I have become a Whovian, thanks to my grandson Dayan. And today, my journey led me into the Doctor Who universe for my first ever Doctor Who inspired holiday. July 8 is Bad Wolf Day, a remembrance of character Rose Tyler, the 10th Doctor’s beloved traveling companion. On this date, nine years ago, Rose and The Doctor were separated when Rose was trapped within an alternative universe. One of the saddest scenes in Doctor Who history took place during the Doomsday episode, as Rose and The Doctor said good bye to each other.
The words Bad Wolf are significant. During Rose’s time as a companion to The Doctor, the pair repeatedly saw the words “Bad Wolf” during their adventures. The words showed up on signs, flags, corporations and as graffiti on walls, parking lots and even on the TARDIS, on alien worlds and the Earth, in the past, present and future. Rose thought the words were a warning of impending doom. However, we find out during the episodes Bad Wolf and The Parting of the Ways, that the words are actually a trail for Rose to follow, a trail that she created herself, to lead her to the place she needed to be, to save The Doctor and the Earth. The words later appear to The Doctor as an indication that Rose is involved in mysterious events happening around him, even though they are living in different universes. Always, the words Bad Wolf are connected to Rose.
To celebrate Bad Wolf Day, and remember Rose Tyler, Whovians are encouraged to write her signature words on anything and everything. Dayan and I agreed, this sounded like fun! We participated by writing Bad Wolf where we could, individually and when we had the opportunity to spend time together this afternoon. During lunch we enjoyed this activity the most, creating a sign to hang on a bulletin board in a local burger restaurant, and literally playing with our food to spell out the words. I used catsup to write Bad Wolf near my burger and fries, while Dayan spelled out Bad Wolf in Morse code, using tater tots as the dots and segments of French fries as dashes. Rose Tyler would have been proud!
We concluded Bad Wolf Day by watching Doctor Who, of course. I am steadily making my way through the seasons this summer, so that I will be caught up and ready for season 9 when it begins this fall. It has been incredibly fun, not to mention addictive, to watch this British series with my grandson. I love that we share this love for Doctor Who and can discuss the show and all its themes, plots and intrigues. I find the series to be extremely clever and well written, and I often ponder over the episodes long after the credits roll.
In fact, I thought much on the theme of Bad Wolf and the idea of leaving clues for ourselves sprinkled throughout time. I love time travel shows, thoughts and speculation. While I am not consciously able to travel through time, leaving clues for myself, I still wonder about the possibilities. Could my future self send energy back to my present self, in the form of echoes, dreams, visions or synchronicities? I’ve long pondered on such things. In my world, and from my experiences, I’ve learned anything is possible!
What if, I wondered today….what if, instead of words as clues, we have déjà vu? Déjà vu, which is French and means “already seen”, is the strong sense that a situation or event that is currently being experienced, has been experienced before. It is a remembering, of something we are only now experiencing, often for the first time.
I frequently experience déjà vu and I’ve always been curious about the phenomenon. In thinking about it today, and connecting it to the celebration of Bad Wolf, I remembered that years ago, I had a unique experience involving déjà vu. Greg and our three children and I had had a week’s vacation in California. The morning we were flying back to Joplin, I began to experience déjà vu, repeatedly. At the hotel, at Los Angeles Airport, and then at the Denver, CO airport, the feeling of having lived the day before grew stronger and stronger. By the time we were waiting in Denver to board our last flight home, I was experiencing déjà vu every few minutes. I grew concerned over why I was having such a sense of repeating the day.
By the time we were all seated in the airplane, preparing for take off, I was nearly in a panic. The strongest déjà vu had happened as I took my seat on the plane and saw the pattern on the wall, at the front of the cabin. I was convinced I was having such rapid déjà vus because this was to be my last day on Earth. I was sure the plane was going to crash. I glanced out the window and noted that a thunderstorm was rapidly approaching, as we sat waiting to taxi out onto the runway. The pilot announced that he was watching the storm also, and that we would most likely experience turbulence as we lifted into the air. Yes, we were going to crash, I thought.
I had not said anything to my family, about the day full of déjà vu. But my older daughter Elissa, seated across the aisle from me, was tense and watching me with a look of concern on her face. She knew I was feeling something. And I was. Should I get my family off the plane? Did I need to brush off the sensations and relax? Did I need to accept the inevitable?
I decided that whatever was going to happen, I had been given a “head’s up”, a warning. I smiled at Elissa. And then relaxed, sat back and closed my eyes. With all my heart, mind and soul, I searched inward and then reached outward. I prayed. I asked for protection for the plane, the passengers, the pilot, co-pilots and attendants. I surrounded the plane with protective energy, a huge bubble of white light. I mentally pushed the storm back, and released my own anxiety and fear. I called on angels to come alongside and to surround the plane as well.
As the plane began rolling down the runway, gathering speed, I did something I have never done before, or since. I used all my focus and ability to gather energy beneath the plane and push it upward. As we lifted into the air, I “saw” myself helping the jet to lift and stabilize. I practically lifted myself out of my seat, I was concentrating so acutely on rising. It was a rough ascent. And then, we rose above the turbulence, above the storm that was closing in, into the sunshine and calmer air currents.
Immediately, everything I had been feeling fell away. I opened my eyes and sighed deeply and relaxed again completely. The flight home was smooth and uneventful and I had no more déjà vu that day. I don’t have an explanation for what happened. I don’t know if the déjà vu was a warning that drew my attention to what could happen, during take off. I do know the almost constant sense of having lived the day before put me on alert, and the feeling seemed to peak as we boarded the plane. Did I help the plane rise into the air? Did I prevent an accident? I’ll never know for sure. I believe in the power of prayer and I believe that I can act on what I am being shown, no matter what anyone else believes.
The words Bad Wolf led Rose to the exact place she needed to be, to do what only she could do. Perhaps, just perhaps, déjà vu did the same for me, providing clues that were scattered throughout my day, designed to catch my attention and raise my awareness. At least, unlike poor Rose, I didn’t end up falling through a rift in time and space, ending up in an alternative universe! I arrived home, safely.
