place and magic and belonging

[avia]

I was thinking recently, because I'm reading The Wood Wife, about place, and stories, and magic/wonder.

The Wood Wife is a very... place-focused book. A lot of books are, Daughter of the Forest was too, the one I read just before it. Daughter of the Forest is a story that would not work without Ireland, and without Britain (before the first place was part of the second), and the cultural roots and atmosphere of those places. The Wood Wife is also a story that would not work without place, because it is all about the magic of the Arizona desert, how the desert hides wild and strange things and how it can transform a person.

Because of this, I find the book interesting, but, in a detached way... it makes me curious to learn about the magic of the desert, and difficult to feel close to the book, also. Those things come from the same place... I don't understand desert magic. It is not my natural place, it is not my way, it is not my home.

I realise that place makes a big difference for me, if I want to feel and experience the magic in a story. It's influence for me, even before I read a book, what kind of place I think that book is about. In fact, I was excited to read The Wood Wife because the title makes me think, it will be about woods, which exist usually in cold places, with a lot of rain. That's where I find spiritual comfort. I love stories that are about forests, or green hills, or mountains and cold, icy lands. I have never been to Ireland or Scotland, but I do enjoy stories that have an Irish or Scottish theme because, simply, I like trees and water and storms and rain. I need them, to be spiritual in my full detail.

I am a water bird and, in Hermetic tradition water is associated with darkness and shadow, and, I am also a shadow creature. I can't have the light on me all the time. I need shade and I need rain, and, I feel most magical with those things around me. I also wonder a little, if there is a truth to the idea of "roots" in a blood sense... I don't normally think about it, but, I wonder, this blood was made for a Japanese climate and spirituality and, I wonder if it really does make a difference. If there is a truth to the idea that your spirituality, or spiritual pull/strength, can be passed down in blood, in a way.

I live in the desert, so, I hope that The Wood Wife will teach me about how to appreciate the magic here. But I feel like the forests will always be spiritual home for me.

Comments

[whatawaytoburn]

I am, as you already know, the cabin in the woods and the woods themselves, I am the caves you find and the dark places and I am the fire that you use to keep warm.

These are the things that define me, these are my places. I might be meant for deserts but I don't know. I have never been but I know I love the rain, I know that I go out in it, tilt my head back and let the water hit my face and feel nothing but joy and peace and delight.

I am probably not meant for the desert.

I am not a rocky creature, so I don't know that the mountains would suit me much. I like cool, dark rocks that one finds in caves but that's it. I like the rocks you can stretch out on near the water too. Those are nice.

I'm a green person, an earth person. I do indeed have roots but don't all trees? We are meant for the forest, for the rain and the rivers and the rush of wind through the trees not someplace dry or hot.

I don't know. Florida isn't quite my place, it's too humid here, I am not a swamp creature but I love the3 thunderstorms. Those are what I am meant for, the lightning and the thunder and the power of the storm. If I could get that with my forests, I would be content.

*considers* Was this what you were try98ing to get out of me in my post? *laughs*

[avia]

Haha, yes, it's exactly that ^ v ^

I like the mountains not because of the rocks... but because of the cold, and the wind, and seeing the land below. And the snow. It seems like a place you can be alone, and a place birds can fly from, but, there are hidden places, caves, and an endless sky. I guess, the mountain is the cold version of the desert, for me. （´・ω・｀） But, it's high. That makes a difference. Space to fly.

You are the cabin in the woods, and, I wish to live in a cabin in the woods, and keep warm by a fire. So, I guess, it's good to be flock. Pack ^ v ^

[rosarum]

**nods** There are always certain locations you connect to and it's easier to invest yourself in a story they take place in.

I'm actually a very desert-oriented person (and magician), despite currently living in a place that's almost tropical. There is a lot of life buried beneath what looks like a bleak landscape; the flowers all have secret languages, the animals who make their homes there are both harsh and beautiful, a mirror of their environment. The moon and the stars are closer, waiting to be touched. Reality thins out in the most isolated areas--you feel you could slip between the membranes separating this world from the one next door.

The desert embraces the so-called outsiders, the ones who don't feel like they belong. It's very different, but still magic in its own right.

[avia]

Yeah, exactly... very much. I feel comfortable with stories in Japan, stories in Europe and places that are wet and green. I'm not good with the desert. My home is with mossy forest shrines and rainstorms, my home is with subway trains and wet city streets and frozen lakes. Not ocean, not desert.

But, I'm curious about your desert magic. I can understand it in a brain way, even if it's not a heart way... I appreciate harsh beauty, I appreciate the wonder of a clear night sky with so many stars. But something about a land so open and bright, without shelter, scares me. I need shadows and hidden places. The desert doesn't let anyone hide.

But, I do know about the slipping between the world feeling. I felt that before, one time. I was scared about it then, too, even though I normally like death, thin worlds feeling. It made me feel dizzy. But, maybe, next time, I can accept that.

I'm definitely outsider, outcast. I will try and feel that connection, too.

Thank you.

[cereus]

*nods*
This, thank you.

And also, the desert smells like rain... The life and *Community* are there. But they're subtle, under-the-surface. So the ocean is there, but it's in my veins in blood, it's in sap, in juice. But that community is so important, it's just this great murmur that's not always obvious.

[avia]

Interesting, interesting. It's nice (and surprise!) to see so many desert mages, I'm not used to thinking it is common, but, I see now that it is....

As a water bird, I think, it makes me frightened, a place where water is only in these hidden places that you have to struggle to find. I can definitely see how that can be precious and magical... for me, it makes me too much nervous, flappy bird to enjoy it. I need to feel the dull rumble of the water all around me, like a heavy, comforting blanket.

But, I also finished The Wood Wife today, so, slowly, and with people's words, I am starting to understand a little more...

[cereus]

And I'm learning about the forest lake magic, too. And I'm glad.

[avia]

I'm glad, too.

Sharing magic is a beautiful thing.