A slow awakening
As we move through the winter months, it is always a delight to see snowdrops appearing.
A true sign that mother earth is yawning and stirring in the depths of the earth, where she has been cocooned, nurturing and nourishing for these past months.
They say that by the New Year young trees will start spreading their roots - maybe they are reaching out to the elders and being shown the way by these wise old teachers.
So deep down in the rumblings of the earth, there is already a preparation going on. Stillness is no longer quite as still, but certainly not as active as it will be in a few months time.
Today is Brigid’s day. She is an ancient Goddess of Britain and Ireland and also a saint. She was also known in some parts as Biddy and it is said that she watched over shepherd’s and their sheep. Often on the 31st January, people would make Brigid Crosses and place them above their doors.
We also step into the period of Imbolc, which signifies signs of the natural world wakening from spring flowers, new buds to lambing and nesting.
Imbolc is an old Celtic Earth celebration and it is often worth gaining an understanding of the harshness of the winters, to fully appreciate the celebration of this wakening, the importance and what it would have represented to them.
Last weekend when I was wandering, I noticed not only snowdrops but also what looked like new shoots finding the light through the earth of crocuses or maybe even daffodils (I will have to wait and see!)
All of this signifies a transition of seasons and this is a great time for me to reflect inwards. I personally, (as much as it is possible to do so) like to mirror the seasons of nature, in how I live my life. And I am noticing some resistance to waking up from the cocoon of nurturing and nourishment - the cocoon of silence and stillness. I am enjoying the gentle wanders, sitting and watching the clouds or the way the breeze moves across the land. I am also enjoying the early morning birds singing too; which is signs of wakening in the natural world.
I too feel that I must yawn for a while before allowing the slow growth and revitalised energies to show themselves to the world. Perhaps I have more time to continue my journeys within. Maybe, I can take more time to listen to my body’s nudges and sometimes whimpers; continually learning my souls yearnings and ways to fulfil.
Every season has so many blessings and Spring is one of my favourite times of the year. It has a sense of freshness and child like vigour that is felt in every cell of my body. I look forward to seeing the fresh shades of green and all the shoots, buds and leafs unfurling day by day. I look forward to being woken gently by the dawn chorus, smiling to myself with joy. I look forward to the blue skies, dry paths and lying back in the fields.
But for now, I will continue to yawn and stretch just a little bit longer
May Imbolc bring you many blessings and joy.