Saturday, July 23, 2016

The Witching Hour


(Recently I discovered that more than 30,000 people had viewed this post from years ago on my blog The 3:15 Club, so I decided to repost it here.)

According to an old Pagan belief, the time between midnight and 3:00 A.M. on the night of the full moon is the “Witching Hour.” During this period, the veil between the spirit world and earth supposedly thins, allowing entities from other realms to visit us humans.

Some Christians call 3:00 A.M. the “Devil’s Hour.” Based on the idea that Jesus died at 3:00 P.M., this theory proposes that the opposite point on the clock belongs to the dark side, i.e., demonic forces whose power is strongest at this time.



Visitations from the Other Side

Regardless of whether you subscribe to either of these concepts, you may experience unusual or inexplicable occurrences between three and four in the morning. Many people report hearing sounds or smelling aromas that have no discernable source. Others say they sense the presence of nonphysical beings––angels, spirit guides, deceased loved ones––when they wake during this eerie hour. One summer night several years ago, when my sister slipped into a coma unexpectedly, I awoke to the tinkling of tiny bells and the scent of her perfume. She died a few days later.

According to the National Sleep Foundation, “adults’ strongest sleep drive generally occurs between 2:00 and 4:00 am.” Researchers suggest that we reach the deepest levels of sleep between 3:00 and 4:00 A.M., and that the most vivid dreams of the night are likely to occur at this time. During this stage, our awareness may expand beyond the normal range, enabling us to perceive other levels of reality––and entities who inhabit those realms. If we’re fearful, or conditioned to believe that evil lurks in the shadows, we might interpret our early morning experiences as demonic rather than instructive.



A Time for Introspection

Yet many of us find ourselves wide awake at, say, 3:15 in the morning. This is the time when I often do my best thinking. With nothing to distract me, I can look more deeply at issues I’ve pushed aside during the daytime’s busyness. In the still of the night, my subconscious finally feels free to offer up insights I might otherwise block or reject, giving me a chance to explore them at length.

I must admit, though, I often feel alone and vulnerable in the darkest hours of the night. Problems sometimes look scarier, bleaker, more formidable and beyond my control. Perhaps that’s the real meaning of the “Devil’s Hour”––when we come face to face with our own Shadows (as Jung called the repressed part of the psyche), the personal demons that lurk in our inner darkness.



Do angels or demons visit you at night? Do you find the early hours of the morning serene or sinister? I invite you to share your thoughts and experiences.

8 comments:

Unknown said...
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Skye Alexander said...

Thanks for commenting, Cosmo. Interesting thoughts. I find this to be a very creative time too. Thanks, too, for reading my book "Sex Magic for Beginners." Glad you liked it.

The YouTube idea is a good one...except I don't know how to do that.

best regards,
Skye

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Skye Alexander said...

Thank you, Cosmo. I'd love to learn how to do a YouTube video. I may have to upgrade my computer however as it's nearing the end of its useful life. Probably the best way for us to communicate is via email--go to my website www.skyealexander.com and click "contact".

I'm glad you found my book useful and learned some things from it. That's my purpose in life, to share info and ideas. So glad we connected!

Jenne said...

Hi Skye,

I have been waking up at 3 am for decades, use that time now for journaling and studying Akashic Records.

Met you at the library and ordered your book on spirit animals, will be ordering more of your books.

Jennifer

Skye Alexander said...

Thank you for ordering my book, Jennifer. I hope you like it.

Journaling and studying the Akashic Records sounds like a good thing to do at 3 AM.

Hope our paths cross again.

Pamela said...

Hello Skye,
I found your website by a very strange experience that happened yesterday morning. First, I'm a newbie writer trying to figure out my writer's platform and basically ready to jump into the writing world. I awoke at 3:45amish, to the title of a possible book. Previously, I have always been a vivid dreamer and do believe in that there is something going on in the universe besides the people we vision see and interact with on a daily basis. I have been told many times throughout my 50 years that I have some type of ability to see, feel or predict things, and I have noticed that these things seem to happen pretty frequent. I think most of it is my age, and I'm in a more relaxed state in my life to be open to a world outside of my own.
I ordered your book on tarot cards, for I seemed to be called to this or whatever it maybe. Oh, and I found the Level Best Book site that has a writing contest for a mystery book. I don't live in New England but I may give it a try. I do love a good mystery!

Anonymous said...

Dear Skye,
My grown up children, gave me "Mermaids" to read, as a gift for Mother's Day. As I love the ocean and mermaids, it is so much apart of who I am. Thank you, for writing such a blessed book.
Juliette