IMBOLC DREAMING

The feast of Imbolc sits around the first of Feb and is the first of the three Sping festivals that sit on the Celtic Wheel of the year . Imbolc is associated with both the Goddess Brighid of the Tuatha Dé Danann, (Gaelic: “People of the Goddess Danu”) and the Christain Saint Brigid. In Celtic mythology the Tuatha Dé Danann were a race inhabiting Ireland before the arrival of the Milesians (the ancestors of the modern Irish).Brighit is known as the Goddess of healing as well as of the ‘flame and well’ ( the forge ) in fact all crafts and creativity, poetry and childbirth-she liked to multi-task ! The Christian Saint Brigid the patron saint of childbirth-herself said to be the daughter of a Druid in some folkloric versions of her story – who is also honoured here.

This is the perfect time in the wheel of the year to think about the seeds of our lives and what we should like to see and what we would like to be in the coming year. Can we plant the seeds of unity so our fractured, divided communities may come together? Can we plant he seeds and intention for a better world where we cherish what we have, celebrate the earth and our communities and foster equality for all?

During this time we can tune into the stirring earth , the rising sap, the catkins, birdsong , early shoots and although it feels like deep winter the signs of early spring are all around us if we care to look.

As seeds harbour the ultimate act of creativity ,life itself and Brighid is very much the nurturing feminine archetype of creativity. It was said in Irish mythology that he God Ogma gave the people Ogham script (the original Gaelic script) but it was Brighit who taught the people how to make the art poetry with it. I think this is a great time of year to actually create , make art , poetry as a way to both tune into the energy of the year and to express love for the Goddess and life itself. Within this process we can make creativity a sacred act of honorific spiritual expression which honours the energies of the earth and the Goddess and our true-selves.

It was in this spirit I created his image -as an expression of the season , celebrating the energies of new life stirring in the earth itself…of creation. I don’t see he Snowdrops as delicate symbols of the scared feminine – I see them ( as I do the sacred feminine ) as in possession of raw power – able to push through frozen soil and concrete with grace and ease.Within the ephemeral beauty of the Snowdrop we can also see a symbol of strength, determination and most of all hope.

Without hope …we have nothing.

To hope is to dream.

The season of Imbolc is a space to dream and dream again.

A space to plant positive intentions and plans so our future selves may reap the harvest of the seeds we planted.

What seeds will you plant ?