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The Pagan Assembly of Nova Scotia is heartbroken and horrified by the discovery of graves at residential school sites in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and British Columbia over the past multiple months.

As people who spiritually build a connection with the land on which we reside, we abhor and denounce the mistreatment of the primary caretakers of this land- collectively named the first peoples of Turtle Island.

The Pagan Assembly of Nova Scotia who lives on the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi'kma'ki acknowledges the Mi'kmaq People as the past, present, and future caretakers of this land.

As Pagans, pray for true reconciliation for our Indigenous kin. May those who have suffered find justice and peace, and may we all continue to build better and healthier relationships with each other.

For those in need of emotional support, please reach out to the 24-hour National Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line at 1-866-925-4419.

The Pagan Assembly of Nova Scotia wishes to express our gratitude for the painstaking work to bring closure to survivors, families and communities across the country.

We stand together in solidarity.

https://oncanadaproject.ca/

https://www.irsss.ca/

Midsummer - Old or Ancient?

Midsommar (Midsummer) is a modern summer tradition in Northern European countries that takes place during the middle of summer on or around June 21-24.

Most of the Swedish culture is built on folklore and tales dating back to the Viking Age. The question is, how far back has Midsommar been traced? Was is truly held during the longest day of the year? Was it evolved to conform to a modern era as Yule was?

Midsommar is a tradition I hold close to my heart. I have childhood memories of spending a day in grassy fields wearing flower crowns, dancing around a Midsommar pole, and singing ridiculous Swedish songs, but there is a lot more to it than modern cultural tradition. Brief History Recap: Scandinavian Calendars If you have been following my older articles, you will know that Vikings did not have a traditional calendar. They followed the phases of the moon to tell what time of year was approaching, and documented special occasions on stavs made of wood, stone, bone or horn. Yule originally took place nearly a month after the winter solstice until Norway converted its population to follow the Gregorian calendar. Rural areas of Scandinavia continued to use stavs until the 1800s (19th century).

The oldest known stav was found in Nyköping, Sweden and has been dated back to the 13th century; however, a primstav was mentioned in an Anglo-Saxon chronicle for the year 876, which is believed to have come when the Danish Vikings began their settlement in England (source).

The most popular runic calendar is Worm’s Norwegian runic calendar from 1643 which was carved into bone. He described the winter months in his book 'Fasti Danici', but he neglected to document the summer side. Thankfully the runstavs and primstavs help fill in this information for us.

Is Midsommar Pagan or Christian in origin?

Using facts from this research journal we can determine Midsommar customs are pagan in nature, but the name and date are Christian.

Pagan mid-summer celebrations can be traced back to the Iron Age (58-79 BC) with carvings of sun-worship, expressing: joy and thanks to the sun for its life-giving power. Influence is thought to come to Southern Germany either when Caesar was moving north during pre-Christian Rome, or from the Germanic legions when they returned to home from their service. But does sun-worship equate to Midsummer? Outside of sun-worship, pagans began holding middle of summer festivities sometime before 930AD, but they did not have a fixed date. Celebrations were likely held in June when Vikings/sailors returned from their voyages. Upon their long-awaited return, it is likely a community gathering and sumbel was held. This theory explains the observations of pagan men and women gathered to sing praises of heroes and famous women, while everyone danced, flirted and drank during mid-summer months.

It wasn't until the 1500s that the King of Norway gave pagans a fixed day for their customs, which coincided with St. John's Day. At this time pagans and Christians came together to celebrate the introduction of 'Midsommar Festival' where everyone was encouraged to take part in festive drinking.

That said, mountainous areas of Dauphine, Germany continued Heathen traditions into the 1930s and revivalist groups have since continued the tradition. The most impressive modern display can be found on Germany's highest mountain in Bavaria called Zugspitze. It is called: Feuerzauber auf den Bergen (Fire Magic on the Mountains) (source)

Pagan Mid-Summer Celebrations:

• Allthing (Iceland) - Two weeks in mid-June. Established from 930-999 - At the end of this period the date was moved to the Thursday of the 10th week of the summer-weeks

• Sunnenwende Events - 16th Century Southern Germany

• Summer Bride Festival (Norway) - Moved to Jonsok by the 1700s.

Midsommarsblót

The earliest attestation of a Mid-summer sacrificial celebration comes from 16th century Norway when a Midsommarsblót seemed to have been more of a threat than an actual occasion. In this text, Olav Trygvason led an army to convert pagans of Trondheim to Christianity. His army was no match for his opponents, so instead he spoke with his rivals and promised a Midsommarsblót where one of their most noble men would be sacrificed daily until they convert. It is the only mention of a mid-summer sacrifice. The Midsommar festival created by the King of Sweden-and-Norway is (likely) not connected to this battle-story.

Tracing Back Midsummer Celebrations: If you are like me, you're probably looking for connections through timelines to figure out where Midsummer celebrations came from and if they are connected. I have done my best to compile dates and locations in order of its evidence through records of sagas, laws and archaeological discoveries. It is important to note the following occurrences were not called Midsommar or Midsummer, but celebrations held during the middle of summer-weeks. The following timeline is a series of events from earliest to latest events:

• 1930s: Heathen traditions continued until 1930 in the Mountains of Dauphine; which presided over June 24 before the 312 Century.

• 1700s: Solstice games of southern Germany lead historian, Jacob Grimm to conclude fires lit to welcome summer "derive straight from our native heathenism." He also observed these fires occur during the time of Easter and during midsummer.

• 1600s: Biographer, St. Eigils tried to prohibit Heathen Midsommar customs during Midsomar. Morris dance is created, replacing wilder, heathen dances, and Christmas customs become more sedate.

• 1500s: King of Norway connects the Heathen Summer Bride Festival to Jonsok (Day of St. John) by establishing a Midsommar festival and henceforth disbands sacrifices/blóts.

• 994 - King of Norway knew about Midsommar traditions and tried to convert Heathens with a promise or threat of a Midsommarsblót.

• 930-999: The Icelandic Allthing Assembly is held for two weeks on the 9th week of summer-weeks. Note: Influence of kings don't arrive in Iceland until 1262.

• 58-49 BC: Carvings from Denmark and Sweden show expression of joy, thanks, and worship to the sun for its life-giving power; and symbols of the sun-wheel survived from Scandinavia and Germany through use in folk customs. *Note: This only proves sun-worship existed. It is not evidence of Midsommar.

Conclusion: Usually I like to give simple answers at the beginning of my articles (and I tried) but this particular event has so many layers of answers that we needed to understand the details within it before understanding the history of Norse Midsommar and its variants.

So is Norse Midsommar Historically Heathen? The simple answer is yes and no. Given the evidence in this article we can say without a doubt that: Middle-of-Summer celebrations in Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Iceland were celebrated before the arrival of Christianity at varying times in history; however, it was under Christian leadership that it was given a specific date and made into a public festival to unite its people of different beliefs. I hope you can walk away from this post feeling better connected and knowledgeable about your path. If you require more insight, please continue reading my sources in the 'Further Readings/Citation' field below. Sincerely, Jennifer Hartman Pagan Kids pagankids.org

Why Pagans should oppose the clear-cutting lobby

The Tree of Life is one of my preferred visualizations and methods of grounding.  Often, I’ll consider which large trees are close by when doing it, and use their shape and form to assist the visualization.  Old willow trees are a favourite, especially trees that reach high to the sky, and low to the earth with their weeping branches.

This love of trees, and nature more generally, is one of the things that sets pagans apart. Our relationship with nature often develops early in life. Many people describe their discovery of paganism and/or the Goddess as a homecoming, forged in childhood memories of babbling brooks and forests and farms. Our sacred spaces are often marked by natural phenomena. Some temples, marked simply by groves of trees, form circles reaching above and below - as in the mystery of all things.

So when the corporations who clear-cut our forests start interfering in politics, pagans need to get involved as well.

That’s what is happening right now around the Biodiversity Act, proposed legislation that is designed to help protect wildlife and plants that are increasingly endangered as a result of climate change and unsustainable harvesting practices.  The corporations who clear-cut our forests are opposed to this legislation because they want to continue their destructive practices. 

The truth is that this legislation doesn’t go nearly far enough.  It is a start, but even with this legislation, we will continue to see a major loss of biodiversity as climate change accelerates. Even with this legislation, clear-cutting and destroying forests will still be legal in Nova Scotia. 

But the weakness of this legislation has not stopped the clear-cutting lobby from telling lies and half-truths about it. The so-called "Concerned Private Landowners Coalition" isn't a real group. It is a front set up by Forest Nova Scotia, which represents the clear-cutting industry. They do not speak for the thousands of tiny and small woodlot owners, or small farmers, who make up the vast majority of people that own rural land in our province. 

Our forests have become so degraded that they are growing back much slower, with much less biodiversity. The impacts on our natural environment are easy to see. The impacts on human health, emotions, state of mind, and spirituality, are as intense, but more difficult to see.

Consider: Our native Beech, Elm, and White Ash trees are dying off due to disease and the impacts of climate change and globalization. Our Sugar Maples and White Birch are also threatened. 

This is not to say that we can't have a forestry and lumber industry. With time, sustainable harvest practices and higher-value forestry much are still possible. To get there, we need to press pause, and allow our forests time to heal and grow. We need to make a shift as a society toward saying that extractive industries like clear-cutting are unacceptable - whether on public or private land. Ecosystems do not respect property lines. 

For pagans, and everyone who cares about our forests, the intense campaign against the Biodiversity Act should raise alarm. Even a fairly minor attempt to support a more sustainable future is being vocally opposed by the clear-cut lobby.  The only solution, that I can see, is to be equally as vocal.  To say that we must go further.  To say that we cannot allow any further destruction of the earth. To say that the land, trees and animals are sacred and that they have usefulness beyond human greed.

So please, take a moment to call your Member of the Legislative Assembly and ask them to support this legislation. A phone call to their office, even in evening hours when it will go to an answering machine, is much more effective than sending an email. Speak out against the lies of the clear-cutting industry.

Then, close your eyes, breathe deep, relax your muscles, and form in your mind the vision of glorious, mature, diverse forests from Yarmouth to Glace Bay.  Dig your roots deep into the crust of the Earth, draw up the earth-fire, let it flow and grow and crescendo, then let it sink back to the Earth itself, and let us weave the strands of a different vision.

Another world is possible. 

Learn more about the so-called  “controversial” parts of the legislation: https://www.thechronicleherald.ca/opinion/local-perspectives/lisa-mitchell-nova-scotias-new-biodiversity-bill-is-reasonable-not-radical-565284/ 

Doubt and Deliverance

Deliverance: a 14th Century word to describe the state of being saved, rescued or liberated from something dangerous or unpleasant. In modern terms, this is often used to describe the act of Divine Intervention after a prayer of appeal, to be rescued or liberated by a deity.

Once upon a time, a man was walking along the cliffs when he slips and falls. He catches himself and balances precariously upon a ledge. In distress, he prays for deliverance, and so strong is his belief that his God will save him from his plight that he remains calm in the face of potential death. Soon the man hears a dog barking somewhere above him, followed by the face of a woman peering over the edge of the cliff. “Don’t move!” She cries “I am going to get help!”

“No, no, don’t worry” the man replies “I have prayed for deliverance and I have faith that my God will save me.” But his words were lost to the wind as the dog walker had already run for help.

A few minutes later a member from the coastguard peered over the ledge and called down to the man “Don’t worry sir, we have a helicopter on the route and we will have you safe and sound in no time!”

“No, no, don’t worry” the man replies “I have prayed for deliverance and I have faith that my God will save me.” The coastguard is bemused by his response but continues to call down to the man as they wait for the rescue helicopter to arrive. Soon the helicopter appears in the sky above the cliff and a mountain rescue professional is lowered down with a safety harness to assist the man still praying upon the ledge. Upon reaching the man, the rescue worker is surprised to be pushed away repeatedly. The man cries “No! I told you! I have faith that my God will deliver me from this plight!” In his rejection of rescue, the man slips from the ledge and falls to his death. He awakens in the afterlife to find himself stood before his God. In bitterness, the man exclaims “I believed in you! I prayed to you! Why didn’t you give me deliverance at my time of need?”

His God replies “I did. I changed the winds for you so that the dog would pick up your scent. I whispered to the woman so that she would follow the right path and quickly find assistance. I supported the coastguard’s intuition to call in a rescue helicopter. I have often shared my strength with the rescue team that risked their own lives to save yours. And now I will listen to the prayers of each person traumatized by your death. I answered your prayer; you just didn’t listen to my response.”

This story always struck a chord with me, and I have often remembered it during dark and difficult times. Sometimes it can be hard to find deliverance in desperate situations. It can be hard to ask for help in any form, from Gods, from people, from the deepest parts of ourselves; and prayers are sometimes made with bargaining and disbelief. Sometimes we doubt that there will ever be an end to the pain, sometimes we doubt that we deserve to be saved from the hardship, sometimes we doubt our own capabilities to overcome the difficulties and sometimes we even doubt that the Divine exists – and if we do believe in their existence, we doubt that they would care about us and our plight. There is so much pain and poverty in this world, that the idea of any form of Divine Deliverance is often unfathomable.

I do believe in the power of prayer. I believe that prayer can connect us to the Divine within and without. I believe prayer can help us access deep wells of strength, perseverance, and compassion. I believe prayer can alter our consciousness, change our perceptions and affect our reality. I believe that the Divine responds to prayer and that Divine Intervention is possible. However, I also believe that this story shows us we can fail to recognize deliverance when it appears, that our own beliefs and expectations can blind us to the method of deliverance, and that we feel abandoned by the Divine when deliverance fails to manifest in the way we expect or hope for. However we, as Witches, have an awareness of Divinity not just as an external force that may or may not directly influence our lives, but as an internal force that connects us all to the Divine and to each other. The potential for Divine Deliverance resides within each and every one of us.

Sometimes I catch myself using the phrase ‘Someone was looking out for them’ and on some level, I wonder if there is hidden cruelty within it. Phrases like this can imply that those who suffer are not being watched over or protected by a Deity, and it does devalue the most obvious influence in many forms of deliverance – us. Sometimes, when we thank the Gods for a situation, we can inadvertently disrespect the time, energy and skills of those people who have come to our aid. Those people who spend their lives and risk their lives helping others deserve our acknowledgement and gratitude. Sometimes when we thank the Gods for sparing us or our loved ones from disaster, we are not considering the lives of those who did not share in our good fortune. We should always express gratitude for our own well- being, but we should never allow that to overshadow another person’s grief or hardship. Sometimes we stand untouched in a natural disaster, whilst our neighbour’s lives are devastated. Instead of wondering why we were delivered from disaster and they were not, we can take an active role in their deliverance. We can extend the hand of Divinity from within us to assist others in their time of need. Our interaction, our help, our support, may well be the answer to their prayer, just as other people can be the answer to ours.

Whether we attribute our own strength in times of adversity to our connection with Divinity, to nature, or to nurture, we should remember that the hand we extend in support to others may also be seen as the helping hand of the Divine. Some may see us as the instrument of a God or Goddess, and some may see us as the instrument of our own salvation. We rescue ourselves and one another. Even in the doubt of Divinity, we each have the power of deliverance.

Be strong.

Be brave.

Have faith.

Hold the Divine in one hand, and your community in the other. Together we can

make magic.

Of Groundhogs and Critters

Seventeen years ago, I was asked to cover the February second service for the local Universalist Unitarian Church. The bulletins had been printed, the hymns are chosen, I had to work within the confines of Rev. Baros-Johnson's choices. It forced me to look beyond the usual associations for Imbolc. I was to preside over Groundhog Communion and then give a short homily to the congregation. Here is an excerpt from my presentation.

Groundhog Communion

I requested that What a Wonderful World play while the Communion took place. I encourage you to listen to it now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWzrABouyeE

Often the consumption of food is incorporated within Neo Pagan ritual. It is sometimes referred to in Wicca as Cakes and Ale. Like the Christian communion, one of its purposes is to help connect us with the divine. After invoking the blessing of deity, the platter and chalice are passed from participant to participant, often accompanied by the blessing: May you never hunger. May you never thirst.

Homily: Critters

May you never hunger. May you never thirst. Nice sentiments, but what do they really mean to us, here in this place and time? We, who have been hungry on occasion but never known the disfiguring pain of rickets or scurvy. We, who have been thirsty but never been far from unlimited sources of fresh, clean and safe drinking water.

Mathematical cosmologist, Brian Swimme speaks of how all creativity has a cost. For something to be created, something else has to dissolve. We arrive here and everything is given to us. These gifts, he suggests, are a result of sacrifices on the part of the Universe – the fireball, stars, extinct species, sun, earth, animals, plants and other humans. All the gifts from these were needed and are needed for our lives. They are the cost of our existence. The Universe, he claims, is an ongoing sacrificial event. We find ourselves in this place of exchange, this great feasting where everything is nourishing everything else. Things arrive and give themselves over for the adventure of the Universe. If so, then what is our place, here and now as a part of the interdependent web of all life?

The Wheel of the Year that was constructed by Gardner and others was based on a Celtic year. Its festival dates set not just around Celtic holy days but those of other northern and western European cultures as well. These celebrations were chosen to connect us with our ancestors and their ways of life and also with the earth itself. This Sabbat has several names: Bride's Day and Candlemas being popular for their themes of purification, purity and light. But it is Imbolc and Oimlec also. Imbolc means “in the belly” and Oimlec referring to the beginning of the ewes' lactation.

This was a true time to celebrate for people whose lives were so closely tied to the cycles of the earth, to the web of all existence. Food stores set aside in the harvest months of the previous year were at the very least growing stale and mouldy. Often these stores were running out depending on the growing conditions of the previous year. A wet spring, and early fall, a drought are just a few of the many circumstances that could adversely affect the food supply. Do you remember last summer's weather? The year before? At a time when the years could be marked by the death of a child to starvation, the weather of each growing season would be remembered.

The pregnancy of the ewes would provide life-saving nutrition in the form of milk. And if a ewe delivered early, there would be a lamb to eat. I have recently read that it is still the practice of shepherds in the UK to kill the early deliveries. For if the lamb were allowed to live, it would stop nursing before there was tender grass available for it to eat and would then die of starvation. It was not only mercy to kill these lambs, it would have been a blessing to have fresh meat. The inspiration of this ancient holy day was about survival and the miracle of having food without killing herds and jeopardizing future harvests.

Archeological anthropologists propose that many tribal cultures have understood and revered the interdependent web of all existence in ways that we have lost. From thanking the spirit of the deer for giving up its life so they could eat to honouring the tree for the branch that was fashioned into a musical instrument, deity permeated their world and was to be honoured.

Modern-day Wicca and many whose faith evolved from the groundbreaking work of Gardner, Valiente and others, debate often the value and the extent of the Rede. The Rede states in part: An you harm none, do what you will. For people who celebrate an immanent manifestation of deity, it can be a confusing and troubling piece of counsel. It is impossible to go through the day without harm.

Cultural relativists speak of intention as a talisman that separates us from our actions. But the intention is not enough. What must accompany intention is awareness. Awareness of immanent deity. Awareness of the interconnection of all life. Awareness that by the very act of getting up in the morning we are disturbing whole ecosystems of microbial life. (Horton Hears a Who, anyone?) Awareness that not just the animals we eat, but the fruits, vegetables and water are all alive. Awareness must lead to mindfulness, gratitude and to joy. Life is sacrificed in a myriad of ways each day in order for us to be here. Mindfulness and gratitude are not enough, it is our sacred obligation to seek joy.

Neo-Pagan teachings most often come in the form of storytelling. Like the Christian parables, the stories can mean different things to different people. For me, Loren Eisley's essay “The Judgment of the Birds”, speaks of our place and our relationship with other species within creation. Eisley writes in the essay of awakening from a nap in the woods to the noise of some commotion. Looking amongst the trees, Eisley spies the cause. A large raven is sitting on a branch with a nestling in its beak. The parents cry and scold, the chorus is taken up by other birds of many species.

Eisley writes, “No one dared to attack the raven. But they cried there in some instinctive and common misery, the bereaved and the unbereaved. The glade filled with their soft rustling and their cries. They fluttered as though to point their wings at the murderer. It was then I saw the judgment. It was the judgment of life against death. I will never see it again so forcefully presented. I will never hear it again in notes so tragically prolonged. For in the midst of the protest, they forgot the violence. There in that clearing, the crystal note of a song sparrow lifted hesitantly in the hush. And finally, after painful fluttering, another took the song, and then another, the song passing from one bird to another, doubtfully at first, as though some evil thing were slowly being forgotten. 'Til suddenly, they took heart and sang from many throats, joyously together as birds are known to sing. They sang because life is sweet and sunlight beautiful. They sang under the brooding shadow of the raven. In simple truth, they had forgotten the raven, for they were singers of life, not death.”

What can the Neo-Pagan Sabbats, these days that mark our ancestors' dance within the circle of life, these ancient holy days, teach us as 21st century UUs? We, who have “covenanted to affirm and promote a respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part”? They can bring us to mindfulness, to respect, to gratitude and then to joy “as we think to ourselves: What a Wonderful World.”

Links to Brian Swimme:

https://storyoftheuniverse.org/

and

https://www.ciis.edu/faculty-and-staff-directory/brian-thomas-swimme

Loren Eisley and The Judgment of the Birds:

https://www.eiseley.org/

and

http://www.ombredor.com/dbksskbd/quotes/birds.html

Imbolc

I was born and raised in the beautiful south of England, my ancestral homeland filled with a rich history of Pagan practice. Although I have travelled to many countries in my life, it was only when I settled in Canada that I realized how much of my own personal practice was tied to the shifting seasons of my homeland. No longer could I welcome Imbolc with the snowdrops, count the crocuses and daffodils at the Spring Equinox and smile at the beauty of flowering hawthorn at Beltaine. Imbolc did not always feel like the earth was shifting, Spring Equinox did not always feel like spring, and the harvest festivals were not always reflective of the actual harvest times.

The Witches Sabbats, rituals and practices are so closely connected to the agricultural calendar of the British Isles and Celtic influence, that with distance my perspective widened and my understanding deepened. The Witches Sabbats are important markers throughout the year for many Pagan paths, guiding our practices and encouraging our ever-shifting perspectives to focus on personal spiritual growth. Although our landscapes and environments may differ, the deeper meanings of each Sabbat provide foundational understandings that we can build upon with knowledge and wisdom.

Imbolc, (also referred to as Imolg, Oilmelg, Oimelc, or the Feast of Poets), is a Cross- Quarter festival typically celebrated on the 1st of February. It explores the reawakening earth and the increasing light; the re-emerging Maiden Goddess, Feminine Divine, Creativity, and Poetry. The literal meaning of Imbolc is “In the belly” and it is deep in the belly of the earth that life now stirs. We may not be able to see the changes in nature yet, but the world around us is pregnant with potential. This is the underlying energy of Imbolc – Potential. At this time of year, we bring forth the intuitive unconscious energy and the wisdom of introspection that we have gained over winter and harness it to the active intellect of the conscious mind. This union of two different energies is the key to manifestation and spiritual growth.

Imbolc falls into the middle of an air sign, Aquarius, which is associated with communication and inspiration; and I believe that the energetic themes of Imbolc can be readily explored through the many myths, legends and stories of the Gods. In many traditions, we honour the deities of poetry and inspiration and celebrate the bards who share ancient wisdom, ancestral memories and magical teachings through the sacred art of story-telling.

In ancient myths, we hear of Persephone rising from the Underworld, bringing with her knowledge of seasons and cycles, the wisdom of balance, and the potential of new life. In Celtic traditions, we honour the Maiden aspect of the Triple Goddess Brigid. A goddess who is the Keeper of the Sacred Fire and the spark of life and inspiration, Brigid is also the goddess of the living waters whose springs and wells are sacred sites. On the eve of Imbolc, Brigid awakens the sleeping serpent and encourages him to leave his hole deep in the earth and in doing so, she brings forth fertility to the land. We celebrate the goddess Freya, the virgin aspect of the Nordic Triple Goddess, who represents deep sexual love and whose alternative name ‘Frigg’ has become a slang term for sexual intercourse. Within myth and legend, we explore the relationship between the masculine and feminine, we delve into the mysteries of the sacred feminine, and we acknowledge the complex duality of purity and sexuality. Virgins, Maidens, young Sun Gods; deities of love, sex and fertility; and deities of poetry, passion and prose, are all honoured at this point of the wheel.

This ancient festival of Imbolc was also incorporated into early Christian calendars as Candlemas on the 2nd of February, a festival of emerging light and the purification of the Virgin Mary. Although some of the same spiritual threads are woven into Candlemas, the removal of the Maiden/Virgins sexual energy creates a very different tapestry of faith. The wonder of festivals that utilise candles is the deeply spiritual concept of sharing our light with others, of how one candle will not lose itself by lighting others and indeed how even a small flame can hold back the darkness. Interestingly, the word Candle is closely related to the words “Cande” in Anglo-Saxon and “Candali”, “Kundali”, and “Kundalini” in Sanskrit, which are all related to the rising of sexual energy throughout the body and deeply entwines candle flames with passion, sexuality and the fever (or ‘Febris’) of love.

This time of year is the setting for many stories of love and sex, myths of youth and vitality, and legends of journeys and quests that abound in ancient lore. Maybe it is because the land around us still shivers in winter’s grip, and yet also offers us glimpses of nature’s fertility and forthcoming bounty. A hint of life to come. Imbolc is the quiet moment of almost imperceptible change, a tipping point in our ever spiralling journey. It is a moment of stillness poised between one world and another, and the split-second of wonder when potential energy becomes kinetic energy. It is the time when our minds emerge from winter introspection and turns our attention outwards with a restless energy that desires passion, creativity, social and sexual interactions. Use the energy of Imbolc to learn new skills, be more creative, expand upon your passions and deepen your understanding of love, sex, relationships and self-care. Imbolc is a time outside of time, a moment of magic, the pause before the first step of your new journey. Treat your life as your quest, and your journey will be another myth in the making.

Bright Blessings,