Imbolc: Celebrating the Freshness of New Beginnings

Today is Imbolc, the ancient Gaelic festival marking the return of spring. To this day, people continue to celebrate Imbolc and its emphasis on the seasonal changes in the northern hemisphere at this time of year; a time of growing light and emerging new life. People also recognize and celebrate how Imbolc's promise of new beginnings is experienced in their lives.

Traditionally held on February 1, Imbolc occurs about halfway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. It was widely observed throughout Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man, and is one of the four Gaelic seasonal festivals – along with Beltane, Lughnasadh and Samhain.

Notes Wikipedia:

It is believed that Imbolc was originally a pagan festival associated with the goddess Brigid, and that it was Christianized as a festival of Saint Brigid, who is thought to be a Christianization of the goddess. . . . Brigid was evoked to protect homes and livestock. Special feasts were held, holy wells were visited, and it was a time of weather divination, and the old tradition of watching to see if serpents or badgers came from their winter dens may be a forerunner of the North American Groundhog Day. Imbolc was also believed to be when the Cailleach – the divine hag of Gaelic tradition – gathers her firewood for the rest of the winter. Legend has it that if she wishes to make the winter last a good while longer, she will make sure the weather on Imbolc is bright and sunny, so she can gather plenty of firewood. Therefore, people would be relieved if Imbolc is a day of foul weather, as it means the Cailleach is asleep and winter is almost over. Although many of its customs died out in the 20th century, Imbolc is still observed and in some places it has been revived as a cultural event. Since the latter twentieth century, Celtic neopagans and Wiccans have observed Imbolc as a religious holiday.

Speaking of neopagans and Wiccans, Starhawk, in her classic book The Spiral Dance, offers the following about the significance of Imbolc.

This is the feast of the waxing light. What was born at the Solstice begins to manifest, and we who were midwives to the infant year now see the Child Sun grow strong as the days grow visibly longer. This is the time of individuation: within the measures of the spiral, we each light our own light, and become uniquely ourselves. It is the time of initiation, of beginning, when seeds that will later sprout and grow begin to stir from their dark sleep. [Let us] meet to share the light of inspiration, which will grow with the growing light.

Of course, growing into our true and unique selves is often a slow but steady process, a journey of ever-expanding awakenings towards wholeness. We can become impatient with such a journey, especially in our present day society which often stresses speed, convenience, and instant gratification. I close then with some sage words from Mark Nepo’s The Book of Awakening that address this impatience and the invitation it offers.

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Follow anything in its act of being – a snowflake falling, ice melting, a loved one waking – and we are ushered into the ongoing moment of the beginning, the quiet instant from which each breath starts. What makes this moment so crucial is that it continually releases the freshness of living. The key to finding this moment and all is freshness, again and again, is in slowing down.

Often, when we are inconvenienced, we are being asked to slow down. When we are delayed in our travel or waiting for a check in a restaurant, we are being asked to open up and look around. When we find ourselves stalled in our very serious and ambitious plans, we are often being asked to re-find the beginning of time. Unfortunately, we are all so high-paced, running so fast to where we want to be, that many of us are forced to slow down through illness and breakage. In this, we are such funny creatures. If we could see ourselves from far enough away, we would seem like a colony of insects running into things repeatedly: thousands of little determined beings butting into obstacles, shaking our little heads and bodies, and running into things again.

Like the Earth that carries us, the ground of our being moves so slowly we take it for granted. But if you should feel stalled, numb, or exhausted from the trials of your life, simply slow your thoughts to the pace of cracks widening, slow your heart to the pace of the earth soaking up rain, and wait for the freshness of the beginning to greet you.

– Mark Nepo
Excerpted from The Book of Awakening: Having the Life You Want
by Being Present to the Life You Have
Conari Press, 2011, p. 39

Related Off-site Links:
Imbolc: The Gaelic Festival Explained – OghamArt.com (January 31, 2020).
The Magical Energy of the Great Celtic Festival of Imbolc – Colette O’Neill (Bealtaine Cottage, January 24, 2021).
Brigid and Darlughdach: Celtic Saint Loved Her Female Soulmate – Kittredge Cherry (QSpirit, February 1, 2021).

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• Sufism: A Call to Awaken
• Don’t Go Back to Sleep
• Farewell Winter
• Welcoming the Return of Spring
• Spring: “Truly the Season for Joy and Hope”
• In the Footsteps of Spring: Introduction | Part I | II | III | IV | V

Images of Adnan with candle: Michael J. Bayly.
Image 2: Michael J. Bayly.
Book cover design: Jim Warner.
Book cover photography: Paul Trummer.