Initiation
“It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings
In my thought I visit the sacred spring, Brighid's healing well in Kildare, that my great grandmothers knew. “I am Joan, daughter of Delia, daughter of Mary, in long line of women, and so on to the beginning. I dedicate myself as a healer, storykeeper and plant steward in service to life on the green world that I love.”
These are the words that I say on the Irish holy day of Imbolc, in the halfway point between Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox, as we emerge from the dark months, and green life again unfolds around us, whispering of spring to come. The Earth, too enters an initiation, a new beginning with an invisible, but vital declaration of purpose, as seeds quicken in the ground. The days are longer now, and the light has clearly changed.
The seed does not know what it will find when it pushes through the soil and braves the conditions that are there. Neither do we, yet we step into the journey of the year, holding our vision of possibilities before us. We light the three fires of the Hearth (Food, community), the Forge (transformation), and Spirit (inspiritedness; inspiration), fed by the breath of this changing season. And we start new, propelled by the energy of Winter Dreaming to initiate new consciousness, and a renewed connection to the living earth.
Carolina Wrens, who are silent here in winter, sing again on sunny mornings, heralding the return of warmth, rain, and longer days. They are early this year, and that may mean an early and moist spring. Chickweed, Yarrow and Geranium molle have lain green in the grass since autumn. Now, at every halting warming, they grow a little more, or hunker down undismayed if a late snow flattens the grass. They signal that we’ll see the smallest stems of Cleavers soon, and leaf buds on many trees.
Attunement
“You work that you may keep pace with the earth and the soul of the earth. — Kahlil Gibran
As we align with the Earth’s Rhythm of Awakening, we answer light, as do the beings in field and garden. Where the quiet dark of Solstice was an opportunity to halt busyness and plant seeds of intention for the future, the waxing light now comes with an urgent call: “Wake up! Wake Up!” and the courage of the seed and each returning plant is on display. We may still have snow, but no matter. Earth awakening responds to the imperative of renewal, and so do we.
Herbalism is never separate from the cycles of seasons. The more we are connected to the plants, the more we are connected to what sustains them; to when they grow, and when they sleep or die. The cycles of sun, moon, day and night are the rhythms of life that our cells are attuned to. We sense this, and it leaves us longing for the way these rhythms once sustained us. Observing the seasonal lives of plants and animals can make those rhythms real to us, and we remember that our own ecologies are part of larger ones. We can take time in this season to intentionally notice the life around us and attune to the light as it changes.
As the snows of winter melt, we answer the call, as the seed does, to the adventure of life. We leave the safety of the winter hearth, and make our way past the familiar gate into the unknown year, with the plants as allies, providing support for the road ahead, and a path for connecting to the living earth.
A gift to yourself: Take a moment to stand in the sunlight, and observe the starting point of this moment in nature. Then for the next six weeks, enjoy each day a few minutes outdoors, to absorb the feeling and vision of life unfolding around you, as buds form, and the earth awakens.
Wishing you Wonder,
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