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ovenbird
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Opposite of zenith is correct. From the point of view of the observer the zenith is the part of the celestial_sphere directly overhead and the nadir is the point on the sphere directly below the observer. And so the nadir is never observable, it is more of a felt thing, an invisible elsewhere drawing a line straight through you and up into the constellated void. It is the inverse of what is seen, it is everything hidden and only imagined. It is a mystery, all depths and darkness and wondering. Perhaps this is what we mean when we talk about hell–a thing that only exists in opposition to what our eyes can see, something forever obscured. We are born afraid of the dark and we die afraid of the dark. But let me argue that there is a beauty in it too, in that unknowable place. You can’t cast your eyes in the direction of the nadir but you can cast your mind in that direction, down through the imaginal strata, down into a place beyond dreams, where anything, truly anything, is possible. And you might just be able to send the lure of your consciousness into those midnight realms and come up with something that looks like peace. With our eyes locked on the highest star and our feet anchored by the ineffable we come to stillness at the center of everything that is, waiting for our turn to fall.
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250812
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