With Imbolc, we mark the phase of Dissolution in the larger alchemical
process of the year. In the Pacific Northwest, Chinese medicine teaches
that predominant health issues in this region will traditionally
express themselves as issues of too much cool moisture. So while it
might be appropriate for alchemist's doing personal work in some areas
to need to find ways to add liquids to their inner process at this time,
I'm finding that a removal of some excess moisture is better suited to
where I live as well as my present work. Different areas have been
reviewed and thinned out. Items have gone to recycling, the trash and
been donated. I'm working to remove an excess of those fluid elements
of life which can too easily flood us. A big pile got picked up yesterday morning, yay!
Surveying what's growing in the house and yard, I've got a near-complete list of potentials for crafting my first homemade set of seven essentials. Some herbs are in very short supply, others are much more generously available. We have a few things on hand
- Saffron - Sun
- Mugwort - Moon
- Lavender - Mercury
- Jerusalem Artichoke - Venus
- Aloe - Mars
- Sage - Jupiter
We have a few things on hand which correspond to Saturn, however, they are all also toxic/poisonous in nature. Not really where I should working at this time. One Saturnian option is cannabis. I'll have to consult my various oracles to see if that's appropriate. Or where my poppy plants might correspond, and again if that would be appropriate. Another option would be to pick a plant and grow it to harvest the material. We're about to rip out our sage this spring, so I have to remember to let my housemate know I want the plant when it goes. I'll have to read up on if I can pick Jerusalem artichokes whenever or if they do better with a certain season. Our roots are a few years old, so there should be plenty to harvest.
"Concerning those Secrets, which are revealed in Magicians writings, although they may contain some truth, yet in regard those very truths are enveloped with such a number of deceits, as it's not very easie to judge betwixt the truth and falshood, they ought all worthily to be rejected."
~ from Chapter 2, Of Charms, Figures, and their Use of Friar Bacon's HIS DISCOVERY OF THE MIRACLES, ART, OF NATURE, AND MAGICK, 1659.
I'm really feeling the pull to purple already this year. I felt red for a few weeks before I shifted my hair back in the fall, but it's even stronger and earlier this switchover. It might have something to do with my personal processes. It might be connected to sifting through all my clothing storage recently. It might be related to my new minion. Who can say? There's a good chance that after being red these past two years at P-con that I will use that event as my changeover point this season. I just got a haircut (goodbye dry ends from winter and hello, super short hair) and it's time to do roots again. The whole back of my head is brown and grey, with the remaining red just being in the front. Very nearly a clean slate. Time to hit eBay for hair dye.
Speaking of the con.... it's ALMOST PANTHEACON! Already part of my mind is distracted with the task of planning what to bring for this year's hotel room altar. Something about P-con really seems to demand festoonery in the room. And what to wear. As with any year, I can't wait to see what this year's con turns out to be. While clearly related, they really do tend to turn out rather differently from one another. I've got trusted roommates, we're on-site, C's coven has a suite, people are teaching, all pieces that go towards making a great event.
As the Super Bowl fell on Imbolc this year, I and my friend K decided to do some prosperity work during the game and see if we could use the happy energy of millions of people. We started on a solar hour for Sunday, and continued through until the next Sun correspondence. During the Saturnian time, to break and let go of old habits and that which isn't serving me, I smashed a figurine I made of myself a few Pantheacons back. It was an air-dry clay that had never been fired. I felt it was a great representation of everything stuck, dried, inflexible and featureless in my life. The ceramic was still so sharp-edged that it hacked up the tea towel that K gave me to wrap the bag I put the figurine into before hammering it. There were candles burnt, oils annointed and I made a charm from a mix of found and precious items. The outcome of the game seems to bode well for the magickal work....