Gift Focus Post of the Month: Glowing

We’re taking a close look at the twelve gifts, starting with the twins’ gifts, and then making our way through the poem:

The Lady Illusion gave us a set of twelve
Twelve children, twelve months, and twelve gifts as well
Inner and outer vision, levitation
Fire, water, transformation
Glowing, healing, communication
Singers, dancers, model makers

July’s featured gift is... Glowing. Here’s a little from Rose’s journal about the gift:

The glow can be all different colors, or change colors. Every Ambrosi has a natural red glow. For everyone else, the red glow requires extra effort, whether they have the gift or not. The glow is also used quite often in everyday life, just for light. It’s considered one of the magical basics, along with outer vision and levitation.

​The glow is another gift valued by June’s warriors, because it’s used so often for both everyday purposes, and used in fighting. While those with the fire gift tend to come with reckless personalities, those with the glowing gift don’t have as many strong stereotypes associated with it. Some say the stereotypical personality traits of the gifted are optimistic, responsible, and potentially deceptive, but these aren’t as widely accepted as traits of other gifts.

​Glowing is considered a “round” gift, meaning it doesn’t have a direct flipside. The high level is generally thought to be controlling light on a wider scale. Some say the flipside is “creating” darkness. This is done through illusions based on controlling light, which is where the “deceptive” personality stereotype comes in.
 
Glowing is most closely connected to levitation and fire. It’s often symbolized by a candle, lantern, or firefly.

Eva is multitalented, and gifted with both dancing and the glow.

Ellie and Savannah using the glow on their journey to the Center of Magic.

Fun fact about the twelve gifts:

Each gift is said to have a high level and a flipside. Both are difficult to achieve, because in some cases, the high level is said to be unattainable (for example, no levitator has been able to fly), and in all cases, the flipside feels unnatural (like, when the twins use theirs for the first time in The Mansion’s Family). Because of this difficulty, some people discount the idea of high levels and flipsides, and don’t believe either actually exist. “Flipside” is also an oversimplification, because while it’s common to hear “there are two sides to magic,” that’s more a figure of speech than an accurate reflection of how magic works. Magic is multifaceted and complex. In some cases, gifts have clear flipsides (like healing). Others, like the glow, are considered “round,” with no obvious flipside, only theorization.

Click the covers to check out the series!