It’s been a while since I have written in here; and I had planned to write the whole journey, as I walked the path.

Has the path been any easier, has it been “less” not at all, it’s been almost all consuming which is why it has been hard to put into words.

I’ve felt the path has been, “universal” maybe that is why it’s all consuming. Not only do I see in nature the path i have chosen to take but in my family, my work, every aspect of my life, i seem to be challenged. But isn’t that the point, the path i am following the walks in nature they aren’t just walks to be left in the woods, this is a way of life, this is a path whether I am walking in nature or walking through my career, the same energy is rippling through the earth, being at one with nature should make you notice how it manifests in the people you work with, the people you encounter, intuition is heighten when you understand the current that is affecting everyone whether they are aware or not.

Earth energy, stepping into crone is not a silo step, crone knows that only by seeing the “power” it holds and living it can you truly be at one with the universe. Are you who you say you are, are you ready to step into Crone, do i have a choice?

Watching, living and breathing the wheel of the year, meant that I did not mark imbolc by the calendar, but by the moon, in ancient times we did not have a man made calendar so why use one now. For me imbolc was “late” this year, the first shoots of spring, the first signs that the light was returning and that winter was drawing to a close was the 17th February.

In an earlier post I wrote that this year was going to see a long drawn out winter. And so it has been, and it’s been a hard winter at that. If you look at the weather it reflects the mood of the people, or maybe the mood of the people is reflected in the weather, either way it’s been tough. I don’t think the first 2 months of the year had a day where it didn’t rain. People, in rain, hunch over cover their heads and almost hide away squinting and never truly opening their eyes to look beyond their current situation. It is hard to see a positive. It’s hard to have hope in a world that’s so dreary. But as always I have a Link, a trusted companion who reminds me every day that the world is a wonder and all it takes it to open your eyes and look.

Walks with link have been about puddles and zoomies and splashes and mud. When our field turned in to a lake with seagulls landing on the water we chased through the wet, watching the birds fly in the air. And now we played hunt the ball in the river, link seeing through the murk of the water each time to reach his goal. The first rains ran off the dry land, the ground was hard and harsh given the summer had been so dry, the earth had become almost barren with no hope of a harvest it felt. But nature knows what needs to be done and the constant rain started to soften the earth and allow the water to sink in bringing back the fertility of the land.

Nature hasn’t stopped, the wheel of the year keeps turning, to walk against a wheel, to try and stop the momentum is futile but to work with it, to feel the movement is to be free, age and wisdom brings this understanding.

It feels like we are at a moment in time, I’m not sure how to describe the feeling. This February 17th many, I’d like to say “all” but my knowledge of all religions is not strong enough, so, many religions, cultures are all marking important dates on the same day or near. As I said, imbolc when done on the cycles on the moon, advent starts, and the Chinese new year begins as well as many more.

Surely the strength of this is telling us “something”, are we listening? This year the wheel of the year, is it shifting on a larger scale, are there cycles that are more than a year are we making a step forward, I know i am, i know i am moving from one cycle of my life mother to crone, is the earth too making a step? many cultures would agree. So many questions so much going on, have i been living in a world with my eyes closed and now my path, my journey has opened me up to the truth. I feel that i can see now.

So where to next on my path of crone of my awakening, now the pilgrimage. Now I am taking the next step and heading to visit Hecate ruins in turkey, i plan to stand, or sit her ancient ruins to mark my 50th, to mark stepping into crone, to honour the goddess of the triple. Has it been easy so far, no, but it wouldn’t be a pilgrimage if it was easy.