How can we embrace the hope Spring offers in 2025 by appreciating Candlemas/Imbolc?
Last year at this time, you told me you appreciated learning the origins of spiritual practices as the earth moves around the sun. Candlemas/Imbolc (pronounced ‘eem-mulk’) is almost upon us again on February 1st. In Celtic spirituality, Imbolc is about halfway between Winter Solstice/Yule (December 21st) and Spring Equinox/Ostara (March 20th).
In the Christian tradition, Imbolc is called Candlemas as early believers placed candles in windows to ward off evil. In the Celtic tradition, Imbolc translates as ‘in the belly of the Mother’ by the Gaelic Celts of Ireland and Scotland, because seeds are still quietly dormant in the soil and we have hope for growth and renewal very soon.
At Imbolc especially, there are many global traditions involving looking for signs of spring, and one of my favorites is Groundhog Day. If the groundhog sees its shadow, it scoots back into its burrow which tells us that more winter is on the way. If the groundhog does not see its own shadow, it stay out of its burrow, telling us Spring is on the way.
One of my other favorite ditties for Candlemas/Imbolc is “If Candlemas Day be clear and fine, the rest of Winter is left behind; If Candlemas Day be rough and grum, there’s more of Winter left to come.”
I delight in our preoccupation with the weather and seasonal changes. I love looking for early signs of Spring on my daily forest, park and neighborhood walks, and I invite you to do the same. My archived Tea with Terry newsletter offers even more strategies and practices for you to explore: https://spiritfirstcounselling.ca/what-is-imbolc/
I hope you are able to embrace all that the hope of Spring offers you this year. Blessed be.
In Light,
Terry
