Prepare for Imbalc

Imbalc is in a week and I have a few practical and contemplative preparations to make - mostly I need to slow down to watch as the wheel of the year shifts. 

We still have a month of winter left, but my thoughts are turning outward, to the garden, our neighborhood, and my community.

Agenda:

1. Practice a Reverent Way of Being

2. Read "The Creativity Book"

3. Make a Creativity Altar

4. Write about my seeds of inspiration

5. Simple projects list

6. Plan a party

7. Bless the bathroom

1. Practice a Reverent Way of Being:

Today I will again adopt a Reverent Way of Being for the days before this turning point of the year - which is to say, I try to be respectful and humble, and use a discipline of speech and thought that I find difficult to maintain for long periods of time.

Specifically, I try to be impeccably honest, and tell no little fibs. Also, I try to not gossip or say (or even think) anything negative about anyone. These are my worst habits, and it's useful to practice being virtuous for a few days at regular intervals throughout the year!

To remind myself, I made a ribbon bracelet with the words: Reverence, Respect, Honesty.

2. Read "The Creativity Book"

A few years ago I started but didn't finish this book by Eric Maisel (one of my favorite writers). The subtitle is "A Year's Worth of Inspiration and Guidance." Who doesn't want that? 

I've just begun Part 6: Use Yourself. This section is all about accepting myself as the expert on my own creative projects, and trusting that my instincts and knowledge will guide me.

Week 21 is Hire Yourself as a Consultant. Maisel suggests that I hire myself to work on a project: Come to an agreement such as, "I will pay myself $20 for an hour of consultation today, to outline my book project." 

3. Make a Creativity Altar:

Imbalc is sacred to Brigid, the European and Celtic goddess of healing, crops, poetry, and creativity. As a sun goddess her powers are light, fire, inspiration, and vital energy: Wow! She’s one of my favorite images of the Spirit.

Brigid is the maiden aspect of the Great Goddess and so her color is white; her symbols are a sun-wheel, Brigid's cross, snake, and cock (herald of the new day). 

This week I'll make a special creativity altar for Brigid with:

• a white candle - for light and purity
• a Brigid's cross - for the sun and the seasons
• a beaded snake - for healing and regeneration
• a small basket - for openness and inspiration 
• and some of my garden seeds

4. Write about my seeds of inspiration:

At Imbalc, I write about my seeds of inspiration - thoughts, dreams and ideas that are inside me waiting to grow into wise actions, sweet words, or beautiful things made by my hands.

Today I sit in silence and let my mind wander, asking only, "What is waiting to bloom in my heart?" I write each germ of inspiration on a tiny slip of paper, and roll it into a seed, then put these in a bowl on my altar.

5. Simple projects list:

In the fall I started using Leo Babauta's "Simple Projects List", with my top three projects. (A "project" is something that has several steps, and takes only a week or two.) "The top three projects on your Simple Projects List will be your entire focus until you finish all three ... This ensures that you aren't spreading your focus too thin, and that you are completing your projects." 

Tips: You can't actually do projects - you can only do tasks. Make a list of tasks for each project, and focus on doing one at a time. Each day, choose three tasks to complete. 

My simple projects list this week is:

1. Nature motif mandala (First task: Draw many nature motifs!)
2. Valentines for family, friends, and with the boys (First task: Gather supplies).
3. Earth valentine appliqué (First task: Make a drawing).

In addition to my projects, I have a list of possible activities and projects to share with my Grandsons, my box of tricks to pull from in the moment. Themes this week - 

• Mud- make a mud pie kitchen and unveil it on a rainy day 
• Pinecones- continue to bead and string a pinecone mobile wit bells and pompoms
• Snakes- get out my snake collection to play with.
• Hearts- make valentines for the family

6. Plan a party:

We always have a fire and a party for Imbalc, this year on Sunday, February 2. Today I will send invitations and a reminder:

Hi Friends and Family!

It's time for an Imbalc fire again!

Sunday, February 2

6 - 8 p.m. 

Bring snacks or drinks to share.

Bring bits of winter to burn.

Cynthia

7. Bless the bathroom

In January I make my annual round of house cleaning and blessing, and this week I've moved into our bathroom. My own understanding of a house blessing is that the act of cleaning itself is a blessing on the house, and that sitting in a newly cleaned room is a good way to remember that we are each blessed, always and forever.

But I love a good ritual! My custom is to bless each room this month, first by cleaning it, then with a ritual, and then by remembering the blessings of life. The bathroom is a place of cleansing, so today I'll enjoy a special cleansing and blessing ritual, for which I will need a candle, pine incense, and bath salts.

1. Set the intention to clear out bad energy and invite in blessings. Fill a tub with hot water.

2. Light the candle, and pine incense. Once it catches, blow it out so that it smolders. Say, “Fire & Air, spark & breath, intellect & spirit, be cleansed; cast out all that is hurtful, take in all that is healing.”

 

3. Add bath salts to the bath water, and say, “Earth & Water, outer & inner, body & soul, be cleansed, cast out all that is hurtful, take in all that is healing.” 

 

4. Soak in the tub as long as I can, adding hot water as needed. Rinse off the salt water. Thank the spirits.