And the Wheel Turns

Happy Imbolc! While Imbolc commonly celebrated on February 1-2, it was technically on the third this year (Sun at 15 degrees of Aquarius). Either way, I'm a little late with my Imbolc blessing. Though late, I still feel the energy especially with snow falling as I write this. Imbolc marks the mid-point of winter, halfway between Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox. For me, it is just that the mid-point of winter. For other pagan / Earth-centered practitioners, it marks the beginning of a new year. They are not alone, the proximity of Imbolc to the Chinese New Year is not a coincidence.

I'm frequently struck by how many times there are to celebrate the "new year".

• Samhain, literally summer's end, is the new year for many witches

• Winter Solstice, the returning of the light is what marks the new year for me

• January 1st, the Gregorian calendar new year

• Imbolc, the first hints of spring and noticeably growing light

• Spring Equinox, the start of spring, the beginning of the Zodiac, and Nowruz the Iranian New Year

and other traditions as well.

This year, as I noticed each new year, I could see more clearly how every moment is a new year. We circle around the Sun in a closed loop. This means every moment is a new year. Every moment, we are completing a 12-month journey around the Sun and beginning a new 12-month journey back to this spot. But it isn't exactly this spot. 12-months from right now, the other planets will be in different places in their orbits, the axis of the Earth will point to a slightly different place and the Sun will have moved along its orbit around the galactic center. While the cycles of the seasons bring familiar moments, it never brings the same moment. If nothing is exactly the same as it was before, then every moment is the ending of everything before and the beginning of all to come. The clarity of cycles that I see now has sunk down into the cells of my body. If every moment is a unique unfolding of Creation, every moment is the ending and the beginning of everything. Now is "when" life happens. Now is "where" existence is.

For the first time, in the passing of the new years, I connected the Wheel of the Year tradition with the teachings of Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now. Both the teachings of Now and the teachings in the changing seasons have deeply influenced my path and understanding of Creation. Until now they have been distinct teachings. Of course, I knew, in the abstract, that they were connected. After all, everything is one. However, this was the first time I understood them to be the same teachings of Oneness. Realizations like this open my heart and my being and I am new. When I sit still and breathe, I more easily find the place of seeing what is, seeing now. What a gift.

Whenever and wherever you are reading this, I wish you a Happy New Year! I wish for you the gift of now.

Blessed be.

Image by Josch13 from Pixabay