Imbolc, which means 'in the belly', signals the first stirrings of new life. All in nature is pregnant and expectant. The energy is almost imperceptibly changing within and around us. Yes, the first signs of spring are here. This festival therefore focuses on honoring the whisperings of the new season and the growing light and warmth until winter totally fades away and is replaced. With the hint to pregnancy, this festival is obviously dedicated to the Feminine and the healing power of water, as the snow melts and the March sudden showers are round the corner to wash away the old and fertilize the ground.
It is time to leave the past behind and turn to the future, welcome new potential, be ready for renewal, and make space for new projects. This is the time when the energy of the new year really sets in and settles.
The goddess Brigid is associated with this festival. She is the goddess of healing, poetry, smithcraft and fire, and brings fertility to the land.
For this Imbolc reading, I asked the cards how this new year can best serve us.
1) FOUR OF PENTACLES
Are we trying to open up a chest? Are we trying to find a key? Are we trying to crack a code to find something precious that we need to move on in life? And it may very well be something quite pragmatic and down-to-earth as we are dealing with the suit of Pentacles therefore all things related to matter, money, as well as health. We seem to be highly focused on this search, this quest, this effort and it may not be working so well or as well as we would like to. There seems to be a feeling of stuckness, like a dead-end type of energy, and we may be too dedicated to unlocking a kind of abundance that is not on our schedule right now. Maybe it's just not the right time? Maybe we are ignoring the small window on the side where sun light is shining through? Maybe we are just not giving our attention to what is calling our attention? Maybe stepping outside and focusing on the reawakening natural world and the world of sensations is what we should be doing? There is a stifling feeling of suffocation and struggling here that may point to a need to get back on our feet and away from the chest.
2) THE HIGH PRIESTESS REVERSED
Unsurprisingly validating the previous card, the High Priestess reversed is telling us that we are not listening to our intuition right now and on this Imbolc festival which is dedicated to the Goddess and the Feminine, it is quite unfortunate. Since this card is a major arcana, it is definitely teaching us a significant life lesson. If we give some larger context to this reading, we should remember that we are spot in the middle of a major global transition; the world is aflame and turbulent and so this has an impact on our personal lives. Therefore, we may want to enter this liminal space of in-between, which, really, Imbolc represents rather well in fact, and wait, be patient, be pregnant and expectant, open up our arms and invoke divine and celestial help and power into our lives in order to allow the magic of rebirth to happen when the time is ripe, and it is not just yet. This card is also showing us that, in order to let go of the Four of Pentacles energy of hoarding and...fear somehow, fear of losing or fear of not finding, we need to surrender to the Mother Goddess but also the feminine side of us, our inner high priestess (men too) who will put us back on track. Then, the book on the altar will open magically and reveal the code we were looking for in the previous card.
3) SUMMARY
This reading is asking us to let the divine powers act for us. It is asking us to step back and allow the might of the Divine Feminine to bring us healing for the fertile ground to be
seeded and yield what it will comes Beltane in a couple of months. It is not time yet. Nature needs to do its work and our part is to allow that to occur. That is the challenge of the Divine Feminine: infinite patience when our egos or personas want it all right now. In the meantime, we can go within, close our eyes, like the High Priestess on the card, and channel the divine energy like She does. The best way to do that is through joy, being in the present moment, pay attention to our inner world of emotions, and enjoy whatever shows up. We are mustering momentum. It is still the heart of winter after all so it is like observing both winter and spring at the same time: resting and seeding. And one last thing: we are doing this not just for ourselves but for the whole world which sorely needs its Mother and the feminine energies to return. We are participating and playing our part. Our lives will unfold
more smoothly when the wider world will have been through a good portion of its evolution.
4) COW
I chose Cow for its association with nourishment, motherhood and the Goddess. Cow is extremely nurturing and has a true maternal instinct that is exactly what we need right now. A mother, and Cow especially, is always generous and healing. This power is what we need at this time. So let's let Cow be the provider and caretaker we need and let's allow ourselves to be taken care of. We'll most find that protective power outside the house in nature and inside our hearts where the Goddess resides and waits for us. There is nothing that needs to be done other than consciously allowing.
5) CELTIC BEAN
I very simply chose Celtic Bean for its color white, associated to snow. It is associated to fertility too so it's perfect, as well as reincarnation and nourishment, thus reinforcing the overall energy of this reading. Celtic Bean is this pretty plant with white flowers that evoke purity and for us now, it is enough. We can also enjoy the setting on the card: an Iron-age farm, pigs, cultivated rows in the field behind, quiet. This is quite idyllic and peace-inducing.
6) WHITE ROSE
I just added this one card to remind us of the color white linked with winter and Imbolc and its purifying quality. It reads:
By purifying your life of negative people, places, and experiences, you attain true peace.
As was said in the introduction, Imbolc is a time to leave the past behind to make room and prepare for the next stage.
7) HAPPY IMBOLC!
Healing crystals
Selenite, moonstone, green fluorite, emerald, Eilat stone, seraphinite
Oracle cards
The Druid Animal Oracle - Philip & Stephanie Carr-Gomm
The Druid Plant Oracle - Philip & Stephanie Carr-Gomm
Flower Therapy Oracle Cards - Robert Reeves (& Doreen Virtue)
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