Meteors, Stardust, and Other Gifts That Fall From the Sky

This time of year in the Northern Hemisphere, each day seems to have more light sucked out of it by a great beast intent on devouring the sun. Living in the Pacific Northwest, where storm clouds often dampen the little daylight remaining, I have come to understand why the festivals at this time of year focus so much on light.

Perhaps that’s why I’ve always loved the Geminid meteor shower (scheduled to peak the night of Dec. 13/14). Each year around this date, tiny bits of space rocks and comet dust hurtle through our atmosphere to create blazing trails across the winter-night sky. That’s always seemed like magic to me. Star dust, falling to earth.

“All life is made of star dust” whispers a familiar wise Fairy voice in my ear.

“Wait a minute. I know you’ve told me that the original organic material that seeded life on this planet came from the stars. Bacteria, riding on an asteroid, perhaps. But you’ve also told me that you, the Fairies, are of the Earth, born from the fire of the Earth’s core. When you say that all life is made of star dust, doesn’t that include you?”

“There’s the fire without and the fire within. It all comes from the same place.”

I guess I was a little slow wrapping my mind around the last statement because, by the time I was ready to respond, there was only silence where the presence had been.

The army of storms that has rolled through in the last week has finally moved on so the sky may actually be clear Saturday night. While I watch the light show in the sky, I’ll be aware of the other fire/light deep beneath my feet. My Fairy guide is right, of course. Where else could the fire inside have come from but the stars?

When I turn on the holiday lights each evening, seeking to fend off the ever-growing darkness, I’ll remember that all I really have to do is go deep enough inside. There’s star-light there, too.

— ©Bridget Wolfe, 2014

If you have clear skies and can get away from city lights, don’t miss the show. According to EarthSky.org, best viewing should be around midnight before the moon rises.

You can always find magic at the Fairy Woodland website.

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