The flying unicorns will reappear and all will be well.
Like dragging a magnet through iron filings, the eclipse that passes over Casper will draw power as it moves across the country. That’s what the magical people say.
The solar eclipse begins Monday morning as the moon slowly passes between the Earth and the sun. When the shadowy disc of the moon is perfectly aligned, at 11:42 a.m., night will suddenly fall across Casper. It will linger for 2 minutes and 25 seconds before the sun emerges as a sliver of brilliant light on the other side.
Druids, witches, pagans and Wiccans are looking at this eclipse as a significant event, and many are heading to the Casper area, where the time of totality is one of the longest in the country.
Those who practice magic will cast spells, form circles and direct their will toward a purpose. For Oberon Zell Ravenheart, an author and wizard from California, the purpose is awakening. He, Nella Forest and other local witches will congregate at Beartrap Meadow on Casper Mountain. For a Colorado man named Ken Biles, who goes by Greyhart, it will be enhanced communication. He and others from Colorado will watch from Glendo Reservoir in Converse County.
“Magic takes energy,” explained Forest, a witch who runs Pan’s Grove in Casper. “During an eclipse there is an immense amount of energy.”
Witchcraft practitioners don’t agree on many things, said Greyhart, an IT professional. There are various sects. Some are Greek-witches or Norse heathens, following the magic and mythologies associated with those historical groups of people.
Most, like Greyhart, connect with nature, their beliefs gathered over time from others, or from their own trial and error.
The significance of the energy generated by the path of the moon between Earth and the sun may differ from witch to wizard, but most agree it is a time of power, Greyhart said.