I’ll admit, I feel as though I haven’t had much to say lately. I chalk it up to writer’s block, or something like that, scolding myself for not doing my Morning Pages for god knows how long. But hey, it’s been January. A month of darkness and inward contemplation and really not a whole lot of anything else. So perhaps it’s perfectly as it should be that it seems a cat has got my tongue and my newsletter inspo hath run dry. No need to ring the panic alarm for spring is drawing near and I just know some ideas will start to sprout.
February 1st/2nd marks the cross quarter day of imbolc. This is the celebration of the midway between winter solstice and the spring equinox. Frankly, any cause for a celebration right now will do, so take this as an invitation to an imaginary imbolc feast. Let us celebrate the dawn of spring, the return of sun, and the promise of buds and blossoms soon to arrive.
The timing is a bit ironic really, as the past week or so has been just gorgeous. Bright, clear, sunny days have blessed our island. But on today of all days we awoke to our first snow this winter. Not out of the woods just yet, nature seems to be telling us. On my morning walks I spy crocuses reaching up towards the sun and early signs of daffodils. Imbolc translates to “in the belly” - how great is that? Here we are in the belly of winter. We are in the final days of our yin dominant cycle. This day also marks the Christian holiday of Candlemas, and the all american favourite, groundhog day. It’s always 5 o’clock somewhere, am I right?
Imbolc celebrates the Celtic goddess Brigid. An incredibly powerful figure who symbolizes fertility, creation, and the archetypes of maiden, mother and crone. The myths say that she drank milk (raw, duh) from a mystical cow of the spirit world to gain her power, which sounds pretty radical if you ask me. One imbolc tradition that people practice to harness Brigid’s power is to leave something out over night, like a cloth, scarf, blanket, etc. The idea is that as Brigid makes her imbolc visit, she will walk past it and bless it with her healing gifts, infusing your item with that energy for the rest of the year.
On wednesday we had lunar imbolc. The lunar holy days take place on the nearest new moon to the calendar (solar) holiday, and are a perfect time to celebrate if you’re drawn to more inward festivities. The themes of imbolc match those of new moons perfectly: planting seeds, both figuratively and literally, new beginnings, and cleansing and purifying your space and self. The invitation is to dream, manifest, light candles, eat some dairy and take a bath. Lunar imbolc also landed on the Chinese New Year. We are now in the year of the wood snake. The cool thing is that another main emblem of Brigid are serpents. It’s so interesting how these patterns align even from two cultures that are seemingly worlds apart.
Regarding the aforementioned dairy, I simply must share with you these butter molds I came across the other day. This is just a selection but I implore you to do a deep dive because there is a whole world of butter molds out there just waiting to be seen.
These remind me of something I have been eyeing up: a lamb mold, like this one. I mean, come on. Just imagine a little lamb cake, covered in fluffy whipped cream. The perfect way to welcome in spring, if you ask me. On an unrelated but matched vibes note, I watched this documentary the other night all about faeries. It was awesome.
I’m starting to plan what seeds I’d like to plant in my garden bed this year. I’m also excitedly planning a special springtime market with my friend, which is a very fun endeavour, albeit a big one! Many herbal offerings in the works, ready to be birthed in the spring. Can’t wait to share more with you all. I’ve had a couple very sweet connections with some readers in the past month or so, and just want to extend my gratitude to this community and to YOU for being here.
Big, big imbolc blessings to you all <3