The Magic Force of Spring

".. in all beginnings dwells a magic force for guarding us and helping us to live..." — Hermann Hesse, 1877-1962

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

Recently I received a paper called "Countdown to global catastrophe". In it the condition of the planet is discussed as terminally ill. If present trends of exploitation and pollution of the Earth continue, the end of organic life now seems clearly possible. Therefore all mankind is called to find some ways to reverse ecological destruction and bring balance, health and happiness to both human beings and nature.

Old traditions, mythologies and religions were founded on a deep understanding of the connectedness of all life and man's responsibility for the harmonious flow of life and consciousness. To be able to participate in healing the relationship between man and nature, we have to understand what modern scientists recognize: the whole Universe consists of energy. Energy is life. Life animates all things. Energy has consciousness; the type of consciousness depends upon what form the energy takes. When this energy flows harmoniously — not only between ourselves, our environment, and other living beings, but more importantly through the relationships of the elements within ourselves — then health, happiness and harmony prevail in all forms.

Life manifests in an endless series of cycles. At the points of the 4 seasons of the yearly cycle where one season turns into the next, powerful concentrations of energy occur. It is exactly at the point when the twenty-four hours are divided equally between day and night that the Spring Equinox Ritual is celebrated. Today, there is a renewal of the need to work with the cyclic flow and power points of the seasons. It would seem that celebrating at the exact major power points of the cycle greatly encourages the harmonious flow and development of every individual and of humanity as a whole.

When the ice and snow melt in Spring, streams rush from the ground, water bathes the Earth, all nature awakens and becomes alive with a new vital energy. Man feels a magic force rise from within. What is this magic life force?

As we are told in the Hebraic Book of Genesis, in the beginning God desired to be manifest. That desire is the motivating force underlying all creation. It is always flowing out of the heart of the Universe, as divine E-MOTION, LOVE!

Emanuel Swedenborg said:
"Love is the life of man. Man knows that there is love, but he doesnąt know what love is... What the life of man is, no one knows unless he knows that it is love..."

Each time we begin a new cycle, we are called to align ourselves consciously and deliberately with the Source of the magic force of energy, God, The Cosmic, Love. This we do by means of a ritual. As all and everything in the Universe is vibrating energy, so all is connected into one Wheel of Life. The human cycle corresponds beautifully with the cycle of the seasons. Thus we dedicate ourselves at the new beginning of a cycle to be the very best we are capable of, and ponder the thoughts and actions proceeding from that desire. It is this capacity to love intentionally with the mind, heart and body which makes us whole — able to receive and to give love. As the Wheel of Life turns from cycle to cycle, the meaning of life unfolds. It is the endeavour, the struggle, that leads toward the capacity to love — which is also the capacity to be truly human. This love is the essence of life. It is the answer to the mystery of life and to the mystery of love. In every human passion, every love, there is the resonance and echo of the longing for inward union with that magic force, that essence of human nature which is Love, God, the Creator, the ALL. It is the striving to live this Love that enables us to be in harmony with ourselves, humanity, and all of Creation.

I conclude with a poem.