Harnessing the Power of Fantasy
Happy Solstice!
I am a huge fan of Terry Pratchett. For me, he is a beloved and inspiring Ancestor of Spirit. There is a piece he wrote in the book “Hogfather” that feels important at this time of year, and I’d like to talk about it here. If you haven’t read Pratchett (Do it! Do it now!!) or do not recall this scene in the book, I have an edited version here. For the purposes of this discussion, I’ve ‘translated’ a wee bit.
S: You're saying that humans need fantasies to make life bearable.
D: No. Humans need fantasy to be human. To be the place where the falling angel meets the rising ape.
S: With tooth fairies? Santa Claus?
D: Yes. As practice, you have to start out learning to believe the little lies.
S: So we can believe the big ones?
D: Yes. Justice, mercy, duty. That sort of thing.
S: They're not the same at all!
D: You think so? Then take the universe and grind it down to the finest powder and sieve it through the finest sieve and THEN show me one atom of justice, one molecule of mercy. And yet... you try to act as if there is some ideal order in the world. As if there is some... some rightness in the universe by which it may be judged.
S: But people have got to believe that, or what's the point?
D: You need to believe in things that aren't true. How else can they
become true? How else can they come into being?
So, first of all – I love that line “to be the place where the falling angel meets the rising ape”!
It so powerfully reflects my understanding of what happens when we leave our union with the Goddess (aka the great cosmic One-ness of all being) to experience the adventure of a human life.
Embodiment, where the spirit individuates and flows toward the Earth as the Earth reaches out, offering a physical form. Spirit and Earth intermingling.
And why is it so important to believe in that which we cannot see? It is from these visions, these beliefs that we begin to create something new.
And how wonderful it is that at this time of year in the western world, we remember the wonder and joy at the heart of our own innocence.
In this season of Yule celebrations, we collectively feed the possibility of magic and generosity, of mystery slipping through the concrete limits of consensual reality. For a short time, we all play this wonder-filled game of fantasy making. We create beauty and delight. We express love through gifts of time, and food, and small treasures shared.
And this wonder at the heart of the season can thrive ... even within the dominant culture of capitalism.
Cynical consumerism attempts to co-opt the miraculous confluence of magic and creativity that this time of the year offers. Often it succeeds. But wherever we carve space for the magic of the Solstice season, with each candle we light, we can re-kindle the flame of hope, and beauty, and generosity.
This season can be transformed into a spell working.
What vision do you feed?
What mystery and magic do you welcome into the world?
Let there be feasting and laughter, warm hearths and warm hearts.
Let there be delight, surprise, and magic!
And let us each share what we have.
Let those of us with privilege and wealth, remember that the systems that give us so much, diminish many. Create a spell that includes caring for others. Not as charity, which seems to suggest that those “others” are in some way incompetent and innately less than those with wealth and privilege.
Craft your spell as an expression of our collective responsibility to live the vision of a world arising from Justice – social, economic, and environmental.
So, as the Wheel of the Year turns toward the longest night, let this time be dark and bright. A time to welcome fantasy. To feed the magic. A time to honour mystery. A time to feel the interconnectedness of all life. Let this season be a spell of living the vision of a world of peace, justice, and love.