Roses, Hawthorns and Hope

Here we are with another angel number 2+20+2020. Two can represent pairing or conflict and certainly we are seeing the teeter totter of thinking and strain of division all around us. Twenty gives us a message of hope and reinforces the possibility of people working together. And, of course, 2020 speaks to the need for balance, both near and farsightedness balanced give us proper vision.

It is still winter here in the Finger Lakes. Some days are bleak, most grey with sun peeking out only occasionally, but enough to assure us that the days are getting longer and that spring will come. There’s a tune that goes through my mind as I walk: Come, Sing A Song With Me. My favorite lines: 

“I’ll bring you hope, when hope is hard to find, and I’ll bring a song of love and a rose in wintertime.”

Brigid’s Day or Imbolc has the snowdrop as its symbol. Like  “a rose in the wintertime” it brings a smile and the hope of spring to come. There is so much going on in the world, so much causing stress and destruction. We must look for signs of hope and carry sweet songs like this in our heart.

Hawthorn in Glastonbury, England said to be growing from a cutting of the legendary tree planted by Joseph of Arimathea

In sorting my pictures the other day, I came across this photo from a trip to Glastonbury, England in 2014. It is a hawthorn, growing from a cutting of the legendary tree said to be planted by Joseph of Arimathea. Some say he was a disciple of Christ; others that he was the uncle of Jesus who owned the tomb to which His body was taken. As a tin merchant, it is said Joseph came to Glastonbury often, even bringing Jesus as a boy. A different legend has him bring Mother Mary, her mother Anna and Mary Magdalene here to the safety of Avalon after the Crucifixion. His connection to the Holy Grail and to the earliest days of Christianity is tied to each of these versions.

But back to the hawthorn, which he is supposed to have planted by thrusting his staff into the hillside. Blossoming twice of year, the tree itself became a legend. Cromwell had it burned to the ground in the 1600s and then in 1991 its replacement burned as well. The sapling from that sacred tree is depicted in my photo. I was initially aghast when we drove to the sight and saw how small and frail it seemed. Then I looked again through softer eyes and saw a sign of hope. Like the phoenix rising from the ashes, I saw this hawthorn growing into a mighty tree that continues the story of hope, and love and resilience.

I challenge you to look for hope this month. Hope in a world where hope can sometimes be hard to find. I would love to see pictures or hear examples of what you see.

Celtic Blessings.