Tāwhirimātea, why can't we see him?
Whiro (new moon) is on the rise - so be kind to yourself over the next few days - and that also means a new atua to focus on. We'll make this post a transition from Tangaroa (atua of the sea) to Tāwhirimātea (atua of wind).. you'll see why, just trust me ok. Cool.
I'm super stoked and blessed to live near the beach - that means I have easy access to Tangaroa, which means that anytime I want, I can just walk on down there to reenergise, reset and cleanse the energy I brought with me.
About two weeks ago I started to think of the next atua to write about. I went down to the beach, Tangaroa seemed to be calm and playful tonight, there was a light breeze but it's Perth, so it was still 30 ish degrees (joking but it was warm). I sat there and watched the waves flirt with the shoreline, I watched Tamanui (sun) sneak closer and closer towards the horizon.
Then my attention shifted to focus on the surface of the water. I noticed Tāwhiri dancing on top of it, causing the water to sort of whip up and form little breaks on the otherwise calm sea...
But I couldn't see Tāwhiri..
For example, we can see Tangaroa, he's the sea and the sea creatures. We can see Tāne Mahuta, trees and birds. We can recognise Whiro, physically, psychologically and spiritually. But we don't see Tāwhiri, so to speak.
We feel him brush past our skin and pull our hair here, there and everywhere; and we hear Tawhiri breeze by so we know he's there - we just don't see him...
The only time we see Tāwhiri in all his glory, is when he's interacting with other atua (elemental forces in environment), or when he comes into contact with someone or something else.* Stop for a sec, when you're ready, like actually make sure you're ready because we're going in deep. Kua rite? You ready? Ka pai, sweet let's go.
Tāwhirimātea, the air and wind, is formless. When his parents were in a tight embrace, he could move freely and therefore didn't mind Ranginui and Papatuanuku being so close together. Te Kore - the phase before Te Pō (darkness, taking on form) and Te Ao Mārama (world of light, physical word as we know it) is also formless. It's potential, thought and energy yet to be manifested..
wait, what.
So when you actually think about it, Tāwhiri's pretty boss, he's a physical manifestation of something that is actually formless - although he can only be seen when interacting with things external to himself.
Much like our own potential, aspirations and ideas.. they're there, but haven't fully manifested yet because alone, they remain just that; potential. But when we combine them with action, with systems, with external forces..
They manifest into reality.
Tēnā koutou,
Hana
*If you have an example of seeing Tāwhirimātea that doesn't include an external force, keep it to yourself.. haha nah please share! Comment, send me a message, and educate me please. None of what I say is gospel, only my perspective of a situation and one of the reasons I write this blog is to have a conversation about what's been written and form a deeper understanding, together! Anyway, if you know - ya girl wants to know too!
Hai tāpiri, on a side note: Tāwhirimātea is also sometimes referred to as the atua of the weather. The clouds, lightning, thunder, rain etc.. But I understand those elements as other atua; Tukapua, Whaitiri, Tamateuira, Te Ihorangi etc. who are descendants or connected to Tāwhiri, but not Tāwhiri himself. And therefore, not 'seen'.