Did you know that eclipses always occur in pairs, a fortnight apart?
They either begin with a lunar eclipse on a full moon, and end with a solar eclipse on a new moon, or vice versa. Astrologers call this transitional phase the eclipse corridor.
In this case, it started last night, the 7th of September, and will end with the solar eclipse on the 21st of September.
A truly liminal period, a dream within a dream. Are we sleeping or waking?
Last night, my friend (and violinist) Judith and I decided to behold the eclipsing blood moon and dive into this corridor (not as though there was a choice), together.
When I first heard about this phenomenon, I envisioned a tunnel, akin to a wormhole, or a long, steep, windy water-slide that propels you faster and faster until you come flying out into the water with a big splash (in this case, you’d emerge on the other side of the eclipse on the 21st of September). This rendering involves very little agency - apart from bracing yourself for impact and, ideally, enjoying the ride.
However, Judith explained she saw it more like a lengthy hallway in a building, and, funnily, she referenced a Berlin Job Center - a drab, concrete administrative office. Together, we agreed on the image of a long corridor in a fairytale castle or Gothic mansion. Dorothea Tanning’s painting Eine Kleine Nachtmusik comes to mind…
Judith’s interpretation of the eclipse corridor suddenly made much more sense to me than my water slide wormhole tunnel - a physical, real-life corridor, in a building, of course! It also holds a lot more possibility: a vast choice of doors presenting themselves to you.
While discussing this and walking down a dark Berlin street illuminated by the half-way eclipsed moon, a fox appeared and trotted alongside us for a few moments. Judith started softly singing “Suddenly I see a door, where there was none before…” - and for the very first time, indeed, I pictured a literal door mysteriously appearing somewhere, like in a Surrealist painting.
When I had written this lyric, I was solely referencing a metaphorical exit, never the physical fixture. However, this image I had now been gifted by Judith, of a door manifesting and a hidden room revealing itself, a portal opening up, enthrals me - how magical.
For me, this emphasises the importance of sharing our work as artists. In the hands, through the minds and hearts of others, it can flourish and expand into something unintended (at least not consciously), and unexpected. Without delving too much into the existing philosophical debate on this very topic, I do need to remind myself more of the power of reception. Especially as I am sitting on a mountain of unreleased material.
Artistic perfectionism and the cumbersome cogs of a flailing industry have made it so that I haven’t released new material in ages, apart from remixes and features here and there. Truthfully, I have been struggling with insecurities and uncertainties. Perhaps I need to squash my ego in this regard. Even if, what I make turns out, to my horror, to be bad (whatever that means), or merely lost upon some, as long as it holds the potential for connection with others, I should have courage.
Wishing everyone an illuminating dance through this eclipse corridor, whatever it looks like to you.
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