Category: Mother Nature

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The Fire and Ice of Brigid

Fire of Imbolc

I had the great fortune to be on the west coast last weekend for a wonderful workshop led by Nan Moss and David Corbin. What a great group of shamanic dreamers! We journeyed and explored the nature of weather on planet Earth together. Nan and David are amazing guides and teachers. It was an incredible three days.

The only down side to my ‘dreamy’ weekend was that I didn’t have a chance to celebrate Imbolc, a traditional Celtic festival day that marks the halfway point between winter solstice and spring equinox. For my Christian friends, the holiday (holy day) of Candlemas grew out of ancient Imbolc festivals.

My Celtic ancestors held Imbolc celebrations to honor the imminent return of spring. Ironically, when I flew back to my home in the Rockies on February 3rd, it was 11 degrees below zero. And since then, it has snowed twice and been bitterly cold, with temperatures barely creeping above zero. And yet I trust that spring will return soon, no matter how foul the weather is outside. Underneath the cover of a foot of snow, tiny seeds are stirring and Mother Earth is quietly preparing herself for spring.

This year, I decided to celebrate Imbolc with a daily fire in my fireplace. A traditional Imbolc festival would be marked by the entire village feasting and attending a big bonfire. But for me, a small fire burning in my hearth seems just perfect this year. Snow falling outside while a fire burns in my hearth; what a perfect blending of fire and ice!

I have been sitting in front of my little daily fire, dreaming up new classes, and meditating on the Goddess Brigid (AKA Brigit).  Brigid is a fiery Celtic Goddess who is said to reign over the powers of poetry, inspiration and metal smithing as well as the healing arts. She has been associated with Imbolc since ancient times. And Brigid has proved to be quite a tenacious Pagan Goddess; when Christianity took hold in the Celtic world, Goddess Brigid simply morphed into the beloved Saint Brigid who continues to inspire many Catholics and non-Catholics even in this cynical modern age.

Brigid is very special to me personally; she has spontaneously appeared in my dreams many times. She seems to come whenever I need to stop, reflect and find new inspiration. This week she has shown up with messages about how I can release troubling family patterns and allow my writing to bloom in new ways. I LOVE it when Brigid shows up in my dreams! Her fiery energies seem to fill me with new insights and ideas.

As our days slowly lengthen here in the northern hemisphere, Mother Earth begins to rouse from her winter slumber and quietly prepare the ground for spring.  And, if you allow it, this icy time can be a time of inner fire and inspiration. May you find a few moments to pause, reflect on your dreams and light a flame both without and within. As winter slowly melts away into spring, may you be inspired by nature’s fire and ice.

Click here to learn more about Imbolc and the Goddess Brigid.

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In Rhythm with the Moon

Shifting Rhythms of the Moon
Shifting Rhythms of the Moon

Where is the moon tonight?  

Is she up yet? 

What aspect of herself is she showing?

☾ ☽

 These are the questions that come to mind when I gaze at the night sky.  Maybe it’s because I’m female. The ancients claimed that all women are creatures of the moon. Or maybe it is because I was born in the early morning hours before dawn, just as the moon became full. And on that night many moons ago, the moon rose in the sign of Scorpio, the keeper of the night and the dark mysteries of life, death and rebirth.  I am a moon baby.

For whatever reason, I have been fascinated by the moon for as long as I can remember. My ancestors used the cycles of the moon to track the passage of time. And I still do the same  – in fact, it stuns me that the Gregorian calendar in use all over the world is not linked directly to the cyclic movements of the earth and moon. That’s why we have a silly Leap Year day every 4 years – we need to “correct” the errors in the Gregorian calendar!  Whoever thought it was a good idea to ignore astronomy when creating a calendar?!

In every solar year (the time it takes mother earth to go all the way around our sun), the moon goes through 13 cycles. There are 13 lunar months in each year, not 12. And within each lunar cycle, the moon slowly shifts from the dark phase of a new moon, gradually showing more and more of herself (waxing) until she  complete reveals herself at the full moon. Then she slowly wanes, showing less and less of herself in the night sky until she is not visible at all. Then the moon cycle dance begins again.

These cycles where the moon is constantly shifting and dancing with how much she reveals of herself seem quite female to me. There is nothing linear about the moon! And I find that women are typically more changeable and moody and rhythmic than men, whether we care to admit it or not.  🙂

“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: 
a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant,
and a time to pluck up that which is planted; 
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up; 
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance…”

~Ecclesiastes, King James Bible

Our ancestors planned their sacred rituals around the cycles of the moon; they knew that each moon phase holds a specific power. So, when the moon was fully revealed in her full moon state, the ancients celebrated and worshipped the divine feminine energies of birthing  and completion. Even today, wise midwives plan their schedules, knowing that many, many babies are born when the full moon exerts her pull on pregnant wombs! Full moons are times of completion.

In contrast, when the moon is hidden from view in her new moon state, the ancients saw it as a potent time to plant the seeds for new projects and begin new ventures.  Even the timing of farm planting and sowing was tied to the moon cycles in ancient times; not so silly when we realize that the waters and tides of planet earth feel the pull of the moon as well.

The next time you’d like to start a new project, try starting it during the dark phase of the new moon. And when you are ready to celebrate an accomplishment or rite of passage, hold your celebration during full moon time. Synchronize with the rhythms of the moon and see how much potency organic timing can add to your life.

I love watching the moon go through her dance from dark to light and back to dark each month. I am definitely a moon baby! And I plan to continue my love affair with the rhythms and cycles of the moon until I leave this earth. It keeps me connected to the cycle of the seasons in a deep meaningful way.

 

 

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Flooded

Flooded
Flooded St. Vrain
One broken day
When old hurts break free
From my deepest dark
Held silent too long.
 
Watery flow
A thousand tiny teardrops
Flood from every pore  
Pain long hidden.
 
This deluge
blots out sun and moon
Leaving only darkness
In its wake.
 
I wander
Stumbling over the bones
Of old memory
Dreaming of peace.
 
And slowly
The cloudy waters subside
I surface to find
A fresh, beautiful space.
 
I am new
A raw space of possibility
Old sorrows washed clean
Ready to receive.
☾ ☽
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A Bit of Perspective

Cold Beauty
Cold Beauty

I woke up to -4 degrees. Brr! Even the dog wants to stay inside today.
And yet it is so beautiful out there; a brilliant blue January sky, piles of new snow glistening in the sun… Mother nature is putting on quite a show.

A friend of mine shared a wonderful little video about this beautiful blue planet we call home that I want to share with you. It offers a stunning “big picture” view of our Earth that instantly widened my perspective. Amazing to see my home floating in the vastness of space! I hope you enjoy this short video as much as I did.

http://youtu.be/923jxZY2NPI

Let’s preserve and cherish this tiny blue planet we call home.

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Solstice Blessings

December 21st marked the longest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. And today is Christmas. This is the time of year when Mother Earth seems to be dead and lifeless. It can be difficult to believe that spring will ever return when a cold wind blows all night and icy sleet covers the ground. And yet, the days will slowly lengthen from here; the earth will warm and six months from now, we will awaken to the longest day of the year.  Nature’s rhythmic seasonal cycle is one of the innate blessings of life on Earth.

For me, winter solstice is about embracing Mother Earth as she rests for a season. It’s about learning to love the dark, quiet energies of winter and death.

My Celtic ancestors called this dark season Seed Time; long, cold, dark winter nights are the perfect time to dream of the life we want to create in the new year.  Just as Mother Nature gently holds flower seeds safe in her dark soil until it is time for them to stir and grow, we too can honor our dreams for the new year by holding them safe within our hearts in these dark cold days.  We can gently love each little dream and nurture it until the right and perfect time comes for it to grow into a new reality.

To everything, there is a season. And now tis the season to dream big and seed the new year. This song by Enya celebrates dreaming in the dark quiet of winter:

O mor henion i dhu:
Ely siriar, el sila
Ai! Aniron UndomielTiro! El eria e mor
I ‘lir en el luitha ‘uren.
Ai! Aniron…
[Translation]From darkness I understand the night
Dreams flow, a star shines
Ah! desire EvenstarLook! A star rises out of the darkness
The song of the star enchants my heart
Ah! I desire…
☾ ☽
Composed and performed by Enya,
Lyrics by Roma Ryan

 

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Rooted in Nature

Ancient Pine

“If we surrendered to earth’s intelligence
we could rise up rooted, like trees. ”

~Rainer Maria Rilke

Can we live joyfully in harmony with nature?

Most modern city dwellers are completely out of touch with the cycles of nature.  And we have created such a long path between natural cause and effect, that it is difficult to see what we are doing to ourselves.  It is far from obvious to a suburban family that the water coming from their tap started out as rain or snowmelt flowing into a nearby reservoir.  The water flowing from their tap seems endless no matter what the weather does.

Most of us have no idea where the wheat was grown that made our morning bagel, much less if it was a good year or bad for the wheat crop.  Did river water diverted to a low reservoir near Denver hurt the wheat crop in Garden City?  The trail from cause to effect is so long that the average person has no idea what effect their actions have on the natural environment. And this disconnect is at the root of many modern problems.

We have become blind, deaf and dumb to our role in the natural world.

No matter how much we try to tame and “civilize” this world with all of our technical wizardry – and no matter how smart we think we have become – we are still animals governed by the laws of nature. And I wonder what is truly civilized about dishonoring and destroying the planet that feeds us?

Insulating and removing mankind from nature is not the answer; it is the problem! From disastrous weather changes like the recent floods and typhoons to radioactive pollution so toxic it will haunt our grandchildren for generations, we end up hurting ourselves every single time we choose to ignore the laws of nature.

The answer is to reconnect with the natural world.
The answer is to shut up and listen to Mother Nature.

I want to embrace and understand my natural connections. And I want to honor the beautiful and gracious mother that provides for me;  I want to pause and be grateful for the snowfall that becomes the water I drink.  I want to spy the first shoots of pale green prairie grass pushing up out of the spring earth, and remember that the cattle herd on the hill will consume them and turn them into food for me.  And I want to take the time to honor the trees that stand silent in the meadow and offer the oxygen I breathe.

I want to pause each day to acknowledge the many gifts Mother Nature provides for me.

☾ ☽

Thank you, Mother