{"id":108508109,"date":"2023-03-15T13:01:39","date_gmt":"2023-03-15T13:01:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.illuminatingspark.com\/?p=108508109"},"modified":"2023-03-15T13:01:39","modified_gmt":"2023-03-15T13:01:39","slug":"the-illuminating-spark-an-early-spring-follow-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.illuminatingspark.com\/?p=108508109","title":{"rendered":"The Illuminating Spark: An Early Spring Follow-up"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Musings before the Spring Equinox.<\/h2><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.illuminatingspark.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/bfcb1b8e-2b25-4aa2-be2d-4085a4e6b91c_3024x4032.jpeg\"\/><\/figure><p>(Image description: In the foreground, there are light pink, delicate flowers and green grass being blown by the wind. The sun rises over some buildings in a blue sky with white clouds.) Credit: Photo by <a href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/@macedorafs?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText\">Rafael Macedo<\/a> on <a href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/s\/photos\/spring-equinox?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText\">Unsplash<\/a><\/p><p>With the spring equinox only a few days away, looking back at the divination reading I did during Imbolc seemed appropriate. With this time being the midpoint, reflecting on what the staves had to say for this period so far is important, as the meanings can become clearer as time has passed.<\/p><p>As a reminder, I received Fern, Idad, and Beith. They have a combination of mundane and spiritual, blending together in varying degrees. This isn\u2019t surprising, as the physical and spiritual go hand in hand.<\/p><p>Over the past year or so, a family member\u2019s health has been declining, and I can see elements of the reading in this situation. With Fern\u2019s ties to protection and the heart, emotions for everyone involved are difficult and vulnerable.<\/p><p>This message indicates that \u201cholding the container of milk\u201d or being gentle with myself and my loved ones is very apparent. There\u2019s also the love and care my relative had for his loved ones and the devotion he put into his work.<\/p><p>Idad and Beith play off one another in the reading, as they contain connections to the color white. With Beith, it can be associated with purification or preparation. I think Beith could be amplifying Idad\u2019s theme of preparation as my relative\u2019s health worsens. He also taught me leathercraft, so it could be an aspect of Fern that relates back to continuing that skill so his memory lives on through that.<\/p><p>His eventual transition does relate to my need to strengthen my ancestor practice. Some of that relates to blood ancestors, but I do eventually want to develop a sustained practice with ancestors of spirit. I suppose that could also connect me to ancestral leather craftspeople, both modern and ancient.<\/p><p>Additionally, I feel Brighid\u2019s presence in the reading. I believe my monastic practice is the nourishing milk, and Brighid is the bowl containing it. She can\u2019t shield me from experiencing the emotions of losing someone, but I feel like Her support is there, regardless. The color white also relates to deities, not in relation to complexion, but how radiant They can be. She is like the white-hot candle flame that doesn\u2019t burn when I\u2019m embraced by Her warm, comforting touch.<\/p><p>Spring is Her main season, even though She has influence on the other three. I don\u2019t know the course of events in life, but I feel Brighid will be there in some measure.<\/p><p>There\u2019s still some time until Bealtaine, so I\u2019m sure there will be more meaning to further discern from the reading. The next post will be published after the Spring Equinox, so I wish you a happy and beautiful Equinox!<\/p><p>*Word kennings were taken from Erynn Rowan Laurie\u2019s <em>Ogam: Weaving Word Wisdom.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Musings before the Spring Equinox.<\/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-108508109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.illuminatingspark.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108508109","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=108508109"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.illuminatingspark.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108508109\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.illuminatingspark.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=108508109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.illuminatingspark.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=108508109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.illuminatingspark.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=108508109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}