Looking into Imbolc

The beginning of spring, the lambing season. everything is pregnant waiting to be brought forth. time to declutter, clean out, organize. the seed planted at winter solstice is starting to grow…..you can’t see it now, the work is all done in the dark, but so, very so, you will see the very beginnings of what is to come. buds grow big, the bird songs increase, the bright bright sun in gorgeous blue skies, the first scent of spring in the air.

i do have to admit that this really isn’t my favorite time. from a young age i felt this time of year was dead, about death. the dirty snow and slush, the cold biting wind, the garbage and road kill uncovered by the melting of the snow. i long for the warm breezes and the small first leaves of growth.

i am exploring those feelings of this time of year and what this time of year brings forth. Funny thing…..beginnings are always messy and dirty…..it is in the beginning mistakes are made. well i am bringing the light of the season into my home. the days are growing longer, i can feel the weight of winter lifting and the excitement of the new season (i MISS my garden! waiting on my seed catalogs). speaking of the garden, it is a time for dreaming! i have many plans for the garden and i can’t wait to get out there in the dirt.

Here in Michigan the weather is reminding us that the cold and snow are not done. That we can dream of spring and summer all we want but we have to find the patience in the weather we are given today. Imbolc feels like a time of patience to me….even more so htan kids waiting for Christmas presents. There is a whisper on the wind, a promise with each new day that spring is coming. That life will begin again.

Pictures from the last week at our place.

Well shoot, this was suppose to be about the symbolism of the season, not some brain dump on this time of the year.

onward and upward then…..

This is the time for water, running water, melted water, the flowing nature water has. the great cleansing is coming as the water begins to move again. Released from its frozen state it is able to run free again. the gurgling and dripping adding to the music of the season. using water from a well or fresh running stream to paint with is one way to incorporate the season into your art

in a book i have ( The Green Witch by Arin Murphy-Hiscock) i was reading about the tides of the year, the ebb and flow, the waning and waxing, the inward and the outward, the cycling of the year. The period between the winter solstice to the spring equinox is known as the cleansing tide. Spring Cleaning, out the old, it is the time of year for making space for the growth in the upcoming year. (Think about your cleaners now too. replace the toxic cleaners with friendly ones. for the environment of your home and for the planet).

Trees are rowan, mountain ash(Pyrus aucuparia) gives you the power to do anything, protect home and family and willow (Salix alba) helps release sadness and grief, protect your home, heal body and mind.