It is a lovely early spring day. The air is fresh with the fragrance of green plants eager to bloom. The sun's radiance bathes you in comfort, perhaps the first warmth you have felt in many months.

You sense that you are in Ireland, because it is so very green; everything feels clean and alive. The landscape is timeless and magickal. In the distance, you hear birds singing as they welcome the unexpected warmth of the day.

Happiness begins to bubble and dance within you, very quietly at first. It feels almost like anticipation, but it puts a smile on your lips as well.

You are walking up a slight hill. You sense that something wonderful can be seen from the top. As you walk, the grass is already tall enough to brush against your lower legs. This is a wild place where Nature flourishes.

Near the top of the hill, you see a dolmen - two standing stones and a large stone across the tops of them, like an arch. You wonder why you didn't see it sooner. This majestic dolmen seems to appear, like magick, when you are just twenty feet from it.

Does it mean something? Is it real? You do not pause to wonder, but keep walking towards it. As you pass between the upright stones, you notice carvings and symbols on the sides of the dolmen. Some of them are lines and marks, which you suspect are an ancient and timeless Ogham message. Others are symbols and spirals, which you will return to look at, another day.

As you pass through the dolmen and continue up the hill, an invisible curtain brushes over you gently. In the space of a blink, it is a clear, crisp night. The stars are above you, brilliant and twinkling.

You know the moon is behind you, but you do not notice its light because there is a sparkling fire just ahead, at the crest of the hill. There is no breeze, but the evening is chilly as you would expect when winter is still a fresh memory.

You pull your clothing more closely around you, as you continue up the hill. You are eager to reach the warmth of the fire, which is bigger than you thought at first. In fact, it is a bonfire and you realize you have arrived at Imbolc. You run the last few steps to stand next to the fire, pushing your hands towards it, to capture the heat from a safe distance. Tall yellow and white flames seem to warm you inside and out. You pause to look at the sky again, and savor the moment.

Looking across the flames, you realize that you are not alone. You can see the top of someone's head. You pause. Have you have intruded on a private ceremony? Slowly, you walk around the fire, and your companion stands up from the rock she was sitting upon.

She is a tall, strong woman, with long hair so light you cannot tell if it is blonde or white. She looks like the Queen of Pentacles in a way, with an ageless sense of knowing and accomplishment. She wears a long gown and an embroidered cape, but you can see her bare feet peeking out from under her skirt. You know she is someone noble yet without artifice.

Without a word, she stretches out her hands to take yours in welcome. You know, as if you've known her all your life: This is Brighid.

This is a special and sacred moment. She welcomes you to her fire, which will burn tonight and every night, for Imbolc is her festival and her fire is never extinguished. You sit down next to her, on large flat rocks that are warm from the fire, and very comfortable. She begins to explain to you the meaning of Imbolc, and its promise of a fresh beginning--not just to the plants and animals, but also to everyone on Earth who permits Imbolc into his or her life.

She helps you to remember your past dreams, especially the childhood ones which began, "When I grow up..." As you recall these fantasies and goals, you discover that many of them were left behind with your childhood. Others are still alive in what you do each day. This is not a sad realization.

Tonight, you know that you can start afresh. Every one of those dreams is still within you, and the means to achieve them. Brighid picks up a fallen twig from a nearby yew tree. It looks like any other twig, in the firelight. However, when Brighid places it into the fire, the twig's bark flares and flames like a sparkler, giving enough heat energy to set the twig burning brightly.

Silently, Brighid has shown that even a small spark will set alight your oldest and most neglected dreams.

The lesson was simple, but vital. Now it is time to return to your own world. As you stand, Brighid offers you a cup of clear water, which you sip. The sensation in your mouth is unique. There is a kind of life-giving energy, that is spring itself. You take a larger swallow of the water, and your entire body responds to that water with a vitality that--like your forgotten dreams--you had almost forgotten from childhood.

After returning the cup to Brighid, and then a quick embrace, you stride purposefully around the fire and back to the dolmen. Passing under it, you emerge back into the daylight, and the warm air and clear sunshine of an early spring day. You have not merely learned the meaning of Imbolc, but actually experienced it in your soul.

From now on, every time you sip fresh water, or see twigs and branches burning in a bonfire, you will feel Brighid's presence, and be reminded of the fire--and dreams--that burn within you, too, and will never be extinguished.
---
May your Imbolc
--and every day--
be filled with fresh beginnings and realized dreams!