Light and Obscuration

The waning moon must really want me to see her moods.

I woke up a little before 4 this morning and went into the kitchen to get a drink of water. Out of my window, there in the eastern sky, the waning crescent moon was rising above the treeline. And Venus, the Morning Star, was high in the sky shining brightly.

Ribbons of cloud came to dance with Venus and the Moon and there was beautiful play between light and obscuration. I would have liked to have watched that play all night, but sleep was calling.

Not for long, though. 

I was up again sometime after 5, and the clouds had moved off and the Moon and Venus were both shining brightly in the still dark, early morning sky. 

I was mesmerized by the movement of the moon through the clouds. She never disappeared completely. There was always a faint expression of her there, even while she was obscured. There seemed to be almost a wrestling between the obscuring and the light as they vied for position.

These last weeks have been difficult, and these encounters with the moon and the Morning Star over these last pre-morning wakings have seemed like both gift and teacher. I'm writing again and drawing comics. 

The world seems a little less dark when I'm engaged with my creativity. 

Beauty in the Night: Meditations in the Dark Time of the Year. I don't know if this will be a series, but if there is one in me, this is what I am drawn to thinking about and writing about these days.