IMBOLC

The passing of winter into spring.

Imbolc is the marking of the halfway point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. It is where we start to notice that the days are not so dark nor short.

There is a whispering of beginnings and newness in the air.

So it may not quite be time to plant things in the garden both metaphorically and physically, it is the time to get rid of the detritus of winter.

Imbolc itself is grounded in four principles -

Purification

Creating Energy

A Time Of Refresh

Welcoming The Light

It is comforting for us to remember that we are not different to our ancestor who honoured the cycles, remembered the symbology and thrived through the rituals associated with the passage of the year.

By creating a ritual where we bid farewell to the affects and influences of winter we are going to be convincingly communicating with our central nervous system.

Our systems love rituals, especially the brain.

The defining features of rituals, repetitive and rigid movements, provide a buffer against uncertainty by evoking a sense of personal control and orderliness. The very act of engaging in a scripted sequence of ritualistic movements tricks the brain into thinking that it’s experiencing the pleasant state of predictability and stability.

The brain hates uncertainty. It would do almost anything to have familiarity.

So the more that you can bring ritual into your life, then the more the brain will be disposed to feeling comforted with what is happening.

What better then than to have the symbolic rituals of Imbolc, an ancient fire festival, to bid farewell to the messages and shadows of winter and to usher in the potential of the spring?

I have prepared an IMBOLC offering for you all to have and you can find that HERE.

If you have been heeding the processes that I have been writing for you so far then you will have understanding on what needs to go and what needs to be welcomed in.

You will also have been resting, recuperating and reflecting on what you would like to create to make your world better (and kinder).

It is almost time to be putting into action those creation ideas.

Not quite yet, but almost.

Take some time right now to purify, energise, refresh, and, let the light in.

I intend you benefit from taking this time.

If you do not have time, then investigate what could be more important than preparing yourself for the challenges to come in the year.

These answers too could be illuminating.

There is no right, there is no wrong, there is just what you need, not what you want.

For all of us there is our own individual pathway, we do not always see the route, but we always are traversing down it.

In winter, I plot and plan. In spring, I move.