Imbolc is only a week away. It is one of the ancient fire festivals of our land, marking the transition from Winter into Spring. As such it is a threshold to be crossed. As with all thresholds there is great power in traversing them consciously, with reverence and awareness. For that is where the magic lies!
In our menstrual cycles, Imbolc holds the same energy as the crossover between our winter bleed time and our spring Maiden phase. In our life cycle it holds the energy of menarche, our first bleed and making that transition from childhood towards womanhood. It’s a potent time of transformation, of potential that may later burst forth into blossom and flower.
For me it is a painful time. Through menstrual cycle awareness I have learned to love my bleed time. This is a complete turnaround from where I started, seeing it as a painful inconvenience, a curse, something to be borne and suffered. Now it is a time of deep replenishment, like a great warm hug of oxytocin washing over me. A time of great insight, visioning and deep connection to all that is. Winter has become a place of safety, rest and love.
But menarche for me still holds great sadness and regret. My life path meant that as I transitioned from childhood into womanhood I experienced the trauma of not only the death of my beloved Dad but also the loss of all the adults who had supported me in my childhood. The safety and security that I did have was brutally taken away. It gave me an incredible courage and strength that I still have today, but this didn’t come from a healthy place of feeling loved and supported. Quite the opposite. My menarche feels like being totally alone. Being able to rely on no-one but myself. I forced myself to step straight from childhood into adulthood without the gentle transition of spring. Even now with all the work I have done in consciously navigating my menstrual cycle, I feel the pain of this crossover. I no longer allow myself to mask it with busyness and pushing myself too hard so the old trauma is bubbling up to be healed with the loving witness of my deep attention.
So this Imbolc I intend to create a magical ceremony for myself to help me let go of these old wounds and move forwards into spring with reverence and a lightness of heart. I hope that the power of this ceremony will help ease me into the maiden phase of my cycle each time I finish my bleed. That it will allow me to be gentle with myself as the spring energy rises within and all around me. That I will be able to walk purposefully without needing to rush or hurry.
Never underestimate the power of ceremony. It speaks to our subconscious in an ancient way that we recognise and remember. It can highlight things we didn’t know were there and remove obstacles that we have struggled with for years. It will take all of my courage to perform this ceremony and invite others to join me, but I know that the transformation will be immense. It will ripple through my life and out into the world.
If this fires you with enthusiasm to perform your own Imbolc ritual but you don’t know where to start then download my free step-by-step guide from my welcome page. Invite in the Goddess Brigid, add something to honour and mark the transition from winter into spring – cross a bridge, step over a ribbon plus anything that brings a deeper meaning for you. For the more of yourself you bring to ceremony the more powerful it is!
I would love to hear how you get on. In sharing the magic and the sacred in our lives we make them stronger.
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