Viraneut. The Tide of Doing Vira. The Tide of Loving.
On 21st June: the summer solstice and first day of summer, the Method Tide changed from Vywineut (the Tide of Flowing) to Viraneut (the Tide of Loving).
As summer starts our attention shifts from going with the flow of the water of spring, to enjoying the heat of summer. We move from the spiritual aspect of flowing to the communal aspect of loving. Our attention shifts to the outside, to enjoying the heat with our loved ones; both the heat of summer and the warmth of love, of vira.
Earth & Fire
Every Method Tide has two natural elements associated with it and for Viraneut these two elements are earth and fire. Earth is the element of the season of spring, and has been present in the previous two Method Tides which took place in spring. Because we are now just emerging out of spring and into summer, the element of earth is still present, albeit not as the focus. The focus of the Tide is the element of fire, which is the element of summer.
The purpose of this Method Tide is to focus on the element of fire as informed by our previous focus and appreciation of the element of earth. This can be understood by looking at the Kibtisk Notions which draw from those two elements.
Ardt & Vira
As you probably know from previous posts, the Kibtisk Method is based on the philosophy of the Kibtisk Way. The Kibtisk Way has four Core Notions, which are drawn from the four elements.
The Notion of the ardt has been present for the entirety of the Kibtisk Method so far this year. This is because it comes from the word for 'earth' (yarda) and is therefore strongly linked to the season of spring.
As mentioned above though, the focus of this Tide is the element of fire. The Core Notion that is associated with fire is that of vira (hence Viraneut).
Vira is love, warmth, the home, family and friendship. It is the hearth and home; it is the fire of friendship; it is the warmth of family.
When combined with the ardt, vira is understood as an action flowing from within. Viraneut means "the Tide of Doing Vira", and with the ardt present in this Tide, and with it having been present in the previous two Tides, Viraneut is all about doing vira from within.
We spent the first Tide (Badineut) focusing on the ardt, then we spent the second Tide (Vywineut) focusing on the flow of spirituality (vywe) and appreciating this flow in light of what we uncovered about the ardt. Now we come to the third Tide of Viraneut, focusing on vira in light of these two things: the state of our ardt, and the way it causes us to flow. From this place of introspection and spirituality we shift our focus outwards to the people in our life, drawing upon the lessons of the previous two Tides in order to do vira to those people.
Doing Vira
Doing vira is exactly that - doing. The Kibtisk understanding of love is not solely sentimental. Vira is something that is both within us and without us. If found within us it is to be expressed (literally ex-pressed: pressed out) in action. If it is found outside of us, it is to be received graciously, allowing it to warm our ardt and stored until we can express it.
Understanding this in line with the two elements of ardt and vira, Viraneut can be understood as not only the Tide of Loving, but also the Tide of Warm-Heartedness.
Thus, doing vira is about actions of warm-heartedness. It is loving thy neighbour as thyself; it is doing unto others what you'd have them do to you.
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| Kibtisk Bible Translation: "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love." 1 John 4:7-8 ESV |
Ways to Do Vira
One of the nicest ways to practise vira during this Tide is simply to have a meal together with your virzones (loved ones) - these can be your biological family, or your close friends, or a mixture of both. To represent the Tide maybe have the meal around a campfire or some candles. Maybe try and have a weekly vira-meal.
Other small ways you can practise vira are through simple acts of kindness: being the warmth and light for somebody, even if only for a few seconds can have an effect. Smiling at someone, making a colleague a drink, letting someone through a door first, phoning someone who might be lonely, and generally treating people with actions which come from a place of warm-heartedness is what Viraneut is all about.
There are of course larger ways to practise vira: giving money to charities, donating food and clothes to shelters etc. and if you are able to do these things then you should, not only in Viraneut.
Summary
However you observe this Tide, the point is to observe it together. This Tide is not a time for introspection - it is a time to go out into the sun with loved ones and warm our hearts, and carry that warmth out for others. Summer is when the earth is warmed, so let's warm our inner-earths this Tide.
Don't forget to follow me on social media for updates (@kibtiskhub & @petrekibtzone) and join the Kibtisk community on Reddit (r/Kibtisk). Maybe we can even practise vira together online.
Until next time!
Ihra
Petre
Kibtisk Practitioner
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