Be Careful Tonight (Dispatches from the Underground)
After all, A Midsummer Night’s Dream was a documentary
Greetings, friends, at the beginning of Midsummer’s Eve — the most magical, mischievous, and tricksy night of the entire year. Need examples? Check Shakespeare’s play or, for a more modern retelling, A Midsummer Night’s Trip, a two-part podcast episode from 2017 chronicling the MIS-adventures faced by myself and my coterie during a particularly wild and spirit-influenced Midsummer’s Eve.
To be sure, most of the trickery is due after the sun sets — playful (but sometimes mean) sprites like Pan enjoy the cover of darkness best of all. Because this most magical night is also the shortest, the late-hanging sun means you’ve got extra hours to get yourselves home and safe before the elves and gnomes and Robin Goodfellows come out to play.
Should you DARE venture forward under tonight’s stars (or clouds and thunderstorms, however the case may be), stay safe. If there is a chance that you will get lost, you will get lost. If something seems even possibly to be an illusion, it is an illusion. If you hear strange voices or oddly attractive singing, don’t fall for the bait!
And if you DO find yourselves the victims of the games our spirit-friends like to play this time of year, think of the experience like being caught in a riptide. The danger is real, but the safest course of action is just to avoid fighting it directly, let the current carry you a short ways because it will eventually release you and let you swim to shore. After all, the dawn will soon come, bringing the glories of the solstice itself.
Should you, however, remain prudent and behind your closed doors — or at least in your yard or on some kind of friendly territory — it’s important also to avoid missing the moment. Cock your head and strain your ear for the otherworldly sounds you won’t get but a few nights a year. See if you can see the dancing fairy-lights or the elf-music. See if you might notice a couple minor gods or angels walking the street, talking together, catching up, reminiscing, and scheming the night away.
They’re out there. So be careful — but not TOO careful.