Iceless Imbolc part 2

so it is several weeks ago already, several weeks of wild weather, 

of wind and sleet of snow and immediate snow melt, of springlike temperatures followed by sub-zero temps followed by T-shirt weather. All in one week. 

it is hard to know the springtime as we haven't had the blanket of snow
the endless white, frozen landscape, moon-reflecting iced over earth.

It is now leap day of leap year.
An extra day in this revolving cycle of days, weeks, months, years.
This incredible time, this incredible life, how quickly it passes.

We no longer have an easy writing program for the blogs,
so formatting isn't creative
photos aren't watermarked or named or placed artistically
echoing the sense of the time as if the blog was an extension of the experience
the retelling itself a visual redo of the ritual.

It has been unseasonable and warm but windy and ominous.
Good to gather simply, just a few Susans, a Bryan and finally a teenager too. Drinking water and coffee and a few snacks, catching up on and reaffirming
life and the passage of time.

Sharing some photos and notes,
it is never the same as being here, even the recall brings back small moments,
but fleeting ones.
Maybe that is all that is needed anyway.

 our well of spheres of frozen bowls
in and of itself complete:
silence, light, fissure, reflection, metallic color, transparency

the boy had offerings for the well, suddenly participating with the sliding orb 

 sunny sacrifice

first flames

all the Bridgets

all the Goddesses Bridget
all the cauldron collection burning
catching the sweet scent of the garlic stalks and leaves.

 

 

 let this fire be a good fire

 

green smoke- all the greens
winter harvested greens
red apples surrounded by green smoke
magical endless smoke
permeating us all. 

sometimes we don't know what is happening
sometimes it just is

 

our omens were different, not so easily accessible

usually we read runes and sometimes the Ogham as secondary

 and often we receive the same or similar messages from season to season
but this time we read the Ogham and then Bryan pulled tarot cards.
In between another friend, not coming for the holiday, showed up,
so that would be a third oracle.

It was about letting go of fear and clearing your energies to move ahead with focus.
Seeing the blinding, the binding, as maybe a safety action,
to hold ourselves back from incorrect motion, to not be distracted,
the proper harnessing of energy

 

 

we bring our Bridget, all the Bridgets, into our hearth.
We share food and talk, folks who plan to be here and folks who don't,
little amounts of food become a feast.