In the Presence of the Gods
I am currently working on an article for a new anthology through my publisher and during the process have been reflecting about the times I have felt the presence of the Gods around me. It is always hard to describe the numinous and so often after such an experience we find ourselves questioning and rationalizing away what we felt. This makes sharing these moments far more difficult, but there have also been times when the presence of the Gods created noticeable, tangible effects that were witnessed by many people and these are harder to rationalize away.
I have been in rituals where the presence of the Gods was like a physical weight hanging in the air, where it became harder to breath and move simply because they were there. I have felt indescribably small when the Gods come into a space and fill it, and once, when I'd inadvertently offended a deity, I felt like a bug under someone's shoe about to be crushed. I have been filled with terror and awe in the presence of Nemain (who still scares me) and overcome by calm in a terrifying situation when Flidais was with me. All of these experiences are precious, and all were profound for me, but they are and can only be deeply personal. Even with poetry I cannot truly convey what it felt like, nor convince anyone else that what I experienced actually occurred.
In contrast I have personally experienced moments when the presence of the Gods was physically perceptible, if only in small ways. While attending a public Imbolc ritual I and several other people noticed a candle on the altar burning out; it smoked briefly as it burned down then extinguished itself. Several minutes later as the group was singing a chant to Brighid that candle relit itself, the light flaring briefly and then burning steadily for the duration of the chant and a few minutes longer. At a ritual to the Morrigan when the goddess was invoked the temperature dropped so much that people could see their breath in the air and the temperature stayed down for more than five minutes before rising again. Several friends witnessed a broken string of lights, which was unplugged, lighting up and remaining lit during a ritual after Odin was invoked into the space. These little moments represent a few examples of times when the presence of the Gods was tangible and evident to groups of people, many of whom are not usually mystically inclined.
We are often in the presence of the Gods, both in and out of ritual. It is up to us to be aware of their presence and willing to acknowledge it. We can choose to cherish these moments of connection, or we can rationalize them away, strip them of their numinous beauty. Or we can appreciate the little moments of connection, the glimpses into the mystic, the times when we feel the Gods reaching back towards us. It is up to us to decide.
I have been in rituals where the presence of the Gods was like a physical weight hanging in the air, where it became harder to breath and move simply because they were there. I have felt indescribably small when the Gods come into a space and fill it, and once, when I'd inadvertently offended a deity, I felt like a bug under someone's shoe about to be crushed. I have been filled with terror and awe in the presence of Nemain (who still scares me) and overcome by calm in a terrifying situation when Flidais was with me. All of these experiences are precious, and all were profound for me, but they are and can only be deeply personal. Even with poetry I cannot truly convey what it felt like, nor convince anyone else that what I experienced actually occurred.
In contrast I have personally experienced moments when the presence of the Gods was physically perceptible, if only in small ways. While attending a public Imbolc ritual I and several other people noticed a candle on the altar burning out; it smoked briefly as it burned down then extinguished itself. Several minutes later as the group was singing a chant to Brighid that candle relit itself, the light flaring briefly and then burning steadily for the duration of the chant and a few minutes longer. At a ritual to the Morrigan when the goddess was invoked the temperature dropped so much that people could see their breath in the air and the temperature stayed down for more than five minutes before rising again. Several friends witnessed a broken string of lights, which was unplugged, lighting up and remaining lit during a ritual after Odin was invoked into the space. These little moments represent a few examples of times when the presence of the Gods was tangible and evident to groups of people, many of whom are not usually mystically inclined.
We are often in the presence of the Gods, both in and out of ritual. It is up to us to be aware of their presence and willing to acknowledge it. We can choose to cherish these moments of connection, or we can rationalize them away, strip them of their numinous beauty. Or we can appreciate the little moments of connection, the glimpses into the mystic, the times when we feel the Gods reaching back towards us. It is up to us to decide.
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