From dark to light

Today is Groundhog Day. Or Candlemas. Or Brigidmas. Or Imbolc. It's the midway point between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox and the time when we might believe that winter will end and spring will come.

It's a time to take a deep breath and take note: There is more light later in the day. The buds are thinking about fattening up. Soon the ground will soften and the green mouths of crocuses will sip the air. Brigit's animal, the groundhog, sniffs the air to see if it's time to emerge into the world.

Brigit or Brigid of Kildare (the goddess/saint of poetry, creativity and healing) is honored with an eternal flame that burns through the dark days, reminding us of the fire within, of our own ability to create even in the cold. Today reach inside and feel the warmth of your personal spring. What is ready to bloom? What will you release into the world as the days become longer, the leaves prepare to unfurl and (regardless of what the groundhog predicts) the Earth shifts on its axis and spring comes to the Northern hemisphere?

(c)2010 Laura S. Packer