I live in a cold weather state where winter requires a love of the season to survive. A local festival cheers on those who embrace the joy of cold and everything that winter provides including ice sculptures, a snow park, scavenger hunts, ice fishing, and a royal court. At times, winter can seem to be an endless stream of snow, ice, and cold harsh winds. The mid-winter point brings a strong internal need to get away, to warm up, and to renew.
However, regardless of where one lives, each season has an upside and a downside. In warmer climes, there might be a rainy season or a time for mudslides, earthquakes, and tornadoes. Like life, the temperamental aspects of the weather remind us that the background does not make for perfection, but the attitude of the person does. Even a few days in a slightly warmer climate can renew and restore the attitude for someone who suffers from an excess of a particular season. In the past, I would venture to see family who lived in states where the temperatures in January or February remained firmly above zero degrees Fahrenheit, and perhaps even above freezing.
Snowy home [Pixabay]
After living in the land of the cold for nearly a decade, I realized that what I enjoyed most around this time of year was the sabbat, Brunalia, which many call Imbolc. In a warm climate, the contrast between the extreme cold of winter and moderation that comes with the spring thaw might not be as noticeable. Here, when the heavy snow might linger for a few days or several weeks at a time, even gradual change is quite visible. Bright sunshine gleams on the snow a little differently as the temperatures rise through the twenties into the thirties. While the Groundhog’s Day tradition holds that if the groundhog sees its shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter, I laugh because there will be six weeks regardless due to the climate.
However, what the start of February symbolizes most is the start of a resurrection. Brunalia embraces creativity and a reminder that the cold of winter is a great time to rest and renew. Even as the light part of the year starts in December, when we celebrate the longest night, we await the return of the sun. The pleasures of the brightest summer with its warmth and heightened energy have a balance in the depths of winter. The massive celebrations for so many holidays are a way to emphasize the darkness and the joy that we feel as people when we gather together – regardless of our religious or cultural traditions.
In my home tradition, we celebrate the rites through the home creative arts with the fire goddess of the hearth, Hestia. While the days are not as short as they are in December, there are still long nights. However you celebrate mid-winter, this is an excellent time to prepare for spring. I welcome the sabbat with new candles, hearty stews with new recipes that I have not tried before, and if I can find a good outside place, a fire. For those who celebrate Imbolc proper, a bonfire is a must.
As a symbol of resurrection, fire is the perfect element. At a glance, fire represents transformation, the energy that can destroy and create. Swords are tempered with fire, just as individuals are tested through experience. Graduating students from any program often experience the term “trial by fire”. The bonfires of education, those major tests which punctuate any training are the ones that bring out the best in the individual. We remember them years or even decades past the actual event. Ask any doctoral student what was the most difficult or memorable part of the experience, and unless they are recent grads, the response will probably be the actual dissertation defense. No one can fully prepare the candidate as it is a trial of the soul as well as of the mind. The flames temper the blade that is the student into a sword of mastery.
Our energy rises and falls during winter. The turn to the newness of the coming spring is the time of resurrection.
![Hearth Fire [Pixabay]](https://wildhunt.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/fire-3792951_640.jpg)
Hearth Fire [Pixabay]
Resurrection is a time of creativity, which is the hallmark of this sabbat and of mid-winter in general. What lurking dreams and desires can be shaped during this time? What projects have been left behind that can be restored with a new attitude toward life at this time? Where can we choose to embrace life by living more and fearing less before we emerge in the next season of spring?
As a child, the word “resurrection” implied a quick change in the absence of movement, or death, to a state of immediate action as a reaction. As a Pagan, I view the stuck nature of the cyclical year occurring during the winter; however, it is also the time that provides the most nurturing atmosphere to generate new ideas or revisit past projects that were not quite ready to emerge.
Creativity is the heart of the sabbat as it provides a way to embrace life, live more, and fear less. We embrace the survival of the longest part of our training, our winter, presenting our creative side. We answer the call of the Gods through gathering with friends, family, and the call of our hearts.
Spring crocuses – Image credit: S. Bustamonte]
Just as some of our animal brethren don’t leave during the winter, we celebrate our own manner of getting away through the active motion of creating light out of the darkness. We “get away” from the cold by building a fire, cooking a delicious meal, crafting a sweater, planning a vacation, and playing like children. We resurrect our souls and our bodies as we open our hearts to nature that exists around us. We shake off the scars of cold on the soul as we bound forth to an eventful spring.
Let’s enjoy our individual resurrections as we continue to craft a good life. Wishing all a joyous sabbat and midwinter, with the best of life’s embrace, filled with opportunities to do more with less fear. The joy of resurrection is in the knowledge that each step forward helps us to slide into the beauty of the oncoming spring.
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