Ostara

03/19/20 • 33 min

Blessings on this Spring Equinox, dear ones. For the Celtic wheel of the year, this celebration is sometimes referred to as Ostara. As the northern hemisphere tilts towards the sun, the days begin to lengthen, and the sun turns towards the North, we officially welcome the Spring and all that it represents - freshness, green shoots, birdsong, warmer days, and cleansing rains.

And in context for those that are listening from the future, we are currently experiencing a rather large tensing of the social fabric of our culture as a virus is spreading very quickly around the world. We are now, and always have been, part of a deeply connected world, and it is times like these that shine a light on how brilliantly interdependent we are.

Today, I invite you to gift yourself with some space to rest and relax during this time of challenge and change. On this day, the light and the dark, the day and the night are conceptually equal. There is a beautiful, balancing quality to the equinox and its gifts of day and night held in dynamic equality offer us an opportunity to reflect on our own sense of balance.

As part of my offering into the cauldron of change and transformation we are experiencing, and in service of this Spring Equinox where the balance of light and dark is upon us, I offer you some pathways to your own inner resiliency via some visualizations and meditations.

May the goddess of the dawn walk beside us and sit with us at our hearth, as we ground, breathe, and deepen into the understanding of what challenge truly is and the wisdom and freedom offered through change.

Previous Episode

Imbolc

May the blessings of Imbolc be upon you! I am utterly thrilled to be sharing this beautiful celebration with you. Imbolc is the beautiful festival and celebration of awakening, fertility, birthing, and beginning. It is the promise of renewal, of hidden potential, of the earth slowly awakening and of life-force stirring.

As I explored the celebration of Imbolc, the one recurring theme that arose was that for many who have celebrated Imbolc over the years: it was either the beginning of their year or the ramp to the beginning of their year. To myself and others, it was almost as if we were living in the season of waiting and not knowing, the liminal space, the timeless time between last year and the future year and it was in fact at Imbolc that the year would really begin. So at this time of Imbolc, we welcome the growth of the returning light and witness life's rebirth.

The most prominent deity associated with Imbolc is the great fire goddess, Brighid. Myths regarding Brighid’s birth say she was born with a flame in her head and fed on the milk of a mystical or faery cow as a child. She is thought to provide ample supplies of milk to the community or village that honors her and is the patron goddess of fertility, pregnancy and midwifery, the home and all dairy and domestic-related activities.

I offer this episode as a way to explore the history and traditions of Imbolc and to connect with the fascinating, protective, loving, fierce, capable, and frankly incredible deity that is Brighid. We will end with ritual, prayer and gentle meditation to honor this magical time of year.

May Brighid offer us fierce protection, loving protection, and inspiration in this time of re-birth!

Next Episode

Beltane

Welcome, dear ones, welcome to the beloved, ancient fire festival of Beltane! This sun-fire festival is a full half-year turn of the wheel from Samhain when the ancestral veil is thinnest. At Beltane, the veils are also thinned, but they are the curtains that protect the realms of the fae, our etheric kin. We offer them sweetness and play at this time of the year, and offer them our truest thanks for tending the budding shoots and unfurling tendrils, bringing green life back into our lives.

At the time of this podcast recording, the world is being awoken. An emergence is upon us; we are facing the delicate fragility of our human walk and meeting the sheer force of reckoning that is the natural world. We are also being offered exceptional beauty. The air is clearing. The mountains are being revealed. The animals are returning. The Earth is stilling.

I dedicate this Beltane podcast to celebrating on your own. There are so many ways to lovingly celebrate at this time and the Earth in all her ripening splendor is so very deserving of our attention! She continues, unphased and unstopped by the cultural movements of human people so even though we may not be able to gather together in large numbers, dancing around a maypole, feasting with friends, or frolicking under the moonlight, there are so many ways we can bring the richness, fecundity, and celebration of Beltane into our lives.

As part of my offering, and in service of this month of May, I offer you some rituals and pathways to connect with the flame of the Belfire, the sacred waters of the Beltane morning dew and the wildness within us all.