Imbolc - the festival of Spring's return

February 1st is the celebration of Imbolc or Óimelc, the Celtic festival marking the return of spring and the beginning of new life.

Perhaps today is a good day to take time to reflect on what you’re ready to let go of and the fresh starts you’re ready to embrace.

Imbolc is one of the four magical 'cross-quarter' Celtic festivals in the year, going back to Druid times. It connects us to the cycles of nature and the resilience of spring’s arrival after the dark of winter as it comes half way between the winter solstice and spring equinox.

Imbolc was a festival of the Celtic pastoral and herding community culture, timed to the lambing season. (In Britain, lambs typically start to arrive in February.) The milk and foods the sheep herds provided after a long, hard winter was a matter of life and death to early Celtic people. Surviving the cold, harsh winter was something to be celebrated. These were communities whose very survival was tied to the weather and the land.

Imbolc is also associated with Brighid, the Maiden Goddess of fertility and renewal, and the waning of Cailleach's winter power. The Cailleach — the Winter Hag or Ice Queen — was a figure in Scottish and Irish folklore who represented winter’s harshness. Tradition holds that on Imbolc, the Cailleach gathers firewood for the remaining cold months. If she intends to prolong winter, she ensures February 1st is bright and sunny, allowing her to collect ample wood. Conversely, a day of foul weather suggests she’s asleep, and winter will soon yield to spring. 

(There are many stories similar in other, more modern cultures, such as Groundhog Day and Punxsutawney Phil in the United States and Canada on February 2nd.)

Imbolc firmly tied to Bride's Day, and also to the Christian celebration of Candlemas, a time when we take a final look back at winter. Candlemas is celebrated the day after Bride's Day, a day also known as the ‘Purification of the Virgin Mary’. On Candlemas, the members of the parish carry their lighted candles in a procession around the church, then the priest blesses the candles.

To learn more about the Wheel of the Year, visit Druidry.org's website.

Imbolc Traditions

A tradition in the Highlands and Ireland is to put a strip of cloth or ribbon outside your door on Imbolc Eve for Brigit to bless. This cloth represents her mantle and can be used for healing throughout the year. This is connected to the tradition of the weaving of a Bride's Crosses for St Bride.

You can also collect the dew before dawn on the cloth to bring healing properties of both dew and cloth (e.g. a scarf) for the rest of the year.

Light candles to symbolise the growing sunlight and the warmth of the hearth.

For more fascinating detail about Imbolc, visit Druidry.org.

Pilgrimage connections

Perhaps find a pilgrimage route where you can enjoy the beauty of snowdrops, or even spot new lambs in the fields.

St Edwards Way will take you to Shaftesbury which has a snowdrop festival in February.

Any of the Ways to Walsingham will bring you to drifts of flowers all around the ruins.

The Welsh Cistercian Way will take you near Penrhyn Castle which has an impressive display (and an admission fee via The National Trust).

A short detour from the Whithorn Way will take you to Threave Garden and nature reserve in Castle Douglas. You will find snowdrops growing everywhere though, as a common feature in churchyards and damp woodland all over the UK.

‍