Happy Imbolc!
February 2
Imbolc is an ancient festival, Celtic in origin, and considered one of
the greater Wiccan sabbats.
It is celebrated on the night of February
1st in the northern hemisphere.
The primary purpose of Imbolc is to celebrate Spring's impending
replacement of Winter.
In this sense, Imbolc may be seen as a
spiritual alternative to the secular celebration
of New Year's Eve.
At New Year's Eve, we often see the image of old, bearded Father Time
replaced with a young baby.
Father Time represents the old, outgoing
year, and the baby celebrates the year just born.
At Imbolc, we have
similar imagery; an old crone represents the outgoing year, and turns
things over
to a young maiden.
Fertility, of course, plays a part here. The frozen earth is incapable
of growing things,
just as the old crone has grown incapable of
producing offspring.
This barrenness is replaced by the warm return of
Spring, making the earth once again fertile,
symbolized by the fertile
young maiden.
Imbolc is a time of celebration and ritual, often honoring Brighid, the
goddess of the hearth.
This is also a time of new beginnings and of
purification. Celebrate the Imbolc season by performing rites
and
rituals that honor the themes of the end of winter.
