Coming with the lengthening light of the oncoming spring, now is the time to nurture our fledgling dreams, to give them space and attention and focus in our lives. On the Celtic calendar arrives the first festival of Imbolg or Saint Bridget’s day, a day honoring the goddess of “bright fire,” a powerful pagan festival of fertility. Imbolg is the season of early birthing, when the lambs are born and when the first courageous plants of the New Year begin to reach out towards the sun. Hear we give thanks for any growth we have observed after the darkness of winter, and attend to that growth with love and care so it may reach its full power in the oncoming year.
In the Tarot, after the darkness of winter and the transformation of the Death card, we return to the “O” card in the Major Arcana, the sacred and wise “Fool.” The Fool symbolizes fearlessness, discovery, playfulness, living in the moment, and oneness and presence with the forces of the Universe. In the Mayan Shamanic Deck, the Fool is “breath.” In breathing, we nourish and animate ourselves and bring ourselves back into balance with nature. In a shamanic sense, the sacred journey of the Fool is a journey both into mastery and integration with the spiraling movements of life, an ability to live on multiple levels of reality simultaneously and fully embrace our potential. However, in order to grow into maturity we must experience and meet the archetypal challenges posed by life and the other cards of the Arcana, by the Magician, the Tower, the Devil, to name a few!
In this gathering, we will be Foolish! We will have fun and play! This is a moment to explore our sense of silliness, of our sensual and animal nature, to shed ourselves of our masks, of our expectations and judgments that surround us, the plaguing doubts and insecurities of our Ego! We will also express our gratitude and share our progress and hopes and dreams for the oncoming year. In an article I read in the Guardian, a palliative nurse had compiled the five greatest regrets of the dying, and the first was that they were not present in their own lives, that they did not slow down and really experince and appreciate the richness that surrounded them everyday. We can make a habit of pleasure, make a routine of enjoyment, and make the joy of play and discovery as natural as breathing in our everyday lives!
How can we nuture our dreams?
How can we make a space for those new dreams in our life?
How can we embrace more trust and enjoyment and appreciation into our lives?
http://www.facebook.com/events/222148484545251/#!/events/222148484545251/
