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SPIRIT
Betcha didn't know Groundhog's Day is derived from the dirty dirt-worshipping Pagan holiday of Imbolc?! And I mean dirty dirt-worshipping Pagan in the most loving way, because after all, a healthy microbiome requires soil-based baceria i.e. what most modern humans would call "dirty" and the dirt a.k.a. earth is freakin' awesome and the Mother of all of us (seriously, wouldn't be alive without her!) Imbolc falls at the beginning of February each year, marking the midway point between the Winter Solstice and the Vernal Equinox. Chani Nicholas, one rad woman who embraces her inner witch through communicating astrology that packs a punch of social justice, aligns this new moon and the traditions of Imbolc quite nicely in this excerpt from her latest post.
"This new moon is the Imbolc moon. Imbolc is a cross-quarter day, a day in between the solstice and the equinox. Imbolc is a traditional Gaelic festival that marks the stirrings of spring. From deep within the frozen earth new life is emerging. Imbolc is thought to mean “in the belly,” celebrating the life that invisibly starts in the womb. It is a time when the goddess, Brigid, is celebrated and asked to enter into people’s homes so they may receive her blessing. It is a time to offer her food and drink, a bed to sleep on and to hang cloth outside our doors for her to bless. A time to visit a sacred well, pray for health and leave an offering. A time to light candles, have a bonfire and call in the warmth and light of a new season.
This is a time to ask for assistance from the forces of nature that we live within. A time to offer what we have without expectation of what we will receive. This is a time where we ask to be purified by the waters that are thawing and by the promise of new life, a time to be purged of what has is no longer logical, useful or working."
You can read her full take on this new moon in Aquarius here.
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