A tale of Mist and mystery
by Eleonora
We all need the time to take our bags and hit the unknown.
We crave climbing peaks, and with them, uncovering layers from our skin, unstripping that which is known, routine, and disgustingly familiar. It’s been stained by our daily lives, and on the other side of the peak eeres the magical, the enchanting, the unknown.
On the morning of August 19, I packed my bag, stuffing it with layers and layers of white clothing, and got on a bus.
When I arrived, I bought a raincoat. I’d never owned one, not even one in white. I got on the lift and clutched my grey backpack tightly, afraid it might slip. At the upper stop, I fell – the ground was wet.
And so was the entire expanse before me. Moist green grass magnetized the fog to the grey sky, blending them like watercolors on a rainy day. It was eerie, and I couldn’t see beyond the hill. All I could make out were tiny figures climbing humbly with their heads down.
I started walking upward too, falling into line and meditating on what I was about to experience. I tried to seize every detail with my soul, keeping it for later. We walked for about an hour and a half along the misty pathways.
At about 10:00, the pathway began to open, and I sensed we had reached the magnetic spot where Penurhytmy was about to take place. The misty air carried a scent of divinity, thickened from the elevated energy of those gathered. People dressed in white robes were heading slowly toward a circle I could only sense. I took off my shoes and jacket beside a pole, where a dog kept them safe, slipped into a white skirt, and walked carefree to join the circle.
The first song of Panurhythmy was playing as I stood on the outskirts, burying my feet in the cold ground and watching the movements play out in front of me for the first time. The circle was moving like a perfectly orchestrated spiral, gathering the ‘dirt’ from the earth and sending it toward the sun.
Swept by the vortex of the circle, I found the perfect moment to join and immediately fell into the rhythm of the Paneurhythmy dance.
I welcomed the Divine New Year for the first time in my life – or at least intentionally. For one hour, I curled my bare feet into the ground. The drops bathed my feet in their fresh essence, and I kept moving forward despite the cold. I befriended the cold. My hands and face were too exposed to the mist’s crystalline drops, dousing my being.
The wetness pulled me further into the earth’s heart. I stood like a column, my roots nestled in the ground, yet I danced freely. Every movement flowed. I had disconnected from reality, as if God had lifted me and unfurled me across the earth, tapping me into the angelic dance. I simply smiled and observed.
After the last chord, we thanked those around us and wished each other a Happy New Year.
In Paneurhtymy, every dance, every exercise has a special purpose. It forms a symbol that communicates with the earth, with God, and with the Sun, the virtues of love, kindness, hope, and unity. Paneurhythmy, a sacred dance of 28 exercises, was devised by Peter Dunov, Founder of the White Brotherhood, about 100 years ago.
Since then, every year on August 19, thousands of people from all over the world gather next to Bubreka Lake, among the sacred Rila Lakes, to collectively dance Paneurthymy and welcome the sun. The date is believed to hold the strongest energy of the year, the so-called Divine or Cosmic New Year.
