03/09/2026
With a walking labyrinth meditation, though we still have several weeks of late Winter, we said farewell to the spirit of Winter and greeted the spirit of Spring this past Saturday. With honor and respect for the gifts and challenges. It was lovely to be apart of along with 24 others who lead the way on the walk.
We sang the these words as we walked around the Festival and found our way to the labyrinth:
Gather your courage, gather Your Love, gather your peace into your heart, when we're together, we can start... Gather your power into your hands, that we may care for each other on this land... We all dressed in white and had white parasols symbolizing winter cleansing and the purity of our hearts joined together. 🌿
Here is the guided meditation I wrote and read out loud as people walked the labyrinth with many embellishments of course. I hope if you decide to read it you will feel it within you..
Farewell to Winter, Welcome to Spring
Take a slow breath in…
and release it slowly.
Again… inhale calm…
exhale anything you no longer need.
Allow your breathing to become natural and easy.
In your mind’s eye, located deep within your heart imagine you are standing in a quiet winter landscape.
Here in Florida remember the freezing weather, the cold northwestern winds threatening, bringing death to our plants and forcing the wild creatures and our home free community to take refuge. Remember gathering blankets and food to share on those cold, cold nights..
In the north,
Snow blankets are still on the ground, and the earth is mantled in this soft white stillness. The air is crisp and clear.
Bare trees stand like patient guardians, their branches etched against a pale sky. There roots below gathering strength to hold firm against driving northwest winds.
Notice the silence of winter.
The deep rest.
The quiet wisdom of a season that knows how to pause. On the wheel of time, this is the season of our elders. On the wheel of time in the garden this is the season of composting, on the wheel of human fertility the winter is the season of menstruation simultaneously held by the grandmother crone.
With gentle awareness, sense the Spirit of Winter nearby — not as a figure you must see clearly, but as a presence of calm, reflection, and sacred stillness and deep knowing.
Feel gratitude rising within you.
Silently or softly speak:
Thank you mother winter.
Thank you, thank you.
Speak out loud,
Spirit of Winter,
keeper of silence and stillness,
thank you for the rest you offered.
Thank you for the long nights of reflection,
for the quiet spaces where seeds of wisdom and our dreams for seasons to come were planted.
Pause and feel the truth of your gratitude. Feel what you are cultivating inside yourself, feel what you long to create and hold it going forward like a precious ember to keep alive.
Continue:
Thank you for the lessons of patience,
for the invitation to turn inward,
for the strength that grows in hidden roots beneath frozen ground.
See the Spirit of Winter receiving your thanks with quiet dignity.
Now imagine offering a small light — perhaps a candle, a glowing lantern, or a warm golden ember — as a gesture of appreciation.
Say gently:
You may rest now.
Your work here is honored.
Travel onward with my gratitude and blessing.
Watch as the winter presence slowly begin to dissolve into the horizon, leaving behind a deep peace, a sense of belonging to the earth family and a sense of relief that you made it through the season of death.
The Turning of the Season
Notice now that the air begins to soften and warm up.
The snow slowly melts into clear streams.
The earth beneath becomes dark, rich, and alive.
A gentle breeze carries the scent of rain and growing things and the songs of the birds.
From the distance, a warm golden light begins to rise — the Spirit of Spring approaching.
Feel curiosity… openness… possibility.
Invocation of Spring
As this vibrant presence draws closer, notice the colors returning to the landscape:
small green shoots pushing through soil,
buds swelling on branches,
wildflowers beginning to awaken. The Easter lilies are opening, same holds true for the honey suckle and Ge**er daises.
Welcome this energy with an open heart.
Speak these words:
Spirit of Spring, maiden crowned with blossoms,
bringer of renewal and playful awakening,
I welcome you.
Enter this land.
Enter my life.
Enter the quiet gardens of my heart.
Feel the warmth spreading through the landscape and through your body.
Awaken what is ready to grow.
Nourish the seeds of joy, creativity, and hope.
Help me bloom in the ways my soul is meant to bloom.
Imagine gentle rain blessing the earth…
sunlight warming the soil…
life stirring everywhere.
Receiving the Blessing
Now imagine the Spirit of Spring offering you a gift.
It may be a seed, a flower, a color, a feeling, or simply a warmth placed into your heart.
Receive it without needing to analyze.
This is your seed of the new season.
Let it settle within you.
Take a deep breath.
Feel the quiet wisdom of Winter still supporting your roots…
and the vibrant energy of Spring beginning to rise through you. On the outer line of our labyrinth there are 4 sentinels one for each season and direction.. here we can see the north is lined up with the west where we enter. This labyrinth is significant in that it is a northwest passage, the passage of for give ness.. what to do you stand for giving forward.. to Forgive is to forward give.. I stand for giving myself love and appreciation. I stand for giving you patience and understanding though we may not agree.
With the two seasons now meeting in harmony.
Silently say:
Thank you, Winter.
Welcome, Spring.
May I grow with the turning of the Earth.
Carry the seed of the new season with you.
Nurture it and watch it grow. 🌿💚🦋🌾🌹🌈✨🙏
