Waning Gibbous Moon in Virgo

"I'm one with the Goddess
and open to Her Wisdom."

18th Day of the 2nd Lunar Cycle
Ruled by Demeter
Lunar Tree Cycle of Luis/Rowan
2nd Day of the Celtic Tree
Month of Nion/Ash
18th Day of the Cycle of Keolwulf  -
Days of the Old Ones
Moon Phase: waning Gibbous Moon
Moon sets: 7:30AM EST
Moon rises: 8:05PM EST
Moon in the Mutable Earth
Sign of Virgo
Rhiannon's Cycle of the Moon
Lunar Meditation: The promise
of horizons
Sun in Pisces
Sunrise: 7:09AM EST
Sunset: 5:59PM EST
Solar Question for the Day: "What
new concepts are coming into your
understanding? How do they affect
your present understanding?"
Imbolc (Gwyl Mair) Quarter
of the Year
February 19th, 2011

Saturn's Day - the Day of Manifestation and Structure, Assessment and Responsibility - Foundation Day....

Inspiration -

     This is a word that tossed around a lot in Paganism and Wiccan circles.  In Celtic traditions it is referred to as Awen.  The Celtic Goddess Ceridwen brewed a cauldron of Inspiration and the boy set to tend the cauldron and three drops of the brew leaped from this cauldron and burned his hand. He gained
Awen.  Later this boy was transformed within Ceridwen's womb and became Taliesin.  Awen is not merely an old myth - it is a living possibility. It arises when the rays of experience glance upon and inspire the dormant seeds of knowledge within us.  Our dormant seeds of possibilities are being touched now by the coming of Spring.  The connective energy of inspiration runs through our being, bridging areas of ignorance, reconnecting areas of neglect, bringing into one teeming mass of imagery, metaphor, and understanding all that we about. The assimilation of this experience can take the rest of our lives, or we can welcome the manyfold experiences of our lives to help ripen our understand from day to day.
    Kris Waldherr in her beautiful "Goddess Inspiration Oracle Guide" has a beautiful description and explanation of Inspiration in the intro of her Oracle Guide book with the deck. She says: "Inspiration. The word itself is expansive. It brings to mind the invigorating intake of air into lungs, filling us with energy. It suggests a world charmed with possibilities, unfolding in a sudden flash of light. Haven't we all heard someone cay, 'I had no idea what to do next. Then, out of the blue, I had an inspiration. It was like magic.'   Where did that inspiration come from? What made it take form?
   The word inspiration itself suggests the mode of creation. Its first syllable, in, means to create inclusion, to set limits to that which is limitless. It forces something shapeless to take shape - similar to what happens when water is contained within a cup, or air inside a balloon. Its second syllable, spir, is taken from the word spiritus, the Latin word for breath - meaning to breathe life into something in order to animate it, to fill it with spirit.
   Inspiration. To take spirit into ourselves. Like the Air surrounding us, we cannot see inspiration. But it is there nonetheless. And it animates us when we least expect it.
    When most people think of inspiration, they usually connect it to the mysterious activities of artists and poets. Though inspiration is primarily associated with creative endeavors, it is much more than that. It opens us to possibilities beyond what our rational mind can perceive. In some cases, it takes the form of intuition, an internal knowledge that often keeps us safe and protected. But most of all, inspiration allows us to practice an invaluable skill that Ms. Waldheer calls 'flexible thinking.'
    Flexible thinking is the ability to think outside the box, so we may find a solution to a dilemma when there appears to be none. It is nonlinear in form, arriving in flashes of images, and ideas instead of neatly packaged within an obvious answer that can be deduced empirically. Flexible thinking allows us to bend like a willow tree in the wind instead of shattering into pieces when confronted by adversity.
    If we use the standard wisdom that the feminine represents the receptive principle (or yin) and the masculine is active  (or yang), then flexible thinking is feminine in nature - divinely feminine, if you will. The same equation can be written of inspiration itself..... The Muses were praised for their ability to breathe life into scholarly and artistic works. The Celtic goddess Brigit was invoked for the spark of creativity. Her sacred holiday of Imbolg which we celebrated at the beginning of February included rituals designed to increase creativity.  The Norse goddess Erda of the earth invited mortals to find inspiration within nature's blueprint; divine will could be discerned by watching the patterns of waves or the movement of clouds across the sky. "   So wake up from our long winter's sleep and become inspired by the forceful forward movement of Spring coming.