Reborn & Rising

Today represents the first stirring of the light and the warmth of the coming spring.

A midway point between winter solstice and the spring equinox, when the days continually grow longer and barren trees stir with new life. Imbolc marks the last call for winter medicine, if you haven't rested enough, take these next few weeks to honour this cycle. Being one of the wise requires nothing more than taking natures messages to heart.

Dedicated to the Celtic goddess Brigit who reigns over hearth and home and is known as the keeper of the eternal flame, the fire within that burns even in the darkest of places, on the coldest of nights.

The celebrations of Imbolc often involved lighting candles or torches to honour Brigit and banish the lingering darkness of winter. These flames symbolised hope, illumination and the spark of life that begins to flicker in the earth.

Calling in a new year in the dead of winter pushes against the seasons and cycles of the earth. The pressure and normalisation of goal setting, planning and taking action come January 1st, goes so deeply against our own physiology.
In the depths of winter, nature reflects to us her quiet, still, restful state of being. Nothing is growing, creating, or expanding. Nature turns her attention inwards. Conserves her energy for spring.
Our winter season is an invitation for deep rest after a spring, summer and autumn of planning, seeding, growing and harvesting.

Don't fight the urge to slow down.

Honour and mirror the earth...she holds the wisdom we've forgotten...she is our guide 💚

WINTER SOLSTICE: Return to the way 🤍❄️

Historically, the winter Solstice was always a time for homecoming. In cosmic terms, it is when the Earth begins to tilt back towards the Sun, gradually returning more light to our days. But like the celestial bodies, people from many cultures would also return to their heart's home for the holy days ahead.

In ancient China, they would close the passes at Solstice. No merchants could travel, not even royalty would visit other regions. Instead, they returned to “where they should be” both in the literal sense of going home, and figuratively to the spiritual well.

More than a physiological necessity, hibernation is when we recuperate emotionally and spiritually from the demands of the “outward” seasons. Like a wanderer who has strayed too far from their true path, we may need to reflect on how we got here, acknowledging both the distances we've come and also the losses and estrangements that resulted from our big moves. We may even need to face the veracity of our own motives.

While it may feel like a lack of progress, return is always developmental. When we have grown too distant from our true nature, we have to stop, retrace our steps, and reconnect with the essence of who we are. The ancient Confucion philosopher Zhou Dunyi described this kind of progress as a “slow return to original sincerity.” Like drawing down into the stem of one’s character, return pulls us into our origins.

If Solstice were a question, it might ask, “From what have I strayed too far?” In the haste of activity and progress, what essential values have I left behind? What did an earlier version of me know better than I? As we transition from the active, outward life to the inner world, we may discover a disconnect between our ambitions and the way our soul longs to sing. We can ask, “Does my intent line up with my actions, and capacity for those actions?”

It is a return to this sincerity that is being asked of us, and is what will put us back in right relation with all of nature.

Toko-pa Turner

October is ancestral

Pitru Paksha
Samhain
Dia De Los Mu***os

Keep your ancestors on your minds and in your hearts this week

They are closer than ever

Create your altar
Feed your dead
Pray a little longer

🥀📿🪔