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Now that it is February, it feels as if nature is gently beginning to awaken from its long slumber - and we, too, may soon begin to feel the subtlest stirrings of energy within our own lives.
The lighter, sunnier days of Spring are on the way and Winter is slowly passing. There is a freshness and a newness to the air that seems to whisper, it is time to begin.
February holds within it a sense of hope and promise - an energy of possibility that coaxes us out of our shell. Nature is beginning to emerge, and we, too, may feel that now is the time for us to spring to life.
Crocuses crown the hillsides in swathes of regal amethyst purple, and yellow-green catkins sway in the branches of alder trees like wind chimes, softly brushing against the small brown 'cones' that house the seeds.
Fluffy black and white long-tailed tits are busy nest-building, and delicate snowdrops dance in the breeze in clouds of milk-white clusters. Whenever I spot a snowdrop, I remember my aunty who always looked forward to their appearance as the 'first flower of the year'.
This is a time of new beginnings, and it is this sense that lies at the heart of the ancient Celtic seasonal festival of Imbolc. Imbolc is celebrated here in the Northern Hemisphere on February 1, and in the Southern Hemisphere on August 1.
At Imbolc, we find ourselves midway between Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox. We are at the halfway point between the shortest day of the year and that moment when day and night are of equal length, heralding lengthening days and the return of the light.
Meaning 'in the belly' or 'ewe's milk', Imbolc is a celebration of the start of Spring, named for the lambs soon to be born and the seeds stirring in the soil.
Beneath the ground, many seeds are softening, slipping their seed-cases, and stretching up toward the sunlight. What seeds that lay dormant within us as we wintered have suddenly begun to stir to life?
At this time, too, the ancient Celts would have remembered Brighid, a goddess of hearth-fire and fruitfulness. Candles would have been lit and a Brighid’s Cross woven and placed over the front door - a sign of thankfulness for the sunnier days that were now on the way.
Now is a time to look back and reflect, and to look forward and dream. What blessings are you thankful for, and what do you hope to see bear fruit in your life this year?
Within each of us, too, are the tiny seeds of our dreams. How can we nourish them so they germinate, sprout, and grow, in tune with the stirrings of a new season?
Within each of us, too, is a tiny flame. This flame represents our heart and soul, our life force and our energy, our values and passions, and our hopes and dreams. What tiny, tender actions can we take to keep our inner fire aglow as we gently approach Spring?