Now that the days have lengthened, and we are assured that once again the Spring will come, the lifeforce in us all is stirring. They call it "Spring Fever" but it's just our bodies responding to the natural cycle of things. We feel confined in closed in spaces. The sun is brilliant, warming the Earth with his life giving rays. We sit inside in our workspaces and long for outdoors. From the inside, it looks warm and inviting outside. But the chill wind still blows, reminding us that we are not yet out of Winter's cold grip.

These are moments when we can lay plans to make the most out of the time given us. This life is fleeting in the grand picture of things. A momentary blip on the radar screen of Time. But we all have something to contribute, a thread to add to the Loom of Life and become part of the wonderful tapestry that is the Wheel of the Year.

Several years ago, I was suffering from the "Cabin Fever" that so often nails us in the pre Spring days before the Earth reawakens. Between Yule and Imbolc can be a very barren and desolate time of year for some, especially in our area where we see the coldest of the winter temperatures during this time. But there are still days when the brilliant light of the Sun beckons us out to play even though we know the azure skies and romping birds belie the frigid breezes still blowing. But soon, the Earth quickens, and the world becomes a very different place. The anticipation of Imbolc, the time between Winter's cold rule and the bursting forth of spring's glory once more can really set us on edge if we let it. We have to remember to look forward, plan well and make the best use of the time of confinement. Like a pregnant mother, these are the last weeks of being encumbered by the growing life inside.

The following is a piece I wrote in response to the feeling of being closed in, my expression of the hope that the world would soon bloom forth again. I love spring, but Winter is a time of rest and we should not be so eager to leave it behind. The Sun has returned, and soon, the warmth collecting on the Earth will usher in Spring. As I contemplated this 'time between' and it's differences from that time before the Winter Solstice after Samahin, this poem came forth. I share it again with you..in hope and faith that the world and all it's Springtime wonders will soon be in evidence.

Prelude

Amid the barren fields I wander,
All is quiet as the Lady sleeps;
But today there is a humming
As Father Time slowly keeps

All things running smoothly
Until the Maiden should arouse
And look upon His face once more
And gently venture out.

I sense the time-honored quickening
Of root, stem, leaf and branch;
I tense for a moment as I realize once again
The World Egg is about to hatch!

For though She rises slowly
From Her barren bower
She carries both seed and promise of
The Earth Mother in Her finest hour.

The sap is once more rising
Out running Winter's hand,
Soon the Earth will wake again
Amid singing throughout the Land.

The ewes are heavy in their lambing
The Earth is soft and warming,
It won't be long until the robin sings
And the honeybees will be swarming

Each tree will wear the promise
Of Leaf and bud studding them green
Until the world explodes in color
Such beauty is always seen

As the harbinger of the new Spring
Imbolc's sweet prelude
To fair Ostara's Dance of Life
When the World is again made new.

And so it goes just how it went
In ages and years gone by
And creatures great and small will stop
And bow as She walks by.

The Lord of the Greenwood is coming
The forest is fuller every day
Soon He will emerge once more
To dance and sing and play.

She waits for Him like a blushing bride
Amid the fields still sleeping
Waiting for Them to walk again
The fields given to Their keeping.

What seeds will you plant this year? What plans will you execute and give birth to? What form will your creatiity take this year? A new world of promise awaits each of us. Use it well.

Live Blessed,

Lynda Logan
Minister Summerland Grove