Imbolc arrives and the Snow Moon illuminates the hunger we are all feeling.
I awoke before the sun had fully rose, and so, was able to greet the return of the light and the warmth, however weak it may be at this time of year. The mantle I had hung in my kindred Willow was frosted over with the blessings of the Lady’s waters and I pressed the snowy medicine to my lips in thanks before bringing it in and setting it to dry.
We are here on the feast day of the Goddess Brid (also Brighid, Bride, Brigid, and many other spellings). She brings us the first stirrings of rebirth in the midst of the longest part of the cold, the dark. A small light of hope and warmth. Of warming.
February in the Northern parts of the world is often the hardest part of the winter. Certainly for our Ancestors when it was the coldest and the snowiest, and survival became increasingly difficult. And, even now for those of us with central heating and food from groceries stores… the depth of the cold dark often feels overwhelming, and that’s before we tune into the greater chaos of our world that seems to be continuously spiraling out of logic and goodness and right relationship.
The lessons we receive from the Lady at this time is that if we take a mindful pause; step back from the chaos and pressure; and begin to really look – we will start to see the Stirrings. The Warming.
Life returns. The fire of creation always returns. The Wheel ALWAYS turns.
Sometimes the most challenging part of our lives is trusting the timing of things. Remembering that spring always follows winter, and that flow always follows stillness. Both are necessary.
As I sip my tea and sit at this keyboard, I reflect upon how navigating the tension of allowing my creations to ‘warm in the belly’ and become before fully birthing them into the world, has been part of my growth for much of my existence. I have an impatient soul that wants and desires now… and that longing is a fire that serves my creativity well. And. I must make the time that devotion to creativity, to magic, to growth -requires and deserves. The ritual of returning again and again, until it is fully ready to emerge and be received by the outer community. Even as my hunger grows great and I desire now, my soul desperately longs for slowing down and returning to hand Craft.
And here I return to the Hunger I mentioned in my opening words. I sense a deep hunger, a longing, within my own soul and the souls I connect with. A soul-knowing that the pace and the pressure and the chaos of our current world is not sustainable, nor in alignment with authentic human growth and maturation. For most of us, we do not have much control over the systems that are in place that drive this; and that sense of powerlessness can move into full dis-ease and soul loss.
With all of this mind, I would like to announce that I have been ‘warming in the belly’ a new way of engaging in self determined soul work; in creation and creativity; in magic and art; and in leaning into the power of resistance and disruption of inner and outer oppressive systems. Harnessing the energy of the Fire Horse as she arrives in a few weeks, I will be officially opening Haven’s Healing School of Mysteries – a place for seekers who also feel the Hunger to slow down and return to our ancestral practices in all kinds of new and inventive ways; a place for learners who long for continuous soul inquiry and psychic maturation through spiritual artmaking, magical practice, spellcraft, ritual, ceremony, right relationship, and community.
Haven’s school will offer self-paced and live courses, workshops, retreats, and support, from a real human without the use of generative ai technology. Tech can be valuable in assisting our work, AND, it cannot and will not replace soul work and the hand to Craft. The promise I give to you all is you can trust that when I send out a writing or an artmaking or a course, it has been created by me; by my soul, my hands, my heart. In a world that has evolved to feel more and more that we cannot trust what we are being offered, this is foundational for me.
Haven’s school will open with a single course with a few pathways of invitation to further that work. More will be coming, but I really wanted to begin with the warming of one – Spellbound ~ the Artful Grimoire. A self-paced mini course to guide you in creating your very own book of magic, and leaning into your artist/magical disruptor sense of Self.
Oh yes. We will be nourishing so many parts as we move through this potent work.
Full details and the opening date will be announced soon – Ensure you’re signed up to the Mirror and/or Haven’s Community email list and socials to receive the updates as they come!
For now, I invite each of you to light a candle on your altar (and we know altars can be so many things) to welcome the Warming. Take some time meditating on the flame and reflect upon what is warming in your life right now; not quite ready to birth, to emerge… but soon. Time to prepare.
Blessings to you as the Wheel Turns,
~Nikki
Inspired by historian and author, James Fell’s note in his books, I make the following declaration (He is great if you like to learn history with a lot of swear words; I highly recommend):
I do NOT give permission nor consent for ai technology to use my content in any manner. If anyone steals my work to train plagiarist software, I shall Call & Summon the avenging spirits of my Norse, Irish, and Scottish Grandmothers and cast them upon the thief or thieves. I’ll also call my lawyer.
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~ Nourish Your Spirit 