Imbolc

Imbolc, Candlemass:

Imbolc ( imolk) is without doubt an ancient festival, chronicled in Ireland in the 8th -9th century, the meaning of it's title long forgotten even then. It was the start of the Spring season when the ewes could be milked and it is thought the name is in some way derived from that. It was a very important date, marking the end of the hardest months and the return of more vegetation and food, sheep having lambed and able to provide vitamin-rich milk when winter stores were depleted.

Pre-Christian customs are difficult to identify for certain, though at some point the date became associated with a known pagan goddess, Brighid, whether she had always been celebrated at this time or was identified with it slightly later due to the properties of the saint with whom she was merged we cannot know. As a goddess she was associated with poetry and learning, healing, smith-craft. As a saint it was animal welfare, care of the needy and mediation of conflicts for which she was best known. In both cases she is associated with fire, through the meaning of Her name. Essentially customs relating to her were found in Ireland and in a few places elsewhere in Britain where there may have been an Irish influence.

These customs concern an evening feast of consisting of breads, cakes, milk and butter. The placing of rush or straw crosses (known as Brighid's crosses) above doors of barns and houses, other protective charms such as rowan and so on may have been used. A doll of straw to represent Her was often made and Her energy invited in to the household to sleep in a prepared bed. Signs of Her visit were sometimes looked for the next day in the ashes of the hearth fire if no sign was found it didn't bode well for the coming season as they were in fact inviting in the Spring.

Another pre-Christians practice concerning the Anglo-Saxons has been documented for this time. It is thought they may have honoured their deities with special cakes during this month, perhaps to encourage a fertile year. This is tenuous but what is interesting is that the Christian ceremony of Candlemass (Mary's purification and return to church) was wholeheartedly taken up in all northern Europe. As the month had been associated with purification because of the pre-Christian Roman rituals welcoming Spring, the idea of purification already had roots here, but the lighting of candles became it's main focus, as the returning of the light was a far more welcome idea! It seems then that candlemass and Imbolc merged very easily and they thrived for a long time. Though as we moved away from the farming year the Spring Equinox took on more of the celebrations and Imbolc and Candlemass diminished.

Imbolc has been revived and renewed today. It is a time to welcome the tentative Spring, as in a warm year things can really begin to grow now. As the winter season closes the last of the foodstuffs may be dwindling or reaching the end of their shelf-life, even though milk may be available. For this reason amongst others Lent is found in early Spring, so the feasting of Imbolc and that of Shrove Tuesday have a common basis, and these two have also become entwined. Pairing off of some birds is already taking place and the mating calls of others beginning to sound if the days are good. As mating has not usually taken place in the bird and animal worlds, we are in a time of childhood, virginal, innocent but there is youthful attraction, as the nearby Valentine's day reminds us, (in Wales there is Saint Dwynwen, patron saint of love). The sunlight is weak and gentle, but ever growing.

So we celebrate new beginnings, the stirring of seeds, the awakening and awareness of childhood and the first steps into the world as an individual, albeit with motherly guidance. Now is the time to put plans in motion, getting them off the drawing-board, preparing for something more definite. A little Spring cleaning and garden clearing is good now, making room for the new energies as they rise up towards the Spring Equinox. Spiritually it is a good time for a fresh start, our winter contemplation may have led us to take new paths or rediscover old ones, now is the time to make that commitment, and see where the path takes us.