This week is the half way point between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere, the time of Imbolc, a time to celebrate the start of the earth awakening as we are starting our slow journey back towards the sun, It is still very much Winter so we may not feel it at the moment but our temperatures will start to slowly rise, this will bring with it the wonder of nature that is new life, the sap will rise, unseen by us, inside the trees bringing with it new energy.
Wish for the Fields
Night is dark and cold and long,
Winter's hold is still so strong.
But beneath the earthen crust
underneath the frozen dust
Life is growing, moving, thriving
roots are drinking, resting, striving
Buds are swelling on the trees
In the hives still sleep the bees
But moving, humming, strumming, sing
Soon we all will welcome, Spring
M. Johnson
The days are very slowly beginning to lengthen, have you noticed how it is a little lighter, from one week to the next, particularly in the evenings? It really feels like we are heading towards the time of Spring when that starts to happen, doesn't it, that extra light gives us hope and prepares us for the warmer temperatures that we know will come in the weeks ahead.
During the dark time we have looked to our inner strength to grow and support us. It has helped us to release our fears, a journey that we started at Samhein by bringing them into focus and recording them, leaving them behind, maybe you did this in the flames of a fire. We have been resting and recharging over Winter, now is the time to truly say goodbye to and cleanse ourselves of those thoughts that give us doubt and lessen our intuition, releasing our fears can help us on that journey to make peace with them, making space for us to welcome in new plans. We can then start to use our inner strength to bring forth our visions as ideas for the future.
The Earth around us will begin its slow journey of waking after its rest in the coming weeks that take us to the Spring Equinox. This is a time of new beginnings, the buds will soon appear, small shoots will poke their way through the soil, you may have already seen these, the snowdrops are just starting to appear where I live. As the nature spirits begin to stir, waking from their long sleep and seeds long buried and beginning to wake and shoot; this is a time for us to sow the seeds of new plans and new beginnings, those that we started to think about back at the time of Samhein and have been starting to give shape to since the Winter Solstice, over the coming weeks our seeds of a new beginnings, plans, learning or adventures can start to take more shape.
I like to think
That, long ago,
There fell to earth
Some flakes of snow
Which loved this cold,
Grey world of ours
So much, they stayed
As snowdrop flowers
Mary Vivian
If it is your thing, doing a Rising Meditation at this time of year can be an amazing way to feel connected to the earth and to absorb its rising energy. If you get yourself into a comfortable standing position, perhaps with bare feet and/or closing your eyes if you want to. Staying still, feel the ground beneath you feet, feel its energy, feel that energy flowing into your feet, up your legs into your body, into yours arms, your fingers, up your neck and into your head. Feel that energy flowing through you, strengthening you, holding your hand, guiding you in the direction that you want to go. Think about your positive qualities, those things that you are good at, you are an amazing person, you can use these qualities you value in yourself in the year ahead, they will serve you well.
We can also use this time to cleanse our lives physically too, maybe giving away possessions that we not longer have a use for or perhaps stopping an activity or job that we find draining and get no pleasure from and that we have the ability to change. Decluttering our homes is a really rewarding thing to do, if it feels like a huge task, start with one small area, or a cupboard, take your time and don't try to do it all at once.
If you have absorbed the rising energy of the earth, try and make time to feel that rising energy again over the coming weeks; use that energy to bring your seeds of new plans and beginnings into being. As we emerge from our restful state, as we absorb the energy from the Earth may our actions be guided by the reflective, feeling and caring side of ourselves, the path of our heart where we follow our dreams and deepest wishes. May we pledge to ourselves to listen to the path of our heart and to our intuition, the inner voice we often quieten with our doubts, but which is so often a voice of wisdom.
