Intuitive Imbolc Shifts
Isabel wearing a tie die open neck sweatshirt and holding a mask up to their face, their eyes peering through. The mask is made of birch bark, moss and dried ferns.
January has become polarized for me. There’s deep, meaningful work: therapy and journaling, reworking my business to match my need and values, taking care of my rabbit’s health issues. And there’s escapism: watching Hallmark movies while cross-stitching, reading A Court of Thorns and Roses, playing the Sims.
I love all of these things. And also, when I took stock at the start of this week, it became obvious that I’m missing any middle ground. I miss reading a good novel, writing a song with low stakes, and taking a contemplative woods walk. Things that are meaningful without being heavy.
The polarized approach actually worked pretty well for most of this month: I really wanted to focus both on the deep and the shallow. And then I noticed this didn’t feel good anymore.
I think that’s what this email is about, as much as anything: noticing, and changing. There’s a little voice in my mind that goes, “You didn’t notice soon enough! You let that go on too long! You should have gotten to this before it felt off!”
When I hear that voice, I ask it, “What are you afraid of happening, since I did miss it until now?” Usually the answer is something like “That you’re not a good enough mindfulness coach, and people will see that.” Then I ask the voice what it wants from me for support. This kind of compassionate conversation with our internal voices is a big part of what I do with clients.
The truth is that it’s not only perfectly normal to take some time to notice something, but that it’s really good when you finally do. Something to pat yourself on the back about. Something to be smiled at and celebrated.
Saturday is Imbolc, the holiday of seeds just emerging from their pods underground, of the earliest days of almost-spring beginning. It’s a good time for soft change, for noticing. Perhaps you, like me, are ready to do a little less Deep Focusing and a little less Escapism, and put that energy instead towards remembering what meaningful-but-approachable pastimes might have been resting on the shelf this winter so far.
The most important thing is that you make shifts from your own intuition and sense of what’s needed.
We put so much pressure on ourselves, but there are tangible ways to alchemize that pressure into self-compassion and self-regard. If you want to know more, reach out here and we can talk about working together.
Village Witch’s Corner
My intention this week :
Clarify what tangible shifts I need to make in my work & my office space, based on my reprioritization this month - but don’t make them yet. Prepare for spring cleaning, so to speak.
Question I'm asking this week:
It’s warm here this week. I’m asking, What arrives to support me when my body, breath, and heart open into the warmer air?
Small Spell of the Week:
Pick just one small space in your home that needs tidying or reorganizing (example: I did the surface of my desk, drawers not included). Look at it from a few different angles, then go to town. Afterwards, sit near it and relish the energy you’ve revitalized.
