Imbolc

I started this blog on Lunar New Year’s Day. And now, so soon, there is another holiday to celebrate. Or perhaps I should say “holidays”!

February 2nd is Groundhog’s Day. Today Punxsutawney Phil will or won’t seen his shadow. We talk of spring, of the end of winter, and seeing the light (literally) at the end of the tunnel.

And February 2nd is Candlemas. It’s a traditional time for melting all the old candle leavings and combining them with new wax/tallow to make the candles for the upcoming year. It signifies hope and the coming of light with the actual creation of light. It’s also the time to start getting your fields (or garden beds) ready for planting.

February 2nd is Brigid’s Day, in honor of the Celtic Goddess, Brigit. She is a goddess of fire, smithcraft, poetry, and midwifery. In the Catholic Church she is Saint Brigit – patron saint of smithcraft, poetry and healing. She represents, among other things, light.

But my favorite: February 2nd is Imbolc. That’s one of the pagan sabbats that falls between the equinoxes and the solstices. Imbolc means “in the belly”, as if spring is stirring inside Mother Earth. It is about seeds almost ready to sprout, the gestation of spring, lambs and other baby animals ready to come into the world.

Call it what you will, all the celebrations and attention on February 2nd have to do with the same thing: Spring is coming, closer than the mere promise and hope we have on the dark winter solstice. We can see the light increasing. We can imagine the warmth again. Things will grow. The cycle continues.

~Katie