The Night Sky, and The Others.

Growing up in the Great Plains of the Dakotas, I always had the Big Night Sky overhead. I had a father who could name every star, and constellation, and night object I would point to. My favorite was always Orion. He seemed to be the clearest, and most tangible of the constellations to me. The Big and Small Dipper, also very clear and easily read in the northern night sky, came in close second. I think John Guare summed it up best in House of Blue Leaves...he captured that feeling of "...you got to come see Orion. He's the hunter and he's pulling his arrow back so tight in the sky like a Connect-the-Dots picture made up of all these burning planets. If he ever lets that arrow go he'll shoot all the other stars out of the sky."
Lately I can't find Orion. This time of year I always go out and look for Orion, because I follow his belt to find the Pleiades. Pleiades. Who two years ago looked so close to me one night, that I was actually shocked in amazement. They seemed to reach forth with their light, bringing close to me who and what they are. The Brotherhood of Light welcoming me. Initiation. Catching my attention in such a way that I stood in amazement for quite some time staring up. Or is it out? Maybe down...or more than likely inside out. Now however, Orion is nowhere to be seen. It is baffling to me, because I actually have posts on Twitter from the previous year, at this same time, mentioning looking up at Orion, and the Pleiades...and how beautiful the Giant Wonder is of the Night Sky. The shivering excitement of the dark and the stars above. Feeling the secret thrill of being alone under the heavens. The night is quiet...even the buzz of Los Angeles can't overreach the hum of the Universe at night. The stars may appear dimmer here than my childhood home, but I know where most things are, and where they should be. Where is Orion?
I think of the Universe as a giant undulating being. Like waves, or maybe the wind...heaving and sighing. Exhaling out light of stars, inhaling the deep dark of the sunless night. Moving. Alive. And in this I guess it makes sense that Orion is off on his own somewhere else. Taking aim of his arrow in another Universe, where another being follows his sweeping bow across the sky. Wouldn't it be something if a constellation disappeared? Proof that the Night thrives, and moves...rolls and undulates. Bringing a story of light forth, and taking another with it in its' wake. Giant flapping wings of a bird that flies across the expanse of our consciousness. We are but fragments of All That Is. And our consciousness grows with every breath. That night two years ago the Seven Sisters made their presence known to me in a manner I will never forget. Showing me that sometimes "objects in mirror may appear closer than they are." Whether that object is a car from behind, or the Beings of Light in the sky.

Installation: Tire Swing in the Night Sky