Out of the woodwork
The id comes out to play
It’s that time of year again. As the leaves fall, the id rises, pulling up old passions and pains. People start wondering about past decisions, daydreaming of what might have been. Some of the best memories get mixed with the worst, enhancing regrets and pushing people to the brink of impulse, to leaps from the present to the past in search of ideals unattainable — stars they just can’t get out of their eyes.
Deceit is in the air. Personal demons claw their way to the surface, and people consider following them foolhardy into some vague promise. Lies come easily. Anything in the id’s way seems fair to brush aside, deceive, or even destroy.
Superego crashes party; Ego cleans house
I’ve always seen it in myself, and am used to this cycle yearly. Sometime around March the superego kicks in, searching for perfection, ashamed of the id’s recent mental frolics. By May, the ego is back in charge, trying to keep everything copacetic, realistic, responsible, by-the-book.
Demons everywhere
This year I’m noticing it all around me in others. It’s really quite fascinating. I wonder if there’s any connection with these impulses and Samhain, and we begin the darker half of the year? Were these personal demons brought about by the coming of the dark half? When people used to walk between bonfires as a “cleansing,” were they trying to cleanse their souls of their id’s autumnal influence? I find the question fascinating, and won’t ruin it by searching for an answer.