Remembering Woodstock

Time & Place—and Finding the Magic

I was so sorrowful that I couldn’t go to Woodstock in August 1969. I mean, I was 14 years old and only 90 miles away. What was I thinking? 

Well, I didn’t have a way to get there—and I had a summer job.

Still, I must have known, on some level, that Woodstock was going to be a defining event in history.

What Woodstock became is, to me, an example of what I think of as a “time and place” event. Could it have happened a year earlier? Three months later? Would the same magic have occurred?

I’m talking about those particular moments when time, place, people, and circumstances come together and something magical or significant happens. The chemistry just works.

Looking back, we remember those moments.

Maybe it was a particular time in our lives, a summer, a gathering of people, or even a house or address where we lived. Whatever it was, we remember it as special in some way.

And often, we don’t realize we are in the midst of something significant until much later.

I don’t believe we can make these moments happen. But can we open ourselves to the possibility of experiencing them? Can we become more receptive to the magic that can emerge when we are in the right place, at the right time?

I decided to ask my cards:

“How can we be open to finding the magic of time-and-place moments?”  More specifically, how do we participate in creating the conditions for these moments without trying to control them?

I pulled the Knight of Wands from the Thoth Tarot, the King of Wands in most decks. 

This Knight asks us to shed old beliefs and get clear on our vision. He encourages us to be committed to spiritual growth. Stay present without even thinking if or when a magical moment will occur. Oh, and have fun!