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Imbolc, Tending the fire in the belly

pjconnery

Updated: Feb 3


I am stirring in your belly which knows exactly what you are capable - and that it's time the world found out. 

I am the fire within which will not be contained any longer. 

I am the quickening, I am the serpent uncoiling, I am Imbolc. 

I am the dream of awakening. 

Imbolc, by Caroline Mellor


Imbolc arrives at the beginning of February, marking the halfway point between the darkness of the Winter Solstice and the equal day and night of the Spring Equinox. With January now behind us, Springs hardy pioneers the snowdrops, crocus and daffodils, raise their head above ground to show us that a great transition is taking place. Winter is receding and spring is finally on its way, if not yet fully here.


As with all the transitions on the Celtic Wheel, Imbolc reminds us that the seasons are constantly changing, nothing staying still for long, and as Octavia Butler tells us "the only lasting truth is change." Its a simple truth that we often fight against through out the year, not realising that the more we align ourselves with the ebb and flow of these seasonal shifts, the more our lives return to balance with the Earth's natural rhythms, offering us the chance to live more at ease.


I've been following the Celtic Wheel (see diagram below) for around 15 years now, still learning, still finding new wonders and depths with each passing revolution. There is no real beginning or end to the wheel but I really love Imbolc and it feels like as good a place as any to jump in and start to really feel the energies of this time of year, pregnant with new hope and new beginnings, the gateway to the grand transition between Winter and Spring.


Imbolc, meaning 'in the belly' in old Irish, marks a time when the earth is pregnant with new life, yet it is still hidden underground, not quite ready to emerge.


Imbolc is also Saint/Goddess Brigid's Day a celebration in Ireland of both Saint Brigid and her pagan predecessor of the same name, who was said to have enabled the Irish to see land for the first time, enabling the birth of Ireland itself. Brigid was an earth goddess whose stories go back thousands of years and is known as the goddess of hearth/fire, arts/crafts and midwife/healer.


Brigid was seen also seen as the keeper of the hearth and heart fire, the most important part of a traditional home. Brigid is the bridge between old and new, between the death of Winter to the miracle of life in Spring. Just as Brigid enables new life to emerge, she is also the patron saint of midwives.


The Christian St Brigid lived in the 5th and 6th centuries, a fiercely independent woman who fought against forced marriage, brewed beer from lakes and managed 15,000 nuns, becoming an abbess-bishop in Kildare, starting a line of female bishops which ran for hundreds of years.


Since 2023, Brigid's Day has became a national holiday in Ireland as people look back to the older traditions and ways of celebrating the seasonal transitions to create something that's just as relevant for us today.


We are living in extraordinary times where the call to step through our limitations and fears, to grow into whoever we were born to be, grows stronger and stronger.


What is awakening in you right now as we cross this threshold?

What fire is in your belly?

What needs tending to in your heart/hearth?

What is uncoiling within you?

What is calling to you to be born into the world?


Spend some time over Imbolc, go out into nature, if you can, and find stillness, opening up and responding to whatever you feel is calling you. Now may not be the time to leap into action but its a great time for nurturing ourselves, a time for tending to our fire.


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To delve deeper into the meanings behind Imbolc immerse yourself in the wonderful poem Imbolc by Caroline Mellor - https://womenspiritualpoetry.blogspot.com/2016/02/imbolc-by-caroline-mellor.html





1 Comment


Nicola Mostyn
Nicola Mostyn
Feb 03

Beautiful! 🔥🌷

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