Nancy Lankston
We have arrived at Imbolc – the halfway point between winter solstice and spring equinox.
Days are lengthening, seeds are stirring, animals are birthing. Mama Earth is beginning to awaken from her long winter slumber.
Celebrate that spring is on its way.
#Imbolc
#cycles
#seasons
#WheeloftheYear
Image: Imbolc – The Maiden Awakens
by Annie Louvaine
As our Earth grows dark tonight
and the north winds blow,
As the fire dwindles to ash
and ice blankets the land,
May the light of our Sun
find its way home.
~Nancy Lankston
✨
#solstice
#dark
#light
✨
Image: Celtic Tomb,
Ireland
Originally published November 1, 2017
Certain times in our lives are filled with potency and magic. Twilight is such a time, as is dawn. These are magical moments when it is neither day nor night. Birth is another potent in-between time, along with death. These special times mark borders and transition zones. The in-between is a sacred time when magic is afoot.
Here in the northern hemisphere, we find ourselves on the boundary between autumn and winter. The light is slowly fading away as our Sun drops lower and lower in the sky and our nights grow longer. This is another potent in-between time. The ancient Celtic people would celebrate Samhain (Sow-in) at this time. Some tribes chose to celebrate at the 1st new moon after late harvest (November 4th, 2021). Other tribes celebrated at the 1st full moon after harvest. The celebration of Samhain was a beautiful way to honor the seasonal transition out of the light and into the dark.
The veils between the worlds grow very thin during this sacred in-between time. Loved ones who have departed this Earth are believed to be nearby. Many people in Mexico honor this by celebrating Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) at this time.
Samhain is the perfect time to acknowledge and celebrate the sacred cycles of birth – growth – death – rebirth that are an integral part of Nature.
🍁
Some suggestions for acknowledging and honoring the magical in-between time of Samhain:
Take a few moments to honor everything you have “harvested” this year.
Bow to your ancestors and thank them for giving you this life.
Offer love and prayers to loved ones who have transitioned.
Thank the brilliant light of summer and embrace the deep dark of winter.
Listen for spiritual guidance to help you in the coming year.
May I trust in the wisdom of the plants and the animals and the water. May I hear the message whispered in my ear that is for me alone. May I live with confidence that my soul is eternal and my heartbeat and the heartbeat of the world are one. May I remember the Earth is my Mother. May I feel my hand in Hers and have no fear. May I welcome the gifts that come my way.
~Linda Heisel
Irish Waters by Nancy L
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
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
♡