Greetings.
RonV at the wheel this evening, so strap yourselves into your child safety seats and get ready for a fun ride. Or if you wish, you can snooze until we get to the Dairy Queen.
It is truly an honor to have the chance to host Brother and Sisters this week. I thank Pastor Dan for starting and nurturing this bit of sacred web space, and I thank our fellow members of Dailykos for keeping it alive.
When I signed on to host B&S, I decided to pick a date as close to the beginning of February as possible, because as an Ecumenical Pagan, and a resident of the North Country, I have an especially great affinity for the holy season of Imbolc.
Imbolc is one of the cross-quarter festivals lying mid-way between Yule (the Winter solstice) and Eostar (the Spring equinox). Imbolc marks the point in the year when the increase in daylight is really noticeable. The time when the promise of Yule begins to manifest itself with longer days, increase warmth, and the promise of new life.
Imbolc is a time of new beginnings. Traditionally, it's the time when lambs and calves are born, their mothers begin to lactate. Ravens start to build their nests. Farmers prepare to plant seeds. We look forward to scarcity being replaced with abundance.
At Imbolc, we honor the Goddess Brigit. She is a Triple Goddess whose aspects are Inspiration, Smithcraft, and of Healing. As the Goddess of Inspiration, she blesses poetry, creativity, prophecy and the arts. As the Goddess of Smithcraft, she blesses blacksmiths, goldsmiths, and other crafters of the household. As Goddess of Healing, she blesses physical and spiritual healing, fertility of crop and livestock and mid-wifery.
Note: Imbolc is one of those holy times that not-so-coincidentally coincide with Christian holidays. In this case, Candlemas is the companion holiday. Candlemas is celebrated as the time when Mary was considered pure enough (after the birth of Jesus) to re-enter the Temple. Needless to say, there are lots of candles involved in celebrating this event.
Winters are long and hard in this part of the world. For instance, we’ve already had about six feet of snow this season, and we have at least two more seriously snowy months ahead. Temperatures can be brutal. Although our coldest temps so far this winter have been in the 15-25 below zero range, I’ve seen it get down to around minus forty in the not too distant past. So it’s easy to understand why the first signs of spring are so welcome around here.
Yesterday, for the first time in well over a month, the temperature went about the freezing mark. This leads to cracks in winter’s façade.
This is a picture of the frozen-over, ice jammed Hudson about 10 miles from my house. (I doubt that even Chelsey Sullenberger could land a plane here!)
This is a picture of the River, taken this morning about 5 miles upstream. (Note that this is about 225 miles north of NYC.)
As you can see, the little bit of warmth and sun over the past couple of days has already begun to unlock the icy grip of winter. The promise fulfilled.
But we bless the snow. We really do. When spring and summer finally settle in, the snow pack further up in the Adirondacks begins it slow melt, recharging the aquifers, refilling the beaver dams, and providing some first-class recreational experiences for tourists, which greatly helps my town’s economy. Blessings all around.
Here is a beautiful Imbolc Poem by Jaine Rose:
"We send a light out into the world from us and this candle, to all the people in dark corners who need to reclaim hope, courage and trust. May this light hold and enfold us in the many colours of Love, compassion and kindness.
Please feel our arms around you holding and cradling you through this time.
May this light begin to create a different World starting with NOW! May this change be a gentle journey, small steps towards a new way of thinking, a fairer way of living. We send a light out into the World and feel its Love growing, shining, filling our Planet Earth with its brilliance."
As we transition from the bleakest midwinter into the time of the coming of the warmth of the Sun, this medley seems rather appropriate:
Hmmm... Can't get it to ember, so here's a link to
Barbara Dickenson: "In the Bleak Midwinter/Here Comes the Sun"
(For the George purists, there is also this)
In closing, I'd just like to offer up a little prayer;
Even in these times of despair, I pray that we can all look inside ourselves and find at least one faint spark of hope. One beginning point of light that no amount of worry and strife can extinguish. And that we each gently nurture that flame until it grows with the promise of new beginnings and bright blessings. And as that spark grows, may we share that renewed light, hope, and promise with others whose inner flames may be flickering. And that we then pass it one to another so that our families, our community, our nation, and our planet will all glow with the promise of renewed spirit and life.
Peace and blessings to you all.