Is it really getting lighter?
I am really asking myself that question. There are still too many cloudy, or partially cloudy days to sometimes tell, but on the days where the sky is clear.....ah yes, I can definitely see and experience sunset after 5pm, and I relish in it. But the fact too that I'm seeing some trees and bushes with little "budlets" on them, even though I know full and well it's too early for them, fills me with the hope that Spring is truly on its way and the sunlight is gaining ground.
In all honesty, we're only half way thru the winter......and, admittedly, it has been a mild one, so I have been out and about locally, even during the dark time. That being said, I am really enjoying the longer days. That ol sun just looks and feels soon nice!
Imbolc is a Celtic feast referring to "ewe's milk", for this is a time when most livestock such as sheep and goats start lactating again in preparation for spring births. The time of milk means that dairy foods like butter and cheese are once again able to be enjoyed and celebrated. So too are the lengthening days celebrated. Great bonfires are lit on Imbolc eve to welcome back, and also encourage the sun to keep on it's journey to making the days longer and warmer. Yes, fire is very important, it transforms, purifies and tempers. And this is a time of change and transformation as winter slowly starts melting into spring.
So we look to Kenaz, the fire rune for Imbolc. This is a time to prepare for Spring, to make our plans and set our goals. There is still inner work that needs to be done yet, let's call it spiritual spring cleaning before the physical one gets done. It is a time to clear out that within us that is no longer needed, so that we can be cleansed of what has held us back or buried us like the thick winter coats we look to soon shed.
Fire transforms by burning. It cooks food, heats our homes and lights our way. This is in a controlled fashion. Now think about a blast furnace in a steel mill.......molten metal smelted to burn out impurities, then tempered and strengthened so it can be formed into something useful. Then the most powerful aspect of all, a wildfire in a forest, or a volcano erupting, clearing away everything they touch, yet at the same time, renewing and creating new space.
This is a time to start fanning the embers of the fire within us into a bright flame, and to feed that fire that it may become the beacon that draws others to the offer of light, hope and renewal
For this time of year, consider this mantra: Burn away that within me which is no longer needed, that I may be cleansed and renewed.
May it ever be so, and may your light shine brighter than ever! Hail the returning sun!
In all honesty, we're only half way thru the winter......and, admittedly, it has been a mild one, so I have been out and about locally, even during the dark time. That being said, I am really enjoying the longer days. That ol sun just looks and feels soon nice!
Imbolc is a Celtic feast referring to "ewe's milk", for this is a time when most livestock such as sheep and goats start lactating again in preparation for spring births. The time of milk means that dairy foods like butter and cheese are once again able to be enjoyed and celebrated. So too are the lengthening days celebrated. Great bonfires are lit on Imbolc eve to welcome back, and also encourage the sun to keep on it's journey to making the days longer and warmer. Yes, fire is very important, it transforms, purifies and tempers. And this is a time of change and transformation as winter slowly starts melting into spring.
So we look to Kenaz, the fire rune for Imbolc. This is a time to prepare for Spring, to make our plans and set our goals. There is still inner work that needs to be done yet, let's call it spiritual spring cleaning before the physical one gets done. It is a time to clear out that within us that is no longer needed, so that we can be cleansed of what has held us back or buried us like the thick winter coats we look to soon shed.
Fire transforms by burning. It cooks food, heats our homes and lights our way. This is in a controlled fashion. Now think about a blast furnace in a steel mill.......molten metal smelted to burn out impurities, then tempered and strengthened so it can be formed into something useful. Then the most powerful aspect of all, a wildfire in a forest, or a volcano erupting, clearing away everything they touch, yet at the same time, renewing and creating new space.
This is a time to start fanning the embers of the fire within us into a bright flame, and to feed that fire that it may become the beacon that draws others to the offer of light, hope and renewal
For this time of year, consider this mantra: Burn away that within me which is no longer needed, that I may be cleansed and renewed.
May it ever be so, and may your light shine brighter than ever! Hail the returning sun!
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