Betwixt and Between
An Imbolc incantation
I’m Jo, a maker, grower, musician and artist, nurturing a life-long devotional practice of weaving nature and ritual into the everyday. This is a place for seekers of untamed edges, the imperfect and the meaningful with twice monthly tales from the woods, garden and hearth. Gather in, rest and deepen your relationship with the beguiling beauty and feral corners of the natural world.
Imbolc is a quiet and gentle festival, celebrating the first green of early spring, emerging through the cold of winter. It marks the gradual dawning of the new light with steady elongating days. With winter still cloaking the northern hemisphere in harsh elements Imbolc is a glimmer, a way marker, showing what is to come if we can just hold tight and see ourselves through a few more weeks of frost and worsted skies. The earth is still nurturing seeds below the soil, while the first shoots are making their way above ground bringing comfort, solace and cheer.
The name Imbolc is thought to mean ‘in the belly’ and may have come from ‘oimelc’ meaning the milking of the ewes. It’s one of the cross-quarter festivals which are associated with the element of fire and are often considered fire festivals. It wasn’t uncommon to celebrate the greening of the earth with a bonfire.
Cross quarter days are midpoints between a Solstice and an Equinox. Therefore Imbolc generally falls between the 3rd and 6th of February rather than the traditional date of February 1st, which is St Brigid’s day. This year Imbolc falls between the 3rd and 4th of February.
That said, as with many nature-based festivals, the given date of each one may not reflect exactly what’s growing or appearing in your corner of the world, so I see the dates as guides only. I would always encourage anyone to take cues from nature, and celebrate what you encounter around you rather than what a calendar says.
In the old ways in agrarian cultures, many festivals were based around agriculture and animal husbandry, with activities rooted in survival, not just folklore and superstition. The weather and other signs from nature helped to guide their planting and growing.
I find it helpful to also think of each festival as a marker for the beginning of a season, rather than just a day. For me, early February marks the start of Imbolc season: six and-a-bit beautiful weeks to embrace the unfurling of early spring as winter retreats to the shadows for another year. But as always, do what feels right for you, and leave the rest.
What we can enjoy from Imbolc and other nature-festivals is the deepening connection it brings to the world around us and the care that we offer back to the earth.
If you’d like to create your own ritual or say a few words to mark Imbolc, you’ll find an incantation that I wrote for this Imbolc season, below.
Whenever you decide to celebrate I hope you find hope, richness and promise from the seasonal signs around you.
I’d love to know, do you follow any seasonal celebrations? And what does it brings you?
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I love this idea of celebrating as a season rather than a day, in one of my groups they talk of an 'Imbolc portal' and this year it runs from the New Moon through 'cultural' Imbolc (the 1st) to 'astronomical/logical' Imbolc (which is either the 3rd or the 4th but I think it varies). It could even stretch all the way to the Full Moon, I think that is valid too! It means less pressure and less frustration regarding perfectionism to do it 'just right'. Being half French also means that pancakes are firmly part of my Imbolc celebrations (the French have their pancake day on the 2nd)
Thank you sharing your voice to this beautiful season. It’s dark and gloomy in my corner of the world. The ground is muddy and brown. Shoots of green and flowers are still a ways off, yet I notice the growing light. Each day as I sit for my morning practice, I gaze out the larger slider doors. The woods lighten each day, making me smile. It’s coming…Spring is coming. I will light a candle and connect to the fire within me as a way to keep me fueled until warm weather appears. I celebrate the season more than a specific day. It gives me time to relax, learn and feel into this time.