Today is Imbolc- the halfway point between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox. We celebrate the light returning and creative (or fertile) energies reawakening.
Imbolc translates roughly to ‘in the belly’ or ‘ewe’s milk’. The Earth is pregnant with new life. It’s a time that represents hope as the winter begins to fade. This day is marked with a festival celebrating Brigid, the Triple Goddess, as she represents the movement from maiden to mother to crone and back again. Brigid is also known as the goddess of poetry, healing, midwifery and smithcraft. She is called upon to usher in new life, abundance, and health as the earth reawakens.
Celebrating Brigid the Goddess
“As a Sun Goddess, born at the exact moment of dawn, Brigid bears the gifts of knowledge, inspiration, and the life force and healing energy of the sun. She is complete within herself.
Her attributes are:
1. Fires of Inspiration – poetry, learning, divination, witchcraft, occult knowledge and prophecy. In this aspect She appears as a poetess and a muse.
2. Fires of the Forge – smithcrafts, blacksmiths, goldsmiths, housecrafts. In this aspect she is seen carrying her famous cauldron used for melting metals. She may even date back to the beginnings of pottery and its firing. Through this forge aspect She is also associated with the martial arts, as a warrior goddess, who forges spears and arrows. A smith creates anew and fixes broken things.
3. Fires of the Hearth – medicine, spiritual healing and fertility, midwifery, inner healing and vital energy. In this aspect She is known as the Goddess of Healing.” -Judith Shaw
Incorporate Breath of Fire into your morning routine for Imbolc season.
‘Breath of Fire’ is a powerful practice from the Kundalini lineage of yoga that has an invigorating and heating affect, which is perfect as spring nears and we begin to stir our creative energies. Try incorporating breath of fire into your morning routine this month! (Note: skip this breath if you are on your moon cycle, pregnant or actively breastfeeding)
To practice the Breath of Fire, follow these steps:
Find a comfortable seated position with your spine straight and your hands resting on your knees.
Take a deep breath in through your nose, filling your lungs completely.
Exhale forcefully through your nose, pulling your navel in towards your spine as you do so- it feels similar to blowing your nose.
Begin to breathe rapidly and rhythmically through your nose, without pausing between inhales and exhales. Keep your focus on pushing your navel out for the exhale. The inhale will happen naturally.
Practice this breathing technique for 1-3 minutes to start, gradually increasing the duration as you become more comfortable with the practice.
My Favorite Brigid Poem:
THE GIVEAWAY from the Love Letters of Phyllis Mcginley
Saint Brigid was
A problem child.
Although a lass
demure and mild,
and one who strove
to please her dad,
St Brigid drove
the family mad.
For here's the fault in Brigid lay:
she WOULD give everything away.
To any soul
whose luck was out
she'd give her bowlof stirabout;
she'd give her shawl,
divide her purse,
with one and all.
And what was worse,
when she ran out of things to give
she'd borrow from a relative.
Her father's gold,
her grandsire's dinner,
she'd hand to cold
and hungry sinner;
give wine, give meat,
no matter whose;
take from her feet
the very shoes,
and when her shoes had gone to others,
fetch forth her sister's and her mother's.
She could not quit.
She had to share;
gave bit by bit
the silverware,
the barnyard geese,
the parlour rug,
her little niece's christening mug,
even her bed
to those in want,
and then the mattress of her aunt.
An easy touch
for poor and lowly,
she gave so much
and grew so holy
that when she died
of years and fame,
the countryside
put on her name,
and still the Isles of Erin fidget
with generous girls named Bride or Brigid.
Well, one must love her.
Nonetheless,
in thinking of her givingness,
there's no denial
she must have been
a sort of trialunto her kin.
The moral, too, seems rather quaint,
Who had the patience of a saint,
from evidence presented here?
Saint Brigid? Or her near and dear?
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