Imbolc

St Brigid’s Eve

Imbolc Eve.

Here we are, midwinter long past us by, Imbolc on her way in the morning, the hold of winter’s grip loosening more each day.

We are making our way out of dream-time. 

Our ancestors would have been awakening now in more ways than one , having leaned into the wisdom of hearth and soil and omen these last weeks; they would have been moving into the next part of the cycle refreshed, inspired, ready for all that is ahead.

We make the journey toward Imbolc a little differently from those who came before but I can think of no time more than now in which we could do with some guidance.

Imbolc / / In the belly. 

Seeds. 

A time for all that has been held safely in the womb to meet the brightening earth. 

We are making our way towards the spring; towards the light. 

Brigid is an intriguing and important figure indeed. 

Born on the threshold of a door neither within or without the house, at the breaking of dawn when neither night nor day held their sway, Brigid is a figure of liminality.  

She guides the journey from winter into spring in Ireland and represents our relationship with the feminine. Her roots are entwined with a much older, pagan goddess, whose festival at Imbolc welcomed the return of lighter days after the darkness of winter.

Patron saint of babies; seafarers; children whose parents are unmarried or born into abusive unions; Ireland; the poor and more besides -she represents those voices that for centuries have been silenced. 

She saw the darkness of the old ways and shone a light on them, showing strength, resilience and that unnamable thing that flows through the blood of a woman. 

I’ve always felt drawn to this moment in our year, even though I’m a lover of winter. Something about this time where we are half way between the winter solstice and spring equinox appeals to my obsession with in between times; liminal days; thin places. 

It’s something about the light, of course. It seems always to be something about the light for me.

It feels an even more special time of the year’s circle for me now, marking a year since we made the move to the west of Ireland, here to this welcoming community of outsiders and locals living side by side. 

Community, how we exist by one another’s side, is a core theme for me at Imbolc.

Journaling has long been an important thing for me to try to become more attuned to the earth and her messages, particularly at this potent, fertile part of the circle.

An invitation…

I would love to invite you to share with me in a journaling prompt as we leave this Dreamtime, and are led towards this time of reawakening….