The Hare

This morning, I drove Andrew to the train station. On the way there, we passed some roadkill — a rabbit. At first I thought it was a hare, but then I corrected myself and said it was too small. In any case, it was obviously fresh, and the local corvid population was already enjoying the feast. And so does the wheel of life turn…

On the way back however, just as I’d passed the roadkill again, something flashed from the bushes — and I braked, hard. The hare stopped in the middle of the road, all long and lithe and large, and stared at me with liquid eyes. For a moment, everything stopped. The sound of the radio drained away, to be replaced by the sound of a heart beating — mine or the hare’s, or maybe the Earth Mother’s, I wasn’t sure. The hair prickled on the back of my neck. But for one long second we stared at each other, the hare and I, and then it was gone — leaping easily across the remainder of the road, and into the undergrowth.

I didn’t think we had hares in this area; in fact, I’m pretty sure we don’t. Nonetheless, a hare stopped my car this morning. Am I to take this as a sign, or pure coincidence? Given I had a bit of a crisis of faith at the start of this week — one that is slowly resolving, with me beginning to feel not only back on the right path but even more sure on said path — I’m not exactly leaning towards the concept of “concidence”… And yet still I remain torn.

The hare is a symbol of the Goddess, and offers gifts of awareness, creativity/fertility, speed, and transformation. Ever since I saw my first hare — last June, whilst staying at a health spa with Andrew — I have found my thoughts returning to the hare again and again, but without any time to properly research or discover the hare’s teachings. The famous image of the moongazing hare is one that has repeatedly drawn me, but with no action on my part. And now this…

Maybe the Gods are trying to tell me something, and I’ve just been too wound up in my headspace to take heed. That should change. Going back to the beginning, back to being aware — simply aware, simply connecting — would not be a bad start. So, brother/sister hare, what secrets do you have to share?