{"id":100360604,"date":"2023-02-02T02:06:57","date_gmt":"2023-02-02T02:06:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.illuminatingspark.com\/?p=100360604"},"modified":"2023-02-02T02:06:57","modified_gmt":"2023-02-02T02:06:57","slug":"the-illuminating-spark-imbolc-reflections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.illuminatingspark.com\/?p=100360604","title":{"rendered":"The Illuminating Spark: Imbolc Reflections"},"content":{"rendered":"

An account of how Imbolc went and thoughts for the future. <\/h2>
<\/figure>

(Image description: A photo of my Imbolc altar. From left to right, there is a black LED lantern and three of icons of Brighid as Smith, Poet, and Healer. In front of the pictures are some pine cones, a copper sun disk, a Brighid doll in a bed, a couple Brighid\u2019s crosses, a large acorn and smaller ones, a spiral labyrinth, a large pillar candle in a cauldron, a small glass candleholder, wooden incense burner, a bell branch, and an altar cloth with blue Celtic knotwork on top of a wooden chest. An LED tree stands behind the pillar candle.) Credit: My own work.<\/p>

Brighid\u2019s Day has turned out to be a chilly and damp festival, as the area I live in has been hit by rain, and much the U.S. is also on the receiving end of a winter storm. On one hand, it\u2019s proving troublesome for many, but perhaps it might mean that spring isn\u2019t far off.<\/p>

I began Imbolc Eve with a flamekeeping shift, and I placed the handful of Brighid\u2019s mantles outside to be blessed when She passed by. Since I knew there was a chance of rain, I secured them to a hanger and hung them from a hook on the porch.<\/p>

It\u2019s not traditional in the least, but it kept the mantles from becoming damaged. Also, traditions should be adapted as needed, based on your living situation and the environment around you.<\/p>

Later in the evening, I incorporated my nightly routine into my Imbolc observations. I offered Brighid cream with honey, vanilla incense, and a poem. It doesn\u2019t have a particular rhyme or rhythm and functions as more of a conversation.<\/p>

It was inspired by a part of Lucy Valunos\u2019 book, One Heart, Many Gods: The Absolute Beginner\u2019s Guide to Devotional Polytheism<\/em>, proposing that the reader consider this question from time to time. Given that poem is more of a stream of thought, I imagine you\u2019ll find it somewhat rough around edges, but it didn\u2019t feel right to clean it up.<\/p>

Why?<\/h3>

It\u2019s easy to go through<\/p>

the motions of praising<\/p>

and offering to You.<\/p>

But why is my heart<\/p>

drawn to You, O Brighid<\/p>

through good and ill.<\/p>

It\u2019s easy to bless Your name,<\/p>

when the flow is smooth and steady<\/p>

but when the stream is rocky<\/p>

and obstacle-filled,<\/p>

I must continue,<\/p>

lest I lose course and my light.<\/p>

You are there for me,<\/p>

even though I might miss<\/p>

the Clue-by-Fours You send me.<\/p>

You are the Coach, praising<\/p>

and critiquing me, as<\/p>

I strike the punching bag of Life.<\/p>

You have healed me,<\/p>

You have inspired me,<\/p>

Word by word,<\/p>

line by line,<\/p>

joy flows \u2018tween us.<\/p>

I ask myself why,<\/p>

\u201cWhy do I turn to<\/p>

Your sacred flame,<\/p>

each day and every day<\/p>

each night and every night?\u201d<\/p>

A threefold litany<\/p>

or none at all<\/p>

could not encompass<\/p>

all that I feel,<\/p>

the reasons too numerous to utter.<\/p>

You are the Sublime,<\/p>

the truth-ringing knell<\/p>

of Your hammer against my heart.<\/p>

The cool waters<\/p>

cleansing my sorrows<\/p>

the blazing fire igniting<\/p>

my fingers to write.<\/p>

May I continue to<\/p>

to listen and ask why,<\/p>

so that I may understand and<\/p>

see You more and more.<\/p>

Lastly, I did a three stave ogam reading on subjects I should contemplate over the time period from Imbolc to Bealtaine in May.<\/p>

I received nG\u00e9tal, Idad, and Beith. With a cursory look at these three letters, I get the sense that it might be time to do some ancestor work, along with healing and purification. It\u2019ll take time to fully interpret what I need to contemplate on and what significance they have to the current events in my life and with Brighid.<\/p>

Have a happy and blessed Imbolc!<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An account of how Imbolc went and thoughts for the future. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-100360604","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.illuminatingspark.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100360604","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.illuminatingspark.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.illuminatingspark.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.illuminatingspark.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.illuminatingspark.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=100360604"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.illuminatingspark.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100360604\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.illuminatingspark.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=100360604"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.illuminatingspark.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=100360604"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.illuminatingspark.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=100360604"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}