Gaian Soul Seasonal Practices

January 22 ~ February 24, 2012

I have news for you:
a storm is blowing in from the south.
High tide crashes up against the roadway.
The heron flies low.
Oregon grape is in bloom, the color of butter.
Chickadees pick at dangling alder catkins.
The baby pink blossoms of red-flowering currant appeared yesterday.
It is January,
and Spring is peeking though the veil of winter.
This is my news.

— Joanna Powell Colbert, after a 9th century Irish poem

And what is your news? Is Lady Spring still slumbering beneath the blanket of winter where you live? Are you emerging from your own personal hibernation? Do you long to throw open the windows and let the fresh air in?

Will you join me in welcoming Brigid to our neighborhoods?

We welcome the holy-day of Candlemas (Imbolc) because it means that the days are noticeably longer, and that Winter will indeed give way to Spring, even if the landscape is still mantled in snow or sodden leaves.

We love this holy-day too because of our devotion to Brigid — she who has captured the hearts of millions of people throughout the centuries as goddess, saint or symbol.

At Candlemas, we honor the triple goddess of smithcraft (think transformation), healing and creative inspiration. We cleanse ourselves in her holy well, and we are set ablaze by her creative fire. We renew our vows and dedicate ourselves to our own true paths.

The “Gaian Soul Practices for Candlemas: Winter-Turning-to-Spring” course helps you make room in your daily life for mindful creative expression. You’ll align yourself with the rhythms of nature as the first signs of spring emerge from the deep sleep of winter.

Each week, we look at a different motif of the seasonal tide:

Week 1: Emergence
Week 2: Dedication (Making a Vow to Your Own True Path)
Week 3: Cleansing and Purification
Week 4: Inspiration
Week 5: Creative Fire

My hope for you is that, through this course, you will:

• Become more in tune with the rhythms of nature as you mindfully experience the season of Winter-Turning-to-Spring.
• Create the habit of reflective journal writing and art-making (including photography).
• Learn to be present and alert to the deeper, hidden messages of the festival of Candlemas / Imbolc / Brigid’s Day.
• Spend regular time with Mama Gaia, allowing Her to heal and nourish you.
• Cultivate your own self-expression through creative practices that lead to self-discovery, healing and wisdom.

Here’s how it works:

• Each Sunday you’ll receive an email with a reflection written by me on that week’s theme. The same material will be available in video and audio formats, so you can choose the learning style that works best for you.
• There will also be ideas for an art project, a nature activity, and a contemplative practice. Choose one that calls to you. Do the others if the spirit moves you.
• Each day (Monday through Friday), you’ll receive a short email with an inspirational photo, quotation, and journaling prompt.
• You’ll be invited to join a private online discussion forum where you can share insights with other companions on the journey. You’ll be able to post photos of your art projects or your photography, and share any writing you might do.
• When the entire course is over, you’ll receive a printable PDF handout with all of my written reflections, plus the daily inspirational quotes and journaling prompts.

It’s entirely up to you how much you do.

This course gives you a reason to carve out time for yourself, to nurture your spirit and your creative self-expression.

I hope you give yourself the gift of self-nurturing time, and join me!

Brightest Blessings,

Registration:

The Candlemas course is $127.00.  

• Payment can be made by Visa, Mastercard, or PayPal.

• We will email you as soon as the discussion forum is open. Then look for your first course email on Sunday, January 22nd.
• Please email me at joanna AT gaiantarot DOT com if you have any questions about the course at all.

Want to sign up for all 8 seasonal courses, and circle round the Wheel of the Year?

The fee for all eight courses is $920.00 (best deal).

Candlemas: Winter-Turning-to-Spring is one of eight courses, Gaian Soul Seasonal Practices, structured around the Wheel of the Year. Each one is five weeks long, with a week or two between each one. Each one begins a week to ten days before the “holy-day,” like Winter Solstice, Candlemas or Spring Equinox. Sign up for all eight for a price break!

People are talking about the Gaian Soul Practices for Midwinter course . . .

“Joanna’s Midwinter course exceeded my expectations (which were high) in every way. The material is thoughtful, unique but universal. I was delighted to find that the winter themes and activities ‘worked’ perfectly (with a few tweaks) for me here in sunny south Florida. My spirituality is earth-centered and I’ve been working with the seasonal shifts for over two decades, so I was happily surprised to find the material took me much deeper into the spirit of the season than I’d gone before. It’s obvious that huge amounts of love and care went into the making of the course. I very much look forward to spending the rest of the year exploring the other seven tides — this is wonderful stuff! Thank you so much, Joanna. ”  - Michelle D.

“Joanna has the eyes of a visual artist and the soul of a poet.  Intuitively I was drawn to sign up not only for the first of her Seasons course — Midwinter — but for all of them.  And I am so very glad I listened to my intuition.  Each posting is instructive, thoughtful and thought-provoking, wise and well-rounded.  She prompts reflection through art, spirituality and deep connection with the natural world in postings every week.  I feel myself leaning into the new year with renewed hope and fresh expectancy.  Joanna has once again gone above and beyond in creating these courses.” — Mary Montanye

“I have not been a presence in the forums because I have been finding the quiet of this time so soothing and healing.  But the class has been a balm for the soul and had greatly enriched my experience of this liminal time. The journaling and the nature practices have been particularly valuable; I am drawing again and having great fun doing it!  And using my sit spot, I have met new friends in my backyard whom I suspect have been there all along, but who I am now taking the time to meet and greet!  This class is a perfect way to get in touch with the qualities of this time of year, and I am looking forward to the magic Joanna will include in the Candlemas practices! ” – Susan R.

“In the midst of the busy holiday season, Joanna’s online course provided quiet time just for me, whenever I wanted it, and inspiration via words, images, and music that led me to be creative in ways that fed my soul.” – Cynthia St. Clair

“Joanna Powell Colbert has definitely embodied the Goddess in her Gaian Tarot deck.  The sense of connected-ness that we see in the figures and artwork on the cards of Joanna’s deck, actually “came to life” for me, during her 5 week Midwinter course.  I feel grounded, happy, and in sync  with the Wheel of The Year, the seasonal changes, and the Goddess.  This is exactly what I needed to enhance my creativity during the winter months, while sustaining my wholeness with life itself.” – Kaira Sherman, Temple of The Goddess Bend, Divine Guidance Readings, www.DivineGuidance4u.com

“This is a gift to give to yourself — a chance to connect to the rhythms of the season, a chance to kindle your soul and your creativity.” – Shelly V.

“The Midwinter course will help you to have a deep, meaningful way of experiencing the season of darkness and the returning light.” – CrowsFoxes, Pittsburgh PA

“This course has been a welcome respite during an uber busy, eventful season.  I’ve been grateful for it, and very excited each Sunday when the new week’s lesson arrives!” – Suzie M.

“Joanna’s Midwinter course has been my first. What a timely addition to my life; it has been like having a friend alongside during the crazy holidays. I have learned many new things about myself in these quiet moments we spent together. What better gift can anyone give themselves at any time of year than the knowledge of who we are.” – Wavewalker

“Dear Friends,

This New Year’s Eve morning, I awoke to a glorious peach-and-turquoise pre-dawn sky in the East—and I got up and made a quick painting of it.  Would I have done this without Joanna’s Midwinter class?  Maybe.  
Maybe not.

But with Joanna’s encouragement through the Gaian Soul Seasonal Practices: Midwinter class—I did it!  And I’m so happy that I did.

I’ve found the Midwinter course full of pleasures and treasures that:
• Enliven the mind
• Touch the heart
• And nourish the soul

I can’t decide which I like better:
• When I open my e-mail to find a daily message, complete with photo,
 quotation, and writing prompt (how often do you get a message that 
 is addressed to your soul?)
• Or when I’m in my kitchen, click “Play” and sit back to welcome Joanna 
into my home via the video.  What fun to see the images and hear
 Joanna’s wise voice reminding me of what reflections, soul practices, and 
 great art projects I might do during this season.

What part of all these riches might you enjoy the most?  Which might bring the most delight to your soul?  There’s only one way to find out!

Love and blessings, and I hope you join us soon,
Thea, Santa Cruz, CA”

About Joanna . . .

Joanna Powell Colbert is an artist, writer, and teacher of tarot and earth-centered spirituality. The Gaian Tarot, nine years in the making, combines her love of archetypal art with the mysteries of Mama Gaia, the natural world. A Collector’s Edition is nearly sold out, and a mass market edition was published by Llewellyn Worldwide in September 2011.

Joanna teaches online courses and workshops around the country on the tarot, earth-centered spirituality, manifesting your dreams, and connecting with the natural world. She also hosts an engaging membership site, the Gaian Tarot Circle, which is a community for lovers of the Gaian Tarot. Joanna regularly shows her artwork and teaches workshops at tarot conferences and other events around the country. She blogs at GaianSoul.com.

The Gaian Tarot was created during the decade Joanna lived on a small island near Bellingham, Washington. Today she lives in the woods outside town, where daily encounters with the mysteries of the natural world continue to inspire and inform her work.