The Seeing Heart: Imagination as Communion a 1st Quarter Moon Devotional

As the 1st Quarter Moon rises, we walk the Via Creativa embracing the joy of making, of playing, and birthing the unseen into form.

Invocation

Holy Presence,
You who dream galaxies into being
and breathe life into dust,
open the eyes of my heart.

Awaken in me the Seeing Heart,
the imagination that is both mirror and flame,
revealing the world as You see it:
alive, luminous, and filled with Spirit.

Let this act of imagining be a sacrament,
a prayer of participation in Your fullness.
May every image I receive,
every vision that stirs within,
be an echo of Your eternal creativity.

Silence the noise of fear and reason’s tyranny.
Teach me to listen with wonder.
Let my mind be the chalice,
my breath the incense,
my imagination the altar of communion
where heaven and earth meet in me.

May I see truly.
May I love freely.
May I create from the well of Your holy light.

Amen.

The Sacred Moment

Today, the first quarter moon cuts a bold curve through the night, a bright edge of becoming against the sky. May we feel the call to create, to explore, to dance with the holy spark that stirs within us. In the generative tension of the First Quarter Moon, we walk the path of the Via Creativa: the way of inspiration, of sacred imagination, of shaping what has never been before. Our souls reach not for certainty, but for expression: for the joy of making, of playing, of sketching the unseen into form.

This is a moon to imagine, to risk, to begin.

Theme: The Seeing Heart

As the light of the sun creeps over the face of the moon and we see the First Quarter Moon hanging in the sky, it’s as if a door is opening, showing us a gleam of light from the other side. This image is powerful, especially as we approach the rise of Samhain (All Hallows’ Eve, Halloween) the time when the veil between our world and the spirit world grows thin. Ancestors and the Other Crowd come through vigorously, and the very fabric of our cosmic order seems to shift. This is a time of revelation, imagination, and openness. As we enter this holy threshold, we must awaken our imagination so we are ready to experience all the cosmos has to offer.

When I speak of imagination, I’m not talking about make-believe in the childlike sense. Imagination is how we perceive the world, how we stitch together past, present, and future. It’s how we fill in the gaps of what our senses can’t fully capture. As we approach Samhain, we recognize that this gift of imagination is also how we encounter spirit. It’s a sacred tool.

William Blake called imagination the Divine Vision, the Holy Imagination. For Blake, the Word, the Logos, and the divine imagination were the same. He wasn’t bound by reason because reason can be applied to anything, allowing us to justify our actions. Therefore, he opted to rely more on imagination, recognizing that the creative impulse within us is under our control and can be molded to ensure our actions benefit the greater good, preventing us from pretending our urges, desires, and anger guide us to truth. It’s in this pursuit of holy wisdom that we are awakened to life. As we begin to practice this holy time of the threshold thinning we know that this is a metaphor for an experience that is had throughout the world. We prepare our imagination to enter into this holy state so that we can become one with our minds and experience this world for all that it has to offer.

So as we approach Samhain, I invite you to liberate yourself and allow yourself to daydream. Know that you are in control of that daydream. Let your imagination open you to the wisdom and guidance that the cosmos offers. If you choose to see the world through the lens of light and hope, you’ll find that goodness reflected back to you. This isn’t about being naïve; it’s about making a conscious choice to seek out the sacred, to let imagination be the bridge to deeper spiritual truths.

In this time, like we do approaching Beltane, know that it is your choice to see the world as it is. If you choose to see the world as darkness and trauma and pain, then you will find all the data points you need to make the world dark and full of suffering. But if you look, truly look, for the goodness and the light and the hope, you will find it. This isn’t about being an optimist or a pessimist. These are internal orientations that guide our thinking and how we perceive. No, this is about making the active choice to seek and to find that which is good, that which is necessary, that which needs to be followed and done. As the forces of darkness wage their war against us to instill fear within us so that we bow in obedience to them, we know they are silly, frightened children. And in seeing them as they are, they cannot scare us. Because we know that in the end, all tyranny falls, all darkness is broken by the first rays of the rising sun. In the end, all shall be well and all shall be peace. It may take time to get there, but we will all find that place one day where the sun always shines and no shadow is cast.

In the end, all fear and darkness fall away in the face of the rising sun. As we nurture the seeing heart, we find peace. It may take time, but we will reach that place where light shines and no shadow is cast.

Practice: Imagination as Communion

Sit in a quiet place where the light is gentle. Let your body rest, your breath settle. This is not an escape from the world, but a returning to it with awakened sight.

Close your eyes.

Imagine the light of the First Quarter Moon, the threshold light, falling softly across your face. The light is neither full nor dark; it is becoming. It is the moment between what was and what is not yet.

Breathe in that becoming.

With every breath, feel yourself expand. With every exhale, release the smallness of certainty and control. You are entering the sacrament of Holy Imagination, the blessed communion between your mind, your soul, and the Living Cosmos.

Now, within this gentle stillness, sense a presence stirring in the quiet behind your eyes.

This is the Cosmic Christ, the Divine Imagination, the light that sees through all forms and calls them good.

Let that light open your inner sight. It does not flash or blind; it simply reveals. Through this sight, you begin to perceive the shimmering life within all things:

• the hum of the ancestors,

• the pulse of the soil,

• the luminous thread that binds every spirit and star.

Here, in the fullness of God, you are not a bystander but a participant. Imagination is how creation recognizes itself within you. Imagination is communion. It is not fantasy, but the language of reality made holy.

Let your awareness widen. See not with your eyes, but with your heart.

Allow images, sensations, memories, or symbols to arise, not as distractions, but as emissaries of the Real. Each one is a whisper from the Beloved, a facet of the Infinite seeking expression.

If fear or doubt appears, greet it gently and let it dissolve into light. For in the Holy Imagination, nothing is lost; all is transformed.

Now, rest in the fullness that surrounds and indwells you. You are in communion with the Eternal Artist, whose creation is ever unfolding within you.

When you are ready, take a deep breath. Feel your feet, your hands, your body once more. Let your eyes open. And as they do, know that the same light that opened your inner sight now illuminates the world before you.

Carry this seeing heart into your day. Let imagination be your prayer, and communion your way of being.

Closing Blessing

Radiant One,
Source of all vision and all becoming,
thank You for this holy meeting.

Through the eyes of imagination,
I have seen the world anew,
each breath a spark of Your presence,
each shadow touched by Your hidden light.

Let what was awakened here
take root in the living world.
May the clarity of this seeing heart
guide my hands to create,
my words to bless,
my actions to heal.

As I return to the rhythm of my day,
keep this communion alive within me.
Let the sacred fire of imagination
burn steady and true,
so that in every act of love,
every glimpse of beauty,
I may remember:
I am part of Your great unfolding.

In gratitude and peace,
I open my eyes,
and behold the world,
shining, whole, and holy.

Amen.