Stirrings.
January takes its name from Janus, the Roman god of beginnings and endings. He had two faces so he could see the future and the past! He was also the god of doors.

Winter light.
Naked trees and Moons.
Dark skies and stars.
Quieten, rest in the stillness
Ice and snow
swirl and whirl
breathe slow.
Settle.

Cwtch in.
blankets and candles.
journals and books.
lamplight and shadows.
Fire

Drop.
the seeds are held deep in the earth
Rest in mystery.
place of all possibility
Give yourself up to deep nourishment
In the fertile cauldron of the earth.
as the forces of nature soften your shell
Time and no time.
Time out of time.
Sleep and Dream.

Capricorn earth and water 

Practical 

Work is going on

12-2am

Deep sleep know that stuff is happening 

Trust

Drop out of bottom of out breath

Winter solstice – Jan 21st / end of lunation 1st Feb Chinese New Year 

Low energy 

Suspended energies going in both directions light is rising but temperature dropping

Rest

Imbibation

let yourself be worked on by unseen processes 

Quiescence Be still 

Dormancy anything but dormant

Water coming in 

Chemicals changing 

Let all this seasonal stuff wash over/through me

 Cauldron

The silentness of snow never fails to amaze me

Falling so thick and fast yet without the slightest sound

I watch its fat flakes so white against the darkest of skies

With only the naked winter trees to bear witness

And us.

It is so beautiful 

I have been like a kid at Christmas awake all night checking 

peeking through the curtains 

Filled with anticipation 

To see if it was here.

It’s coming down thicker and heavier now

Carpeting the earth

Muffling the earth.

And now the clouds move on and the light changes

The world emerges in all its details 

A cluster of jackdaws settling in the top of the old Ash

And a child’s giggles greeting the world.

Heavy, Dark and Slow

Are such negatively charged words

It is such a shame

They offer so many of their own delights

Just as many as Light and Quick

If only we could learn to appreciate the full Yin Yang circle 

In its fullness, both sides and all that’s in between.

To paraphrase….

‘Every season is the best season for the uncluttered mind’

Lying here in a warm nest of blankets 

Accompanied by two dozing cats

And watching the weather on this wintry morning 

Comes close to bliss

But then I find watching the weather unclouds the mind in every season.

I can’t move

The silence is almost deafening 

My deepest being just yearns to sit here 

in the bare naked silence of this moment

And revel in it

Let’s it’s fullness, or emptiness, envelop me

Wash over and through me, 

Cleanse me

Hold me.

My ears open open open

Broadening my mind

And my whole body follows suit

Releasing its inward clenching.

The settled snow picks out and defines 

The upper surface of the trees outstretched branches

Only at this time of year, do we get to admire this exquisite architecture.

A dog gambols and races excitedly through the falling snow

Joh & exhilaration in motion

While the cats stay curled and cosy

There are many ways to make the most of any season.