As I shared with you at the start of calendar year 2023, I have done enough healing and soul searching to know that my body, heart, mind and soul do not view January 1 as the start of the New Year.
The New Year that begins on January 1 is based on the Gregorian calendar created in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII. The motivation to change the calendar year was based on the church wanting Easter to occur around a specific time of the year.
In other words, before Christianity changed things so dramatically from our matriarchal society where we celebrated witches, midwives, healers, and wizards, the pressure to start something new on January 1, which is the dead of winter in the Northern Hemisphere, was pretty much non-existent.
When we lived in connection with Mother Earth, and followed the rhythms and seasons of nature, winter, January 1, was considered a time of rest and contemplation. Like the animals who hibernate, we too once allowed ourselves to slow down, rest, and integrate lessons we’ve learned during winter.
It wasn’t until the Spring Equinox, the start of the astrological New Year, when we would begin to take action on the new things we wanted to create, feel and experience in life.
But there is a celebration in-between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox: Imbolc or St. Brigid’s Day.
Imbolc (im-bulk), meaning “in the belly”, is a celebration of the days getting longer, the sun’s warmth glowing brighter and brighter. It’s a celebration of waking up after a long rest and beginning to plan to take action. We’re starting to feel the inner fire grow inside of us, we’re gathering energy to go after what we want.
Imbolc is also called St. Brigid’s Day because this day was seen as a celebration of the Goddess Brigid’s pregnancy with the Sun God. In other words, light, life, fire is on the horizon.
In modern culture, Imbolc is celebrated a little bit differently but celebrations still occur. In the United States, one of the more popular days to mark this day is Groundhog’s Day, when Punxsutawney Phil is let out of his hibernating cave to see if he sees his shadow.
Regardless if Phil sees his shadow, Spring is roughly 6 weeks away. It’s either 6 weeks until Spring or 6 more weeks of Winter.
But as I’ve shared with you, I have found I have a deep connection to Mother Earth, especially in how the Celtic traditions celebrated her and all of her seasons.
So I wanted to share with you how you can celebrate this special day at home, and prepare for the Spring, the Astrological New Year.
To celebrate Imbolc, you’ll want to have a few candles on hand, preferably white. The idea is to light a special white candle and bring it into every room in the house to chase away the darkness of winter in anticipation of the warmth of Spring. As you do this think about: What are you ready to shed light upon or burn away?
An Imbolc Mantra you can use in each room as well:
May the dawn of Imbolc kindle my inner fire. May it’s light invigorate me for the coming of Spring and fill me with renewing courage.
In addition to lighting candles in every room, another way to celebrate Imbolc is to cleanse and decorate your home with fresh flowers, local blooms if possible, to usher in growth and prosperity, decorate your altar if you have one, and cook a meal honoring this day.
There’s a bunch of recipes you can explore on Pinterest, but generally foods made from or with seeds are good to have on this day, as are oats, wheat flour, milk, butter, buttermilk, eggs, yeast, baking soda, spices, dried fruits, honey and sugar.
Do you plan to celebrate Imbolc in 2023? Let me know in the comments below and tag me on social media in pictures of your Imbolc celebrations.