This dark moon, my journey led me back to the more usual place, where I met the Three Daughters of Ernmas outside a cottage, around a great cauldron. When I asked what message they had for me to bring back this time, they reminded me that this was the last moon cycle, dark to dark, before the light started coming back. After the next dark moon there will be a brief dark period, but the solstice falls near the first quarter, so the light of the moon will be growing at that time, at least. I asked what I was to do, and they showed me a candle flame lit in the darkness, and told me they would guide me in writing a triad. So that's what I have for you all, today.
Three Things that are Needful in Darkness:
a candle-flame of hope
a plan of battle
a cloak of wool
All three will keep your blood warm.
The first element of the triad at first was really obvious — a candle — but then they showed me that it wasn't just a physical candle, but also a feeling. As they made the feeling swell in my chest, I recognized it: Hope. A light in dark places, indeed. And a tiny flicker of warmth, in the hand holding the candle, and the hope in my chest. The second one came as a visual, a map with lines and markings on it like a sports playbook or like many of us have no doubt seen in fantasy or historical movies. That made sense to me more as a thing that was needful in the metaphorical darkness of a difficult time — plans show us the way forward. The third item it took me a little while longer to understand, because I was shown a person sitting beside an extinguished cooking fire out in a field; it wasn't until I realized I was feeling a ruana around myself that I was not actually wearing that it became clear and I could feel their approval. A good cloak, I thought, but no, they wanted all three things to be the same format of three words, and for some reason the type of cloak felt very important, so: a cloak of wool. It's better than any other type of fabric for damp chill. And the last line ties them all together in a slightly different way than the first: all three will keep your blood warm. "Blood" was clear in the imagery they gave me. It was clear that the candle and the cloak both could literally keep your body warm, but also that hope and a battle plan were necessary to keep you alive, to keep your blood flowing through your veins and not cooling as it congealed. So not just the darkness our eyes see, then: also the darkness in our hearts, which affects many of us at this time of year.