Okie Wheel of the Year: March 15 2021

Daffodil-splosion

The monarch butterflies are returning! Oklahoma is dead center of their annual spring and fall migrations. The first returning monarch was reported March 10th in Antlers.  Now is the time to get busy planting and watering the early flowers for pollinators. Here at Unty Key's Crow Bar, the plums and forsythia are blooming, peonies emerging, and lilacs budding. The daffodils finally exploded into bloom right as we moved from what we call the Daffodil Moon in February to the New Redbud Moon in March. The daffodils took their time this year but the redbuds are already budding and may be right on time for the Full Redbud Moon in a couple weeks.

plum blossoms for the bees

As I sat on the porch and watched the sliver of Cerridwyn's cauldron moon sink into the west, I remembered this time of year is not only for planting the garden but deciding what we want to plant in our lives. This week leads up to the equinox on Saturday, when Imbolc energy turns to what my druid tradition calls Alban Eilir - The Light of the Earth. We had dreaming time at Yule and planning time from Imbolc, now is our moment to begin action. Even magical manifestation doesn't come from nothing. 

The druid tradition refers to itself as "embodied", meaning there is no hard defined line separating spirit life and physical life.  During this time when we think about what physical goals or abstract qualities we want to plant in our lives, it is important to remember to link actual physical activity to those goals. We say things like "I plan to work on my bardic grade lessons" or "I want to plant healthier living in my life" or "I want to be more kind to myself and others this year." Setting a teeny symbolic physical task can make a huge difference in us psychologically, physically, and magically moving toward our goals. Tasks could be as small as once per day standing during a 30 second YouTube ad, or before bed making sure the lesson materials are where I will see them when I wake up, or writing "Be Kind" on a piece of paper and touching it once per day.

What will you plant in your life this year, and what small physical task can you do to get your body involved?

forsythia blooming