Imbolc: February Marks the REAL New Year
If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, have you ever noticed that you really don’t feel like starting over on January 1?
And, by the time you have recovered from the festive season, you may have felt it’s too late to really make changes?
It’s like the new year has started without you . . . except that even those who made a brave start toward their goals and dreams have already fallen off the wagon after a couple of weeks.
There is a reason for this. The “new year” isn’t where it’s supposed to be. And on January 1, here in the north, days are the shortest they will be, the sun is dim, weather is its coldest, and (at least for me) the lure of hibernation is strong.
But that’s ok. Nature wants us to rest and hibernate.
So if that’s what you’ve felt like doing, you’re in tune with nature.
And, we’re just coming into the right time: February.
Our ancestors knew this: Three different celebrations, all with northern European roots and celebrated on February 1 or 2, mark the true “new year” or return to light and life.
From Feburary through the spring equinox/Ostara (March 20-21), nature, animals, and humans slowly revive — just the way it was always meant to be.
Those three February events are Imbolc, Candlemas, and Groundhog Day. More about each of them later, and you’ll learn some magical practices to make the most of this season.
First, let’s look at why this is the perfect time of year to start living your vision for your dream life — because nature is supporting you the most right now.
Why This is the Most Magical Time to Start Over
If you always notice a brightening in your mood when February begins, there are several good reasons.
As February begins, the Northern Hemisphere experiences a gradual but noticeable increase in daylight.
Since the winter solstice in late December, daylight hours are slowly increasing, and by February, we can really feel it.
You might be feeling happy emotions of “maybe” or “why not” rather than “I’m too tired” or “that won’t work.”
Just look at the plants
While it may still be too cold for buds on trees, many plants are beginning to come to life. Snowdrops and crocuses are among the first flowers to emerge, even pushing up through snow and ice — just like us.
Animals, too
Many species, including groundhogs, bears, and hedgehogs, begin emerging from their dens as they sense the shift in seasonal light. The folklore of groundhogs predicting spring is based on this.
Migratory birds begin their return journeys from warmer climates, and some species start early mating behaviors, preparing nests for the next generation.
If all of nature is waking up, let’s join them
For humans as well, more sun boosts serotonin levels, helping relieve seasonal affective disorder (SAD), a type of depression that occurs due to the lack of winter light.
This new season of hopefulness and new energy is reflected in our ancient rituals. Let’s take a look at three early February traditions that get us ready to wake up from winter.
Imbolc: Waking Up From the Cold
Imbolc (“IM-bolk”) is an ancient Celtic festival celebrated on February 1, marking the midpoint between the winter solstice and the spring equinox.
“Imbolc” derives from the Old Irish i mbolc, meaning “in the belly” — the coming birth of lambs and the abundance they bring to herders. And maybe the creation of anything that you want to bring to life this year.
For the Celts their animals and crops were the only means of survival, and Imbolc was a time to perform rituals to bless their herds and land prepare for the planting season — and to ask for the blessings of goddess Brigid.
About Goddess Brigid
Brigid (“Exalted One”) is the deity of Imbolc, and perhaps the most popular god of the Celtic pantheon.
As the goddess of fire, poetry, healing, prophecy, childbirth, inspiration, the hearth — and patron of warfare as Briga (one of her many names) — she is still very much venerated today.
Her soldiers were called brigands (with the ancient meaning of brave foot soldier . . . but there might also be a little of its current, take-from-the-rich-give-to-the-poor, meaning as well).
It can be difficult to know where tales of goddess Brigid and the medieval “St.” Brigid of Kildare each begin and end. Many think that the Christian St. Brigid is a reincarnation of the goddess — especially since both have Druidic roots.
There are many miracle stories surrounding Brigid and it’s hard to say whether they came from the goddess or the “saint.” Or a combination of both.
In 1969, Pope Paul VI dropped St. Brigid of Kildare from the Roman Catholic calendar, citing a lack of evidence for her existence. Lack of medieval Catholic evidence, that is.
I believe that the legends of “St.” Brigid are stories of the powerful goddess Brigid — and that the only way the Celts could keep her with them was to make her one of the invading Catholic system of saints.
And I also believe that she was and is a “brigand” in the 12th century Robin-Hood mold.
Imbolc Traditions
On Imbolc Eve, Brigid visits households and blesses those within. In preparation for this, many rituals take place. Here are a few of them:
Spring Cleaning and Divination
In Ireland, spring cleaning was on the schedule and I imagine they did it for the same reasons we do: To let in fresh air and deep clean the household dirt that’s much more difficult to see in the pale light of winter.
But, the Celts had a couple of special twists for Imbolc Eve:
As part of the cleaning, they made a bed for Brigid, in preparation to invite her for a sleepover that evening.
There’s a hearth cleaning, too, with divination. Hearth ashes were raked smooth, and, in the morning, people would look for some mark on the ashes as a sign that Brigid had visited.
Speaking of divination, there were other forms practiced, too, at this time of year.
Weather Divination
Imbolc, like Groundhog Day (more on that below) uses weather divination to predict when warmer weather will begin — watching to see if serpents or badgers come out from their winter dens.
Imbolc was believed to be when the Cailleach—the Gaelic divine hag — gathers her firewood for the rest of the winter. If she wants her season of power to last, she will make sure the weather on Imbolc is bright and sunny so that she can gather plenty of firewood. If the weather is cloudy, it means the Cailleach is asleep and winter is almost over.
Observing the temperature, weather patterns, clouds, signs of growth in nature, behavior of birds and animals — all were used to foretell the fortunes of the coming seasons.
Brigid’s Cloak
Brat bhride is the leaving of clothing or strips of cloth outside for Brigid to bless. They’re typical strewn on a bush or left hanging from the branches of an oak, hawthorn, or ash tree, but you can adapt to what’s available where you live.
I leave mine hanging from my back porch door since I live in an urban area.
The next morning, you collect them and they’re believed to have powers of healing and protection for you.
A variant is to make a wish when tying a piece of cloth to a sacred tree. The cloth is left to disintegrate in the elements and when all trace of it is gone, the wish is granted.
Offerings are often left: milk poured on the ground under the tree (or left in a bowl at your door) or porridge (oatmeal) poured into a river or stream near the tree.
But you can make offerings in your own way.
Food Offerings for Brigid
Milk, honey, oats, and butter symbolize Brigid's nurturing and life-sustaining blessings.
Cakes or bread left outside on the windowsill or near the door are touched by Brigid overnight, and when eaten help ward off illness and bring good fortune.
Dairy products are a sacred food and come with the request that Brigid bless the flocks, as lambing season is about to begin and ewes will be feeding their young (as well as humans).
Brigid’s Crosses
This three- or four-armed solar symbol attracts the protection of the Sun, and guards against bad fortune.
Woven of straw or rushes, they are hung above doors, windows, and stables to welcome Brigid and to receive her protection against fire, lightning, illness, and evil spirits.
Crosses remain, guarding the house until they are replaced on Imbolc the next year.
The Brideog & Inviting Brigid to Stay
Girls make a doll known as a Brídeóg (“little Brigid”), made of rushes or reeds, and take it visiting to every house in the village.
There they receive food or decorations for the Brídeóg. Afterward, they feast in a house with the Brídeóg set in a place of honour, and put it to bed with lullabies.
In some places, a girl took on the role of Brigid. Escorted by other girls, she went house-to-house wearing “Brigid's crown” and carrying “Brigid's shield” and “Brigid's cross,” all made from rushes.
Some families participate in a different ritual of inviting Brigid to stay overnight on Imbolc Eve.
A family member plays the role of Brigid circling the house three times carrying a bundle of rushes.
After each circumambulation, she knocks on the front door, asking to be let in. On the third attempt, she is welcomed in, a place is laid for her to join the family in a festive meal, and the rushes are made into Brigid’s Crosses or into a bed for Brigid.
After the meal, someone would then call out three times: “Bríd, Bríd, come in; thy bed is ready.” A small doll made of the rushes above would be laid in the bed and a white wand, usually made of birch, would be laid beside it.
This represented the wand that Brigid was said to use to make the vegetation start growing again.
Sometimes, the bed is laid in the barn, along with food, ale, and a candle. In this way, Brigid blesses all of the livestock and tools within.
Pilgrimage to Brigid’s Wells
On Imbolc day, people visit one of the many holy wells dedicated to Brigid and pray for health while walking sunwise around the well.
They might leave offerings, typically coins or strips of cloth or ribbon (see Brigid’s Cloak above). They may take home water from the well to bless the home, family members, livestock, and fields.
Pictured here is Brigid’s Well in Kildare. It is fed by a spring that flows underground before appearing under the stone archway.
Imbolc Bonfires
Bonfires are often a focal point of Imbolc. They celebrate Brigid’s fiery aspect of transformation, creativity, inspiration, and “lighting a fire under yourself” to make the changes you need.
Bonfires can include evergreen boughs and other natural materials from Yule celebrations and the winter which is passing.
Lighting a fire in Brigid’s honor invites her protection and blessings for you, your household and your community.
People often leap over or walk around bonfires, believing the fire cleanses their spirits of any negativity or curses from the previous year.
Candlemas: A Christian Feast of Light
Candlemas, February 2, the day after Imbolc, is a Christian festival that is said to commemorate the presentation of Jesus at the temple.
Its roots lie in Jewish tradition, in which a mother underwent purification rituals forty days after childbirth. (As if women were somehow “unclean” and needed to be “purified”.)
Since Christmas is celebrated on December 25 (which is derived from the pre-Christian winter solstice and Roman Saturnalia), Candlemas falls exactly forty days later.
As with nearly all Christian holidays, traditions are based on (or stolen from) much older pagan practices. This was done in order to more easily convert people who did not want to accept a foreign god and did not want to give up their traditional beliefs and rituals.
We also see this same motivation with the practice of appropriating pagan gods as Catholic saints, such as goddess Brigid.
Candlemas Traditions and Customs
Candlemas customs historically included candlelit processions, prayers for protection, and the blessing of agricultural fields in preparation for spring planting. In some countries, it was believed that Candlemas weather could predict the length of winter, much like Groundhog Day.
Sound like Imbolc? What a coincidence.
Candlemas customs vary across Christian denominations but often include:
Blessing of candles to be used throughout the year.
Candlelit processions reflecting the journey to the temple — or originally, processions as seen above with the Brideog.
Removal of Christmas decorations symbolizing the conclusion of the season. (A similar, much older, pagan tradition burns evergreen boughs from Yule in the Imbolc bonfire.)
Special foods: In France, it is traditional to eat crêpes, with their round, golden shape representing the Sun (again, a pagan-based tradition). In Mexico, families gather to share tamales and atole, a tradition that stemmed from the food’s significance as a sacred food offered to gods in Mesoamerica.
Groundhog Day and Imbolc Weather Prediction
Groundhog Day is an American tradition with roots in European weather lore.
The belief is: If a groundhog emerges from its burrow on February 2 and sees its shadow, winter will persist for six more weeks; if not, an early spring is hoped for.
When German immigrants settled in Pennsylvania, they adapted this belief substituting the groundhog (a local hibernating animal) for the European hedgehog or badger.
(More on similar Imbolc rituals above, under Spring Cleaning and Divination.)
Although Groundhog Day is seen as a fun, silly tradition, with revelers dressed in 19th century attire and a cuddly (and confused) groundhog as the focal point, the event is loosely based on real biological phenomena.
Groundhogs enter hibernation in the late fall and emerge in early spring, responding to temperature changes and the availability of food.
Winter-to-spring ancient weather prognostications reflect concerns about planting, animal breeding, and the growing season. All very important to farming cultures.
Groundhog Day in the United States
In 1887, the most famous Groundhog Day event began in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, featuring the groundhog known as Punxsutawney Phil.
Despite a prediction accuracy rate of only 35%, the tradition endures as a festival that begins at dawn.
The 1993 Bill Murray film Groundhog Day is the tale of a narcissistic weatherman covering the annual event — and becomes trapped in his own, personal return of the Sun experience as he relives Groundhog Day over and over. Until he is finally learns to be human, as someone the goddess would be proud of.
The observation of animal behavior has always been part of humankind’s rituals of inviting the spring goddess to bless the land, the trees, the seeds, the herds, and, of course, hoping for an early spring and good weather — no matter which country we live in.
