Imbolc! Break’s Over!

The Quickening

Imbolc is said to be the first quickening of all those plants and roots and creatures deep beneath the ground. They begin to stir awake, to yawn and stretch from their long winter’s nap.

As with anything we desire, there’s a lot that happens beneath the surface before we see the new reality. Just because we can’t see them yet, doesn’t mean our dreams aren’t in the process of becoming. In fact, there are always things in the process of becoming in our lives. Nothing just appears fully grown. Babies aren’t born six feet tall. Seeds take time to germinate, and unfurl, and grow. When they break through the soil in spring, they’ve already been on a long journey. They didn’t just begin.

But you can feel them. If you are sensitive, and more aligned than not, more happy than sad, more relaxed than stressed, more praising than complaining. If you meditate most days. If you spend most of your time happy and eager for more, content and eager for more, or even satisfied and eager for more, then you should be able to feel the Quickening for yourself.

Can you feel it?

For me, I feel it in the pit of my stomach, a ball of energy that seems to be spinning or pulsing or tingling. I experience more frequent bouts of of this pesky little arrhythmia I have. I feel excited and restless and unable to sit still, as if I’ve had too much caffeine.

I find myself compelled to hoe out, to make room, to get ready. We tend to do spring cleaning for a reason. We match the energy of nature, whether we know it or not.