Imbolc

By

Willow

Yule has passed with much celebration, time stood still for its allotted duration. People held their breath until the Sun King returned and breathed a sigh of relief when His first rays flooded the horizon. The Great Wheel began to turn once more. The old calendar year waned into the past and the New Year, 2008, has begun its cycle. The dark winter is still with us, but with Yule and the Winter Solstice hope of the light times ahead has been sparked. The nights are still long and cold; we huddle around our fires, much as Ancient Man huddled around the hearth fire, a pool of brightness in the disquieting dark, dispelling the fears of the unknown and soothing our minds. But even in the darkest, coldest night there is hope, because we know the Wheel turns, slowly, slowly; the darkness recedes second by second as the days begin to lengthen. The Light will triumph over the Dark as it always does as the year Waxes and the Sun grows into its power.

January can be a harsh month with snows and frost and storms. We feel locked in Winters grasp, wrapping ourselves in layers, scarves, hats, gloves as we fend off the chill to go about our daily business. We often feel flat at this time of year. The festivities are over, the decorations have been packed away and the credit card bills come tumbling through the letter box to land with a dreaded thud upon the mat. We long for the warmth and light of Spring when life seems brighter, easier. Many people just see the bleakness of this time of year and do not acknowledge what is happening quietly around them. Beneath their feet, under the earth in parklands, gardens, fields and forests, the land that seems still and dead is stirring. Root systems are beginning to grow; seeds that nestle in the protective and nurturing earth are starting to germinate. Catkins make ready to unfurl and buds are swelling on the branches. The livestock on the farms are already giving birth or are at least pregnant with their young. Life is making ready to burst forth in a matter of weeks. Even the air is different, one can smell the changes taking place around us if we but take the time to notice, and of course the quality of the light is different too. Soon the hard winter ground will warm just enough to allow the snowdrops and crocuses to push their way through in defiance of Winter to herald the return of the Spring/Maiden Goddess and carpet the earth in a myriad of colours. The grip of Winter is loosening its hold.

This is the time that I call the "Quickening". It is something you "feel" almost as anticipation; gentle butterflies in the stomach, a sudden intake of breath as you catch the changes in the air currents, a feeling of waking up after our own winter's hibernation. The Spirit within us begins to stir and rouse and with it comes a sense of newness and beginnings. From Samhain to Winter Solstice we were "sleeping", turning inward as the Earth turns inwards, conserving our energies, dreaming, contemplating, planning. With the New Born Sun we began to wake, to stretch our bodies and our minds, and now with the promises of Spring we begin to plant the seeds of our future, of all that we contemplated over the Winter, of all that we dreamed.

We feel all of these things, those of us who are lucky enough to be aware of the turning of the Great Wheel and what is teaches us, much the same as Ancient man felt all this and much more. His existence was harsh and his realties even harsher. At the Samhain feast there were more faces around the fire than would be at Imbolc. The Winter would have taken at least some of the old and very young if it had been particularly hard. If the harvest had been poor then the people would know what it was to go hungry. Imbolc would have been a real time of hope shining out of the darkness. Although there could still be hard times ahead, the signs of new life stirring all around would be a welcome sight, one that would warm the heart. The time of hardship was almost over; the time of plenty was just on the horizon, not yet in reach but no more than a breath away.

As the Wheel turns and the Earth begins to wake, so to does the Goddess ascend from the Underworld, released by the God, knowing that he can no longer hold Her. She comes to the world bringing the gifts of the season - growth, fertility and procreation. As the God has released the Goddess from the Underworld, paradoxically it is She who leads the young Sun King forward and introduces Him to the world. Imbolc is therefore also a time for the celebration of the Goddesses recovery after the safe delivery of the New Years Sun King, coming as it does 6 weeks after the Winter Solstice. The new Sun King re-appears as a young man and the love between the Goddess and the God promises fulfilment, growth and fertility. As they walk across the land snowdrops push toward the light, lambs take their first faltering steps, crows start to nest and mans heart fills with the hope of the coming season. We cannot help but feel the stirrings of the new love blossoming between the God and Goddess if we but know how to connect to the Imbolc energy and let it flow through us, bringing their promise of fulfilment, and growth to our own lives.

Now is the time for each of us to set in motion our own hearts desire, to make real the dreams of the winter, to plant the seeds of that which we wish to manifest in the coming months. Once the seeds have been planted than we must take care to nurture them and bring them to fruition. This is the time to spring clean our homes but also our minds. Imbolc is a time to take a fresh look at our Paths and try to see more clearly where we are going. It is a time to rededicate ourselves to the things we feel are important to us on a mundane level, but far more importantly on a Spiritual level. Clean your Altar space, re-consecrate your Magical Tools, celebrate Bridie, bless the hearth and home. All this is traditional within modern Paganism, but most of all celebrate the “Quickening”. That feeling deep inside your bones that gladdens the heart and puts a spring in your step even though the days are grey and cold still. For we know, as Magical Folk, that as the love deepens between the God and Goddess at this the beginning of their Dance, so to do our own hopes and dreams begin to come manifest. As life stirs anew in the hedgerows, so new beginnings become possible in our own lives. Nothing stands still, out of darkness come light, from death springs life, from despair hope is born.

So whilst the last fingers of Winter grip the land remember that soon all will change again. Go outside and look for the changes yourself. Walk on the land, notice the new swelling buds, look for the snowdrops soon to carpet the ground and take deep lungfuls of the air and smell the changes coming and let it gladden your heart. Know that at this moment anything is possible – if you dare to plant the seeds of your own desires.

Charge of the Maiden Goddess
by Jacqui Winn

I am She who is New and Fresh
I am the Spirit of Springtime
I am the morning dew glistening in the dawns light
Where I spread my cloak all becomes fresh and green after Winters darkness
Where I tread, new life appears
The snowdrop bows its head before me
Catkins unfurl and dance in the breeze
And the crocus opens it petals at my command
The song birds of early morning herald my arrival
And the bellies of the animals swell with new life

See Me, the Spirit of Youth and Beauty
In the first crescent of the New Moon
My silver bow with its arrow poised
To pierce the heart of the Young Buck God
To fill him with love and desire for Me
I ride the sky in my lunar coracle
Until the Moon is Full
Filling the heart with a promise of New Beginnings
Work with me your Enchantments
Whisper to me your desires
And spin your magic anew
Plant the seeds of your new ideas
And release them to me
So they may expand and be as you wish
Call on me by my many names
Brigid, Bride, Artemis, Diana, Atalanta, Aurora, Hebe, Ostara
I am all and none
Call me in the first light of day
Call to me in the Springtime newness
Speak to me your magic’s in the Moons first crescent
And I will nurture your hopes and dreams