Image Source

Winter gave us the opportunity to connect with our inner wisdom as we travelled inwards and focused more on our deeper self and our life's experiences. We mirror the cycle of nature, as the energy of the land travelled back into the earth. By following that example we had the opportunity to really explore what it is we wish to bring forth into this new year.

Imbolc invites us to plant those seeds that we nurtured over the winter months. Now is the time to bring them out into the light, as we connect with our intuitive self and begin to manifest our dreams.

When we go outside we can see and feel the earth stirring. The first buds are forming on the trees, as the sap is rising. Everything is reawakening and we are being inspired to become more active, more expressive.

In Ireland, Imbolc is also know as Brigid's day. Brigid is the goddess of fertility and birth, she inspires us to give birth to our new ideas, to our dreams. She represents the fire, the spark of life, inviting us to tap into our creative power.

When Christianity came to Ireland, they made her into a saint and took over her symbol's of both the snake and the goddess eye and made them into their own. The snake became the embodiment of everything evil and the goddess eye became a cross.

Image Source

Each year it was traditional for each family to make a goddess eye which you would hang in your home. inviting Brigid to look over you as well as inviting her creative energy into your home. As Brigid is the goddess of birth, I like to make the goddess eye as a gift for pregnant women . Each eye would measure 10cm's from one point to the next, representing the size that the woman’s Yoni needs to open in order to birth her baby. Giving her a visual aid to use during their birth.

All of the ancient festivals were taken by Christianity in an attempt to get people to convert, but always in a way which was very disrespectful towards women.

Nature's natural cycle is one of birth, death and rebirth, represented by the Triple Goddess, maiden, mother and Crone. As we begin to leave winter behind us, we take the first steps into our rebirth. Re birthing ourselves anew, preparing for the changes that will come. To bring forth all that we have nurtured in the winter and to express ourselves now through our words and our actions.

Imbolc calls on us to embrace our creativity, to find ways in which we can heal ourselves and one another. Now is the time to listen to ourselves, to trust our intuition and create a balance between this our wild self and the rational self. We need to focus on ways in which we can bring about change in a world where so many are being dominated. Imbolc is about empowering ourselves. Reclaiming the wisdom of our ancestors, so that we can create new ways in which to move forward.

Imbolc is all about that fire, that stirring that is happening within ourselves and within nature. It is that spark that calls on us to become more active. Now is the time to embrace that fire that burns within us all ,that fire than can transform and energize.

On this day of awakening, make a pledge to listen more to your intuitive self. The inner voice that you have, that gut feeling that we get but so often ignore. Now is the time to stop doubting yourself, as that is what destroys our intuition. Change must always start with self, let go of your fears and superstitions, embrace the person that you are and the potential that you have.

Happy Imbolc Everyone!

8 Pillars of TribeSteemUp