Hi, All!
I find it interesting that, this year, Imbolc (or 'Oimelc' if you want to get linguistically correct...or St. Brighid's Day if you are Catholic) follows on the heels of Mercury finally going direct (as of Saturday, the 31st of January). To me, not only is this a day where Lady Brighid features most prominently of all times of the Pagan (and mainstream spiritual) year, but this specific sequence of astrological goings-on (Merc. going direct, then Imbolc) speaks to me of new seeds of growth and abundance, particularly via communication and travel. Which ought to bode well for my doings in the mundane world, especially with regard to my job hunt, and very recent interview at a Native-American-run casino a mere 15 miles from my home.
It is also not lost on me that, this year, Imbolc dawns on a time of financial crisis for millions across the US and even across the globe. Lady Brighid's day for us Pagans, it seems, comes just in time to help us petition, magickally, for abundance on both a personal and global scale. This kind of downturn, complete with job losses numbering in the thousands, and perhaps into the 1-million-plus mark, is probably making people feel quite uprooted and powerless, despite the old "pull-yourself-up-by-the-bootstrap" philosophy that social conservatives like to bandy about, in an attempt to excuse themselves from helping the down-and-out. To those reading this blog who the economy has adversely affected: I completely understand where you are coming from, feelings-wise. You have my total empathy and sympathies.
This whole thing is somehow connecting, in my mind, to a personal incident that happened early last week.
Last Sunday or Monday, I discovered my lavender plant had died. I had truly meant to plant it in the ground before winter came, but never got around to doing it, "saving money" being my only (ostensibly) plausible excuse. Seeing the plant's withered leaves in a pot, despite good intentions from my dad (who placed it in his home office in an attempt to give the plant the sunshine it needed), really made me feel like a dolt.
For one thing, I hold plants in high regard for their healing properties. They are no less than brothers and sisters to me, and the fact that I did not take the best care of my lavender plant in light of how I regard the plant realm did not sit well with my conscience.
It did not help that our water is frequently chlorinated and otherwise treated to remove harmful bacteria and other nasty stuff. (My mother, for this reason, makes sure and lets any water for plants sit for at least a day so the chlorine can evaporate. Still didn't help, really.)
Also, I noticed that my plant, while it was still alive, was putting out long tendrils. I remembered the way my boyfriend's lavender plant usually looks in the spring and summer, with low-slung branches close to the ground that had rooted themselves in the soil, and I realized that's what my plant was wanting to do. It was searching for a place to take root with the long tendrils, and it could not. Being in the pot stifled its ability to literally branch out and grow firmer roots.
From that understanding sprang the following realization, which I wrote in one of my paper-and-pen journals:
"We cannot survive unless we have our roots in the Divine Mother. We can only live so long in the 'pots' in which we place ourselves. Pots, like self-limiting actions and thoughts, provide very little room to grow. If we are planted within the nurturing soil of the Creative Force, we are more likely to thrive, since we are thus able to spread out and take nourishment better."
And it made me wonder about my own path of growth, on all levels. It made me wonder as to what sort of thoughts and practices were placing me in a "pot" of limitation, what sort of "food" I was taking in, what source of Light I was getting, if any. And it made me wonder whether the tendrils I am attempting to put down into my spirit-soil are going to take root, or die for lack of nourishment and support (read: personal will).
Another thing that my lavender plant's death confirmed for me was that plants carry the same sort of Living Force that we do. Plants have spirits, just like we do. Oh, they are of a different weave of Creation, to be sure, but they are of Creation, nonetheless.
"But Kat," I hear you say. "Lavender is a perennial."
Yes. Lavender *is* a perennial, which why I was initially stupefied at its demise. But, I think it had more to do with its lack of nourishment from sun, water and a place to branch out and grow stronger.
We all need encouragement, the light of the sun, a good source of potable water and a place where we can branch out emotionally and spiritually, and become stronger than we were before. If we do not get any of these things, or if we get most, but not all of these things, then we end up dying. Our spirits feel crushed. We feel alone and all we want to do is just cross over and leave behind the pain of not having the loving care from the world that we so rightfully deserve.
I do not doubt for a moment that that is what my plant felt. I did not take care of it, so it felt neglected...chances are it felt its only choice was to leave its mortal plant-shell behind. Another reminder to this Jedi "wanna-be" to be always mindful of the Living Force, and to properly take care of whatever that Force inhabits.
So, when spring comes, the first thing I am going to do when I purchase ANY sort of perennial herb, it is going straight into the ground, close to the Mother, where it rightfully belongs.
The question still remains for me, though: How and when will I properly root myself in the Mother, taking the best care of me that I can possibly manage? Perhaps this question is ringing in your mind, too, especially when the cost of just taking care of basic needs has skyrocketed over the past near-decade.
Oh, the answers are simple enough, for me, at least. They're on the tip of my brain and tongue. The ultimate question is of personal will, for it is personal will that determines one's course of action--or inaction, as my will is, admittedly, somewhat weak from constantly being fed a diet of fear, and unfortunately, it is still a bit weak from feeling too powerless to stop that "diet" and substitute a new one of hope, encouragement and acknowledgement that I've just as much chance as anyone else of succeeding.
So, how do I become more rooted in the love of the Great Mother, and forever pull up the roots deadened by fear and doubt? How do I transplant myself from the limiting pot-thoughts of powerlessness and no secure place to feel at Home in the world, to the wide expanse of the Mother's embracing, rich ground?
Those questions are currently being brought to the fore as the faint Imbolc sun dawns on a new life I hope to make for myself. I pray earnestly to the Mother that this new life includes a job at the casino, which will provide a path for me to pursue my objectives.
May you and yours also be blessed this Imbolc/Feast of St. Brighid with Brighid's abundance, fire and courage to forge your own new lives, even in the face of this current downturn in our national and global economy.
Brightest Imbolc Blessings,
Rev. Kat ^.^
