Learn Wicca / Francesca De Grandis's Wiccan & Faerie On Line Grimoire
LET'S TALK ABOUT * WATER *
with Ian Lurking Bear
When oxygen and hydrogen find one another, their joining produces
fiery passion. Out of this fire, water is born. Quaint Victorian
chemistry gives us an image of one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms in a fixed
molecule that bounces around from place to place. The reality of water is
not so orderly. The hydrogen atoms are not owned by any particular oxygen
atom. Water is a substance very much in love with itself, and the atoms
connect in webs and clusters where oxygen shares around the hydrogen atoms
freely, a fluid situation indeed. This manifests in everyday experience in
the way water forms blobs and sheets as it moves. Water loves to share
with the rest of the world and will exchange connections with any other
molecule willing to do so. This is why water is such a good solvent. It
takes tremendous energy to pull water apart into distinct molecules. As
energy is applied, the dance of the atoms will become quite frenzied before
they fly apart and boil. In the kitchen, this can be seen at work, as a
pot of water can handle flame at full blast for quite a while, when most
other things would have burnt. On the planetary scale, this energy
absorbance, or heat capacity, has a profound effect in regulating and
moderating temperatures to keep our planet livable. As land and air
temperatures move back and forth with the days and seasons, the oceans
change temperature very little. Thus water in its inner passionate
dynamism becomes a moderating, balancing force in our world.
SUGGESTED ACTIVITY: Go ye to a wild place with a running stream. The wilder, the better.
You'll need a night or two out to let the frantic dreams of civilization
flow out of your head. When the inner chatter has subsided, spend a night
as close to the stream as possible, and under the stars if weather permits.
Lay on your back. Let your eyes be aware of the stars, and listen to the
stream. Welcome the voices of the stream, and breath the fresh night air
deeply. Hold this awareness gently, not clinging, as you drift toward
sleep. In your dreams, the voices of the stream will speak to you, along
with the wind, the stars, and the land. In the morning, loll around in bed
remembering what you can of the dream experience. Don't be too
disappointed if there is nothing to write down immediately. Often the
messages are visions, feelings, smells, or rhythms, the sort of things it
takes poetry to express in words at all. Carry the memory and feeling of
the cool, clear, chattering waters with you in your everyday life, for all
things are sacred.
(c)1995 Ian D. Anderson
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Francesca De Grandis's Wiccan & Faerie Grimoire
The 3rd Road is Francesca's branch of Faerie Tradition, Wiccan school and community.