The Nudge - Dispatch 2
Welcome to The Nudge | Imbolc 2022
This seasonal care package has been prepared by The Trailblazery team.
“At Imbolc we ask for inspiration and guidance for new plans and projects, and we give thought to the unseen mysteries unfolding in the dark. Just as the dark earth gestates life that sprouts and flourishes in the spring, so we honour our own times of dark power, gestating the growth that will sustain us in the warm and sunny months of creativity to come”
Cait Johnson and Maura D Shaw
Dear Friends,
We are so delighted to be preparing our new care package The Nudge, for you as we approach Imbolc and Lá Fhéile Bríde on February 01- 02, a pivotal point on the Medicine Wheel of the Year
As the Great wheel turns we find ourselves slowly re-emerging from the depths of winter into the portal of Imbolc. The first stirrings of nature can be seen and heard, sensed and felt.
Something is rising…
This year in Ireland, it is particularly special as the Irish government has finally declared it a new public holiday in 2023, to honour the country’s female matron, Brigid of Kildare, who was said to be born on this day.
As the festival of Imbolc arrives, the Goddess energies transform. The dark Cailleach of winter shapeshifts into Brigid who embodies both the fecundity of feminine heart and fiery clarity, courage and conviction of the new rising masculine. Brigid, both Goddess and Saint, is synonymous with the festival of Imbolc in Ireland, which became known more commonly as Lá Fheile Bríde.
Fiery Arrow
In her human form, she was born at dawn (a liminal time) on a threshold (a liminal place) on the first day of Spring. One of the most ancient forms of Her Name comes from the Gaelic “Breo-Saighit“ which means "fiery arrow". These ‘fiery arrows’ illuminate our minds, hearts and spirits. She is a triple Goddess of healing, smithcraft and poetry. Her sacred flame was tended to by her priestesses in Kildare in Ireland for thousands of years and still burns to this day.
She has an impressive portfolio including and not limited to Matron of babies; blacksmiths; boatmen; cattle; chicken farmers; children whose parents are not married; dairymaids; dairy workers; fugitives; infants; mariners; midwives; milk maids; poultry raisers; printing presses; sailors; scholars; travellers; watermen; creativity scholars and poets.
She is very present in Ireland. She is present in the landscape, in the many churches dedicated to her, in her crosses hung in homes, shops and inns; and in her sacred wells.
To mark Lá Fhéile Bríde, Kathy was inspired to write and record a short poem to honour Brigid as Celtic triple goddess (maiden, mother, crone) and the protector of poets and bards, healers and magicians. You can listen to it here
"i mbolc - in the womb"
Poetry by: Kathy Scott
Music by: Max Richter
Artwork by: Kim Krans
In the Belly
Imbolc derives it’s name from the Irish, ‘i mbolg’, meaning ‘in the belly’, which in turn relates to birthing season, as the soon to be born lambs are growing in their mother’s bellies. This is a beautiful metaphor to describe this time as ‘winter pregnant with summer’. The seeds of summer are still hidden deep in the earth, in the womb of the Goddess and while the worst of the winter darkness is over, Spring has not fully arrived yet. It is however, a time of hope and possibility. The land is growing fertile again, the days are lengthening, and life Is beginning to stir deep inside the earth. Life force is rising, the sun is strengthening.
We are invited to celebrate this point of seasonal and psychic transformation and explore the potency of renewal, hidden potential and creative life-force stirrings. Imbolc also gives us pause to notice the stirrings in our own internal landscape- what’s in our bellies and what wants to be kindled. It gives us an opportunity to ask ‘how can this fire be tended’ and ‘how can the inner creative stirrings be harnessed’. We are also invited to meet our collective fires of transformation.
Some Journal Prompts to inspire you, as we approach Imbolc:
What new beginnings are awakening within you at this time in your life?
How is your creative life force flowing?
What image of Brigid resonates with you most - Goddess, Holy woman, Saint, Druid or a blend of all ?
What are some of the qualities embodied by Brigid that you want to invoke for your life ?
What are you grateful for about Dreamtime?
What did you shed?
What seeds are you sowing?
How can you bring the gifts of Imbolc into your day to day existence?
What practices can you experience and play with with to honour the Medicine Wheel of the year?
What’s coming up over the next
6 weeks at The Trailblazery
We are excited to let you know what the future holds for our community here at The Trailblazery.
Scoil Scairte
An immersive journey into the heart and soul of the Irish language. Created by TheTrailblazery, in collaboration with Manchán Magan and supported by Foras na Gaeilge, Scoil Scairte is the Irish school you always dreamed of, guided by a host of inspiring bilingual multidisciplinary artists, activists, creatives, educators, culture makers and indigenous language keepers.
Guides for our upcoming series include Kathy Scott (Host, Creative Director of The Trailblazery), Manchán Magan (Writer, Presenter, Bee Keeper, Documentary-Maker), Mairéad Ní Chonghaile (Presenter, Actor, Múinteoir), Liam Ó Maonlaí (Musician, Singer), Ceara Conway (Performer, Visual Artist and Singer), Diarmuid Lyng (Hurler, Campaigner, Wild Irish Retreats), Bayo Akomolafe (Poet, Philosopher, Professor, Writer and Activist), Clare Sands(Singer, Songwriter, Multi-Instrumentalist, Composer), Seán Ó Tarpaigh (Psychotherapist, Actor), Rising Appalachia (Musicians, Songwriters), Fearghus Ó Conchúir (Choreographer, Dance Artist and Artistic Director), Iarla Ó Lionáird (Singer, Producer), Carmel Winters (Playwright, Filmmaker) and Timmy Creed (actor, writer, theatre-maker).
We start on Thursday February 3rd at 7pm and run for 9 consecutive weeks. All calls will be recorded and sent via email the next day if you can’t attend live.
Doors are about to close so if you feel called to join us, you can sign up here
Moon Medicine
We launched our much loved Moon Medicine Circle in 2018 and have gathered a global community of inspirational women along the way.
Our monthly gatherings, which moved online in 2020, align with the lunar cycle. We meet around every Full Moon and welcome inspiring guest luminaries to share her story, experience and wisdom with us. We also invite extraordinary musicians and performers to play at our gatherings. This is an opportunity to illuminate and celebrate our creative life force and sovereignty.
You can sign up to our Moon Medicine mailing list here to be informed of all upcoming events. Our next one will take place on Valentine’s Day, Mon Feb 14th at 7pm Irish.
Cost is €25 and we offer a limited number of free spots each month for those who need it.
Imbolc is a time of year to feel the stirrings of nature, new life force and neart all around us. We are invited to embody these sacred stirrings in our own internal landscape - the fire in our bellies.
EnJOY these days - may the awakening light be yours.
Thank you for walking this path with us,
Beannachtaí
Kathy and all at The Trailblazery
Highlights of our gatherings
Put on the kettle, make a cuppa and watch some golden moments from the musicians and performers who have joined us here at The Trailblazery.
Áine Tyrrell & Auntie Delta Kay:
Óró sé do bheatha abhaile
Imbolc 2021
Recommended Resources
Here are a few reading, watching and listening pieces to nourish your senses in the days ahead:
♪ Listen: For your ears
Imbolc St Brigids Day le Manchán Magan
On Being | Remembering Thich Nhat Hanh
✦ Smell: For your Nose
Our favourite Oil Allies for Imbolc Anointing Oil
1/2 oz. bottle.
6 drops Lavender Essential oil
3 drops Lemongrass Essential oil
fill to top of bottle with sweet almond oil
✯ Watch: For your eyes
Video directed & edited by our friend and collaborator Alixa García. Song written and performed by Ryan Amador & Alixa García
Live stream from Preservation Hall New Orleans with our Soul Sisters at Rising Appalachia
Read: For your heart
The Miracle of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh
Celebrating the Great Mother | A Handbook of Earth-Honoring Activities for Parents and Children by Cait Johnson and Maura D Shaw
Ireland's Hidden Medicine by Rosari Kingston
✬ Connect: For your Soul
Herb of Imbolc: Dandelion
Dandelion is one of Brigid’s favourite healing herbs for good reason. All parts of thedandelion (leaf, flower and root) offer nourishing medicine and foodi
Dandelion is the original spring tonic - it purifies the blood by strengthening and toning the liver, it supports the work of the kidneys and helps with hormonal imbalances and thyroid disorders.
Learn how to make dandelion tea here
Touch: For your pleasure
Jerusha Marley | Jerusha Marley is a Fashion Designer/Illustrator based on theWild West Coast of Ireland. The inspiration for her artworks is taken from Shamanic practice, the local land around her and Celtic Mythology. Thank you Kitty and Dee for the nudge of inspiration . We love her Bhrat Bhríde.
And finally this care package would not be complete without a guide to making your very own Brigid's Cross. It is customary, in Ireland to make a Brigid's Cross on the eve of Brigid's Day using reeds or rushes. It is placed inside the house over the door for protection.