By Leah Black, 24th September 2024, Ecoinnersense.com
The remote mountain village where I live is rooted in Celtic history. There are only fifteen people nowadays and the eldest died last year at one hundred and three years old; although, I hear of others that reached wiser ages in the past. The curandera of the village, or healer, passed away a few years back at ninety-six. She once told me a curious story about the day of Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael (as she called Michaelmas, which celebrates Archangel Michael and all angels on 29th September). The curandera said that on, and around, this day the skies open for you to see angels flying in clouds. My face turned into that curious look I’m now known for in the pueblo with eager smiling eyes. I adore nothing more than listening to human and more-than-human stories of pastimes, when the village was disconnected from everything; no road, no outsiders, no electricity. How I love to hear about the villagers’ dances in the meadows, bowls of milk left out for the snakes, singing ancient songs across fountains whilst washing clothes in lavaderos; adventures into caves to find straying goats hiding from “the bear”, as if there was only one bear in the area, and effortless walks for miles each day to buy another family’s delicacy; farming lands to the almanac of the moon and summiting mountain ridges for fire-lit festivals and seeking future spouses. How I wish I could step back in time. That’s what stories are for, I guess. Although, what wonders have we forgotten in modern settings? Stone has a wonderful way of revealing clouded memories of the past. When you really listen to stone it is like books floating in the great halls of wisdom imparting their pages so fluidly with you.
Anyway, to get back on track… The curandera explained to me that if you look at the sky over the weeks of Michaelmas, you’ll see angels looking back at you in the clouds, like the one above. I guess I’d never looked before, because from that day onwards, around the weeks surrounding Michaelmas, I saw nothing but airy portraits of angels, apparitions and mythical beings above me. Their sunlit silhouettes floating in dusk and dawn are most magical to me; glowing as red as autumn maple and as purple as harvested grapes. Once I looked, noticed and truly “saw”, I felt part of the autumn dance of angels and falling leaves; elements merging into the quintessence of landscape and skyscape. Today was no exception; the clouds wisped their angelic wings across autumnal blue skies.
There are many curious local traditions here, like there will be where you are (even in big cities), carried forth through memories of time, and those too that have faded into the ether awaiting a receptive soul to spring forth like flowing water. ‘Paxarines’ are an autumnal example here in Asturias – dough figurines that are specifically bought in the city of Oviedo on San Mateo Day, 21st September, to protect a home from storms and bolts of lightning. The mind boggles at the thought of times gone by. When did this tradition commence? Perhaps 300, 500, 1000, or more, years ago. Where did they make them and sell them back then? Did everyone make their own? Is there anywhere else on Earth that embraces a similar tradition? And, why were paxarines of so much importance to the autumn equinox?
I’ll digress again… I’m writing this contemplation in a wildflower meadow. It’s filled with the essence of a summer’s bounty being adored by butterflies, hoverflies, bees and hummingbird moths. What strikes me, and why I’ve digressed, is a question that’s just popped into my head: Are these magnificent beings undertaking an autumn nectar ritual, one that is sacred every year to them and their ancestors, like the Celts in celebration of Mabon? Perhaps plants, animals and an-other celebrate the equinox of autumn and ‘Michaelmas’ too. Last week, the full harvest moon shown above lit the night sky and enshrined the stars at the cabin. The bats, wolves, rutting deer and bears seemed to pay homage to the lunar spectacle… I’ve never heard deer rut like they did that evening. The forest below the cabin was alive, haunted by mystical groans. I can only imagine the sound some 11,000 years ago. I once experienced the soul awakening echo of howler monkey cries reverberating through my bones In a tropical dry forest reserve, in the Guayas of Ecuador, where I lived at the time. It was a sound similar to that, which filled me with awe last week in the language of deer.
“Awe is a feeling of wonder experienced by the self when facing something vaster, greater, beyond current understanding.” *
Back to angels... Last year to mark ‘Michaelmas’, not knowing what’s usually done on that day, but knowing the traditions of this land were something to do with angels and clouds, I walked to a sheer ridge that had ‘called to me’. My hands raised up to the sky and I offered a little hand painted stone to the angels. Just in case you’re wondering, the stone was from a local beach painted with non-toxic organic material representing an element of gratitude I held. I never buy or take precious stones or crystals – it is likely that they don’t want to be ripped away from their natural sites of energy; unless, you’re lucky enough for a rock to offer one to you in return for your friendship! I imagine the damage from the ‘healing crystal industry’ (not to mention the Himalayan pink salt industry) is very shocking, beyond belief for a Nature-connected human soul. Ritual is only ever a ritual with reciprocity and a deep sense of love. So, to the lingering effervescent clouds, I shared my gratitude for their protection and guidance, and I asked out loud if there was anything they needed me to do for them. What are you drawn to do this or next autumnal All Angels’ Day? Perhaps you’ll sense an angelic presence in the skies or see the faint smoky outline of a dragon. On All Angels’ Eve this year, I plan to sit under the stars to watch moonlit clouds drift celestially under the heavens, between this world and the next.
There’s certainly something magical about this time of year, for all beings; humans in an atmosphere of wonderment where existential questions can arise and awe can awaken a sense of sacred, and for more-than-human beings particularly in lunar light, dusk and dawn. Perhaps over the next week or two, you could spend time watching the sunrise, sunset and clouds; imagining your ancestors doing exactly the same thing. What pops into your mind’s eye as streams of light grow or fade into night? Remember the sunrise and sunset are consistent; they're always there for you, and every being, everyday, no matter what. This is the most ancient of human and likely more-than-human daily rituals and acts we can confidently imagine, took place, at all points in Earth's history even before humans walked their heavy footprints. Each new or ending day adorned by colours, all eyes and senses prior to the rise of industry, cages, compounds and electricity. You only have to hear the dawn chorus, feel the air change on your face, watch dandelion petals open, and see wild boar run joyfully in a sunrise to know it is sacred in one way or another. You can feel it deep inside of you, like your Neolithic ancestors did by capturing solar presence in stone walls of sacred sites. With daily action and interaction at dusk and dawn, once-clouded memories seem to fade into knowing, entering the spiral of your human heart. I sometimes sense images of the ‘immaculate heart of Mary’ or ‘sacred heart of Jesus’ at sunrise. I’m not Christian, but this image repeats often; perhaps to remind me of the potential within all of our natural selves. In those moments, I imagine my heart with rays reaching out to touch the golden veins of a rising sun; becoming part of each days’ luminescent tale, feeling the heartbeat of Earth, Sky and Universe as one with my own and receiving renewal and reminiscences.
It would be inspiring to hear your clear or clouded memories of local traditions, cloud-based myths and experience of All Angels’ Day. Please visit Ecoinnersense's Patreon Page to share your ponderings, and if you become more and more curious about clouds, like me, you can enter a wonderful world of clouds online too, at the Cloud Appreciation Society.
With love and light,
Leah
*Keltner, D., & Haidt, J. (2003). Approaching awe, a moral, spiritual, and aesthetic emotion. Cognition and Emotion, 17, 297–314.
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