It feels appropriate to acknowledge that this day and night combine the Snow Full Moon and the festival known as Imbolc, which in the northern hemisphere marks the point of mid winter, halfway between the Winter Solstice and the Spring (vernal) Equinox.
The precise date when Imbolc might be celebrated varies, depending on which calendar, astrological calculation or spiritual practices and beliefs you follow. I find that the more I enquire and read, listen to others opinions and then pay attention to nature and the elements in my own way, the less important a precise date or even a festival name becomes. Names are useful as reference points for common understanding but unlikely to be the words used by our distant ancestors in describing their own rituals and practices. Therefore I am becoming more and more reluctant to use terms such as Celtic and Medicine Wheel when we have no evidence that the first inhabitants of our lands would have identified themselves as such, or embraced these models.
There is nothing wrong with modern constructs and ways of explaining which are relevant to the ways and times we occupy today, as long as we are also able to strip back all the add-ons and view the cycle of the natural world as our forebears would have experienced it. In order to remember how we are part of that cycle, not separate from or merely observing it. I suspect that those who went before would be very puzzled by how many folk no longer recognise or respect the rhythms of life, and they would be very unsurprised that this lack of connection and understanding contributes to so much chaos, greed, resource exploitation and the climate ills that we now suffer.
We are physically made of all the same materials, chemicals and elements that all life consists of - each variation having its own arrangement, blueprint and energetic signature. The 'wheel' we speak of is simply our planet Earth's natural cycle in conjunction with and relation to the Sun and our Moon, and the place where we happen to be located in our great Universe.
The more I sit within these cycles the more I understand about how they affect me personally, the more aware and attuned I become to the interplay between internal and external energies of the seasons.
Much will be written today about the shifts, the tipping point from deep rest and slumbering winter and the surge of energy as the natural world prepares to launch into Spring proper. Similarly how how our deep winter reflections have germinated and how auspicious a time this is to prepare to birth new projects and nurture them in the visible world.
I notice that this is not a sudden transition but all part of a dynamic ongoing process with many rhythms, sometimes relaxing, slowing, and sometimes speeding up vigorously. The pace and flow are not always constant.
Wandering out today, reflecting on this season I am grateful for the break, albeit half a day, from the relentless wind and rain of the last month. Wind and water are such powerful elements. I am increasingly convinced that these uncharacteristic weather changes are clearly telling us that our planet is under stress and trying to balance the effects of climate change. Unless we are prepared to listen we can expect much more of the same in years to come.
Yet despite the long dark wet days of January there has been discernible change right on time ... grey daylight stretching slowly to an hour longer, the first snowdrops pushing through the leaf mulched sodden ground. Most of the beech leaves have now gone from the trees and hedges - the last few clinging until new growth or the next strong wind force them to relinquish their tenuous hold. Here in Scotland the Gorse flowers sporadically all winter but the the narcissus leaves are already following the snowdrops and will soon add their own splash of vibrant colour. New green leaves are appearing on the banks of the burns even though the waters continue to run high and fast
When I walk or sit in contemplation I feel the ideas and intentions I have for the few next months taking shape and form, and the energy that will be required to turn these into actions is beginning to rise.
If you are in ceremony today with friends, or simply marking the day in your own fashion as I did out with my dog and bringing home a few snowdrops for my sacred space, may the Blessings of the season be yours and the intentions you are bringing forth come to fruition as the year progresses.
Add comment
Comments