 The end of January, beginning of February in the Northern Hemisphere seems too early in the year to turn towards renewal. It’s been cold and rainy here, and the gray seems to drown out much of the signs of spring. During this time, nature maybe turning towards spring, but the signs are subtle, and we must attune with great awareness to witness them.
Nature, while extreme at times (hello climate change), also speaks in more nuanced and quiet ways. This time of year, a cross quarter time, whispers are the main inflection of the moment for the natural world. Quarter times are like quarter moons to me, very potent moments that are often overlooked because they aren’t considered sexy enough in a culture that equates spirituality with what it can consume. But as we know, life infused and embodied with spirit isn’t about glamour and big moments, but about whispers, nuance, and almost imperceptible signs. The quarter days of the wheel of the year are days that follow between the solstices and equinoxes. They are the places that if you give enough attention, you can see the ratio of day to night shifting, the plants changing, and the energetics of the season rewiring. This late winter/early spring festival is traditionally known as Imbolc, The Celtic pagan holiday. Snow drops, fires to St. Brigid, healing herbs, and clearing out the old is often how one marks this “quickening of the year.” It is the fertile darkness that is rich with possibility and knowing. My invitation to mark this turn of the wheel is to reflect on what is stirring for you? What is striving to breakthrough? Even if it doesn’t make it, the honoring of what was reaching for renewal is so important. The honoring that something inside was stirring, is the smallest action needed. Turning towards what was even if it never comes to light is a powerful act to honor what grows within you. A spiritual life isn’t about what was accomplished and beholden by everyone. That’s our dominant cultural overlay. In the spiritual life it is enough to whisper the inner knowing and let it land in your heart. The honoring and the witnessing is the sacred ritual. We need to retrain ourselves to honor our inner whispering without the push towards continuous action. Sometimes this honoring brings up grief and sadness for what we long for but aren’t able to bring into creation. You aren’t doing your spiritual life wrong if that happens. We live with practical constraints and real societal structures that are limiting. But those structures can’t take away the knowing and the honoring. Just to witness parts of ourselves that we have pushed away because “it’s not possible” is a deep source of healing. Until we turn our gaze to something and acknowledge it we can’t possibly know what opportunities it holds. If we continually turn away from ourselves we will not be able to truly turn towards another. With so much of our world in turmoil and chaos, it is hard to find the steadiness and the consistent. For many it is the world outside, our relations that reside in the natural world - the trees, plants, oceans, rivers, animals, the sky, the planets, the stars. These quarter wheel days are a wonderful way to honor and say thank you to this constant and steady source of inspiration, regulation, and connection. Whisper to the leaves that are energetically forming on the trees, whisper to the plants making their way to the surface, and whisper to the wind your prayers and burdens. These small acts of connecting and consecration are how you LIVE a spiritual life in a modern world. One small act at a time – a perfect honoring for Imbolc – the day that honors the hidden that will soon be seen. Warmly, Valerie
0 Comments
 Imbolc is the time of year between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. This is possibly my favorite time of year, at this time in my life. The balance of day and night, cold with the promise of new growth, and yet still social acceptable to hibernate. Each one of us has a season we favor. Have your favorites changed over time? Mine have and to me this reflection of how and why mine have changed has brought some welcome insights.
When I was young, I would say summer was my favorite - hello, no school and abundant pool time (I love water). As I reached my adulthood, fall was my favorite, the return of school (learning in connection), the crisper air, the vibrant colors, and some of my favorite food flavors in abundance. At some point fall gave way to spring, a season filled with hope and newness. And now this year, I notice my love for this midwinter point, Imbolc. The trees are still bare, modeling strength in vulnerability, the air is still cold, the night is still abundant, and even with winter still heavy in the air, signs of new growth are visible in the garden. The very tops of the peonies are a few millimeters out of the ground, and daffodil leaves have pierced through the winter beds. This moment, with just the smallest signs of a new season, the tiniest spark, is digestible to my being. This time is marked by turning towards nature in a variety of traditions: Imbolc, St. Brigid’s Day, Groundhog Day, Lunar New Year, Tu Bishvat (the Jewish holiday celebrating trees). Marking this time is as old as we are. May we find comfort in the subtle signs that something new is on the horizon. My invitation for you during this touchpoint - what are the arcs that you have witnessed in your own being? How many Imbolcs have you witnessed? Where were you 5, 10, 20, 50 years ago during this season? What new majestic caverns have been carved within throughout those eras? Drop by drop is the everlasting way. Each Imbolc lands differently year after year. When we start to measure our lives by nature's time, we see our evolution in a more spacious and grace filled way. Instead of beating ourselves up for not moving fast enough, or hustling to accomplish, we witness the smaller, deeper changes of the caverns within. And those changes that move at a slower pace, that consider time in long arcs instead of bite size 24 hours, 30 days, 1 year, anchor us again and again into our way, not other people's way. My hope is this season offers you a gentle reflection of how you have shifted throughout the weather of your life. That you allow yourself to be in whatever season your find yourself in, knowing others have been there before you. And that this Imbolc is the reminder that the smallest signs of life find us when we are deep in wintering. May the fires burn bright for you during this season of hope and renewal. Blessings, Valerie |
Blog Archives
September 2024
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed