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After dawn, I drove past an automobile accident following a hoary frost. The car was flipped upside down, across the street from Wawayanda State Park. As I inched past the wreckage and the police cars, I shuttered and squirmed from the prospect at what had happened to the poor driver. There was no sign of her.

Some days, life thows you some real loo-loos. When the message hits soft, sometimes you get it, sometimes you don't. But then it hits hard. Real hard. Driving past the accident scene reminded me of the qualities of the Death Knight, or aconite. Aconite, also known as Monkshood, or Purple Death, as I call him, is an extremely toxic herb. In Chinese Medicine "it is considered an effective stimulant for the spleen and kidneys, and is a favorite treatment for malaise, general weakness, poor circulation, cancer and heart disease." (http://hpathy.com/homeopathy-materia-medica/aconite/).

I channeled the herb with a classmate while attending Partner Earth Education Center's Herbal Apprentice Certification Program a number of years ago. That summer afternoon, we approached the flower bed in a rather haphazard way, because a puppy dog was romping around us playfully. He was keeping us from respectful focus. While we collected and meditated on the plant, the suns rays absorbed into the water and brought out the soul qualities of the plant. As we had been taught, we each took a sip of the "mother" which was left from each clear glass bowl of spring water after we collected it.

On the way to the store, we stopped to buy ice cream. It became clear to the two of us just how toxic this plant was. Our throats started to burn and close up, and eating the ice cream didn't help. The toxicity was so strong, that we experienced mild panic from this acrid, sandpaper-like tightening. It was as if the tissues had clamped together and were leaving no room for air or moisture. It took close to four hours for the raspy sensation to go away.

The message from the plant? When things are not resolved, Purple Death cuts to the chase. He approaches with such a ferocity, one had better be ready for the change that is about to take place.

Not so co-incidentally, that morning after the car accident, a co-worker standing next to me had accidentally knocked a glass gallon milk jug to the floor. It smashed into pieces behind me. I said, "You know what that means, Lis'." She asked, "No, what?...My response was, "One of two things--it could have been a different message for either of us...but I think it conveys shattered illusions." (I joked about what the other meaning could have been.)

She looked at me thoughtfully, and said, "Thank You." I just tried to laugh it off.

Back to the car accident. During those two days I had noticed a pattern. People I was interacting with were either having a really, really bad day or a very very smooth flowing day. It reminded me of the contrast between the speeding driver and the peacefulness of the state park. Had people made a choice that day in compliance with truth and fate, or were they in opposition to it? The destroyer sometimes takes us when she loses patience with us. In this case, the destroyer took on the much more masculine qualities of aconite with his dark horse, armour, and shield. But at his core, he has the female energy of Shiva. He carries a sword, and he comes very, very fast. He usually comes into your life when someone around you is out of patience and severes the ties. He is never gentle. He comes when an individual is putting off the unpleasant and needs to "face the music." So, I thanked my lucky stars that the day went fairly smooth for me and into the next 48 hours.

My friend Janet stated this morning, "The moon energy tends to bring accidents!" I silently thought, "No duh. Aren't you a little late?"