How to Celebrate Imbolc
A Celebration of Light, Renewal, and the Stirring Earth
Perhaps you’ve started to notice the shift. Started to feel like there’s an energy inside of you that is ready to make some moves. You’ve been patient, you’ve been resting and taking care of yourself as best you could, but you know that you’re ready for more action, more creativity, more life.
This is the energy of Imbolc.
Imbolc marks a change in the season as the light begins to return and the earth starts to slowly wake up. Typically celebrated on February 1st, we’re at the halfway point between the Winter Solstice (Yule) and the Spring Equinox (Ostara). We have made it through the longest days and weeks of the year, where the darkness has ruled our days and where the world around us… and within us… has felt a bit slower.
Imbolc isn’t just a day though, it’s a season, and the one that ushers us slowly towards the return of spring. While winter is still very much present around us with snow on the ground, trees bare and chilly temperatures, underneath the ground is starting to stir.
Imbolc (which loosely translates to “in the belly”) is an ancient Celtic festival to honor the return of spring and the goddess Brigid (later sainted by the Christian faith) and was traditionally associated with the lambing season. If we think about that literal translation, we think of all that the earth is preparing for come spring… the beginning stages of her fertility that are not yet ready to birth through the frozen ground, but that are growing steadily and patiently in the comfort of her soil.
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Brigid (pronounced BREE-id), is the Celtic Goddess of Spring and is connected to a variety of symbols and parts of life. She is the goddess of hearth and home, healing, creativity, fertility, poetry, and smithwork. She is of the earth and of life… and the energy we can tap into as we feel the season start to shift.
And to be fair, you might already be feeling it.
It’s no coincidence that people are starting to feel a bit stir crazy from the colder days and gray skies (at least here in Michigan). It’s the time where people start jetting off to warmer and sunnier places for a few days of respite and a change of scenery. We’re ready to feel a sense of life with the sun on our skin and vitality that has perhaps been a bit distant during the darker winter days.
How to Celebrate Imbolc
One of the things I love about honoring the seasons is that it doesn’t require anything elaborate. A bit of awareness and a dash of intention and you’re there. Here are a few of my favorite (simple) ways to welcome this seasonal shift and honor Brigid:
Plan your garden – Flip through seed catalogs and dream about what you'll plant this year (and then buy some seeds for yourself 😉).
Winter sow seeds – Get your hands in the dirt and let nature take the lead. A perfect balance of embracing winter while looking ahead to spring.
Light candles - Welcome the returning of the light and the energy of fire. You can even watch the flame for a few moments of mindful meditation.
Clean your home – Clear out the clutter, donate what you don’t use, and refresh your space. Make your home a place you want to be in.
Find your creative spark – Write, read poetry, paint, craft. Do anything that inspires and energizes you.
Step outside – Notice the small shifts around you. Longer daylight, louder birdsong, or maybe even early blooms like snowdrops or crocuses, depending on where you are.
These are just a few ideas, but ultimately, celebrate in a way that feels right for you.
Imbolc is the gentle but powerful reminder that change is always happening, even if we can’t see it yet. The sun lingers a little longer each day now and the earth is waking up. Let us embrace that same energy, recognizing that we’re shifting too.
