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8 forms of capital active hope agroecology agroforestry alder buckthorn Amazon anxiety apples arthritis autumn Autumn equinox back yard beans Bec Hellouin beech tree bees beneficial berries biochar biodigester biodiversity blackberries blackthorn book review brain brassica cage budget build building campesino capital card deck Celtic festivals change changes chemical-free chickens christmas circular clay pot cleansers cleansing milks climate change climate chaos climate emergency climate grief climate solutions climbers climbing cob comfrey community Community Nature Network community projects compost compost teas connection consciousness conservation container cooking coppice coppicing cordial cosmology courgettes crafts crisis crop protection Cross Quarter Festival cultural emergence culture cut flowers cycles degraded design diary diversity DIY do it yourself dryland earth care earth's cycles Earth's energy ecoculture economics ecopoetry ecosystem ecosystem restoration camps ecosystems edges edible edible flowers education efficiency elder elderflowers elements elixir energy equinox ethics face mask fair shares Fairtrade farming feedback feminine ferns figs film firewood floristry flower essence flower garden flowers food food forest food garden footbath forage foraging forest garden forest gardening forests fruit fruit leather fruit trees funding fungi future future care gardening gardens garlic gift economy gin Give Nature a voice Glennie Kindred global poverty glut grapes green space greenhouse grief groundcover grow grow food grow your own growing guilds habitat habits handcream harvest harvests hawthorn hazel hazelnut healing shrubs healing trees health healthy soil heart health hedgerow hedging herbal herbal remedies herbal teas herbalist herbs holistic holistic planned grazing home homeless homemade wine homestead hope Hugelkultur humanure hummus hungry gap IBC tanks Imbolc incense increase yields Indigenous inexpensive influence inspiration International Womens Day jam keyline kingfisher kitchen garden lacto-fermentation Lammas land landscape landscapes life lifestyle limeflowers livelihood livestock living labs logs Looby Macnamara lotion low cost low-impact Lush Spring Prize macerations Manda Scott Mangwende Orphan Care Trust market garden market gardening marmalade marshmallow mass heater meadowsweet medicinal microbes microfarm Midwest Permaculture mimic mindset mitigation money Morag Gamble moringa Mother Earth movement mulch multifunctional mushrooms native plants natural natural building natural fertiliser natural skincare natural swimming pool nature nature connection nitrogen no dig no waste no-dig north-facing novel November nutrition nuts observe oca October off-grid oil cleansing orchard orchards organic organic flowers organic gardening outdoor shower oven oxymel oyster pallets pasture-fed patterns people people care peoplecare perennials permaculture permaculture design permaculture magazine award permaculture projects permaculutre permayouth pesto pests philippines pine tree pips pizza oven plant profile plants pollinators pollution polyculture polycultures positive change preserving principles propagating protection pruning prunings psycho-spiritual awareness psychospiritual transformation rainforest rainwater raspberries recipe recipes reduce reed beds regeneration regenerative regenerative agriculture relative location relative matter remedy renewable renewable energy resilient resources restoration reuse revolution rhythms rootstock rootstocks roundhouse roundwood runner beans sage salad salads salve Samhain schools Scotland scotts pine seasonal seasons seeds selfcare Sepp Holzer september septic tanks sewage treatment shade shamanism sheet mulching shrubs skincare sloes slugs small solutions small-scale smallholding social justice soil health solar solutions sowing spiritual spring squash stacking functions stock-free straw straw bale summer support sustainable Sweet Bay syntropic systems temperate terraces thistles thrutopia timber timber framing tincture tonic toolkit tools transformation trees upcycle urban urban gardening veg garden vegan veganic vermicomposting vinegar visionaries walnuts waste water water cleansing watering weeds wellbeing wetland wild edges wild food wild garlic wildflower wildlife wine recipes wings winter winter greens winter salads wood stove woodburner woodland woodland management woodlands world is possible worms yarrow year round year-round food yield young people youth zai pits zone 00 zoning

Topics

8 forms of capital active hope agroecology agroforestry alder buckthorn Amazon anxiety apples arthritis autumn Autumn equinox back yard beans Bec Hellouin beech tree bees beneficial berries biochar biodigester biodiversity blackberries blackthorn book review brain brassica cage budget build building campesino capital card deck Celtic festivals change changes chemical-free chickens christmas circular clay pot cleansers cleansing milks climate change climate chaos climate emergency climate grief climate solutions climbers climbing cob comfrey community Community Nature Network community projects compost compost teas connection consciousness conservation container cooking coppice coppicing cordial cosmology courgettes crafts crisis crop protection Cross Quarter Festival cultural emergence culture cut flowers cycles degraded design diary diversity DIY do it yourself dryland earth care earth's cycles Earth's energy ecoculture economics ecopoetry ecosystem ecosystem restoration camps ecosystems edges edible edible flowers education efficiency elder elderflowers elements elixir energy equinox ethics face mask fair shares Fairtrade farming feedback feminine ferns figs film firewood floristry flower essence flower garden flowers food food forest food garden footbath forage foraging forest garden forest gardening forests fruit fruit leather fruit trees funding fungi future future care gardening gardens garlic gift economy gin Give Nature a voice Glennie Kindred global poverty glut grapes green space greenhouse grief groundcover grow grow food grow your own growing guilds habitat habits handcream harvest harvests hawthorn hazel hazelnut healing shrubs healing trees health healthy soil heart health hedgerow hedging herbal herbal remedies herbal teas herbalist herbs holistic holistic planned grazing home homeless homemade wine homestead hope Hugelkultur humanure hummus hungry gap IBC tanks Imbolc incense increase yields Indigenous inexpensive influence inspiration International Womens Day jam keyline kingfisher kitchen garden lacto-fermentation Lammas land landscape landscapes life lifestyle limeflowers livelihood livestock living labs logs Looby Macnamara lotion low cost low-impact Lush Spring Prize macerations Manda Scott Mangwende Orphan Care Trust market garden market gardening marmalade marshmallow mass heater meadowsweet medicinal microbes microfarm Midwest Permaculture mimic mindset mitigation money Morag Gamble moringa Mother Earth movement mulch multifunctional mushrooms native plants natural natural building natural fertiliser natural skincare natural swimming pool nature nature connection nitrogen no dig no waste no-dig north-facing novel November nutrition nuts observe oca October off-grid oil cleansing orchard orchards organic organic flowers organic gardening outdoor shower oven oxymel oyster pallets pasture-fed patterns people people care peoplecare perennials permaculture permaculture design permaculture magazine award permaculture projects permaculutre permayouth pesto pests philippines pine tree pips pizza oven plant profile plants pollinators pollution polyculture polycultures positive change preserving principles propagating protection pruning prunings psycho-spiritual awareness psychospiritual transformation rainforest rainwater raspberries recipe recipes reduce reed beds regeneration regenerative regenerative agriculture relative location relative matter remedy renewable renewable energy resilient resources restoration reuse revolution rhythms rootstock rootstocks roundhouse roundwood runner beans sage salad salads salve Samhain schools Scotland scotts pine seasonal seasons seeds selfcare Sepp Holzer september septic tanks sewage treatment shade shamanism sheet mulching shrubs skincare sloes slugs small solutions small-scale smallholding social justice soil health solar solutions sowing spiritual spring squash stacking functions stock-free straw straw bale summer support sustainable Sweet Bay syntropic systems temperate terraces thistles thrutopia timber timber framing tincture tonic toolkit tools transformation trees upcycle urban urban gardening veg garden vegan veganic vermicomposting vinegar visionaries walnuts waste water water cleansing watering weeds wellbeing wetland wild edges wild food wild garlic wildflower wildlife wine recipes wings winter winter greens winter salads wood stove woodburner woodland woodland management woodlands world is possible worms yarrow year round year-round food yield young people youth zai pits zone 00 zoning

Living in Tune with the Seasons – Imbolc – January into February

Glennie Kindred explores the changing of the seasons, what we can do to connect to Nature's cycles, and the energy of Imbolc.

The old year has died but within the decay there are signs of new life growing. The first bright green shoots of the spring bulbs are poking through the soil. Hazel catkins glow in the welcome sunlight and everywhere there is the feeling that life is stirring. Seen from a distance, some of the native trees have taken on a coloured hue, caused by the gentle swelling of their buds, faint at first, but increasing as the increase in the day’s length begins to influence the plants. There is a sense of rebirth in the air, of new beginnings waiting for their right time to come.

With this Earth-awakening comes new opportunities to make simple but life changing shifts in our lifestyles and thinking patterns. Living more sustainably and with greater awareness of the Earth is something we can no longer ignore. The time for dreaming is over. The time for action begins. We do nothing in isolation – each and every small change we make as individuals adds to the greater whole.

Out on the land

* Hill walking * Keeping a nature journal * Foraging for early spring greens and herbs

This is an in-between time, a place on the edge. Winter is still with us, but within this is an awareness that spring will come soon. There are days of sheer magical brilliance when the skies are blue, the sun shines and calls us out onto the land. There are also dark days, of rain, fog, snow, ice and weather that lets us know we must wait a while longer before the transformation of spring fully begins.

This is the time when the ideas we have been incubating in the winter months, begin to rise in us. Like the life force of the land, everything is moving from the inside to the outside, from being held and cocooned in the dark, to an awakening into the light.

The Celtic festival of Imbolc celebrates ‘First Stirrings’ and the awakening of the life force. As you walk the land, look for where nature is stirring and also ask yourself what is stirring deep within you? What can you do now to set things in motion and help them to grow?

Walking helps the fluidity of the mind and beautiful places encourage our inspiration and muse. Carry a note book and pen with you on your walks so that you can write poetry and write down any inspiring thoughts that come to you, tapping into what is rising in you after your winter sleep.

Allow yourself to be pulled outside whenever the sun breaks through, delighting in the turn of the season. Get out for quick spins and feel the benefit of the quickening. Observe all that is stirring and see yourself part of the life force that is visibly on the move.

Spring tonic drink

Both nettles and chives are growing now and both are rich in iron. Chickweed is high in vitamins A and C and high in iron, copper, magnesium and calcium. Pick the first nettle tops and chive shoots and a handful of chickweed and soak them in cold natural spring water overnight. This is a cold infusion.

Drink the mineral and iron rich water as a spring tonic the next day and add the leaves to the soup pot. Top up the liquid to a pint and aim to drink 1 litre (2 pints) of natural spring water a day as a natural tonic and a spring clean for the whole system.

Elixirs and tinctures

This is a good time to go through your tinctures and elixirs to check what you have made and used, and to check on their general condition. If any have sediment in the bottom of the bottle, carefully pour through double muslin or wine maker’s filter paper, discard the bottom slurry, pour into a clean dark bottle and label. If you find you are running short of something you can make it from dried herbs from your own store or bought from a herb suppliers. Soak them first in a little water to bring them back to life.

At this time of year there is time to play with herbal combinations depending on what you find you need. Combination elixirs can be made from tinctures by mixing them with equal amounts of honey and rebottling. It’s a good way to use up the bits and bobs left over before the new season of available fresh herbs begins again. Check the list of herbs in ‘Making Elixirs’ to see what you might have that you can use.

Restoring vital energy

It is easy to see how the cold and the damp seeps into our bones in the winter, creating stiff joints and dampening our sexuality. Lack of sunshine can bring depression and lack of energy. Keep a flame burning in your solar plexus, hara or belly. Remember to turn it on in the morning and picture yourself as a sensuous creative warm glowing person with a zest for life. Get in touch with what makes you feel beautiful and radiant and affirm you are lovable.

If the dark days are getting you down, then look in your store of dried herbs and tinctures to see what you might have to create a herbal restorative. The native plants St John’s wort and vervain will add a lift to any mix, as well as mint, rose petals, nettle, cleavers and chickweed.

Create a refreshing pick-me-up by pouring boiling water on a fresh sprig of rosemary, chopped ginger, lemon and honey. This will stimulate the whole system, improve circulation and will send blood to the brain.

Don’t forget to go outside frequently and take a daily walk, especially if the weather is wild! Seek out favourite places in your locality where you can revive, and take a long view and revel in being alive! Visit favourite trees you like to sit with, breathe deeply and look for signs of new life and the Earth awakening.

Imbolc

End of January – Beginning of February

Imbolc is a festival to celebrate the light returning. It is also one of the great fire festivals of our ancient past and celebrates the rising of the creative life force and the spark of life from within.

The festival of Imbolc works directly with the energy of fire. Fire is the spark of life, the catalyst that sets things in motion and creates what happens next. It is the electric currents that course through the Earth and through every part of our bodies that stimulate us into action.

Fire inspires us to take risks, to be bold, to be spontaneous, to act on the strength of our convictions. We stand at a threshold of awakening potential and ask ourselves: what do we want from this new growth cycle?

At Imbolc we consciously fire up our new intentions, which propel us forwards and transform us from the inside. This is a great opportunity to change our relationship with the natural world, to see ourselves as part of nature and part of the web of life. We can choose to change our thinking patterns and our lifestyles, to begin to live with new values and create a new set of conditions from which to grow and change, so that we create a more harmonious and joyful future for ourselves and for the Earth.

Lay the foundation stones, set the corner post of how you want to live your life in the new cycle to come. Don’t be complacent. Be adventurous. There is always more to change.

For the full celebration of Imbolc and moving in to spring, see Glennie’s book: Letting in the Wild Edges.

Further Resources

Books

Letting in the Wild Edges
by Glennie Kindred

Articles

Medicinal uses for Elder (Sambucus)

Medicinal Benefits of Ferns

About the Author

Glennie Kindred is the author of twelve books on Earth wisdom, native plants and trees and celebrating the Earth’s cycles, and is a highly respected teacher and much loved expert on natural lore and Earth traditions.