Tuesday next brings us to the first of February, and we can already see the first hints of spring’s much-anticipated arrival. February first is an important day in the Celtic calendar, it is Imbolc the festival that marks this cross-quarter time between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. We are mid-way there, and already the earth energies are starting to change. It is a time of both nature’s and our spiritual awakening. We can already see how the days are getting longer, how daylight hours are gaining momentum, as the Earth turns and tilts gently back towards our sun once again. We are emerging out of the darkness of winter, and into the freshness and newness of spring. It might be still very cold outside and winterly, yet the subtle change is happening. And the Celts were right it is a time to celebrate. When Christianity took over in Ireland it became St. Brigid’s day, and the Presentation of the Lord Jesus in the Temple, or Candlemas (light symbolically being used) and the feast of St. Blaise in Christianity, in China it is the New Year, and National Freedom day in America. All of them again jump on the celebratory bandwagon of the Imbolc festival or the cross-quarter day that falls at this time of the year at the beginning of February. The festival was marked by eating golden round pancakes or crepes in French, which were originally symbolising the golden circle of the sun. This wonderful period of renewal after the long winter is welcomed by both man and beast, as we shake off the old and embrace the new approach of the new year, the new spring and all that it brings. And certainly, we all are very glad to do that, especially after another winter of Covid. It is a wonderful time of awakening of the soul, a time to shake off that which no longer serves us and to uncover the new. We adopt and change just like the seasons to which we are parallel. And we can incorporate these welcomed new energies into our being with enthusiasm and joy. Spending time standing still, meditating, journaling, and time in nature is vital for our spiritual growth, and the onset of spring is a great time to start the year as you mean to go on. Imbolc is a time of celebrating light and fertility, it is a time for planting the seeds of growth and desires. It is an opportunity to spring clean physically and metaphysically both you and your surroundings. It is a time to get out and to feel the sun on your face, so to really sense that brighter warmer days are ahead. We can celebrate Imbolc and should do so. But First, honour how far you yourself have come, that you have made it through the darkness of winter, shedding the old leaves that needed to be shed and are fresh, rejuvenated and ready for the engaging the new. Light your candle on February first to honour the light, make a St. Brigid’s cross if you wish, visit holy wells, eat pancakes, but most of all meditate, meditate and meditate. Meditation is the fastest track to spiritual growth and renewal that you will find, and it is the best method to welcome the light. For it is the light that is within you, that is the most important. That inner divine light will illuminate you throughout the coming year and your entire life.
