âThere is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening
that is translated through you into action,
and because there is only one of you in all of time,
this expression is unique.
It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly,
to keep the channel openâ
Martha Graham
TĂĄimid ar bĂs â we are excited to share our seasonal care package The Nudge with you as we approach Imbolc here in the northern hemisphere.
Dear Ones,
At the Winter Solstice, I disappeared.
I retreated into the darkness and dropped into deep time, the descent and the dreaming.
In this journey through the underworld, I found unexpected comfort.
In Sweet Darkness, poet David Whyte writes:
âYou must learn one thing.
The world was made to be free in.â
I learned that there is freedom in yielding and surrendering to layers of grief and loss until our wounds begin to reveal their hidden wisdom. In the darkness I found refuge dancing in the flames with the Dark Mother Cailleach, Kali, the Black Madonna.
When we follow the cues of cyclical living we discover the medicine of masculine and feminine, transcendence and immanence, light and darkness.
As I write we are being asked to bear witness to an almost unbearable darkness.
As our world burns and drowns and structures melt and dissolve, we find ourselves on a collective rite of passage.
These are initiatory times, long prophesied by astrologers, mystics and wisdom keepers. But as we sit in the belly of the beast I invite you to remember that the word apocalypse comes from the Ancient Greek apokĂĄlypsis, meaning uncovering, unveiling, revelation.
What if this is the dark before dawn? The breakdown that leads to the breakthrough?
This week at Moon Medicine, we hosted the luminous oracle poet Nikita Gill, who spoke of Hekate, guardian of liminal spaces and thresholds between life and death:
âShe did not fear the dark. She ruled it.â
If we can learn to be with the darkness, we can learn how to hold our light.
In some traditions, Hekate hands the torch to Brigid, Breo-Saighit, the Fiery Arrow. And as we cross the threshold of Imbolc, may we be guided by the exalted one, Triple Goddess and Keeper of the Flame.
Fire in the belly. Fire in the heart. Fire in the head.
Brigid was a great weaver of opposites, pagan and Christian, winter and summer, fire and water. May we draw on her alchemical power to fortify and sustain us in these troubled times.
My time in the darkness has shown me that we are an interwoven ecosystem fite fuaite bound together le chéile at the roots. And now we are being asked to plant new seeds in the soil and the soul of our lives.
This is why I feel such devotion to The Weave, our year-long container for women who are ready to weave a new world together. It is a web woven by women for women. A place where we can be resourced and held. A cauldron to metabolise wounds and wisdom. A space to remember what becomes possible when we come together as a community of practice
If collective liberation is to be more than an idea, it begins in right relationship with ourselves, with each other, and with the sacred web of life. As Sonya Renee Taylor reminds us, âwe are being given the opportunity to stitch a new garment, one that fits all of humanity and the living world itselfâ.
If you, or a woman in your life, is seeking kinship and community at this time, you are warmly welcome with open arms.
Brigit BĂșadach Victorious Brigid
May her force be with us
With love,
Kathy
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About Imbolc:
We now approach the festival of Imbolc on February 1, both a powerful and pivotal point on the Medicine Wheel of the Year. At this time, we find ourselves re-emerging from the depths of winter into this potent portal.
An older version of this festival's name is âImbolgâ, which translates as âin the bellyâ. In the Wheel of the Year, this is a time of emergence and renewal.
Today we also celebrate LĂĄ FhĂ©ile BrĂde. In our cosmology, Brigid is deeply intertwined with this seasonal threshold of Imbolc as a living presence at the crossing between winter and spring. Long honoured as a weaver of worlds, her energy is woven through this time of the year and we continue to mark it by crafting Brigidâs crosses in her honour. Brigid embodies the pulse of new life and becoming: the fertile, animating force of the divine feminine as it stirs in the earthâs womb.
3 journal prompts to inspire you:
đ Notice the creative energies awakening within you. How can you bring these inner stirrings to fruition?
đ In what ways can you embody both the fertile and fiery aspects of Brigidâs energy as you face crossroads in your life? How can you keep the channel open?
đ Is there a special place, holy well or sacred site associated with Brigid that you could visit at this time, either physically or through the power of your imagination?
What's coming up at The Trailblazery:
As the Great Wheel turns, we are invited to pause and remember what we have travelled through together. We are excited to let you know what the future holds for our community here at The Trailblazery.
The Weave
We are thrilled to be embarking on a new journey with The Weave. our year-long online home for women who feel the call and are seeking a circle strong enough to hold them as they recalibrate and remember how to stand rooted in turbulent times.
Rooted in a slow, nervous-system-aware rhythm, we will gather online across the new and full moons of this year with medicine women and guest faculty grounded in lived experience.
This is a community of practice for women who know this is not a time to go it alone and who are seeking connection. It is a cauldron of transformation for women moving through personal, cultural, and collective change.
If you feel the pull or simply want to find out more, click here.
3 curated resources to mind your life and nourish your senses in the days ahead:
âȘ Listen: For your ears
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TrĂłcaire Brighid is our friend Domhanâs debut single. We have had the pleasure of hosting her at Moon Medicine and we know our paths are bound to cross again. This song inspired by Brigid is a great track to listen to around Imbolc as a way of connecting with BrĂd and the energies of this season.
⯠Watch: For your eyes
The Irish Film Institute will be screening our dear friend ManchĂĄn Maganâs film, Listen to the Land Speak. In this beautiful film, ManchĂĄn journeys through Irelandâs landscape across the seasons. At this Imbolc threshold this feels like a timely piece to sit with, connecting us to Ireland, to the deeper cycles and rhythms of the land and to an Ghaeilge. We warmly recommend attending this screening if you are available.
â„ Cherish: For your heart
Three Poems for Brigid is a series of short films developed by MoLI and the Department of Foreign Affairs, exploring Brigid as the triple goddess of poetry, healing and craft. Featuring commissioned poems by Doireann NĂ GhrĂofa, Paula Meehan and Nidhi Zak/Aria Eipe, and performed by Osaro Azams, Ruth McCabe and CaitrĂona Ennis, the films weave poetry, voice, music and imagery to trace a living feminine continuum across Irish history.
Itâs a powerFULL offering that connects past and present, Ireland and the diaspora and the enduring presence of Brigid and weâre very glad to share it with you at this turning of the year. We hope you enjoy these resources.
Thank you for walking this path with us,
BeannachtaĂ,
Kathy and all at The Trailblazery
