Issues of enchantment
(Nimue)
The need for re-enchantment is an idea that comes up in both Pagan and environmental contexts. Our lack of enchantment as a species, and our lack of care are causing us to destroy the living world.
If you are exploring re-enchantment, then there are a number of things to consider. Firstly, who or what do you think needs enchanting? It is all too easy to create the impression that we humans are the ones who have to bring magic to the landscape. That can feed into ideas about human dominance. The land does not need enchanting, it needs us to see the life and beauty that already exists.
It may be tempting to think that what we have to do is get out there and enchant other people. That in turn can be about feeling more enchanted than everyone else, which can go with feelings of spiritual superiority. Once those qualities are in the mix we’re creating situations where we are going to be less able to enchant others because all they will see is our ego, or power-seeking behaviour. Enchantment doesn’t work on those terms.
So what does work? I think it’s most effective to focus on your own enchantment. Dedicate yourself to seeking inspiration and to exploring the things that nourish your soul. Come back inspired and enchanted, and share the fruits of that, and let other people do what they will. If you are inspired, then what you share of that will impact on other people – supporting their own journeys towards enchantment if they were already doing that. Trust the magic in the process rather than trying to direct others.
It makes sense to talk about the mechanics of things, in much the same way as we can talk about the mechanics of poetic structures, or the impact of specific words. It isn‘t easy to analyse the means by which magic gets in. There’s only so far you can do with technical analysis. The living, breathing soul of something, and the power in it to affect others is necessarily difficult to pin down. These are very much issues for anyone on the bard path.
This is not a post that has much potential to actually enchant anyone. The poetry David and I have shared this week is far more likely to achieve that. Talking about the mechanics of a thing is useful but works in an entirely different way. I don’t feel that talking about the technicalities of enchantment is disenchanting, but for me the key to that is how much space we allow people for their own experiences.
One way of thinking about this is that enchantment isn’t something we make and give to others. Enchantment is something we can invite to flow through us. We don’t own it and aren’t in charge of it. You can undertake to be a conduit through which magic and wonder can flow. You can open yourself to being a means through which beauty and compassion can enter the world. Arguably the work of the bard is refining your skills, knowledge and opening your heart so as to do that as effectively as possible.
