I felt drawn to the Herbana deck today. It makes me feel closer to the earth. Closer to nature, and the spirits that live in and around us.

This week's card is the Chestnut, and here's what it has to say:

The Chesnut

Even though the trees and branches are bare, and everything looks bleak and empty, the next season is already in gestation.

The chestnuts we see in the picture will soon fall to the wet and thawing earth, and they will start the next phase of their growth. The empty branches will grow buds, then leaves, then blossoms and so on.

The deers, whose antlers have fallen off in the winter season, will begin to regrow the horns.

Just because we can't see the growth, the life, and the goal we're chasing - doesn't mean it's not there.

Right now it's only a shadow, an echo of what is coming, but the Chestnut reminds us that the echo isn't only a memory. It's also a promise of what is to come. It asks us to have faith that what we want to see growing is, in many ways, already here.

What to do with this:

1. Vision board - I know, most of us like to do a vision board in January at the new year. But if you've not done it yet (or if you have, and you're realizing it just... doesn't quite fit?) this is the time. My teacher Melissa says that Imbolc is the season for "planning the garden". We can't plant yet, but before planting comes the preparation, and before the preparation comes the vision, which gets refined into a plan.
2. Alignment and activation - This week doesn't ask us to take big actions, or even small ones, but it does ask us to start energetically channelling the goals we're working towards. Notice what songs come on the radio and make you feel like "YES! This is it! This is the feeling!" Or the lines in books that feel like they were somehow pulled from your own brain. Start to create a playlist, a file, or a pinterest board of these things that pluck on your heartstrings and really resonate.

Practical: Set aside a block of time this week to start to plan out your "garden" whatever that might be. Time to reflect on what has stood out to you this week and how you want to carry it forward.

Magic: Practice energetic alignment. Take a few deep breaths to settle in to your seat, and settle into yourself. Then scan your body and relax your muscles. Notice how you're feeling. Once you're feeling relaxed, start to envision yourself in the middle of your dreams come true. Notice what it looks like, what it smells like, and what it sounds like. Notice what it feels like in your body. Allow yourself to stay in this energy for as long as you like. When you're ready, gently blink open your eyes. Grab a paper and pen and begin to write down what that felt like using "I am statements" as if it is already your reality. These will become your affirmations for the week, or for the season. Keep them somewhere you can see them and repeat them often, especially before bed or immediately upon waking, when your brain is most open to integrating new ideas.

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That's it for today, I hope you enjoy these emails, and, if you do, I would love it if you could forward this one to a friend you think would enjoy these weekly rituals as well.

I love you <3

Megan

Your Witchy Life Coach