Feb 3 is Imbolc. Which signifies the beginning of the end of winter.

So SLEEP dear friends, REST as much as you can.. because soon enough, spring will be here and the world will be bursting with new life.

There’s a fire stirring underground, and soon we will be woken up from our deep winter slumbers. Imbolc signifies that the worst, coldest days of winter are behind us. Brigid is celebrated at this time of year. Whether the saint or goddess, she embodies the promise of new life. Fire is celebrated at this time of year. And its a good time to start feeding your inner fire. Warming roots like ginger and turmeric are good to start incorporating in your diet. Both are potent anti-inflammatories. And they both hold the fire element from underground. They will offer a gentle warm cleansing to your body, saving any big cleansing for the spring.

Try this warming golden milk recipe. Its a nice warm drink before bed.

As you rest and sleep, dream up what you want to call in this spring. Now is the time of dreaming. Before the new plants can explode out of the earth, they’re seeds in the deep dark earth, asleep and dreaming of what they will become. 

Do you dream?

These days many people struggle with sleep. And many people don’t recall their dreams. 

Dreaming is important to our health. The spiritual significance of dreams appears in various cultures. Whether you believe they hold spiritual significance or not, research indicates that dreaming sleep prevents depression and anxiety, improves problem-solving skills, concentration and coordination, helps with memory, and boosts creativity.

Make sleep a priority. Treat it as sacred, because it is. Protect it from screens and blue light. Just as we learned of sunlight deficiency and the need for vitamin D, we are starting to learn of darkness deficiency and the need for melatonin for good health.

Create a ritual before bed. Whether its a bath, a breathing exercise, lighting a candle, using smoke medicine to clear your bedroom, journaling, or reading … put away the electronics at least 1h before you intend on sleeping. The blue light has health impacts that we are only starting to understand. 

People used to sleep ~11h/night in winter, before the invention of electricity.

How can 7-8h/night now be sufficient? How can that be true?

Protect your precious winter sleep. Dream. 

And we’ll talk in the spring. Seeds are warming up, but are still asleep, dreaming. 

So you should be too.

Dream. Imagine all the possibilities waiting for you this spring.