Articles

Midwinter Feels: from Tomb to Womb

Categories: Uncategorized

Posted February 3rd, 2022

I just started reading The Journey of Soul Initiation by Bill Plotkin and within the first few pages, my own soul is already nourished. He writes about how the Cocoon is both tomb (for the caterpillar) and womb (for the butterfly). This made me think about how midwinter can feel on our tender emotions – we’ve been in a process of letting go of the old, and not without some grief and sadness, while we prepare to welcome in the new, which might be ripe with uncertainty.

We’re in the heart of the season that highlights nuance and complexity in our inner worlds.

And it’s not always comfortable (arguably, it’s *never* comfortable).

And we remember that discomfort, loss and grief are just as much part of our whole beautiful embodied experience as are joy, pleasure and love. 

And these emotions don’t happen in the binary – we might experience them all concurrently. Because we have the capacity and we’re really that good.

WOW! We are amazing!!!

With this in mind, I was reflecting on how I’ve been in a rare bout of insecurity. Which I welcome with a big hello! ESPECIALLY because it’s NOW RARE!!!!! Nonetheless, it can leave me feeling down, and the Judge saboteur is noisy. 

I, like you, have some good tools to work with this. Including that perceptive self-awareness that this is an old pattern that still pops up from time to time. And it may be ready for the Tomb, because it ultimately doesn’t serve anything other than to be a catalyst for what’s to emerge in the Womb.

What to do? First step is to greet it with tenderness: “Hello, old insecurity. What brings you back here today? What am I ready to face through your visit?” 

Next step is to listen. Give yourself the sweet and simple gift of presence with yourself. Notice where this pattern/these feelings live in your body. Slow down the self talk, review the inner pictures, ‘listen’ with each sense.

Third is to take whatever action may occur to you. I’ve been practicing daily candle magic and this practice is serving me well during bumpy times. It reminds me of my witch power. 

Finally, look to the stars. What’s going on in the sky right now? I design all my LSLL posts around these influences although I keep the astro-references to a minimum. There’s a strong transit that’s exact tomorrow, and you may be feeling the effects of it all week. It can be a bit depressive. You might notice a dip in energy. What might feel like the Judge might actually be a call to face the work you’ve been putting off. You’ll be ready to do this.

Here are ways to work with this energy:

– Give time to your responsibilities. Get practical and organized about your priorities.

– Assess: “Are my duties and responsibilities real or imagined?” Asking ourselves this question is one of the steps toward the mastery of life.

– Know that what you accomplish under this transit will have lasting significance. 

– Concentrate your energies only on your real, core responsibilities. Be honest and discerning about your capacity and priorities, and then focus. Once you have this, you’ll have the energy to get sh*t done!

That’s a lot for today – which is also a sweet nod to Jupiter, the planetary ruler of Thursdays! Jupiter expands and takes us into the vastness of the world and our cosmic connections.

Wishing you exploratory gentleness as you be with where you are right now.

Love!