Imbolc: Harbinger of Spring

Yule has come and gone, and on this beautiful blue and white day, with the mountains dusted in the pink snow of the setting sun, I could swear I am already noticing the days getting longer. The ancient Celtic festival of Imbolc (February 2nd) is nearly upon us, as once again the wheel turns inexorably towards the light half of the year.  Imbolc is an ancient Irish word that translates roughly to "ewe's milk", and signaled the beginning of spring and the much anticipated event of the new lambing season; the rebirth of nature and indeed, of all life.  The highly recommended book,  The Winter Solstice: the Sacred Traditions of Christmas, explains that the people of the old world did not have fresh milk to drink for the entire winter, as sheep and cows only lactate after giving birth (Matthews).  Imbolc is a cross quarter festival midway between Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox, and is a holyday sacred to the ancient Irish Goddess Brigit. 

Offerings at Brigit's Well - Kildare, Ireland

Brigit is a triple Goddess and on Imbolc she is associated with the aspect of the Maiden.  She is called on for inspiration, and is the patroness of poets, artists, and craftswomen.  Brigit is also known for her compassion for those less fortunate.  She was so beloved by the Irish people that when Christianity took over the old ways, she was thinly disguised as "Saint Brigit" (or Bride) and her veneration continues to this day at her monastery in Kildare, Ireland, where nuns tend her sacred flame.  Pilgrims from all over the world still come here and make their offerings and prayers at her sacred well.  

Incidentally, a book well worth seeking out, Confessions of a Pagan Nun, by Kate Horsley, is a riveting account written by a woman in 500 AD, and translated into readable modern English.  At the bottom of a well, about two kilometers from the monastery of Saint Brigit, a clay and iron box was excavated in which was discovered an almost perfectly intact number of scrolls wrapped in pigskin.  Almost the entire group of documents is written in the author's native Gaelic, so as to protect it from the ever watchful eyes of the Christian clergy.  It is a stunning account of the woman's early pagan life at a time when the danger of being named a heretic was a serious threat.  Highly recommended!

Imbolc/Chrysalis - Danielle Blackwood, 2003

Imbolc is the harbinger of spring. It is a time of renewed hope, and increasing optimism as the days grow visibly longer, and the sunlight begins to warm the earth once again.  We must remember that growth and transformation occur first in the dark, in the unconscious.  Much can be going on beneath the surface that we are not, as of yet, consciously aware of.  Like a seed germinating beneath the still frozen earth, the psyche’s process of initiation begins almost imperceptibly.  Watch for tiny shoots of inspiration, unfurling in the conscious mind. Those first stirrings are the promise of new things to come. The skull, an important symbol in Celtic mythology suggests ancestral wisdom and that all new life springs from the roots of what has come before. All life is connected. No one stands alone.  We have the ability to draw on the wisdom of those who have loved, struggled and made the journey before us.
 Happy Imbolc!