summer power

Summer in Australia is about power - the raw power of nature.

"We call this the place of the wild, the untamed, the unpredictable. It is often seen as the height of masculine or male energy, of assertiveness, thrust, push and growth, the linear and overt: the opposite of the dark embrace of [winter]. It is the place of power."

but what is power?

"The whole concept of power...is dangerous ground. It pulls without feeling at the roots, testing, testing our resolve and our ability to deal with the consequences of our actions, licking the air with its hunger...it reveals our weakness.

"To grasp our power is frightening. It is our ability to act, which means it's also our ability to make mistakes and to fail. Too often the [north] is avoided."

Mandela tells us: "Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate, but that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that frightens us."

 So, "...avoidance doesn't teach us. To learn, to grow, we must stop, find courage... we turn to look at the beliefs we hold about power. We look at the energy, the unpredicability, the force... It is the spark of our courage, fuelled by the oxygen of our thoughts and the old wood of our past experience, all of which make the fire that is our drive." (ref: Restall Orr, 2000)

Power in summer is the storm that rolls in after a hot day that tests even the most patient. We are afraid of the power of the storm- its unpredictablity, its destruction, its chaos. We can not stop it, redirect it, calm it or reason with it.

Sowilo

"This force is the lightning bolt that links heaven and earth and guides the vitki... It is the illuminating beacon that guides the seeker across a sea of consciousness... The sun rune means strength, energy, life force... the light of truth and enlightened consciousness. It strengthens the will, and helps one to gain access to inner guidance..." (ref: Paxson, 2005)

Be not afraid of yourself