I experienced one of my favourite times of transition this morning, walking outdoors before sunrise. When I stepped out of the door (a dangerous business! [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img] ) the stars shone brightly, the waning moon cast pale shadows and Venus sent greetings from the dark blue heavens. As I walked, the eastern horizon lightened and reddened, the blue of the sky grew paler, the first bird sang a lonely, cheerful song. The stars faded, the moon itself became but a shadow in the lightening sky, night turned into morning.
Many thoughts accompanied me on my solitary walk; experiencing those changes actively, instead of just standing or sitting to watch the sunrise, gave me the feeling of making a journey. Moving from night to day (“Day shall come again!” ) as a symbol for new hope, moving from the cold, clear winter of the night to the warmth of a sunny, spring-like morning as a symbol of new life and growth.
For the first time, I was aware of another analogy – the fading of the stars as the Fading of the Elves, who loved them and honoured Varda, and the dawning of the Age of Men…
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'Mercy!' cried Gandalf. 'If the giving of information is to be the cure of your inquisitiveness, I shall spend all the rest of my days in answering you. What more do you want to know?' 'The whole history of Middle-earth.. .'
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