The Quickening Moon - A Garden of Self

I stepped out onto the back porch the other night just about dusk and was struck by the most beautiful sight.  Just coming up in the East was the beautiful moon.  Although she was not entirely full until today, it was simply beautiful.  I stood there for some time just gazing at her.  I continued to go out throughout the evening and gaze upon her.  I love the way she lights the night.  The subtle glow that is everywhere.  Taking Winston outdoors before bed I gazed one last time at her listening to the bat sing his nightly song.  Such a peaceful moment.

The moon this month is known as the Quickening Moon.  A wonderful word to describe this time of the year.  The time just before the spring equinox.  Although many will say it is still winter, spring is already working her magic.  Deep down in the earth the seeds of the coming years flowers and more are awakening. 

The word Quickening means, the first sign of new life.  Those of you who have had the blessing of giving birth know that feeling when you first feel your wee one move.  Somewhat like a butterfly fluttering inside of you.  It is that moment when you realize the reality of the life you are carrying.  

The same is with the birth of Spring.  February brings a time when we first start to see the subtle signs of Spring and rebirth that it brings each year.  You will see the breaking open of the earth to help the bulbs planted last fall to come forth and climb towards the sun and life.  The trees begin their journey also.  Soon the Bradford Pears will start peeking out their tiny white flowers and before one knows spring will be evident everywhere.

A quickening is also at work in us as well.  As the wheel turns and we follow the seasons (some more than most) we know the feelings that each one brings us.  The quiet feel of winter as we retreat into inward reflection and silence.  Yet now spring or a renewal is at work in us as well.  Those of you who are sensitive to the changes know what I speak of.  You have felt it and those of you who have that stirring inside yet quite do not know what to call it... it is the quickening you are experiencing.  Open yourself up to the wonders of rebirth and an awakening of yourself as well.  Who knows what beautiful gardens you will grow this year, not only in the literal sense yet also in the sense of your garden of self.  blessings.

The Quickening - Part Two

The stirring that is felt in a mother's womb when she first feels the infant move is referred to as the quickening.  That soft flutter as if butterflies are inside your stomach.  Sometimes you wonder if you even truly felt anything yet soon you trust its validity. I remember the first time I felt my first child.  I was sitting in a college library, researching a paper .  There were people all around me.  Life was continuing as it always does, and then I felt it.  It was the slightest movement and even at that time I remember wondering how I could have noticed.  Yet it seemed immediately that all else stopped and I was only concerned with that ever so slight touch of life.    A magical moment that only a mother can relate to.  The magick of life inside of you.  A true blessing. 

Often at this time of year, we hear again this word, quickening.  I will be honest and say that before now when I heard the word the first thing that came to my mind was Andrian Paul from Highlander.  And what can I say, it is not that bad of an image to come to ones mind.  In this instance, the quickening refered to the transferance of energy that occurred when one immortal beheaded another immortal.  Yes I admit I was an avid watcher.  Yet enough of these lusty thoughts and back to what I meant to write about in the first place. 

 Now the word has taken on a much deeper meaning to me.  It brings to mind the birth of my 3 children and the time I carried them until their birth.  It brings to mind the planting of a seed into the soft furtile soil and watching it slowly poke its head out into the sunlight to grow upward.  It brings to mind the idea of the beginning of life.  This is a time when out of the darkness of winter,  life and light slowly emerges.  From the quietness of winters hibernation life comes forth.  A cycle that continues year after year. 

Yet then why does it seem so different this year.  Possibly it is because I have choosen to focus on my naturalist side more.  In doing this I can not help but notice the changes more.  Possibly it is because I have started this blog and on an almost daily basis I write in regards to that which seems to move me or touch me.  This definately keeps such things in  the forefront of my memory.  Possibly it is because there is just a keener sense of it now.  Many people have commented on my posts as well as written posts of their own describing the restlessness they are feeling deep inside of themselves.  They too have felt the quickening.  They too have felt the sense of urgency yet unsure exactly as to what the feeling relates specifically to.  Possibly something on a grander scale?  I guess it could be.  I have always felt that there are some that feel the vibrations of the earth more than others.  There are always subtle clues, yet because they are subtle sometimes they go unnoticed. 

So many times we allow the rat race we call life to consume us in a manner that blocks out the small voices that call us on a daily basis.  I understand that life does go on and there are needs that need to be met.  It is not as if we can just wander about with no responsibility.  Yet still there are times when we do allow ourselves to be covered with the "muck of life".  This in turn blocks our senses from so much that the "earth" has to offer us.  I am thankful for my quiet moments when I can be silent and allow nothing to come in yet hear everything.  I have learned the importance of making time for them and also the wealth they can bring.  It was a learning process I will admit, yet a lesson that was well learned. 

I guess there was a reason I woke at 4:30 today.  Finally instead of staying in bed as I do all other times, I choose to get up.  No matter what I did to try and return to the pleasure of sleep beneath my warm covers, it did not work. There was a reason.  There always is a reason... I will be honest and say that much of what is occurring for me these days is all new.  However I do not think I would really want it any other way.  It is always fun when on ones journey the scenery changes and there are new sites to see instead of the old usual ones.

As each of you continue on, as each of you experience your own quickening, I wish you good journey.  Take time to be silent and listen.  Take time to stop and enjoy the beauty that surrounds you.  Take time to be good to yourself.  Too often we do not remember ourselves until everyone else has been tended.  This is a daily process.  And in truth we all know that very seldom do we ever tend "everyone/everything in one day.  When the next day comes, we start at the top of the list again in our attempt to complete it.  All too often forgetting the person at the bottom - ourselves. 

Have a wonderful weekend.  For those of you to get snow (and a bunch it sounds like) stay warm and be safe... And one last thing.... Go Colts.....