(are you done yet Isaya? It’s been weeks… I believe I am for this year!!)
New Moon this Saturday.
Time for rest and going inward.
The last New Moon of what I call "deep Winter", the long "night of the Soul" between Yule and Imbolc…
That’s when the Crone is the most potent. That’s when her call for rest, retreat and dreaming in the darkness is the most powerful, albeit quiet and soft…
We can choose to ignore it… at our own perils (among which we have a good chance of finding burn-out, exhaustion and low morale energy in the next few months...)
Or we can embark on what might be the most extraordinary journey of the year…
A journey of dreams, visions and connections to the invisible, of aligning with our deepest, highest self…
The Crone, Queen of Winter is extending one last invitation for this year to undertake a proper vision quest, a deep dive into Winter energy…
So, despite my best laid plans… I’m going to write another (yes, another!) article about the incredible potency of Winter… I’ll wait until my Maiden awakens next week to tell you all about my plans for 2023 and how you can join me and work with me…
For today, the Crone calls… You can find more about the Crone energy in my numerous articles about Her (it does feel like I’m fascinated doesn't it? Well… I am !!) here: https://isayabelle.com/all-things-crone
So … Winter…
This week, I’m taking the easy, lazy, Wintery route and beginning my blog post sharing some ideas and quotes that inspired my philosophy…
First… A reminder that Winter is a fact of nature… and that all things natural live by the cycle of seasons…
Plants and animals don’t fight the Winter; they don’t pretend it’s not happening and attempt to carry on living the same lives that they lived in the summer. They prepare. They adapt. They perform extraordinary acts of metamorphosis to get them through. Winter is a time of withdrawing from the world, maximizing scant resources, carrying out acts of brutal efficiency and vanishing from sight; but that’s where the transformation occurs. Winter is not the death of the life cycle, but its crucible.
Katherine May: Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times
(with thanks to the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids)
And remember … YOU (just like me and all other humans) are a being of nature FIRST AND FOREMOST!! Our immortal Souls have chosen to "incarnate" (the word comes from the Latin word meaning "meat", so yeah, definitely "embodied"!!) into these bodies and live a human experience for a while...
And for more reminders about nature …
January is a time of lull where above ground very little is happening, but underground the shoots are growing and in some places peeping through, roots are gaining strength and some animals are hibernating, building up the energy needed for when spring arrives. We too can tap into this energy and plant seeds of dreams for the year ahead.
Ruby Coupe, https://www.dottydelightful.com/
A French friend of mine also wrote this short description of what Winter means in shamanism (I translated that in English for you lovely people...)
Winter is located in the North of the Medicine Wheel, the North being represented by the color white.
That is the period of Mother Earth's rest before the arrival of spring when the plants are reborn by drawing their food from the soil.
Thus man, before his spring rebirth for a new cycle, must rest, take stock of the past year and mature the path he will take in the spring, enlightened by the energy of Father Sky and Mother Earth.
Like the Bear hibernating in the depths of his den, nestled in the bosom of Mother Earth, man has the power to listen to his dreams, but also and above all to act with discernment in order to set up his projects so that they can be sown in the spring and the new cycle of life can fertilize them thanks to the energy of the East.
Winter is therefore a privileged time to rest the physical body, to regenerate the different energy bodies and to listen to one's deepest being, to the advice of the Ancestors. It is a privileged time to practice meditation, Shamanic Dreaming and Trance, in order to separate the wheat from the chaff and to finally keep the quintessence of our reflections.
Finally, here are the themes of Winter, according to Erin Bruce, the Seasonal Soul:
• Rest
• Dreaming
• Exploring your shadows
• Embracing your Divine Feminine
• New hopes & ideas
• Reaching the end & fresh beginnings
• Tiny buds of new life stirring deep within
• Being tested in order to grow
Erin Bruce (find more about Winter, and the other seasons, on her beautiful website and blog here: https://www.theseasonalsoul.com/Winter/)
So.
General agreement.
First: rest.
Then: go inwards.
I will add remembering that we are beings of nature, part of the ecosystem and partly subject to it.
We do have a choice of course, to be connected to nature and follow the natural cycle… or not! That is what most people don’t seem to understand.
Whether you do work full time in a very urban environment, or live in the middle of nowhere in a hut, you get to choose to follow the natural rhythm of the seasons and of your cyclic nature if you are a woman.
You get to choose. You are sovereign of your life.
And for some of us, it might look similar from the outside.
But it won’t feel the same. If you give yourself the grace of following the call of nature in Winter, by resting more, spending as much time as possible in the being and much less in the doing… It won’t feel the same.
Not now. Not later in the year.
That I can guarantee…
OK, OK then … How do you do it, pray, Isaya?
Well…
You go back to basics: Sleep, Nourishment, Stillness.
As much as you can.
Maybe the most primal needs of humans in Winter.
Sleep: because Winter is nature's sleep, we need more of that too.
It’s a physiological fact. We might well be closer in nature to the bears, our hibernating cousins. (oh, and I’ve got a whole story about bears coming soon, stay tuned for that one, it’s huge!!)
Nourishment: in Winter we need to nourish ourselves with food (both physical and spiritual food) that will sustain us in the cold and dark… What are you eating? What are you nourishing yourself with? How do you feed your body and Soul this Winter? Choose healthy food and positive thoughts to walk through Winter in grace and love.
Stillness: silent, quiet, peaceful stillness. In which we can listen to our dreams, our visions, our little inside voices, those of our ancestors, those of Spirit and Source whispering hints about our next moves… when time comes!
If you can manage to add some of that to your Winter life, I guarantee a more peaceful and joyful and successful Spring, Summer and Autumn… Would you try?
If you’d like to be accompanied on that path… I’m offering a unique way to transform your life and experience peace, wealth, freedom and safety ! Simply book a Free Clarity Discovery call to see if I can be of assistance on your journey to Living a Goddess Life daily https://bookme.name/isayabelle/lite/30-minutes-free-discovery-call
So much for today ...
I would be so happy to hear from you about all that.
Thank you in advance for your comment.
Until then I send you love, light and gratitude.
Isaya
PS1: If you're wondering whether I'm obsessed with Winter and the Crone... I might actually be!! Here is a page where you will find ALL my articles about the Crone energy: https://isayabelle.com/all-things-crone ... And I'll see you in Spring to see if I have that many articles!!
PS2: and please do not confuse any of the darkness, cold, fog, rain and silence with sadness… The seeds of you dreams are vividly colored and full of hope underground and shining with their bright light…. Just asleep for now!
PS3: also… if you feel like giving yourself some Me Time to Dream and Vision with me and my bestie Kristy… We have an awesome offer for a Vision Board Retreat happening this Sunday, Jan 22nd - 2 pm UK - 6 pm UK (replay available)
Let's spend time together creating magic intentional boards and using them in imaginative ways!
2 x 90min sessions with a 30min break
First, Isaya leads a session about Intuitive Vision Board Creation
We start with a meditation so we open up for change and the new coming... We let go of the old and welcome the new… Then we get our fingers dirty and create a physical Vision Board for our 2023 amazing year! (We work with limited art supplies, you get sent a list when you book, this is NOT a digital vision board workshop). You can choose a specific area of your life to work with or stay general and cover everything!
After the break, Kristy leads a session on how to use the Vision Board in your Home or work environment … We will stay in inspiration, intuition, and imagination ! It’s about creative ways to keep the vision alive and in front of our eyes so the manifestation occurs! It’s about having the board work for you… and staying in the vibration of your Vision, your intentions, goals and desires!
The retreat is not a tutorial, neither is it a lecture… It’s a hands on workshop AND explanations webinar!
Investment is $88
Sign up here: https://bit.ly/3ZwrYq5