A Look & Listen January

The Hinge of 2024 is a Radical Transformer

Here I sit on Brigid’s Eve in absolute astonishment that Yuletide is well and truly over, and the winter solstice was six weeks ago! Of course, the big astrological news is Pluto’s transit into Aquarius. I’ve been pouring over the ephemeris looking into what all of this portends for myself, as well as the collective. There are certainly significant shifts on the horizon, even if we can’t quite see them yet. As is my usual tradition, January is reserved for contemplation looking both backward and forwards through the arc of my life. I have found the practice of sifting through the experiences and emotions of the past twelve months cultivates the most fertile ground for a new cycle of intentions. I also try to clean and clear as much as possible in preparation for the Chinese, or Lunar New Year (the holiday falls on the second new moon after the winter solstice) which often coincides with the Imbolc portal. This is a time to settle debts, remove unwanted items and energies from our homes, and create space for welcoming a new cycle of growth into our lives.

White Flowers in Snow Covered Groudn

These time-honored and cherished practices of mine are best undertaken in slow, steady fashion. Much like the last quarter of a lunar cycle, the winter months are for resting, assimilating, breaking down, or composting. ROOTS are to be tended to. There is such wisdom in these natural cycles. It never ceases to amaze me how elegant the esoteric systems are. By now, I think many people have divorced themselves from the colonized mind automaton process of overly ambitious, or impractical New Year’s Resolutions. The cold and dark month of January is not an ideal time for planting seeds in harsh environments. This is not to say that underneath the surface all is still. Future visions have been quietly incubating since the winter solstice waiting for the right conditions to take form. That time is drawing closer by the day, and quicker with each second of returning light. At Imbolc, I name and claim the seeds I will plant both in the kitchen garden and the garden of my life. I shower these seeds with blessing upon blessing and cultivate the ground they will be planted in come spring.

In practical terms, all of this looks a lot like housekeeping. To be sure, there is a fair amount of actual cleaning involved. For example, a full KonMari of household clothing is scheduled for this afternoon. I’m taking it room by room, bit by bit, but before the new moon in February on the 9th, my home will be cleared out of all unused and unwanted stuff. When I don’t have the energy for physical clearing, I unsubscribe from outdated emails I no longer wish to receive, or delete digital files that are burning up server space somewhere. The focus on energy clearing is just as important. For this I employ an old laptop I can set up anywhere that is loaded with hours and hours of sound-clearing tracks. I like to start breaking up stagnant energy this way before I clear with smoke, or asperge with water in a space that I am cleansing. I’m also clearing up cleaning routines using the techniques I teach in my course, House Magick, the members of the household have reset their responsibilities for keeping our shared space organized and optimized for our happiest and healthiest lives.

Free stock photo of blooming flowers, bouquet of flowers, bowl

Onto the forgiveness of debts for self and others. When I was studying Feng Shui in the early 2000’s I was introduced to many foundational concepts that would shape so much of my life. One of them is the practice of settling debts before a new year begins. The flip side of this, of course, is relieving others of what is owed to you. Settling up is vital to a fresh start. Honestly assess where there are imbalances in your dealings, or relationships with others that need correcting and set about equalizing them. This is not limited to financial, or material transactions. Consider energetic exchanges with others, as well. Often a dialogue is all that is necessary to come to agreeable terms that will satisfy both parties. Sometimes the act of taking responsibility is all that is required for your debt to be lifted. If you find yourself in the position of being owed something consider all the costs of continuing to seek recompense. You may find they outweigh the benefits. No sense in continuing to throw good money (energy) after bad. Conversely, lifting the load feels quite jubilant for all. You can’t put a price on that!

Lady in Beach Silhouette during Daytime Photography

As I write it is freakishly warm where I live for the last day in January. The Mercury is flirting with the upper 60’s. I hear the neighborhood kids next door playing basketball and look to confirm, yep ~ they’re barefoot and wearing shorts. As it happens, temperatures here do vary wildly so it’s not entirely unheard of that it can feel like a spring day in the dead of winter. It was -35 ten days ago, and it very well may be again in another ten. I could fret about the trees budding too early, and I might, but I will also gladly take the medicine of the lived experience of SPRING energy on Imbolc eve. I will drink it up and let it inspire me as I bless the seeds I wish to plant in the growing cycle of 2024.

Person Cleaning Hands under Water

I invite you to consider these ideas and incorporate them into your practice. The time of Imbolc is one of purification and innocence. It is also quite a tender time and special care should be taken when handling anything delicate. The year is in its infancy and I encourage you to treat yourself and your hopes and dreams with the same nurturing protection you would extend to a baby or small animal. Be gentle with others, too. February’s skies are full of movement. There will be many shifting gears for all of us to manage. You may already feel an abundance of airy energy coming in as a BIG stellium is teeing up in the sign of the water bearer. Prepare for a change of pace. Things are going to begin moving fast! I intend to lean all the way into the visionary and communal aspects of the Aquarian energies of the month ahead and I hope you’ll join me!


Visioning Your New Year

Gain spiritual insight into the new year. What does 2024 hold for you? Use this session to name and bless the metaphorical seeds you will plant in the growing cycle. Receive guidance around how to support your intentions magickally. I will utilize divination techniques, awareness of the 2024 astrological transits, and my claircognizance to formulate ritual suggestions, devotional practices, and specific spell and altar recommendations that are specifically designed for you and your unique intentions.


A Poets Dinner

In celebration of Imbolc and the spirit of inspiration, I have a beloved tradition of hosting a late winter Poet’s Dinner. I don’t do it every year, but I’ve held it often enough that some of my friends secretly can’t wait for their opportunity to bask in the glow of the spotlight. We set a lavish tablescape, plan a fanciful menu and tell our friends to show up with “Words and Wine.” So, on those years we are moved to, we come together for a lively night warming one another’s hearts with inspiring cuisine, incredible beverages, and intoxicating words. What I have learned from ‘Poet’s Dinners Past’ is that people can be so amazing when given an opportunity to express themselves freely. It is a thing of beauty to behold!

It’s quite fun to witness one’s little gang step up their game. There are particularly memorable evenings of gatherings that exposed stunning wild beauty. After dinner and our fair share of wine, the words begin to flow freely. It is raw, true, sexy, free, at times hilarious, and delightfully rebellious. Always these exchanges are made more endearing because of the vulnerable exposure of our fellow human’s true hearts. It never fails that I am was in awe of everyone’s willingness to play along. All people need is the invitation. A formula that continues to produce truly magical evenings had by all.

Sound enticing? Try it, you might like it! It need not be a fussy affair. Grab some of your favorites and recite them at dinner tonight! I have a few standards that I look forward to revisiting each year in early February. The Song of Wandering Aengus is at the top of the list, for certain! After observing the tradition of honoring poetry at Imbolc for decades now, I know my favorite Yeats poem by heart!

Visit my Poets Dinner Pinterest Board for more inspiration.

Watercress Salad with Avocado and Orange

Gougère

Grapefruit and Pistachio Crusted Salmon

Baked Artichoke Risotto with Radicchio

Creamed Onions with Rosemary

Dark Chocolate Dipped Oranges with Sea Salt

Banana Meringue Pudding

Carriage Punch

Imbolc ~ Surrender to Devotion

Every midwinter I eagerly await the cross-quarter Celtic holiday, Imbolc. So sweetly do I cherish its treasured Goddess, Brighid for her promise of springtime and the miracle of her restorative power. She is the magic of white space after the swell of Yuletide has receded. Her presence is announced by the flutter of inspiration in our bellies as we set forth our intentions for the coming year. We sit at her feet while perusing seed catalogs, visioning the future gardens of our souls, as much as any other kind of gardens we can dream of at this time of year.

Imbolc (Imm-ulk) is the cross-quarter holiday that initiates the season of spring in the Celtic calendar. It is observed at the beginning of February with various traditions vacillating between the 1st and 2nd of the month. Lunar Imbolc is marked with the new moon in Aquarius whenever it occurs, which in the case of this blog post happens to be today (1/20/15). Imbolc is Brighid’s day through and through! She is the Goddess of inspiration, poetry, midwifery, smithcraft, healing, wells, and fire. Imbolc is the first Spring fire festival and it celebrates the growing strength of the Sun. Though the sun was reborn at Yule it isn’t until Imbolc that we can truly say we notice the difference. And what a difference it is!

The meaning of the word Imbolc is hotly debated. Some say it means “in the belly.” Others believe it means means “in milk”, or “ewe’s milk” which correlates to the birth of lambs at this time of year and the lactating of their mothers. In many parts of the world, the earth is beginning to show signs of spring. Crocus and snowdrops push up through the snow as the ground warms below the strengthening sun. In modern times we relate the season of Imbolc to cleansing and the preparation for growth and renewal. The gifts of insight and inspiration allow us to make resolutions and solid plans for the coming year.

I feel the call of Brighid intensely at this time every year. Quickening light and energy stirs me to action after the slumber of deep winter. Imbolc heralds the beginning of spring and contains the promise of renewed life in the year ahead. I was born at Samhain which is the beginning of winter but was conceived during this season of Lupercalia and in a sense, my very existence is a springtime promise fulfilled. I made my first vows to the Goddess on Imbolc as an intrepid 21-year-old. I learned what it meant to have an invincible summer inside myself that winter. To the untrained eye, the midwinter doldrums are something to merely endure, but to a wise woman, there is much to learn about the strange alchemy of fire and ice.

Right now I am deep in journey and vision work. Horse is my guide in the dream space and the journey time. Situated securely on the back of an incredible stallion I was treated to the most beautiful countryside as we made our way up the Tor to Brighid’s well in my journey last night.  A message delivered by my guide said, “Listen closely to the voice within. Are you prepared to meet the Goddess?” Atop the mound, I was told to disembark and walk the rest of the way. There were other devotees there and together we walked silently toward the well. We gathered together before her. SHE stood beside her well. Her voice called out demanding to know, “What will you heal? What will you build? How will you inspire?” When we could answer her we were given a drink of the sacred crystalline waters of Brighid’s well. The medicine a unique blend bespoke by the Goddess herself for each one of us. A voice echoes and I hear, “I vow to take the medicine I am given.”

What projects will you commit yourself to this year? What longstanding problems will you heal in your life? What thing of beauty will you create? What powerful manifestations will you bring forth?

Check your personal well, how deep are your reserves? What do you need and how will you supply it? If you already know where you want to go make sure you are properly outfitted for the journey ahead.

Fire warms, sustains, and transforms. The sensuous quality of its nature is mesmerizing. Just remember, if you play with fire you might get burned, or burned out. Wield your power wisely.

Imbolc is an especially potent and magical turn of the wheel. Behold the miracle and the power that is Brighid. Feel the flutter of inspiration in your belly. Dream the vision of your heart into being. This is smith-craft as life.


​Imbolc Candle Devotion Ceremony

Supplies:

Representing fire:

One Red Candle for creative inspiration.

Representing the sacred well:

One White Candle for transformative healing.

Representing the forge:

One Black Candle for protecting what is manifesting.

Inside of specially prepared sacred space prepare yourself by getting still and asking yourself to listen to the voice within.

Are you prepared to meet the Goddess?

When you can answer, “What will you heal (white)? What will you build (black)? How will you inspire (red)?” light the candle that corresponds to each intention. Vow to serve the mission of your vision. Dedicate yourself to the devotion of your dreams. Allow the candles to burn to fruition. Carry the wax in your medicine bag or bury it on your property. So mote it be!