A New Story

Right before Winter Solstice a year ago, while cleaning out a closet, I found an effusively loving telegram my father had sent me four decades earlier when I was having a very difficult time.  The experience of finding it, misplacing it, deeply grieving its loss, and then finding it again within a few hours brought me in contact with all the complex feelings I had for him: profound love, anger, sadness, pain, acceptance, joy.  That day I cleared out much more than my closet.

The next morning, I dreamed:

I am helping a woman who’s about to give birth.  She’s in an oval and enclosing space, like an old claw-foot bathtub.  I’m about to step in and be with her, aware of how close I will be to the curve of her belly, the honor of this.  Another person is present too.  I feel a sense of anticipation and joy.

When I woke and remembered the dream, I felt that the pregnant woman was me.  As I let go of an old story about my father, I opened myself to new creative energies that were beginning to manifest in writing – new ways of telling my story.  I didn’t know it yet, but I was on the brink of committing myself to writing in a way I never had before.  In finding my long-dead father in my heart through reading his words, I found my own words.

The Celts celebrate Imbolc, sacred to the beloved goddess and saint Brigid, around February 1.  The word “Imbolc” likely comes from the Irish “imbolg,” meaning “in the belly.”  Early February is the time when ewes lamb and the earth begins to come alive after the cold, dark months of winter.  (For more information about Imbolc and its traditions, click here.)

Brigid is the triple goddess of healing, fertility and childbirth; of poetry and song; and of alchemy or transformation.  Her tools are the cauldron, the harp, the forge.  She is the protector of midwives and women laboring to give birth.

What healing process are you going through now?  What creative project are you bringing to birth?  What transformations are you initiating or undergoing?  Imbolc is the time of new beginnings and commitments.  To what life passion are you ready to dedicate yourself?  Calling on Brigid, also the goddess of fire, can help you ignite a tiny spark into a bright flame.

If you’d like to experience and explore dreams and traditions related to Imbolc, come to the Dream Circle and Imbolc Eve Ritual on Saturday, Jan. 31 in Columbia City.  More information here.