The Burning Times

We've entered the season of Fire, and boy, are we feeling it here in northern California, where the 100+ degree temperatures and heat lightning have touched off hundreds of wildfires, many raging unchecked as there are simply not enough firefighters to attend to all the blazes. Smoke diffuses the sunlight; the air hangs heavy and rank, and we are advised to remain indoors with windows shut.

Amusingly, my favorite healthy cereal heralded this conflagration: when I bought a new box of it several days ago, just before the fires broke out, it tasted charred. I returned it for another, and the second box was the same. It seemed the company had burnt the entire batch. Micro-macro; as above, so below. Coincidence? Not really ...

In these times of alchemical transmutation, when everything that no longer serves must burn clean, synchronicity runs as high as ancient emotions, and promises a wealth of new doorways. I decided to type "fireandwater.com" into a search engine, since Fire and Water is the title of several different articles I've penned and a long-running theme in my life, and behold, it's the site for renowned author Paulo Coehlo, who wrote The Alchemist. So far this is the only book of his I've enjoyed, but I've now found a relevant source for summer reading. The Witch of Portobello is a highly intriguing title, especially for these Burning Times ...