Internal Spring Clean

Space clearing, inside and out

Life has been quite challenging for me just of late, and it's not the usual running around with so much to do......it's been quite the opposite!!

I've been out of work for the last 8 weeks and I've found it really difficult at times.  There has been the stress you'd expect, such as no money, bills to pay, forever job-hunting and no jobs to be had, plus the worry and concern from my partner over the financial aspect, with no end in sight.  There has also been the loneliness, and the demoralisation from the rebuff of job applications.  What I didn't expect was that given this period of time, I ended up peeling back my layers, layers of emotions and states of mind, it was a bit like an internal spring clean......and because there is no time constraint, I dived straight into the abyss of me.....the good, the bad, and the ugly.

I found a complex and critical person, a deeply sensitive and emotional person, a childlike and vunerable person, a strong willed and tenacious person, a giving and loving person, all underneath the mantle of what people usually perceive as a 'confident' and 'self assured' person.  Everytime I am given these opportunities to have time to look within I usually encounter another aspect, that I never knew existed up until that point.  These period can be difficult, painful, and tiring on all levels.  Sometimes I seem to get stuck at some points, unable to move forward, unable to let go, unable to forgive myself and unable to love myself.  I'm thankful that usually when I'm getting to this point, my guardian angel sends me a 'knight in shining armour', in the form of a friend or close family member, to help me through the last bit.  To help me remember to let go of things I don't need, and to be gentle, loving and forgiving of myself.

It's been a hard task to get through, and it always feels that I'm at breaking point, before I can push through it all and move on.....it's a test of strength and faith, but I'm there.

So now I've spring cleaned myself, and cleared out a lot of the mind clutter, I now have room for new and exciting things ahead.......X



Moon - Waxing Gibbous 59%

Yoga - Surya Namaskara

Card Message - The Hermit
Turn away from the distractions of the outer world, and seek guidence.  In silence and solitude discover new depths, and refresh your soul at the source of all life.

1st February - Cross-quarter day: Imbolc, Oimelc, Brigantia/Kalends of February/St Bridget/Candlemas Eve
Imbolc is the fire festival between Yule and the vernal equinox.  The day of Imbolc is also that of her saintly aspect, St Bridhe or Brigid of Ireland.

Addressing the Changes

When changes take place in your life it can be very unsettling, but often these changes are for the best, for it allows us the opportunity to grow spiritually.  Changes come in all sorts of shapes, sizes and colours, they can be subtle, or life changing.
You very often find that you have to dig really deep, to find the inner strength to deal with what ever has been thrown at you, at these times.  But you find the strength!! And you deal with the change, and it changes you....you have more wisdom, courage, and strength.

You have a choice about change......it is whether you accept it or fight it (I've spent a lot of this week fighting it, rather than accepting it, so it's made life a lot more difficult than it needed to be).  Also don't let others tell you how you should be handling it, or rather......whatever they have to say....it's your life and you will know instinctively how to handle it, what is right for you....otherwise their well meaning intentions may well add to the chaos.

This all reminds me of a reading that my yoga teacher read us this week....it is about the change that occurs within a caterpillar to result in a butterfly...

"The transformation itself is amazing. Think of it as recycling -- if you drop a plastic bottle off in the recycling bin, it can be melted down into an entirely different shape. This is what happens inside the chrysalis. Much of the body breaks itself down into imaginal cells, which are undifferentiated -- like stem cells, they can become any type of cell. The imaginal cells put themselves back together into a new shape. A few parts of the body, such as the legs, are more or less unchanged during this process."

So embrace the changes, be transformed and bring on the butterflies..... X


Moon - Waning Gibbous 62%

Yoga - Tadasana, Goddess Sequence, Marjaryasana/Bitilasana, Garudasana, Adho Mukha Svanasana - Urdha Mukha Svanasana, Ustrasana, Balasana, Gomukhasana, Ardha Matsyendrasana, Pranayama & Mantra.

Card Message - The High Priestess and The Lady
(Its twofold today, as two cards came out...and I go with what is being presented.)
The High Priestess - Present yourself before the Mysteries of Life and before the Goddess or Her Priestess, in humility and with reverence.  Open to the stillness and the depths within you to gain strength and wisdom.
The Lady - Open yourself to the fertile nurturing power of the Goddess.  This will fill you with passion and the ability to be creative and to enjoy a life of abundance and sensual delight.


14th January - Makar Sankranti is one of the most important festivals of the Hindu calendar and celebrates the sun's journey into the northern hemisphere, a period which is considered to be highly auspicious.
There is a wide variation in the celebration of Makar Sankranti thoughout India, in particular the name.

Celebrations in different Indian regions

In Gujarat and Maharashtra, Makar Sankranti is a festival of the young and the old. Colourful kites are flown all around.
In Punjab, Makar Sankranti is called Lohri. December and January are the coldest months of the year in Punjab and huge bonfires are lit on the eve of Sankranti. Sweets, sugarcane and rice are thrown on the bonfires and friends and relatives gather together.
In Uttar Pradesh, this period is celebrated as Kicheri. It is considered important to have a bath on this day and masses of people can be seen bathing in the Sangam at Prayagraj where the rivers Ganga, Jamuna and Saraswathi flow together.
In Southern India it's the harvest festival Pongal and lasts for 3 days. On the first day, rice boiled with milk is offered to the Rain God. On the second day, it is offered to the the Sun God and on the third day, the family cattle are given a bath and dressed with flowers, bells and colours, to honour them for their hard work in the fields.

Gratitude - The Power of Prayer