Imbolc/Brigid - The Wheel Turns Again

Judith Ashley is the author of The Sacred Women’s Circle series, romantic fiction that honors spiritual practices that nourish the soul and celebrates the journey from relationship to romance.

February 1^st we’ll have reached the half-way point between Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox also known as Yule and Ostara. As you will recall, Winter Solstice marks the shortest day and longest night of the year. At the Spring Equinox day and night are equal. Imbolc is the celebration of light as the shift from the darkest night toward the balance between dark and light is clear.

This year the heavens are helping in the celebration of Imbolc. Not only do we have a Full Moon on January 31. And since our moon is closer to earth than usual it will appear brighter to us who have clear skies and can view it. In addition, this Full Moon is the second Full Moon this month so it is called a Blue Moon.

For those of you with SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) you may find your symptoms decreasing as the hours of daylight increase. If you follow the seasons instead of The Wheel of the Year, you know that winter is coming to an end.

Right now when I look into my yard I see the signs of spring. Winter flowers in bloom, plants poking their green leaves above ground (of course those are mainly the weeds) and here in the Pacific Northwest our couple of weeks of warm weather (it is 61 degrees out as I write this) before Winter blows back in to remind us we’ve a few more weeks to go before Spring.

One of the things I love about the stories I write is that they do follow the seasons, the turn of the wheel. Each of the women in The Sacred Women’s Circle series marries on a Sabbat. Imbolc? That’s Gabriella’s special day.

If you’d like to know more about Imbolc, check out http://Starhawk.org and consider joining her and others from around the world in celebrating the light.

Your free copy of Lily: The Dragon and The Great Horned Owl is waiting for you. Just sign up for mymailing list and you’ll receive the directions for downloading your copy.

Learn more about The Sacred Women’s Circle series at JudithAshleyRomance.com

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© 2018 Judith Ashley

The Turn of The Wheel

Judith Ashley is the author of The Sacred Women's Circle series, romantic fiction that honors spiritual traditions that nurture the soul.

For those of us who look upon the natural world around us as proof of The Divine, Winter Solstice is an affirmation that on some level all is right in the world. In ancient times, the people were connected to the land in a way that most of today’s population is not.

Can you even imagine being so in tuned with the world around you that you would notice the difference in the amount of light there was between the Darkest Day and the next?

There were no clocks, no calendars in the day of the hunter/gatherers or earlier.

And yet our ancestors learned how to mark the passage of time.

Winter Solstice marks the longest night and the shortest day of our year. For me, personally, it is my New Year’s Eve because it heralds the returning of the light.

If you follow the waxing and waning of the Moon, Winter Solstice starts the waxing of the Sun that represents light. From now until Summer Solstice, the Sun gains in strength. On the Summer Solstice that starts to wane as darkness becomes more a part of our lives.

One of the things that fascinates me is how our ancestors kept track.

Stonehenge and other stone and wood henges, The Great Pyramids of Egypt and pyramids and ancient temples are aligned with the stars, planets and the position of the sun and moon on particular times of the year like the Solstices and Equinoxes.

And when the Judeo-Christian religions took hold and grew, many of the traditions from earth-based traditions were incorporated. There are several books on the subject if you are interested in learning more.

For those people who celebrate life, Winter Solstice gives them a focus.

For those people who have SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) it is a sign the days will lengthen and we’ll be out of winter soon.

For those people who prefer heat to cold, it reminds them that Spring/Ostara, the vernal equinox, when day and night are equal in length, and flowers are not far away.

In my Sacred Women’s Circle series, my heroines celebrate the 8 Sabbats, holy days that mark the turning of The Wheel of Life (Samhain, Winter Solstice/Yule, Imbolc, Ostara, Beltane, Summer Solstice/Lithia, Lammas, and Mabon). And, they each marry on a Sabbat.

Regardless of your spiritual path, I wish you all the light you need to show you the way to love.

To learn more about Sacred Women Circles, read my books. Start with Lily: The Dragon and The Great Horned Owl. In Lily, you can learn how to create your own Circle and your own Ceremonies.

Your free copy of Lily: The Dragon and The Great Horned Owl is waiting for you.

Go to JudithAshleyRomance.com and sign up for my occasional newsletter “Connections.”

Follow the prompts to download your own digital copy of the first book in The Sacred Women’s Circle series. While there, check out The Women to learn more about The Sacred Women’s Circle series.

Learn more about The Sacred Women’s Circle series on my website.

Check out my Windtree Press author page.

Follow me on Twitter: @JudithAshley19

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© 2017 Judith Ashley

Ostara

Judith Ashley is the author of The Sacred Women's Circle series, romantic fiction that honors spiritual traditions that nurture the soul.

Today is noted on calendars around the world as the first day of Spring. If you’ve read my earlier posts you have a bit of history about this turning of the Wheel of the Year.

If you want to celebrate Ostara, you can create your own ceremony using eggs and rabbits. As you’ll remember the word Ostara comes from the Saxon Goddess Eostre whose symbols were the hare (aka rabbit) and egg.

If you raise chickens you can appreciate the symbol of the egg. Chickens do not lay as well and at times do not lay at all in the dark days of winter so as the light returns, fresh eggs become more plentiful.

Breakfast on the Spring Equilux traditionally will include eggs fixed in a variety of ways: scramble, omelet, hard boiled. And in some traditions, the eggs are then stacked for eating.

I’ve seen this newer tradition in my own neighborhood. Plastic eggs are decorated and then hung outside on trees or shrubs. Another tradition gaining favor is making a spring wreath to hang on the door using flower arrangement “picks” of chicks, eggs and rabbits to decorate the grapevine circle along with silk spring-themed flowers such as daffodils, tulips, etc.

I’m writing this post almost a full month before the Equilux so I haven’t decided exactly what I’ll do. Come back next Monday and I’ll share all!

And, what about you? What are your plans to celebrate Ostara, the first day of Spring?

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PS: You might wonder why I've featured the cover of Ashley on this post. And, I'm sure you won't be surprised to find out she finds her Happily-Ever-After on the Spring Equilux!

Spring Is Just Around The Corner!

Judith Ashley is the author of The Sacred Women's Circle series, romantic fiction that honors spiritual traditions that nurture the soul.

Spring is just around the corner. Ostara or Spring Equinox is set for Monday, March 20^th. However as I was reviewing some information about the Spring Equinox I learned that it can be as early as March 16^th and as late as March 22^nd.

Also, there is the Equinox and the Equilux. The Equinox means Equal Night and refers to that moment in time when day and night are equal. That moment when the sun hits the equator exactly.

Equilux is the 24 hour period of time during which the Equinox occurs. It also varies depending on where one is in the world. For example: Our Spring Equinox/Equilux is the Southern Hemisphere’s Fall Equinox/Equilux or Mabon.

Of course this makes sense when we stop and think about time zones, the tilt of the earth away from and toward the sun, etc.

Ostara comes from the Saxon Goddess, Eostre whose symbols are the hare and egg. This is the time of balance between dark (winter) and light (summer). In the days before central heat and air conditioning (and I do remember those days), the first days of warmer weather were cause for celebration. Doors and windows were opened wide to cleanse the house of the stale air and energy from being closed up all winter.

The other symbol of this season is ‘balance’. The energy of light and dark are in balance and it gives each of us an opportunity to stop and reflect on where we are in balance and where we are out of balance.

A point to make here is that we are seldom in perfect balance. Just like the Equinox is only a moment in time, we also are in constant flux in order to find that balance we seek. We adjust as the world around us shifts and changes. It reminds me of the analogy Dr. William Glasser uses of a thermostat. We set the temperature to 70 degrees and the system comes on until that temperature is reached. It then turns off and waits until the temperature drops or raises (depending on whether we are heating or cooling the area) before it comes back on.

We are like that thermostat. We constantly juggle our environment, our world a little bit one way or the other until we are satisfied. Then something happens – sometimes it is just a change in the time of day and we move to accommodate.

What I find is true in my own life is that that part of my life most in balance is often ignored until there is an imbalance and then I work to put things right.

What part of your life is most in balance? What part is most out-of-balance? 

For a Free digital copy of Lily sign up for Connections, my newsletter. You’ll be the first to know about upcoming releases and the first to know about specials, contests and appearances.

Learn more about The Sacred Women’s Circle series on her website.

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© 2017 Judith Ashley

The Turn of The Wheel and Sabbats

Judith Ashley is the author of The Sacred Women's Circle series, romantic fiction that honors spiritual traditions that nurture the soul.

In ancient times when people’s lives depended on their ability to understand the world around them, they learned to tell time by the moon and the sun. Most people know the moon waxes and wanes whether they understand how our ancestors used that knowledge or not. Again, most people have heard of the beginning of winter, spring, summer and fall.

What might not be known is that besides these four predominant markings of the turn of the wheel, there are an additional four holy days that mark the in between times.

The Wheel of Life celebrates all eight holy days or Sabbats. Since my Romancing The Genres post talks about Winter Solstice, I’ll start there.

Winter Solstice or Yule marks the longest night and shortest day of the year.

Imbolc marks the half-way point between Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox or Ostara.

Spring Equinox or Ostara marks the first time day and night are equal.

Beltane marks the half-way point between the Spring Equinox or Ostara and Summer Solstice or Lithia.

Summer Solstice or Lithia is the opposite of Winter Solstice. Now we experience the longest day and the shortest night.

Lammas is another half-way point. This time between Summer Solstice or Lithia and the Fall Equinox or Mabon.

Fall Equinox or Mabon is the second time during the year when day and night are equal.

Samhain or All Hallows’ Eve is the opposite of Beltane and marks the half-way point between the Fall Equinox or Mabon and Winter Solstice. In some traditions, Samhain begins The Turn of The Wheel of Life.

Want to know more? Here are some resources for you.

You can find each of the following books at Llewellyn Publishing.

Sabbats – Llewellyn publishes a guide to the Sabbats each year.

The Magickal Year by Diana Ferguson

Circle Round by Starhawk, Diane Baker, Anne Hill

When God Was a Woman by Merlin Stone

Another resource for print books is Book Depository. They ship anywhere in the world for free.

If you’re curious but aren’t sure you want to delve into the Sabbats from a non-fiction perspective, you can read my Sacred Women’sCircle series. Throughout the series you will celebrate the Sabbats with Lily, Elizabeth, Diana, Ashley, Hunter, Gabriella and Sophia.

You can learn more about The Sacred Women’s Circle series on my

website.

Check out my Windtree Press author page.

Follow me on Twitter: @JudithAshley19

I’m also on Facebook

© 2016 Judith Ashley