Pele has been on the move in Hawaii. I’ve been watching it over the past week. I’ve watched newscasters report, incredulously, that people are leaving gifts to the volcano. Notes and other mementos are left behind for the lava flows to consume along with their homes, schools and villages. They say that “strangely”, the people do not seem to be upset. Instead they move their belongings and literally seem to “go with the flow”. For those of us in other parts of the world, such a literal interpretation of that expression is hard for us to comprehend. For some, the metaphor is terribly difficult to live. Most of us tend to fight change. But for those who live on the Big Island, it is life. They are spiritually connected and understand that when Pele speaks, you listen. And although I live in a place where volcanoes will never be an issue, I try to listen too. It’s time to move. It’s time to make some changes. It’s time to look at the landscape of our lives and decide what must go and what must grow. It’s especially meaningful to me today on an election day. I have been working to make changes on a personal level for some time, well, continuously really. I think that if we ever stop growing and changing, then we may as well stop living. But today I am looking at a bigger picture. A political and cultural picture. I wonder how Pele will speak to us today? I wonder if Her voice will be heard through the people who are voting? Our landscape needs to change. One way or another Pele ensures us it will. It would be nice though, if it didn’t take a volcano to erupt in order for us to make those changes. I think I will leave my offering to Pele today in the ballot box.
(the oil painting of Pele above is part of my Goddess Emergence Project and will be one of the cards in the Surcadian Oracle coming soon.)
