Threshold Events
Although the picture of the world is fairly stable, from time to time fluctuations arise in it, and it wavers and becomes thin. It is at those moments that its conventional nature is revealed and a different reality peers through the thinning veil.
Since ancient times, people have noticed that such temporal destabilization can occur both spontaneously and regularly.
Both were observed and used.
Observations of spontaneous thinning of the boundary between worlds led to the development of a whole set of methods to achieve this thinning.
Tracking cyclical instabilities led to a calendar of the so-called “threshold” days. All cultures agree that there are at least two such days — in early May and in midwinter.
For example, the celebration of May Day was virtually universal, because on that day a cascade of life-force burst through the veil of worlds — so important for agriculture.
Other days that did not have such universal significance were observed more modestly and somewhat differently. Thus the Celts’ Samhain and the Germanic Yule differ in time and in meaning, while Yule, coinciding with the Celtic Alban Arthan, is nevertheless quite different in meaning.
However, this is not the only point. Traditional dates do not always correspond to the current reality, both because of repeated calendar reforms and because of astronomical events.
In this light it becomes clear that, while one should not discard the traditionally established dates of the Threshold Festivals, the actual attainment of a threshold state may not coincide with the calendar date. Therefore, as the time of Destabilization approaches, it is very important to look around carefully and to listen to the world, so as not to miss the moment that may help in acquiring Power. This sensitivity, of course, is an important component of the hunter‘s strategy as he tracks his Power.
At the same time, any unusual time or phenomenon destabilizes the picture of the world. For example, having a more or less coherent idea of day and night, a person at twilight becomes unsettled, because the daytime image is no longer relevant while the nighttime image hasn’t taken hold. No wonder twilight has long been considered a magical time.
The same goes for lunar cycles. Everyone is familiar with the stirring tremor of the full moon and the subdued, half-threatening hush of the new moon. Likewise, a thunderstorm or fog, by unsettling the ground beneath our feet with their strangeness, can push us beyond the boundary between worlds.
Thus the Great God Veles, who locks the gates between worlds, simultaneously creates them, thus enabling passage, and the God of mysteries Semargl fills a person’s heart with longing to cross.
By listening to one’s heart, not shutting one’s eyes and not locking oneself in mundane confines, a person gets the chance to glimpse beyond the human realm, and thus to cease being human and become…
Well — what one becomes is what the heart will suggest.
To gain power at threshold times, is it enough just to want to and be sensitive to the world, or is it still important to acquire specific knowledge about what forces are involved at a particular time, whether you need them; and who is it better for to know about this: you or the teacher? (being obedient and lacking will are not the same things). Or, while acquiring various powers, for example, in the Eight Festivals of the Grove, do you gain power in its fullness?
Well, of course, it is traditionally thought that “the teacher knows better”, and if this is a true Teacher – then it is indeed the case. Power is not the best subject for experimentation; it does not like mistakes.
The thing is that for the last two months, I’ve started seeing some entities in the air. They are strange, feeding on energy or something like that. Is there any opinion about them?