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An Imbolc Meditation
(for any time when you need to feel refreshed)
It is a lovely early spring day. The air is fresh with the
fragrance of green plants eager to bloom. The sun's radiance bathes you
in comfort, perhaps the first warmth you have felt in many months.
You sense that you are in Ireland, because it is so very
green; everything feels clean and alive. The landscape is timeless and
magickal.
In the distance, you hear birds singing as they welcome the unexpected
warmth of the day.
Happiness begins to bubble and dance within you, very
quietly at first. It feels almost like anticipation, but it puts a smile
on your lips as well.
You are walking up a slight hill. You sense that something
wonderful can be seen from the top. As you walk, the grass is already
tall enough to brush against your lower legs. This is a wild place where
Nature flourishes.
Near the top of the hill, you see a dolmen - two standing
stones and a large stone across the tops of them, like an arch. You
wonder why you didn't see it sooner. This majestic dolmen seems to
appear, like magick, when you are just twenty feet from it.
Does it mean something? Is it real? You do not pause to
wonder, but keep walking towards it.
As you pass between the upright stones, you notice carvings and symbols
on the sides of the dolmen. Some of them are lines and marks, which you
suspect are an ancient and timeless Ogham message. Others are symbols
and spirals, which you will return to look at, another day.
As you pass through the dolmen and continue up the hill, an
invisible curtain brushes over you gently.
In the space of a blink, it is a clear, crisp night. The stars are above
you, brilliant and twinkling.
You know the moon is behind you, but you do not notice its
light because there is a sparkling fire just ahead, at the crest of the
hill. There is no breeze, but the evening is chilly as you would expect
when winter is still a fresh memory.
You pull your clothing more closely around you, as you
continue up the hill. You are eager to reach the warmth of the fire,
which is bigger than you thought at first. In fact, it is a bonfire and
you realize you have arrived at Imbolc.
You run the last few steps to stand next to the fire, pushing your hands
towards it, to capture the heat from a safe distance. Tall yellow and
white flames seem to warm you inside and out. You pause to look at the
sky again, and savor the moment.
Looking across the flames, you realize that you are not
alone. You can see the top of someone's head. You pause. Have you have
intruded on a private ceremony?
Slowly, you walk around the fire, and your companion stands up from the
rock she was sitting upon.
She is a tall, strong woman, with long hair so light you
cannot tell if it is blonde or white. She looks like the Queen of
Pentacles in a way, with an ageless sense of knowing and accomplishment.
She wears a long gown and an embroidered cape, but you can see her bare
feet peeking out from under her skirt. You know she is someone noble yet
without artifice.
Without a word, she stretches out her hands to take yours in
welcome. You know, as if you've known her all your life: This is
Brighid.
This is a special and sacred moment.
She welcomes you to her fire, which will burn tonight and every night,
for Imbolc is her festival and her fire is never extinguished.
You sit down next to her, on large flat rocks that are warm from the
fire, and very comfortable. She begins to explain to you the meaning of
Imbolc, and its promise of a fresh beginning--not just to the plants and
animals, but also to everyone on Earth who permits Imbolc into his or
her life.
She helps you to remember your past dreams, especially the
childhood ones which began, "When I grow up..."
As you recall these fantasies and goals, you discover that many of them
were left behind with your childhood. Others are still alive in what you
do each day. This is not a sad realization.
Tonight, you know that you can start afresh. Every one of
those dreams is still within you, and the means to achieve them.
Brighid picks up a fallen twig from a nearby yew tree. It looks like any
other twig, in the firelight.
However, when Brighid places it into the fire, the twig's bark flares
and flames like a sparkler, giving enough heat energy to set the twig
burning brightly.
Silently, Brighid has shown that even a small spark will set
alight your oldest and most neglected dreams.
The lesson was simple, but vital.
Now it is time to return to your own world. As you stand, Brighid offers
you a cup of clear water, which you sip. The sensation in your mouth is
unique. There is a kind of life-giving energy, that is spring itself.
You take a larger swallow of the water, and your entire body responds to
that water with a vitality that--like your forgotten dreams--you had
almost forgotten from childhood.
After returning the cup to Brighid, and then a quick
embrace, you stride purposefully around the fire and back to the dolmen.
Passing under it, you emerge back into the daylight, and the warm air
and clear sunshine of an early spring day. You have not merely learned
the meaning of Imbolc, but actually experienced it in your soul.
From now on, every time you sip fresh water, or see twigs
and branches burning in a bonfire, you will feel Brighid's presence, and
be reminded of the fire--and dreams--that burn within you, too, and will
never be extinguished.
---
May your Imbolc
--and every day--
be filled with fresh beginnings and realized dreams!
by Fiona Fitzgerald Broome | | | |