When the Sea Begins to Bloom a New Moon Devotional
As the New Moon rises, we walk the Via Negativa releasing, making space, and the glory of seeking and revealing hidden wisdom.
Invocation
O Manannán mac Lir,
Keeper of the mists and guardian of the unseen,
you who ride the waves and walk the fields beneath them,
draw near to us now as we enter the sea of unknowing.
Help us to loosen our grip,
to release what no longer serves,
to unbind our sight from the illusion of surface
and learn to see with the eyes of the heart.
Where we see waves and distance,
teach us to glimpse the flowering plain.
Where we feel lost in the mist,
let us sense your presence beside us in the boat.
Where silence deepens,
help us hear the hum of unseen life moving beneath.
We do not ask for answers.
We ask for courage,
to be still, to perceive,
and to receive the wisdom that waits below.
May your sea become our sanctuary.
May your vision become our way.
May we, too, bloom in the depths.
So be it.
So may we sail.
The Sacred Moment
Today, the new moon veils the sky, cloaking the heavens in silence and shadow. May we feel the call to surrender, to sacred unknowing, to the holy hush that dwells beneath words. In the deep darkness of the New Moon, we walk the path of the Via Negativa: the way of release, of letting fall what no longer serves, of listening for the presence hidden in absence. Our souls ache not for answers, but for peace within the questions, for a love that meets us in the void.
This is a moon to release, to empty, to rest.
Theme: The Sea of Unknowing and the Blooming Depths
As the new moon approaches once again, we set sail on the great and deep waves of the ocean, seeking to find the land of the silver branch, the blessed isle where it is always spring. The Via Negativa, the negative way, is all too often seen only as a path of pain and suffering, of letting be and letting go. But it is also the path of spaciousness and opening up. The Via Negativa is also a path of mindfulness. It is the place where we let go of all of our preconceived notions and hold attention so that we can take in everything that is happening around us.
As we enter the great sea of unknowing, we need this mindfulness and this attention more than ever.
In The Voyage of Bran, there’s a moment that shows us how this change needs to happen within us. Bran looks out and sees only a mist-covered ocean and waves beating on the ship. But Manannán mac Lir explains that to him, he sees a flowering plain stretched out in every direction.
This change in perspective shows us the beauty of letting go of our preconceptions. Where we see only water and waves, beneath the surface there’s plankton and algae and fish. Cephalopods are doing their work, and bivalves are filtering the water. There’s so much happening under the surface that we cannot see because the surface itself blinds us to it.
So who has seen the scene accurately? Is it Bran with the waves in the mist, or Manannán with the flowering field?
The analogy, the metaphor, of the flowering field works better, because that is what is happening under the waves. When we learn to let go of our preconceptions and enter a state of pure mindfulness, we are able to see the great mystery as it is: all of the moving parts and all of the things beyond our immediate grasp. This lesson of the Via Negativa opens us up to the great unseen mysteries that are revolving around us all the time, that we’re just incapable of seeing.
This is the great power of the ocean, of the sea, of the water itself, which often symbolizes our emotions, our dreams, the vast wells of wisdom down below. It’s in the water that the salmon of wisdom swims, unseen for most of its existence. It’s in this place of feeling where we encounter our intuition.
It’s only through honing our abilities in the Via Negativa that we can harness the true power of our intuition. In learning to have ears to hear and eyes to see, we unlock a superpower within ourselves: the glorious gift of mindfulness that opens us to worlds unimaginable without it.
In opening ourselves up to the spacious way of seeing, in embracing our voyage across the great sea of unknowing, in learning mindfulness as a powerful way for us to perceive the world and connect to our own intuition, we are learning to surrender to the world; that is, to accept it, to open up to it, to let it flow in and through us so that we can see the moments where we can shift it, where we can move it.
The hardest lesson in the Via Negativa is learning when not to act and when to act.
It is hard for us to remain still. It is hard for us to observe and to just be in the moment and really assess what is going on around us. But only if we learn to access our deep intuition, that wonderful wellspring of knowing within us that is beyond words and often beyond images, can we connect to the great storehouse of wisdom beneath the surface so that we can achieve all that we desire.
Surrendering to the great unknowing is not giving in to it. It’s accepting its presence in our lives and learning to see beneath its vast surface to find the truth beneath it.
This is a talent that is developed over time, but one that can guide us to all wisdom if we have the patience to do the work.
Practice: The Flowering Sea
Preparation
Find a quiet place to sit or lie down. Let your body settle. Feel your breath. Let each exhale be a small act of release.
Begin
Close your eyes.
Imagine yourself seated in a small boat, adrift on a vast and quiet ocean. There is no moon in the sky. Only the faint shimmer of stars breaks through the deep indigo mist.
You are alone, but not afraid. The wooden boat rocks gently with the waves. Let the rhythm of the sea sync with your breath in… and out…
You do not know where you are going, and that is all right. This is the sea of unknowing. You are safe here.
Let the mist gather around you. Let it soften the edges of thought. Let it carry away the names of things. Let it carry away the need to understand.
There is only the sound of water, the beat of your heart, and the rising of breath and wave.
Shift
Now, imagine another presence. Not far off, you hear the quiet voice of Manannán mac Lir. You cannot see him, but you feel the words rise like wind behind your shoulders.
“You see only waves. But I see a plain of flowers. The sea is in bloom.”
Let the words settle in your mind like seeds.
Inhale deeply.
And now, imagine the waves parting, not as crashing water, but as tall grasses swaying. Petals unfurling. A field of wildflowers stretching in every direction, as far as you can see.
What was ocean is now a plain. What was mystery is now beauty.
Let yourself walk across it in your mind. The boat becomes a cradle of earth beneath your feet. You are grounded in wonder. Surrounded by color, scent, and breeze.
This is the deeper truth, revealed not by understanding, but by letting go.
Reflection
Ask yourself:
What waves in my life are hiding the flowering field beneath them?
What surface illusions am I ready to release?
Can I surrender to mystery, not to be lost in it, but to bloom within it?
Breathe in the scent of the sea-flowers.
Breathe out everything that no longer serves you.
Return
Slowly, let the flowers fade back into mist. Let the mist become sky and sea once more. Let the boat return beneath you. Let your awareness return to your body.
You are still in the sea of unknowing, but now you know there are blossoms beneath the surface. You carry that knowing with you.
Take a breath.
Wiggle your fingers.
Open your eyes.
Closing Blessing
Holy One of the depths,
you who stir the unseen waters,
who walk the mists with silent grace,
thank you for guiding us across the threshold of the unknown.
We have entered your sea of unknowing,
not to escape the world,
but to embrace it more deeply,
to see through its surface into the mystery beneath.
Help us remember:
That stillness is not idleness.
That silence is not emptiness.
That surrender is not defeat.
May we carry the flowering field within us,
even when the waves rise high.
May we listen to the voice of intuition,
even when words fall away.
May we trust what we cannot yet see,
and give thanks for all that is becoming.
As we return from this sacred drifting,
anchor us in peace,
root us in wisdom,
and send us forth with eyes that see beyond.
So be it.
And may the tide bless our way.