Celtic Cycles as a Mandala for Individuation

Sunday Salon: February 1, 2015

Presented by Ann Loomis

Reviewed by Marilyn McNamara

Groundhog Day can be a reminder and an invitation to all of us that facing one’s shadow can be a winter task of importance. Seasoned workshop presenter and author of a new book, Celtic Cycles: Guidance from the Soul on the Spiritual Journey, Ann Loomis gently challenged us along these lines.

Ann reminded us how ancient such a tradition is by placing Groundhog Day within the Celtic Vision of the Wheel of the Year, with its focus on the winter and summer solstices and the spring and autumn equinoxes.  Ann reminded us that we can use these markers to relate more intimately to the natural world; she also emphasized that we can further refine our attunement to the natural world by noting the Celtic cross-quarter dates between the big seasonal shifts.  These are:

• Imbolc, February 1
• Beltane, May 1
• Lughnasadh/Lammas, August 1
• Samhain (following our Halloween), November 1.

Honoring the Celtic Imbolc, which is also St. Brigit’s Feast Day, Ann asked each participant to identify and reflect on four shadow issues. With Brigit as a metaphorical midwife, we then placed these issues as seeds in a circle representing the year to come. Next, Ann invited attendees to work with a designated Power Animal and to dialogue with this ally about the hard and challenging task of addressing these shadow aspects of ourselves. In this context, Ann went on to review the plot summary of the fairy tale, Beauty and the Beast, the beast as our identified shadow aspects and Beauty as the tender part of ourselves attending to shadow. Hopefully, their revitalized relationship will result in some new soul life in those who carefully attend to this work.