10. Magic - Light

Light is magic because it has the power to urge transformation.

Light is one of the most powerful forces for life on Earth. Sunlight is the main source of planetary energy; it is responsible for creating the beings that rotted deep in the earth's core and from which we derive the fossil fuels that we still rely upon today. Every morsel of food we have ever eaten in our lifetimes has needed light to develop. It feeds plants and warms animals, bringing growth and abundance into the world.

The only beings for whom light is inconsequential live on the seafloor, and humans rarely, if ever, come into contact with them—these creatures of the ultimate dark have their own purpose, and apparently it has little to do with us.

Light is magic because it has the power to urge transformation—it creates the environmental climate needed for molecules to increase in speed, bringing heat to cold places, and for cells to divide, causing growth to occur. For human beings, light enables sight—what is brought to light can be seen and, it is hoped, understood.

Light also helps us to fight fear and shame. As such, light's relationship to ritual is the ability for us to be absolutely honest with ourselves about the parts of us that are wounded and need attention and work. Through magic and ritual we can transform these places inside ourselves into areas of brilliance and deep inner knowing. This is the foundation of the Japanese practice of kintsugi, wherein cracked pottery is repaired by being inlaid with gold. This practice reflects the wider ethos of wabi-sabi, in which something is made more beautiful by its imperfections. Similarly, the Sufi mystic poet Rumi tells us, 'The wound is the place where the Light enters you.'

It is crucial to be honest in your ritual practice, and truthfully, almost impossible to be dishonest. The social desire we have for acceptance that causes us to try to hide or deny our weaknesses and vulnerabilities in public is of no use for making magic, because it is not grounded in what is real. If there is something troubling you, do not shy away from it, but pursue it through tuning in, enquiry and reflection.

Your ability to self-heal, physically and emotionally, is sacred. It is one of the few means of control you have over your own life. Make the parts of you that cause struggle and unrest, whether characteristics, habits or behaviours, a focus of your ritual practice. Spend time working with them, owning them, accepting them, and transforming them through love, as you might in talk therapy (which may also be complementary). The effects are likely to be similar, but will probably show up faster!

During ritual, the emotions that arise, the stream-of-consciousness writing, drawings or paintings you create, and interpretations of your tarot reading or other divination practice may tell you something you were unaware of or not willing to face. Once it has presented itself, do your best to accept the information being offered to you with an open heart. Be tender and gentle with what is brought to light through ritual—notice it with detachment, free from judgement or blame—and then, be creative with how you work to transform it if needed, giving it attention and energy. As in yoga, remember to breathe into the stretch. In time, you will move easily beyond this constraining edge.