Today I bought the apple tree. I’ll plant it on Thursday, when the Moon is in Capricorn, a good sign for planting something long-lasting and with roots. The ground has unfrozen, and it’s been warm enough to happily spend time in the garden preparing the soil and the space for the new resident. The act of tree-planting does feel symbolic of the beginning of spring. There is so much hope in planting a tree: it’s a much longer time-scale than planting flowers or vegetables. It is a legacy.
We had a real winter here in England, with snow, ice, and months of frost. I spent weeks in a kind of hibernation, knitting in front of a log fire, watching television, reading books, drinking tea, staring at the flames. It was lovely, and peaceful. Something healed in me, and something new was quietly born. I wasn’t so busy in the outer world that I couldn’t slide into the altered state of deep midwinter. What a blessing. But I am so happy to feel the lift of energy that comes when the weather warms and the days lengthen.
In traditional Chinese medicine the Liver function is associated with the Spring, with renewal, with hope, and with planning for the future. It is responsible for the free flow of all the emotions, not just anger, although a congested Liver will give rise to anger and frustration. Liver Qi likes greens, it likes nettles and fresh young shoots. We drink nettle tea in springtime to help the Liver cleanse the whole body of the accumulated gunk of winter.
The Liver is ruled by the element of Wood, and is associated with trees and with straightforward, upright, direct energy. The Liver is fed by the element of Water, and drinking water is a good way to clear the Liver, stop a headache, and move stuck energy or emotion. The Liver likes the truth, it likes clarity, and a healthy Liver makes good decisions quickly and happily.
Early spring is often a time of decision-making. Ideally, we had time in the winter to mull over our lives, to listen to our inner voice and hear what wants to be done next. Once Spring begins, these mullings, these thoughts, begin to coalesce into plans, actions, a new certainty of purpose. The body shifts into a new rhythm, a higher gear. It wants clarifying, lighter food. It moves faster, springs into action readily.
So, I wish you a Happy Springtime, and new plans, new thoughts, new inspirations!
So of course the day I wrote my last post we had a huge amount of snow, so I didn’t get to plant my Imbolc apple tree after all. That joy will have to wait till after the thaw, and then some, till the ground has warmed a little. The weather during the period of the recent pair of eclipses (Jan 26 and Feb 9), traditional harbingers of general difficulty and climatic weirdness, has been intense in many places, including snow and rain paralysing transport in the UK and a hurricane in Spain and SW France. And in Australia the terrible, terrifying fires, a combination of a very hot summer and some very crazy people. I want to extend my thoughts and prayers to everyone there and to say that there is a lot of coverage in the UK of the traumatic events Australia is suffering, and that many people around the world are sending their support and empathy energetically. I think this is the positive angle of our shrinking globe – yes, we get inundated with tragic news and it can feel overwhelming, but if we turn that overwhelm into prayer for those in need, maybe it helps lend some psychic strength.
It’s Imbolc tomorrow, February 2, and in keeping with ancient tradition, I am going to plant a tree. An apple tree, to be precise. It still feels very wintry here, with hoar frost on the trees and a forecast of snow tomorrow, but crocuses and snowdrops are pushing through the earth with bright green shoots, and we know the year’s turn towards the new is really happening now. Not so long until spring, and warmth in the air again!
Early February has long been celebrated as a holiday in many cultures: in ancient Ireland it was Imbolc and Brigid’s Day, in the Mediterranean and later in all of Europe, Candlemas and St. Bridget’s Day. In the US Feb 2 is Groundhog Day, a celebration of the lengthening days causing small furry creatures to poke their noses out of their hibernation holes and sniff the warming air. The Chinese and Tibetan New Years also occur in this time period, usually falling somewhere in the late January, early February window.
At this time of year in the Northern Hemisphere, the land, refreshed from the resting period of winter and purified by frosts, is getting ready for cultivation, for the renewal of the agricultural year. This is a moment of quickening, as the spark of life reappears, coming up from its deep underground slumber.
Read the rest of this year’s essay on Imbolc at http://planetaryenergies.net/2009/02/01/planetary-energies-imbolc-2009/
