Let’s get talking.
Words by Allie Vandersanden, image by Maite Diez
I remember as a child, the ecstasy of being outdoors after the sun had disappeared and the moon had risen high over the trees. Barefoot in the grass, wet with the dew of dusk, I felt no fear of the night, but rather safety in my blanket of dark, which allowed me to pad quietly through the back field stalking fireflies, or to run without abandon, unseen. Houselights on the opposite shore became the crackling fires of travellers from faraway lands, or tiny fairy lights, winking through the darkness from distant celebrations. The night brought a special kind of magic.
With the winter solstice now behind us, the moon takes a graceful bow as the longest night of the year has finally given way to the glow of dawn, easing us into longer days.
While it is natural for us to worship the nourishing light of the sun, feeling a constant need for more hours in the day, I have spent the deepest hours of winter trying to embrace the darkness, to take solace in the night, to take pause. It is at nighttime that we naturally travel within, towards our inner selves. We rest, we recharge, and can take comfort in the night’s cover.
In Issue 12, we bask in the soft glow of the moon, celebrating its beauty, mystery, and magic. In Wonderland, we explore fiction and reality in the dark of night and the light of day. In Laurel, we enter the world of the gods and goddesses of the classics, treading the line between nature and magic. From the Scavenger’s Almanac pays homage to midsummer nights and lightning bugs.
So dive in, let’s get talking.
