"Dawn of a New Cycle" ((Inuyoko Mass #27))

"Dawn of a New Cycle"

by Inuyoko

Originally read in deoch 216 on 27th sun of the 9th moon.

((12/18/2025))

Hello, everyone. My name is Inuyoko T’Alveni. I am a Priestess of this Shrine, and a member of its clergy since deoch 53. Last double-moon, we spoke about trust. Today, we are about one double-moon away from the turn of the deoch, and the beginning of a brand new cycle.

Specifically, the 28th cycle since the beginning of the Aisling Age. Some of us have been around for many or all of them, and for others, it has been less than one. Since deoch 1, there have been four Major Octave cycles, with the turn of this year marking a middle point of the fifth. So, it can be said that this deoch 216, the year of Sgrios in the cycle of Cail, is turning over to deoch 217, the year of Deoch in the cycle of Luathas.

The concept of the Octave and its cycle is probably not unfamiliar to many of you, but there's a chance some of you have never thought about it much before. It would not be untrue to say that for most of us, there is no tangible effect on our day to day lives from it. At least not in ways that we are typically conscious of. But as we move through each period, octave after octave, there is a shift of some kind. Perhaps you’ve felt it in the past few deochs, as we have approached the end, and things wind down. Perhaps in the coming deochs, we will see things swing back to life in a different way. We can hope. But mostly, the marking of the passage of time is a way for us to hold reverence for our world and what the Octave represents. This can be done in so many ways. Perhaps we take each god’s deoch on its own. In the year of Deoch, we strive to appreciate the arrival of new sparks, or new life. Perhaps we decide to spend a bit more time at the college, appreciating artforms and poetry we might not otherwise – a celebration of the spark and a way of honoring Deoch’s gift to us. In the year of Glioca, we might try to be more mindful of how we treat each other. For Cail, we could appreciate the nature around us. The variety of types of life, the beauty of the trees and flowers, the grass beneath our bare feet. I could go on, but I’m sure you all understand the point. There is no right or wrong way.

As each deoch passes, we can also hold space for the celebration of the conjunction. This conjunction of Sgrios and Deoch to me represents rebirth. I think about the atavism, and the rebirth of our world from Danaan’s sacrifice and Chadul’s slumber. A new opportunity to define what we as humans – as Aislings – can be. The conjunction of course is, as Jean says, the transformation. When two gods become indistinguishable as the pointed wheel passes from one to another. I’m curious if you all have any particular attributes or concepts that come to mind when you think of the conjunction of Sgrios and Deoch. I’d love to hear your perspectives.

[listen to others, alt+j]

Thank you all for sharing your perspective. I mentioned earlier that the entirety of a cycle can be thought to represent a god as well, in its own cycle one order higher. If we consider that, then we are not simply considering a conjunction of Sgrios and Deoch, but also that through the lens of Luathas. It’s an interesting one to consider. We have the joining of two gods on the opposite side of the Octogram, and two whose natures ostensibly collide. I think it could be interesting to consider ways in which this three-way conjunction might manifest. You could interpret things in a very abstract way, tying their theological and philosophical concepts together, and it could work wonderfully. For the fun of it, let me offer a rather esoteric example of something a bit more physical. 

Have you ever seen lightning strike a tree? Have you seen the patterns that element can imbue into its wood as its energy travels through the grain? There is a very specific way in which this happens, and to understand it not only gives us some insight into the properties of wood itself, but also potentially a source of inspiration. To cut the tree or indeed to shock it is to cause it death. But once dead, it can be given an alternate purpose, as a canvas of sorts. The artistic wizard who has learnt how this patterning works very carefully uses their athar magic to create a tapestry of complex patterns in a very deliberate manner, refining it into a piece of art. And thus, we have one (albeit very random) example of an act which calls to my mind the essences of all three of these gods. I’m sure some of you can come up with other excellent conceptions.

And with that, I will leave our discussion of the cycle of the Octave for today. As we move into the next year of our god, let us all reflect on what the gods have given us through this cycle. Let us be grateful that we are here to see another one begin, and that the inevitable stagnation and ending that all things must eventually arrive at has passed us by once more.