Heart Keepers at the Threshold

Hello wise cyclical beings 

Here we are at the threshold of Imbolc as Winter turns to Spring in the northern hemisphere.

The great shape shift is underway. It is the beginning of the end of Winter. 

Thresholds, especially Imbolc, are times of instability in the cycle and in nature. 

In the external world right now there is very little evidence of Spring.  It still feels so bleak, wild and cold.

As I write, the wind is howling against my window. Yet deep in the damp soil of the earth there is a stirring of new life, that is both raucous and vulnerable. 

Last week storm Éwoyn hit Ireland leaving many still without the basics of light heat and water. In the wider world we are witnessing the hyper-alpha strongman masculinity wreaking havoc and horror while mama nature teaches us who’s really in charge.

A collective spring feels almost unimaginable in all the dark turmoil.  There is a palpable sense of vulnerability and instability in the air.  

Through the lens of cyclical wisdom, we are living in a time of thresholds—between worlds, between realities, between stories.

It’s so overwhelming to be alive right now. I feel it daily. The fear. Disbelief. Rage. Powerlessness. Confusion. Sadness.  And underneath all of that is a shaking vulnerability of not feeling safe in all the chaos. 

When I notice those emotions and the hormones of flight/flight in my body, I have learned to walk out to the liminal places; edges and thresholds in nature where I can regulate my inner chemistry and and listen for guidance. 

Over the last 3 weeks as our collective wintering appeared to deepened I have been walking at the edge of the sea here in west Sligo, holding the question: 

How do I respond wisely now?  

In the last week the Imbas (illuminated wisdom) came.

As it always does.

It came to me on the south wind and the wild white horses, through the stillness of the heron and the quick flight of the Oystercatcher—An Giolla Bríghde (Brigid’s servant)—feasting at the shore’s edge.

This is what I heard. Over and over. 

 “Tend the fire. Go to the well. 

Become Hearth Keepers”

Imbas always lands with clarity and relief.

It feels like a call to a new activism that is both ancient and evolved. A new activism that is required for the radical transformation of consciousness happening now on the planet. 

 “Tend the fire. Go to the well. 

Become Hearth Keepers”

The hearth and the well—we know these as places of ritual and refuge, where our ancestors gathered for connection, wisdom, and warmth; to share stories, sing, and dance. Places of water and fire, of alchemy. 

The hearth and the well are Brigid places. 

Thresholds are Brigid places too. 

One myth tells us that she was born on the threshold of a doorway, at day break to a slave mother and a chieftain father.   

Over the last couple of days, the image of Hearth Keepers at the threshold has stayed with me—along with a new question…

What does it mean to become a Hearth Keeper at this threshold?  

As I feel into that question, for me it means 

• to show up again and again to tend the fires of connection no matter what the external circumstances 
• to tend to my own inner fire, find centre and sovereignty through my daily practice
• to consistently gather around a hearth with others who are willing to be reshaped, restored and reconnected by the forces of evolution. Others who will tend to the embers of a new vision for humanity through stories, ritual, song, dance, poetry, prayer and nature. 

Fire takes focus, effort and tending. Theologian and Brigid scholar Mary Condron tells us “ Brigit’s followers (like the ancient Vestal Virgins) were charged with holding the seed of the fire on behalf of the community. The fire would not burn providing they remained focussed, and undistracted by flattery."

I love this as an invitation to become a Hearth Keeper now; to hold the seeds of possibility we know are alive for those in humanity who have lost hope or have had to shut down. And to do that we must stay focused and undistracted. 

I will leave you with a prayer and then one last question for you to reflect on.

This is a Prayer for Hearth Keepers. I learned it last year from Briget O’’Connell, artist and bean feasa here in Sligo.  

Brigid of the Mantle, encompass us,

Lady of the Lambs, protect us,

Keeper of the Hearth, kindle us.

Beneath your mantle, gather us,

And restore us to memory.

Mothers of our mother, Foremothers strong.

Guide our hands in yours,

Remind us how to kindle the hearth.

To keep it bright, to preserve the flame.

Your hands upon ours, Our hands within yours,

To kindle the light, Both day and night.

The Mantle of Brigid about us, The Memory of Brigid within us,

The Protection of Brigid keeping us

From harm, from ignorance, from heartlessness.

This day and night, From dawn till dusk, From dusk till dawn.

Now as that prayer lands in your bones tell me ....

What does becoming a Hearth Keeper at this time mean to you?

May Brigid restore us all to memory this Imbolc. 

Love xM🔥