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Living Life Magically

Awakening Divine:  Living Magically in the Dead of Winter

At the end of January, we find ourselves deeply nestled inside; inside our homes, inside our work and inside our Self.  We find ourselves going deep within, partly as protection against the harsh winter, but also because our soul yearns to discover the wonder and magic of our inner Self.  So after Yule, we find ourselves deep beneath the surface until the Wheel turns again at the beginning of festival, at Imbolc.

The holiday of Imbolc or Candlemas marks the middle point of winter, the cusp, the balance point where the deep winter, ruled by the Crone Goddess Cailleach, gives way to the return of spring ruled by the Bride, the maiden Goddess.   Surrounded by candles, the warm glow of candlelight reminds us of the promise of Yule, that the Light will return and bring growth and springtime.  Now is the time for Bride to wrest the season away from the Crone and make way for springtime.  It is time to wake up the earth.

Bride is Brigit, Brigid, Brigantia and many other names.  She is a powerful, magical Goddess who was revered throughout the world of the Celts, called Minerva by the Romans and made a saint by the Catholic Church.  Her name has many meanings including “power,” “fiery arrow” and “she who exalts herself.”  She has responsibility and power over much of life.  She is the patroness of poetry and inspiration, patroness of hearth and home, patroness of the forge.  Through that triple responsibility, she rules fertility, healing, creativity, the crafts, spinning and weaving, goldsmith and smithcraft, poetry, and bardic lore.  Her power was imbued in the countryside, so that the hills, wells, streams and rivers were her body.  Her symbols speak of her power:  fire, wells, cauldrons, the forge, and the Rowan tree.  She is associated with animals that speak of the bounty of the world, the ewe, boar, and cow.  Snakes are also sacred to her as a symbol of transformation and change.  She invented whistling so she could bring friends to her side in time of need; and she invented keening to express grief too great to be held inside.

Like her festival, she was born at a mid-point; that magical time between dark and dawn.  Her magic is born of mystery.  She is a triple goddess, but not in the Maiden-Mother-Crone aspect revered by modern pagans.  Her triplicity is expressed in her most potent symbol, fire.  She is the Muse, the Fire of Inspiration, of poetry and lore.  She is the Fire of the Hearth, the patroness of childbirth, fertility, home-crafts, and of healing.  She is the Fire of the Forge, patroness of smithcraft and the art of war.  She is protection, creativity, procreation of all sorts, healing, transformation and renewal.

On her feast day, her sacred creature, the snake would emerge from its mound and predict the end of winter.  This is an obvious association to the American holiday of Groundhog’s Day!  Her feast day had other folk customs and celebrations as well.  At sundown, a shawl, length of wool or mantle was placed outside to absorb the magical energy of this time.  Then that mantle was used throughout the year for healing the people and animals of the household.

The celebration would begin by a house-cleaning that included burning the greenery leftover from Yule celebrations.  New greenery, rushes and candles were placed in the household.    The new rushes for the floor were blessed.  A dolly was created from these rushes, dressed in white.  The doors would be flung open, and the unmarried women of the house would bring the Bride into the house.  She was greeted by the married women of the household and put into a bed by the hearth. Other customs included candle magic and wishes, tying ribbons to trees and bushes for the wishes of the year, and making even armed Brigit’s crosses, reminiscent of her association with the sun.

So here we are in this time between the severity of Winter and the birth of Spring.  We are nestled here, like the seed beneath the earth.  In the deepest part of winter we move deeply inward, and rest there.  The Goddess holds us in her embrace and we snuggle close, safe and warm.  In that rest and safety, we renew ourselves.  Our emotions, our spirit, our mind and our bodies find rest and nurturing stillness.  We rest there until we are renewed.  And at that mid-point of Winter, we hear the call, the inspiration.  The flame is renewed within us as we stir inside our seed-like shell.  The shell that used to keep us safe and secure is now confining and constricting.  We stir and move, ready to break free, ready for our journey upward and outward.

There are some magical and practical ways to invoke this transition from internal hibernation to a deliberate awakening.  Begin by cleaning.  Often after a winter of not noticing, the strengthening sun will suddenly reveal more dust and dirt that you had noticed before.  It can be daunting to look at all that must be done in totality..  I developed a “Clean One Thing” strategy or spell.  This spell is so lacking in “whoo whoo” or magical flourish, that it might just seem like regular house cleaning.  However, it is short, sweet, and do-able.  I make a “Clean One Thing” list of very short housework tasks.  It is not “clean the bathroom,” but rather the first item will say “clean the tub,” “wash the sink” and so on.   I take the list and share it with the Goddess, dedicating my industry and cleaning to Her; and leave the list on my altar.

So that when I get up off my couch to do some housework, I need to only accomplish one thing.  That is my only focus for cleaning.  When I’m done with that one chore, I’ve accomplished a goal.  Cross it off the list.  Thank the Goddess and then I’m done.  I can then decide to take a break, have a cup of tea, read a book, or do one more thing.  It does kind of fool you into getting a lot of work done.  I think dedicating the work to the Goddess makes it a spiritual experience rather than a dirty chore.   Usually at the end of the list, I’ll burn it or bury it as a ritual act of completion.

Another simple thing to do to move into more action is to “wake up the earth.”  If you are completely done with your internal journey of the season and ready to get up and get going, you can wake up.  Be aware that if you do this, you are waking yourself up too!  As you are grounded and connected to the earth, you are awakening your own divinity in the process.   This is fun to do in a ritual with a group, or can be done as a solitary.

Wake Up the Earth, Wake Up the Divine Me

You will need as many tools and accoutrements as you prefer.  You can do this with your body and voice; or with full “smells and bells” ritual tools.  A drum is very helpful.

Ground and Center, connect yourself to Mother Earth

Cast a circle according to your custom

Call in the Directions according to the tradition you follow

Call in Your Gods, or the Spirits of the Season

Meditation

Take a deep breath and let it out with a sigh.  Take another deep cleansing breath and let it out completely and fully, making noise as you are led.  Take a third deep breath and let it out with a tone.  As the tone reverberates through your body, find yourself in a cave on a soft bed of wonderful comfortable covers.  Stretch and stand up.  Guarding you is the Ancient Crone Goddess of Winter, holding a torch that is very dim.  She looks at you and smiles.  Then she turns and walk to the doorway of the cave, where you see another figure at the entrance.  You realize it is the Bride, Brigit.  She looks at you and grins widely, in a challenge and in welcome.

The Ancient Crone of Winter hands the torch to Brigit and the torch flames to life and you see a triple flame as she holds her hand out to you.  It is time to step over the threshold and to emerge from the cave.  You go and walk through into the world.

Out in the world you look around at the landscape and you sense the change from deep, dark winter to an emerging springtime.  You feel it with your inner divinity more than you see it.  But you take it all in.  Brigit leads you to a circle of Be-ings, gods, goddesses, the Spirits of people you know in this word.  They welcome you into the circle as all join hands in song and dance.

The circle dances and dances and dances.  Your heart is beating and your blood is flowing as your body and your soul awakens in harmony to the energy of the earth.  In your dance, you feel the slumbering earth awaken, stretch, yawn, and start to move.  You are AWAKE and so is the earth!

The whole circle begins to chant:  The goddess is awake and magic is afoot.  The goddess is awake and magic is afoot.

As this happens, emerge from your meditative state and continue the chant until a cone of power is sent off into the Universe for the good of all and the harm of none, to the blessing of an awakened world and an awakened you!

Once you’ve raised the cone of power, take a minute to ground yourself.  Once you are grounded and centered, you are ready to leave the circle.  Refreshed, renewed and invigorated.

Farewell and thanks to your gods

Farewell and thanks to the directions

Open the circle

Be good to yourself after a ritual and celebrate with food and drink that centers and grounds you; things that bring you fully into this world with all its magic and wonder.  Be ready for signs of awakening.  They are there, subtle and visible to those with the heart and eyes to see.

Blessed Be.