Physical Setting & Preparation
Find a quiet place where you can be close to tree roots or large stones - these ancient anchors of the Earth. If indoors, position yourself near a house plant or hold a stone. Have a soft blanket or shawl to wrap around your shoulders. The air still carries winter's chill, but the promise of spring stirs beneath. Let your body settle heavily, allowing the Earth to support your weight completely.
Wendy’s Daily Healing Compendium
"Tears are the river that carries our pain to the great ocean of healing." — Wendy
Opening Invocation | Fosgladh
*A Mhàthair chaomh na Talmhainn*
Gentle Mother of Earth
*Gabh ri mo bhròn an-diugh*
Accept my sadness today
*Mar a ghabhas tu ris an t-sneachd*
As you accept the snow
*Ga leaghadh gu sàmhach*
Melting it quietly
[Feel yourself sinking into the Earth Mother's embrace, like snow settling into soft soil. Let your sadness be acknowledged without judgment.]
Body of the Working | Corp
*Tha mi a' sileadh mo dheòir*
I shed my tears
*Mar a shileas an sneachd gu uisge*
As snow melts to water
*A' dòrtadh a-steach do d' bhroilleach*
Pouring into your breast
*Far am faigh iad fois*
Where they find rest
[Allow your sadness to flow naturally, like melting snow. Feel how the Earth Mother accepts every drop, transforming it as she transforms winter into spring.]
The Deep Working | An Obair Dhomhain
*Fo chlachan is freumhaichean*
Under stones and roots
*Tha beatha a' gluasad*
Life is stirring
*Eadhon ann am bròn*
Even in sadness
*Tha sìol an dòchais a' briseadh*
The seed of hope is breaking
[Sense the deep stirring of life beneath winter's last hold. Feel how sadness, like the dark soil itself, can nurture new growth. The Earth Mother holds both your grief and your becoming.]
Afterthought | Smuain Dheiridh
Take a moment to contemplate:
As the Earth transforms winter's heaviness into spring's new life, what wisdom might your sadness be offering you? What new understanding might be germinating in these depths?
Closing Blessing | Beannachd Dheiridh
*Beannachd na tuigse*
The blessing of understanding
*Bho dhoimhneachd na talmhainn*
From the depths of the earth
*Mar a thig flùraichean tro shneachd*
As flowers come through snow
*Thig solas tro bhròn*
Light comes through sadness
*Gus an till sinn gu gàirdeachas*
Until we return to joy
[Feel the Earth Mother's steady presence beneath you, supporting you through all seasons of the heart, transforming what is heavy into what can nourish new growth.]
Where I’m at right now, it’s hard to even imagine “returning to joy”. But I’m trying.