Nancy Lankston
This is the solstice, the still point
of the sun, its cusp and midnight,
the year’s threshold
and unlocking, where the past
lets go of and becomes the future;
the place of caught breath, the door
of a vanished house left ajar…
~Margaret Atwood
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Imbolc is upon us. Celtic stories tell us that the Cailleach—the divine hag Goddess who rules over winter and death—gathers firewood for the rest of the winter on Imbolc. If the Goddess Cailleach wishes to make the winter last a lot longer, she will make sure that the weather on Imbolc is bright and sunny, so she can gather plenty of firewood. But, if Imbolc is a day of foul weather, it means the Cailleach is asleep and winter is almost over.
The Cailleach was worshipped by the Celts as the sacred Earth Mother in her bare winter form. And she is not just a dark and evil hag who arbitrarily decides how long winter will be. The Cailleach is also the Bone Mother who collects the bones of the animals that die in the winter. The Bone Mother is said to sing or pray or sleep over the bones all winter long. She does this out of love, so that the animals will cross over and can return as new life in the spring.
There is a magic to Imbolc and the early days of February. It is there, running just beneath the surface. Can you feel it? Mama Earth holds the seeds of spring safe for us all winter. As the cold wind blows and the snow piles up, she holds them safe in her soil.
#Imbolc
#Bone Collector
#Hag Goddess
Today I am grateful for:
1. The dark half of the year. Time to slow down, dream, reflect, contemplate. #Darkness
2. Welsh Goddess Arianrhod. She lives in a wheel of stars at the center of the night sky. Arianrhod keeps the dead safe until it is time for them to be reborn. #RestingPlace
3. Celtic Goddess Elen of the Ways. She is a whisper, a gentle wind in the wilderness. Elen shows us our true path. #WayShower
4. The bone collector, a Celtic Crone Goddess who collects the bones of the dead animals all winter and sings them across the void to be reborn. #BoneSong
5. Hindu Goddess Kali. She dances a power dance and demands we embrace our shadow. #LookInTheDark
6. Babylonian Goddess Tiamat, the primordial power and chaos of the depths. She both creates and destroys. The early patriarchal kings claimed to have destroyed Tiamat, but we all know better. #Primordial
7. Ancient feminine energies / archetypes of darkness. These dark goddesses hold so much wisdom and power. #DarkWisdom
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Originally posted on Facebook, 11/28/19
Image: Paris Catacombs by Nancy L
There is confusion,
So much confusion
But try to breathe and trust
The green, the sprouting time
Is almost here.
This moment, this sacred moment
Is the dark just before dawn
Pregnant dark, promising dark
Luscious dark
That soon turns to light.
Breathe.
Breathe and Trust.
☾☽
Aries new moon
Let us bless the imagination of the Earth.
That knew early the patience to harness the mind of time,
Waited for the seas to warm, ready to welcome the emergence
Of things dreaming of voyaging among the stillness of land…
Let us thank the Earth that offers ground for home
And holds our feet firm to walk in space open to infinite galaxies.
Let us salute the silence and certainty of mountains:
Their sublime stillness, their dream-filled hearts.
The wonder of a garden trusting the first warmth of spring…
The humility of the Earth that transfigures all that has fallen of outlived growth.
The kindness of the Earth, opening to receive
our worn forms into the final stillness.
Let us ask forgiveness of the Earth
For all our sins against her:
for our violence and poisonings of her beauty.
Let us remember within us the ancient clay, holding the memory of seasons,
The passion of the wind, the fluency of water, the warmth of fire,
The quiver-touch of the sun and shadowed sureness of the moon.
That we may awaken to live to the full the dream of the Earth
Who chose us to emerge and incarnate its hidden night in mind, spirit and light.
~John O’Donohue
♡
Full moon in watery Cancer lights up the longest night in the northern hemisphere. This is a traditional time of rest and reflection. Sit in the stillness of winter solstice and breathe with the slow flow of nature in winter. Slow down and enjoy the quiet gifts of the season.
#FullMoon
#SolsticeLight
Creator,
bless my eyes that I may see with love,
bless my mouth that I may speak with love,
bless my ears that I may listen with love,
bless my heart that I may give and receive love,
bless my hands that all that I touch feels love,
bless my feet that my walk may be a prayer upon Mother Earth.
~Curandera Grace Alvarez Sesma
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Image: Mandala Offering to
Mama Earth by Nancy L