Sep 6, 2007

Single-atom entanglement goes further

Physicists in the US have managed to entangle two individual atomic ions that are one metre apart. Their system, which is the first to uses photons to remotely entangle a pair of atomic ions, could pave the way for the construction of practical quantum information networks (Nature 449 68).

Copied from my personal journal by request from sammaelhain

One of the most special moments I can remember was one still autumn night about 4 years ago in which I was having doubts about pretty much everything I thought I was. It was an evening in which October and I had planned to cast a circle together and perform a ritual. I decided I couldn't do it as I was feeling too weak. He took my hand and led me outside into the back garden. At the time we lived somewhere with a fantastic countryside view and being a clear night we could see for miles to the hills in the distance, and the moon was full. He held my hands up to the sky and told me to close my eyes and breathe deeply. I felt the magick entering my body through my fingertips and running through my veins. It quickened me. October spoke softly to me in my ear and asked me how I felt and to describe who I was. I felt as though I was the goddess, I was everything, and it didn't matter who I was, what I believed or what my personality was made up of. Because for that moment nothing mattered, I couldn't think, could only feel and the world was my own.

I often go back to this moment when I am feeling weak and need a boost to my magick confidence, or when I am doubting myself. And everytime I do go back, the scene seems to become stronger. Sometimes my thoughts wander back there when I am feeling particularly magickal or full of mysterious energy. 

I wonder at times whether I draw strength from a moment in which I felt strong, or whether the only reason that moment was so strong was because I worked with it so much in the years that followed. A sort of time magick thing.

Other small things that have had me considering time of late may or may not be of any significance. I had a very painful leg the other day and had absolutely no idea how I had hurt it. It went on for a couple of days, the pain, until I knocked it in exactly the place it had been hurting. Ah, that explains it, I thought. During the same week I pulled out a knitted patchwork quilt my gran had made for me. I was drinking milk at the time and accidently spilled some onto it. Ahh, that explains why it mysteriously smelt of milk when I first got it despite it never having been used or spilt on before, I thought.