Kia ora and good morning to you and yours! 🙌

It's Imbolc here in the Southern Hemisphere — halfway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox — a dark time when the awakening of Spring is just beginning to stir.

My mornings this week have brought the coldest temperatures and the hardest frosts of the year. The grass has been crunchy beneath my bare toes and the ground is perpetually wet. Everything (including me) is ready and waiting for the sun’s return, and with it, warmer temperatures and longer, brighter days.

As our days grow slowly longer, new growth is quickening just below the surface of the soil and bulbs and shoots are starting to break through the ground in some areas.

Imbolc is thought to mean "in the belly” (derived from Old Irish i mbolc,Modern Irish: i mbolg), , or possibly "budding" (Proto-Celtic embibolgon). While we may never truly know the origin of the word, what it brings is a time for initiation, clearing, healing, and the space and time for new growth to burst forth.

Overall, now is a fantastic time to prepare. For new steps on new paths. New ideas, new projects, new beginnings. Clearing away the old cobwebs and making space for what is to spring forth over the next six weeks. Add a new moon into the mix and this truly feels like a magical time, and a wonderful day to bring you my newest 5-card tarot spread: Imbolc Awakenings.

My local botanic gardens posted an image of the first crocus flowers blooming — a flower historically viewed as a symbol of hope, joy and new beginings — and I took this as an inspiration for the spread. My aim was to help highlight an area of focus or intention, while also identifying what might need to be cleared away to make room for this new energy and focus.

Periods of quick growth bring with them growing pains, as we navigate new ways of thinking, being, and doing in order to integrate these new habits and intentions into our daily lives. With that can come limited mental energy, and it’s important to also identify how we can make this growth a sustainable and joyful process — otherwise we won’t really make it a reality. With this in mind, I also included positions on how we can best support ourselves during this phase and where we can look for joy, delight, and happiness to make the best of these short weeks.

Imbolc Awakenings Tarot Spread by Twixt Tarot

Card 1: What new beginning is starting to quicken?
Card 2: What might I overcome in order to grow?
Card 3: How can I nourish this new growth to flourish?
Card 4: How can I best support myself during this growth?
Card 5: Where can I look for joy during this phase?

I hope this spread helps you feel confident in pursuing a new goal or area of your life, and that you can use it to support yourself during this season of nurturing new expansion with self-care, happiness and joy.

Until next time!

~Gwen

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