"Horrors lurked in the primeval forest, not nymphs and naiads. Terror lived there, with its close attendant, Magic, and its most common defense, Human Sacrifice."
* from Edith Hamilton, Mythology
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Thursday, August 20, 2009
You can find me in the moonlight.
Sunlight is something I can fully get behind. The warmth, the feel of its rays dancing on your skin, the wholesomeness of sitting in its light at midday in some out-of-the-way corner of the world. One could say I delight in it, revel in this sensory expression of the electromagnetic radiation given off by the Sun. But more than direct sunlight, I appreciate the reflection of the Sun's rays onto the Earth via the Moon. Not because I necessarily prefer this weaker form of light. Moonlight is a part of the night, though, and I love the world of darkness that emerges after nightfall. I always have.
It explains a lot about me.
I love everything about the night. The sounds - grasshoppers, owls, cicadas, the quiet and often unidentified scramblings of creatures heard from afar, trees rustling in the wind. Night time smells are admittedly less easily identifiable than the sounds of the night, but distinctive in their own right; the night is fresher than daytime, more pristine, and "quieter" if that word can be used to describe an olfactory spectrum. Jasmine scents the air where it blooms and grass has an even sweeter smell by night, forced to filter through the cooler and thicker air.
Night is filled with mysteries. Maybe that's why I love it. Things are hidden. People and things can go unnoticed in a dusky setting. Everything is a little shrouded, and making out the details is an exercise in observation. It's this very atmospheric trait that makes vampire and werewolf legends so arresting, in my opinion. The night feels like it's keeping a secret, hiding something from you. Why can't that secret be supernatural creatures and legendary shapeshifters? Anything can be true in the night air, or so it seems.
For an adolescent adrenaline junkie, it was perfection. Sitting alone, curled up with my imagination was enough sometimes. I could feel the moonlight streaming down on me, hear the night sounds, and imagine that at any moment something unexpected could happen. My childhood is filled with memories of spending time alone in the woods past nightfall, walking for hours wrapped in the heavy and mysterious air. Still, I love these things. The moonlight reminds me. To this day, dawn sometimes makes me sad. Even though the day brings just as much to enjoy, dawn marks the end of the night, the disappearance of the stars, and I can feel it almost physically.
It explains a lot about me.
I love everything about the night. The sounds - grasshoppers, owls, cicadas, the quiet and often unidentified scramblings of creatures heard from afar, trees rustling in the wind. Night time smells are admittedly less easily identifiable than the sounds of the night, but distinctive in their own right; the night is fresher than daytime, more pristine, and "quieter" if that word can be used to describe an olfactory spectrum. Jasmine scents the air where it blooms and grass has an even sweeter smell by night, forced to filter through the cooler and thicker air.
Night is filled with mysteries. Maybe that's why I love it. Things are hidden. People and things can go unnoticed in a dusky setting. Everything is a little shrouded, and making out the details is an exercise in observation. It's this very atmospheric trait that makes vampire and werewolf legends so arresting, in my opinion. The night feels like it's keeping a secret, hiding something from you. Why can't that secret be supernatural creatures and legendary shapeshifters? Anything can be true in the night air, or so it seems.
For an adolescent adrenaline junkie, it was perfection. Sitting alone, curled up with my imagination was enough sometimes. I could feel the moonlight streaming down on me, hear the night sounds, and imagine that at any moment something unexpected could happen. My childhood is filled with memories of spending time alone in the woods past nightfall, walking for hours wrapped in the heavy and mysterious air. Still, I love these things. The moonlight reminds me. To this day, dawn sometimes makes me sad. Even though the day brings just as much to enjoy, dawn marks the end of the night, the disappearance of the stars, and I can feel it almost physically.
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