Imbolc - How did I not KNOW?
I just found out about this wonderful Celtic celebration called Imbolc that happens on Feb. 1st (my little firecracker's birthday). It's a celebration of renewal and preparation. It's half way between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox.
More can be read about it here: Celtic Junction Newsletter Article on Imbolc.
Here are some snippets that I found particularly interesting:
**The human being is a package deal, and avoiding one's whole self does not serve us. Brighid, the goddess of poetry, smithcraft and healing, can be a help and guide to the full embrace. It is her Feast Day, actually the Christianized Saint Brighid’s Feast Day, February 1, which is known as Imbolc – celebrating spring, lambing and lactation. **
**So settle into a warm, cozy chair with a cup of tea. Open reflective books such as Celtic Devotional by Caitlin Matthews. Explore creativity and spirituality. Consider the many ancient Imbolc prayers-to-the-elements found in the Celtic tradition. Read wondrous invocations and declarations of the bards of the Scottish, Irish and Welsh traditions. Within the twilight times between dusk and dawn, journey the mystical pathways along which we can re-invent our life and ultimately re-invest our life with meaning.
Ask yourself: What gets my creative juices flowing? What stands in the way? How can I minimize obstacles, both inner and outer? Have I gathered my tools? What needs to happen? What keeps me happy and inspired? Connect with mentors, teachers, musicians, dancers, poets and artists. Overcome fear. Cut through excess material, information, demands, learning curves and the clutter of excess stuff and excess wants, anything that gets in the way of hearing Spirit and acting on our own best intentions. Sharpening our insight can help maintain our aim in the months to come.
**
**For many, Imbolc, this day dedicated to Brighid, is complex and powerful. It continues to be about the forging of tools, the insight of poetry and the ability to render whole and holy that which has been hurt. Those who dedicate themselves to Brighid each year, leave offerings at her wells throughout Ireland, because the wells are believed to be portals to spiritual realms and great sources of healing.
**
I just heard an Incan tale of the three worlds, the upper world, this world, and the lower world. It's not like our concept of heaven and hell, just a world that's below this surface world. The way to get to the lower world is through a well, a cave, or the roots of a tree.... portals to other spiritual realms... just like the Celts! :) It's all so fascinating!
Happy Imbolc! Happy Cleansing! Happy Rebirth! How refreshing is that???? :)
More can be read about it here: Celtic Junction Newsletter Article on Imbolc.
Here are some snippets that I found particularly interesting:
**The human being is a package deal, and avoiding one's whole self does not serve us. Brighid, the goddess of poetry, smithcraft and healing, can be a help and guide to the full embrace. It is her Feast Day, actually the Christianized Saint Brighid’s Feast Day, February 1, which is known as Imbolc – celebrating spring, lambing and lactation. **
**So settle into a warm, cozy chair with a cup of tea. Open reflective books such as Celtic Devotional by Caitlin Matthews. Explore creativity and spirituality. Consider the many ancient Imbolc prayers-to-the-elements found in the Celtic tradition. Read wondrous invocations and declarations of the bards of the Scottish, Irish and Welsh traditions. Within the twilight times between dusk and dawn, journey the mystical pathways along which we can re-invent our life and ultimately re-invest our life with meaning.
Ask yourself: What gets my creative juices flowing? What stands in the way? How can I minimize obstacles, both inner and outer? Have I gathered my tools? What needs to happen? What keeps me happy and inspired? Connect with mentors, teachers, musicians, dancers, poets and artists. Overcome fear. Cut through excess material, information, demands, learning curves and the clutter of excess stuff and excess wants, anything that gets in the way of hearing Spirit and acting on our own best intentions. Sharpening our insight can help maintain our aim in the months to come.
**
**For many, Imbolc, this day dedicated to Brighid, is complex and powerful. It continues to be about the forging of tools, the insight of poetry and the ability to render whole and holy that which has been hurt. Those who dedicate themselves to Brighid each year, leave offerings at her wells throughout Ireland, because the wells are believed to be portals to spiritual realms and great sources of healing.
**
I just heard an Incan tale of the three worlds, the upper world, this world, and the lower world. It's not like our concept of heaven and hell, just a world that's below this surface world. The way to get to the lower world is through a well, a cave, or the roots of a tree.... portals to other spiritual realms... just like the Celts! :) It's all so fascinating!
Happy Imbolc! Happy Cleansing! Happy Rebirth! How refreshing is that???? :)
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