The beginning of February celebrates Imbolc; a Celtic celebration honouring Brigid, goddess of spring and renewal. Marking the delicate shift from winter to spring, it stands as a potent midpoint between the solstice and equinox in the Wheel of the Year. More than tradition, Imbolc invites a profound connection to self, others, and Mother Earth. Coming out of a time of rest, it's a moment for happiness and discovery, trusting in the Earth's wisdom and welcoming new beginnings. Using the strength from our ancestors, we work on developing creative ideas, using our energy to overcome challenges and move towards success. In this month of February, let love and connection bloom alongside the promise of new beginnings.
The celebration of Valentine's Day on February 14th is rooted in both historical and legendary accounts. One popular theory attributes the day to St. Valentine, a Christian martyr who lived during the Roman Empire. The most widely accepted story is that during the rule of Emperor Claudius II, St. Valentine defied the emperor's decree that young men should remain single to make better soldiers. Valentine continued to perform marriages for young couples in secret, leading to his arrest and eventual execution on February 14th.
Another legend suggests that Valentine, while imprisoned, sent a note to the jailer's daughter, signing it "From your Valentine," thus contributing to the tradition of sending love notes on this day.
Over time, Valentine's Day evolved into a celebration of love and affection, with the exchange of cards, flowers, and gifts becoming widespread. While the historical origins are somewhat obscured, the modern celebration of Valentine's Day has become a global expression of love and appreciation for romantic partners and loved ones.
What does it mean to be in love? In our modern World, it is perhaps and intoxicating mix of chemicals that signal that we can’t be without that person.
In spirituality, it is a connection to Source, the Divine, the universe, Universal consciousness; it is an energy field. For those blessed to have experienced this field it is of deep connection with self, a knowing that we are all connected, that what you see and experience in me, I see and experience in you. From this field of pure love and connection emanate other expressions of kindness, compassion, empathy, joy, bliss. From this space, we can recognise those traits that we consider undesirable as the cyclical patterns of adversity and childhood trauma that keep playing out over and over. Those self-sabotaging behaviours that leave us unhappy, unfulfilled and unwell.
When we come from this space of love – we feel compassion towards others going through these trials and see that the World is unfolding as a true expression of all that the creator is capable of. We recognise these destructive patterns are inherent in ourselves but that we choose not to play them out but to resolve them, heal them for all.
There is a knowing that if we could all stop and pause, release the past conditioning, competitiveness, materialism and come from a place of love then there would be peace on earth – this knowing comes from the heart.
There is also a knowing that this is part of the human condition to suffer these patterns, to constantly strive for a feeling of safety and the familiar, even when these patterns are causing havoc with our mental health and destroying our ability to feel fulfilled – this safety mechanism is ingrained I the head.
So how do we bring head and heart together, to stop the war and be able to choose our own destiny? We can learn a lot from nature. A flower doesn’t look at the neighbouring tree and say ‘I want to be a tree!’ It just grows and blooms. Of course, it is a little bit more than that – the seed needs the right environment and conditions of soil, water, warmth… but left to its own devices’ nature will advance and grow and those environments that flourish work in symbiosis with each other. You only have to look at the rainforests of the Amazon to see the richness and beauty of co-operation and connection. The abundance of life is a reflection (in my opinion) of pure love.
So, what is the nature that we are feeding ourselves with? Whose beliefs and conditioning, cultural norms are you listening too? Whose voice is it that you hear when those words ‘I am not enough’ arise or ‘I am not capable’ or ‘They abandoned me’ or feelings of distrust, lack of safety, loneliness creep in.
Our greatest connection is to ourselves, to our inner world. Yet so many of us still require external validation from others. Those partnerships, marriages that work, work because each person enters the relationship already whole. They are not seeking for the other person to fill a hole in them to make themselves whole. They already know who they are and come from wholeness, oneness.
True love and connection is about supporting each other to be the best version of themselves that they can be, but it is each and everyone’s own responsibility to clear out the shadows and step into their own unique wholeness.
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