancy to this turning for me. The birds are fledging, birdsong is somewhat muted. Summer heat and fierce thunderstorms mark the season ahead…cold clear waters and forests are calling…

If matter is frozen light as physicist David Bohm once suggested, then perhaps too much of it becomes trapped in my Body-Mind this time of Year. I have trouble sleeping, am often irritable and headaches are often a daily reality. 

Light and Dark – too much of either seems to invite in extremes. 

Around me manic ‘celebratory’ behavior seems normalized – explosions – gunning – fireworks, motorcycles, speedboats – endless mowing and machine noise drowns out the songs of the birds, rushing waters, trees leaves and roots deep in conversation…

I have developed strategies for dealing with this time of year just as I have for endless nights but at either apex, I am wary. I call upon the Heyokas who live in these mountains to help guide me.

Heyokas are Indigenous holy people that help guide us through reversals eventually restoring balance. *

Deep forests and clear river waters bring peace.

I reflect upon what it might mean to have too much light trapped in my body. What I experience is a sense of being stuck as this energy that feels like fire circles round and round.

Maybe this is one reason ancient cultures celebrate summer solstice turning with bonfires. It’s an interesting thought.

I long for the golden light to return as the sun star once again sinks a little lower on the horizon. What I ask for at this turning is to begin flowing like the river’s waters, even as I give thanks to the Earth Goddess for Nature’s abundance, Ancient Mother of All. 

Who are Heyokas?

 ***Heyokas are Indigenous holy people who have been struck by lightning or thunder who embody the winged powers of nature (air). Their gift (curse?) is one of prophecy. They behave in contrary and often humorous ways but can also be dangerous. These people take on both light and dark powers that belong to the People as a whole returning extremes to nature – eventually restoring balance… In this context I would call them mediators but they also embody reversals… (According to the  Pueblo people they live in the mountains most of the time ) This kind of power protects and destroys, so these holy people must be treated with the greatest respect.

PS. We are experiencing the worst heat wave of the season, and the air remains unbreathable (100plus) even after a vicious thunderstorm that struck last night leaving no rain to speak of but the power went out… it wasn’t until I began this writing that I realized the heyokas had come.

PPS. I write the above words and hear a loud crash coming from the kitchen – the garbage has spilled all over the floor….