The Unknown

Ignota

No one person can know everything. The void can be a comfortable place-and one of profound creativity. Make sure to rest during busy times. We need to create space to heal or to make big decisions. It is okay not to know. Fear forward and trust in your own innate wisdom.

When all falls apart,

Space opens up.

Courage and trust

Must fill our cup.

The void is not dark,

Yet our shadows and fears

All swirl and rise up,

Then our wisdom appears.

It’s nice to know there are still things that are unknown, isn’t it? Or don’t you agree? We have always had both a fear of, and a curiosity about, the unknown. We fear what we don’t understand-which is natural, because our earliest survival as a species depended on our knowledge of our surroundings. But that survival instinct has evolved in ways that may not always serve us today. In our search for scientific certainty, we can scrutinize ever-smaller details until we lose sight of the magic that exists in the whole of which those details are only a part.

Our society prides itself on knowing-and knowing now! We carry phones, tablets, and computers around with us that can spew out a multitude of answers to any question on demand. Information is so prevalent that we may feel anxious if we are not able to explain a new idea or more subtle feeling on the spot. But in my opinion, there is still a place for the unknown, for the power of the void in our world.

Aradia reminds us how awe-inspiring mystery an be-witchcraft, for example. Yet, if asked how witchcraft works, some might say that it is just a form of self-hypnosis. In their haste to label witchcraft in a way that makes it easy for them to explain, they would have forgotten to consider all that we don’t know about the factors that comprise the craft-among them, the potency of ritual and intention and synergy. I believe that Aradia, if asked how witchcraft works, would simply smile and say, “All in all, we don’t need to know how it works-we just need to know that it does!”

In magic, we consider the dark moon (the night before the new moon appears, when it looks as if there is no moon in the sky at all) “the void,” which we could also call “the unknown.” It is a period of great gentleness, a time when anything is possible. This makes the dark moon the perfect phase under which to plan the “what’s next” in our lives. Then the next night, the new moon brings us the opportunity to intend new beginnings and fresh starts.