WELCOME!
Imbolc: We Are Roots

Come in, come in! I’m so happy you’re here. The season of Imbolc (pronounced IM-BLK), also called Brigid's Day, is a traditional Celtic festival marking the halfway point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. For those of us in the northern hemisphere, Imbolc falls on February 1st and 2nd, 2024. This ancient holiday honors the hearth (our inner fire), the growing light and longer days (new beginnings), and lambing season (birth).

All Creative Alchemy Cycle bundles are self-guided. I’ve created this landing page as a home base for us as we journey through the season of Imbolc. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions!

Table of Contents

PART ONE: DIGITAL CONTENT

  • Seasonal Focus

  • Calling You Home: a Homily for Imbolc (audio & PDF)

  • The Great Wide Open (Just a note that this video was made in 2021, and while many parts of my life have changed - like a new home and partner - the creative work remains very much the same.)

  • In the Studio (video)

  • Collaborative Alchemy Podcast

  • Fuel Your Fire: Writing prompts, links, reading lists, Spotify playlists, etc.

  • Further Connection: Community Zoom call / recording

NOTE of ENGAGEMENT:
Please do not share the link to this page with others. This content was created just for you. Thank you for your respect and understanding.

 
 

PART ONE: Digital Content

Seaonal Focus — Journal Practice

Your story matters. This season, we’ll be starting a journal. And if you’re already a devoted journal-keeper, this is an excellent opportunity to deepen your practice. A journal practice is how I softly catch the elusive butterfly of experience in my hands and sketch it into being before releasing it back to the wide open sky. My journal is the root system for my entire creative process.

Calling You Home — A Homily

This is a great place to begin. For each of the eight bundles that make up the Creative Alchemy Cycle, I write a seasonal story to set the container for the bundle. These homilies are my way of practicing alongside you and using the creative alchemy tools to create my own work. You can download a copy using the button below and/or listen to the audio.

 
 

The Great Wide Open

My creative process always begins outside. This is where I weave the outer landscape with the inner one. Eastern Oregon is still in a state of deep freeze. But the first signs of thaw are upon us: calving season, root growth, and returning bird populations. We’ll begin hearthside, then head out into the wind-whipped, snow-covered high country. Next, we’ll explore the valley floor in search of spring’s promise.

In the Studio

After viewing The Great Wide Open, let’s head into my studio. This is where I metabolize, incubate, and process all the elements which make up my current state of creative alchemy. This season, we’ll discuss ways to maintain and enjoy a robust journal practice. We’ll also talk about themes of this season (fire, roots, and creative foundations) and explore collage as a form of journaling.

 
 
 

New Podcast with Herbal Radio

 

I’m excited to share a new podcast, just released last week by Mountain Rose Herbs. I was interviewed by Thomas Dick and we discussed my creative roots and topics like ethical storytelling, plant stories, and my artist residency last year at United Plant Savers. Enjoy!

 
 

Fuel Your Fire

Writing prompts and further exploration, links, reading lists, spotify playlists, etc. Click on the images or buttons below to view, visit, or download.

 
 
 

MARK YOUR CALENDAR
Invitations for Further Connection

We meet once a month for a Community Connection Call. This is a come-as-you-are gathering. If you’re unable to attend in person, Sarah will post a recording here soon after.

CREATIVE ALCHEMY COMMUNITY CONNECTION CALL
Sunday, February 11th @ 10am Pacific Standard Time

Join Zoom Meeting:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/98405687741?pwd=bXo2R25QUDI5UVIwdTNvZEViY1ZGZz09

Meeting ID:
984 0568 7741

Passcode:
Alchemy

An Invitation for Imbolc

 

The LETTER TO ME Project:

Source: The first time I did something like this was back in grade school. My 3rd grade teacher, Mrs. Sefton, had us each write a note to ourselves with one thing we wanted to accomplish during the school year (mine was to write in cursive). Then she returned it to us on the last day of school. I have also experienced this exercise while working with facilitators like Flora Bowley and Anya Hankin during their creative retreats.

Goal: For our purposes, (should you chose to participate) you are going to write a letter to yourself and send it back to me. And in six months, just before Lughnasa, which celebrates harvest, I will return your letter for you to read and reflect upon.

Options:

  1. You can join our Community Connection Call on Sunday, February 11th at 10am PST and I will guide us through the process!

  2. I have also included the instructions below if you’d like to proceed without in-person guidance. Please send your letter to me before the end of February!

Directions:

This is the season of Imbolc — a time of creative inception. And six months from now, during the fire festival of Lughnasa, we will be harvesting all that we have sown. Spend a few minutes in quiet repose. Take long intentional breaths. Think of what you want to call into being for 2024. What seeds would you like to bury in February’s soil and harvest, full grown, in the heat of an August harvest? Can you see it?

You’ll need these three items from your care package for this exercise: large stamped envelope with my address on it, blank notecard, and matching white envelope.

Before we write our “Letter to Me,” let’s enjoy a short visualization together. Find a comfy position. Let the air fall into your body and leave your body without force. Your breath will deepen as you relax the muscles around your face, neck, shoulders, arms. Allow your body to be heavy in your chair or bed, or whatever structure is holding you now.

Six full months lie ahead. 26 spacious weeks. 180 open days. 4,320 delicious hours. Think of what you want to call into being for the year ahead. What seeds would you like to bury in the February soil and harvest full-grown, in the waxing heat of August? Can you see it?

What do the next six months look like for you? How will they feel? What will you explore? Set your intentions and write as if it has already happened. You can use the present tense. Congratulate yourself, even. Begin your letter with an opening salutation. Then write your letter. Think of yourself as a vision scribe, dreaming the future into being.

When your letter is complete, put it in an envelope and seal it up. Write YOUR OWN address on the front. Then put the sealed envelope into a larger envelope. On that envelope, write my address: 7124 Adams Road, Talent OR 97540. Stamp it and send it out before the end of February.

In six months, I’ll send it back to you in celebration of Lughnasa and harvest season!

Gratitude.

“From the ground up we will build it
From the clouds above we'll rain it
From the crowd up we will raise it
I must give my hands to make it.”

— Ayla Nereo