Winter ends, Spring begins
Happy Winter-Ing!
Today, February 1st is a special day to me for a few reasons. Nine years ago today, my first son was born - in the middle of the night, in the middle of a snow storm. Birthing him was a long, intense experience that made me feel like a bear sinking into the dark, quiet of a cave. He arrived Earthside, and I emerged as a different person - the day of his birth also marking the day I became a mother. It feels fitting that this day lands at the midpoint between the Winter Solstice and the Vernal Equinox. We’re still feeling the raw, cold days of Winter but Spring is just around the corner. In Celtic traditions, this day is celebrated as Imbolc (pronounced im-molk), which is the cross-quarter holiday of the hearth, invoking the elements of fire and water, and honoring Brigid, the goddess of fertility and protection. The main intentions I invite to set on this day, this year are:
Patience, Preparation, Purification, and Protection.
Warmer weather and longer days are coming and it’s as though the Earth is asking for our Patience, to continue to rest and dream for the next few weeks of Winter before we really start to feel the turning of the wheel into Spring. This time of year is also associated with fertility and Imbolc translates to “in the belly”, similar to the word umbilic, meaning the center, a middle point, a nurturing link or connection. Mama Earth is pregnant with seeds, just underground, ready to burst forth in Spring.
But for now, we are invited to Prepare for the coming season in our thoughts and actions, making plans and laying the groundwork. Just as the squirrels prepared back in Autumn for the Winter, by gathering nuts and padding their nests, we can prepare for Spring in these last weeks of Winter. Are there seeds to gather, tools to find, and travel to plan for?
In another week and a half, it will be the Chinese New Year, Year of the Dragon. This tradition welcomes Purification, by cleaning, clearing, de-cluttering. Letting go of those ideas, habits, beliefs, or behaviors that hinder instead of help your growth. Imagine the fire-breathing Dragon, burning off all the old, dead weight in your life and as you sift through the ashes, find what remains. What is still important? Ask yourself this question and in the quiet stillness, listen for your answer.
When we discover what is important to us, we hold it close and Protect it, as a mother does for her children. We can ask the Divine for protection for ourselves and our families. Protection from the suffering of change and the wisdom to melt into transformation instead of resisting it.
Some questions you can ask yourself as you consider this special time:
What is important to you?
What are you preparing for?
What are you purifying in your life or body?
In what areas of your life are you going through a “fire”?