Meditation: May 8, 2025

"The boundaries we perceive between worlds are but momentary veils; the hawk knows this as it rides between earth and sky, the salmon as it travels between river and sea, and the hazel as its roots drink from underground streams while its branches capture starlight."

Physical Setting & Preparation

Seek a threshold place—where field meets forest, where land meets water, or where one type of landscape transitions to another. If such a natural boundary is not accessible, create a symbolic threshold in your space by placing stones in a line or laying down a branch to represent crossing between realms. Bring a small mirror to reflect the sky during your practice. Remove footwear and stand barefoot on the earth. Before beginning, face each of the four directions in turn, pausing to acknowledge each one with a slight bow. Finally, turn your face upward to acknowledge the sky, then downward to acknowledge the earth.

Opening Invocation | Fosgladh

Air an ochdamh là den Chèitean,
Eadar earrach is samhradh,
Eadar na bha is na bhios,
Seasaidh mi aig an stairsneach.
Tha mi a' gairm air cumhachdan nan eadar-staid,
A' sireadh gliocas nan eadar-shaoghalan.

On this eighth day of May,
Between spring and summer,
Between what was and what will be,
I stand at the threshold.
I call upon the powers of the in-between,
Seeking the wisdom of the otherworlds.

Body of the Working | Corp

Feel yourself poised at this moment of transition in the turning year. Early May holds a special quality—no longer spring's first awakening, not yet summer's full expression. You stand at a threshold in time, a liminal space rich with possibility. The boundaries between what has been and what might be grow thin in such transitional moments.

Tha na h-eadar-staidean a' bruidhinn,
Ma dh'èisteas tu le cridhe fosgailte.
Tha gliocas a' fuireach far an coinnich dà shaoghal,
Far an tèid aon staid a-steach don staid eile.

The in-between places speak,
If you listen with an open heart.
Wisdom dwells where two worlds meet,
Where one state enters into another.

As you stand in this threshold place, allow yourself to recognize a feeling of anticipation stirring within you. Like the energy before a summer storm, there is a quickening, a sense of something significant approaching. Place your hands palms-forward at the level of your chest, as if touching an invisible doorway before you. This anticipation is not mere impatience for what comes next but a sacred attentiveness to emergence itself.

Yet within this anticipation, notice also a quality of tranquility pervading your awareness. Like the still point at the center of a turning wheel, there is a calm presence that witnesses all change without being swept away by it. Lower your hands now, palms facing downward, feeling this steadiness anchoring you even at the threshold of transformation.

Tha mo chridhe a' plosgadh le dùil,
Gidheadh tha sìth domhainn 'nam chom.
Mar a bhios na tonnan a' bualadh an cladach,
'S an cladach fhèin sàmhach is bunaiteach.

My heart pulses with anticipation,
Yet deep peace dwells within me.
As waves may strike the shore,
While the shore itself remains silent and foundational.

The Deep Working | An Obair Dhomhain

Now, take the mirror you have brought and hold it to reflect the sky above. Look into this reflection—the vast expanse captured in a small frame, the above held within the below. This mirror represents the threshold where different realities meet and reflect each other.

Your anticipation is not separate from the earth's own readiness in this season. All growing things stand poised at the edge of expression—buds about to unfurl, seeds preparing to sprout, birds gathering materials for nests. Feel this collective anticipation in your body, this shared readiness to cross thresholds.

An dùil a tha mi a' faireachdainn,
Chan e mo dhùil-sa a-mhàin.
Is e anail na talmhainn,
A' tarraing a-steach mus cuir i a-mach.

The anticipation I feel,
Is not mine alone.
It is the breath of the earth,
Inhaling before she exhales.

Your tranquility, too, mirrors the earth's steady presence amid change. Beneath the visible transformations of season, the bedrock remains. The Mother of the Earth knows that all transitions are held within her greater constancy. This is the healing wisdom of thresholds—they invite movement while providing structure for that movement.

Place the mirror on the ground before you, still reflecting the sky. Step across your symbolic threshold (or take one step forward if at a natural boundary), consciously crossing from one state to another while carrying both anticipation and tranquility within you.

An sìth a tha mi a' faireachdainn,
Is i gliocas nan linntean.
Mar a sheasas a' chreag eadar muir is tìr,
A' cumail dà shaoghal le chèile.

The tranquility I feel,
Is the wisdom of ages.
As the rock stands between sea and land,
Holding two worlds together.

Stand now with one foot on either side of your threshold. Feel both the anticipation of stepping forward and the tranquility of being exactly where you are. These are not opposing forces but complementary aspects of threshold awareness. The Mother Earth embodies this wisdom in every transitional zone—forest edge, shoreline, dawn, dusk—where different realities meet and interpenetrate.

Afterthought | Smuain Dheiridh

Take a moment to contemplate:

How might your anticipation be enriched by tranquility, rather than diminished by it? How might your tranquility be enlivened by anticipation, rather than threatened by it?

Closing Blessing | Beannachd Dheiridh

Gu robh cumhachd nan eadar-staidean gad chuideachadh,
Gu robh gliocas nan stairsnichean gad stiùireadh,
Gu robh dànachd an atharrachaidh gad neartachadh,
Gu robh sìth na bith-bhuantachd gad chuartachadh,
A-nis agus gu bràth.

May the power of in-between places aid you,
May the wisdom of thresholds guide you,
May the courage of transformation strengthen you,
May the peace of eternity surround you,
Now and forever.

Before you leave this place, pick up your mirror and look once more at the sky reflected within it. Then turn the mirror to reflect your own face. Recognize yourself as a living threshold where many worlds meet—past and future, known and unknown, visible and invisible. Carry this awareness with you as you continue your journey.