It has been about a year since I first put some of my rambling thoughts down for this wonderful Faezine. I remember writing about the bright springtime bursting all around us for that first article, and here we have come full circle. After what seems to be the longest, coldest winter of my life, there is finally sunshine, warmth and light filling the world around us. I've even been able to hang the washing outside this week, and go out without a hat, gloves and a scarf! 

Spring always feels like a new beginning to me, much more so than New Year. It feels like a fresh start; as the earth slowly wakens and thaws I do as well. I feel like I've been hibernating for all of those long, dark winter months, wrapped up snug and tight in big, woolly cardis, cold fingers desperately seeking warmth, tightly wrapped around a mug of hot chocolate, shuffling about in my slippers and grumbling about the cold and rain. But now I'm shedding my winter woollies, slowly emerging from them like a new shoot growing out of an old, dried up bulb, forcing its way through the cold ground to the surface, feeling the suns warmth on my skin. This is such a magical time of year, seeing life and greenery appearing from what seemed to be such dead and barren ground. I love unexpectedly finding a spot of colour in the garden and realising there are crocuses or snowdrops growing, hiding away like a shy and quiet little secret. Even more wonderful than seeing these signs of spring is sharing them with Megan, my 18 month old daughter. This time last year she was just starting to crawl, now she's running around the garden looking at the flowers and the frogspawn, yelling, "What's that Mummy?" at everything she sees. It's fantastic to see the world through her eyes; everything is new and filled with wonder to her. We recently took her out to a family activity farm to see the newborn lambs drinking from bottles, to hold fluffy yellow chicks, stroke the calves and the fluffy little bunnies. (I think we possibly enjoyed this more than she did!)

At the beginning of February our family celebrated Imbolc. This celebration traditionally occurs at the first signs of Spring, halfway between the winter and the spring equinox. We made candles with Megan, not that she got anywhere near the hot wax melting in the pan! Imbolc is also known as the "Festival of Lights", so lighting a candle or fire symbolises the return of the suns' light and warmth at this time of year, and how it will grow in strength over the coming spring and summer months. We burned our candles over the hearth in our family room, celebrating our home and the love that binds us together.  Researching some of the traditions that surround this festival I discovered that the world Imbolc possibly comes from the Old Irish 'I mbolg', which means 'in the belly', referring to the imminent birth of the spring lambs, waiting and growing patiently in their mother's bellies. I know how those heavily burdened ewes feel, we are lucky enough to be waiting for our own little spring baby, due anytime in the next few weeks. I'm huge and ungraceful now, after 8 months of pregnancy. We're so excited that the time is nearly here; our new baby will soon join us. After all this time we just want to cuddle them, sing to them, for them to see the spring flowers, lie in our arms in the garden and feel the sunshine, to finally hold them and look into those clear, bright little eyes. 

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Just as spring is a beginning, a time of new life and growth, it is also part of the endless cycle of the seasons. Spring heralds a change, for it to happen Winter must fade away, step aside, its part in the circle is finished, for now. And just as we are looking forward to celebrating a tiny new life in our family, we have also been grieving. My Granddad has very recently passed away, so we are remembering his life even as we look forward to the new one that will soon join us. As I have been grieving I happened across an image of a Celtic Triple Spiral, so simple and beautiful, a representation of cosmic balance, life and death.

I have found this hypnotic symbol to be soothing at this time of sadness, disruption and change. Spirals are a representation of life's journey, starting at the centre and moving outwards, ever expanding, as does our knowledge and understanding as we encounter different experiences. We can see the spiral pattern repeated time and time again in the natural world around us. On seashells, animal horns, the centre of a sunflower head, snail shells, galaxies, even our own DNA is arranged in a spiral. I have been seeing spiral patterns everywhere for weeks, I'm haunted by them, and so they have made their way into my doodles and sketches. I've been obsessively drawn to snail shells, such tiny, unassuming creatures, but the fragile shell on their back reflects the arrangement of the cosmos and the building blocks of life, how incredible! I started working on a painting with a number of snail shells in a few weeks ago, so here is a sneak preview, I do hope that you like it. Working on this painting has been very soothing during our time of sorrow. Patiently working my way through the spirals as I paint has helped me sort through my thoughts and emotions. I hope that you like this preview, and I hope you will like the finished painting, the end is in sight now! Like a developing baby in the womb a painting goes through so many stages, and can seem to take forever at times. I just hope I can finish the painting before our little one joins us and the nighttime feeds begin again!

By Alexandra Dawe

Tales from the Toadstools

Alexandra lives in Hampshire with her lovely husband Pete, a beautiful, impish little faery baby called Megan, and a very grumpy old cat.

She believes in faeries, talks to frogs and collects skeletons, insects and pebbles.

She occasionally gets time to paint in between emails, chores and being a new mum.

“How do I live in the Magic? Through the love and support of my family and friends.”

Alexandra has been a member of Enchanted Folk since September 2007

members.enchantedfolk.com/www.alexandradawe.co.uk

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