Imbolc reflections and seasonal playlist
Celebrating Imbolc: through breathwork or ritual, including a playlist and journal prompts
When? 01st - 2nd February
Direction/Element: North and the element of Earth: the physical world, balance, regeneration into East and the element of air: vibration, communication and connection
Themes: emergence, the promise of Spring, fire, fertility
Very often, for me, January feels eternal and spring feels like it will never come so the arrival of this festival always feels like a beacon of light in the darkness. I have been reflecting that the energy of January and shifting from deepest winter into the promise of spring feels visceral in a way that other seasonal transitions don’t. I suppose it’s not surprising given that the first part of the year has a waxing or building energy.
Today I’m sharing some reflections about this celebration, and the promise of Spring’s emergence. If you’re new here I’m Laura, a counsellor, nature therapist, somatic therapist and space holder. I’m also a Pagan Priestess. As well as reflections you’ll find journal prompts and a curated playlist. I have been sharing playlists around the Celtic Pagan Wheel of the Year for some time now. Each time the wheel turns I update my post and playlist from the previous year. This is always a really interesting exercise in observing my own repeating themes and cycles.
Transitioning from Winter to Spring: nature is starting to emerge
This year, in particular, the shift from the energy of winter into allowing the potential of spring to feel present felt very definite. There is still frost up in the hills but down in the valleys there are snowdrops starting to emerge from the slowly warming winter earth.
This is one of the eight celebration days in Celtic spirituality and contemporary paganism. These celebrations include the solstices, equinoxes, and the four cross-quarter days that fall between them. This festival is a cross-quarter day that sits halfway between the Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox. It is also known as Feile Brighde or “the quickening of the year”. It’s marks the beginning of lambing season and this is another signs of new life after the earth has laid fallow and barren through the winter.
As I write this, it’s beautifully sunny outside but all of nature has been sleeping and fallow over the winter. We are only just starting to emerge. This time is a celebration of that emergence. It isn’t a time to rush into doing, it’s a time to reflect on the path we’ve walked through the winter months and the seeds of intention we will be planting for the coming year.
The foundations of this celebration
As well as the turning seasons, The Wheel of the Year is shaped the four sacred directions and their elements. This celebration takes place during the winter and is associated with the direction of the North. North is the realm of the body, where we connect with our physical self and the solid, groundedness of the physical world around us.
At this point on the Wheel of the Year we are transitioning from the element of Earth, which is associated with nurturing, sustaining and regeneration, to the element of Air, which is associated with rebirth, inspiration and new beginnings.
Archetypal energies that are associated with this time include Brigid, also known as Brigantia, Brid, Bride and Brigit. Brigid is a Celtic Triple Goddess, who later became a Christian saint. Brigit is the goddess of poetry and creativity, fire and the forge and healing and fertility. She represents a spark; of creativity, of fire and of renewed or new life. Brigid, as a goddess of fire, brings the warmth that begins to thaw the land after the darkness of winter.
The Initiate or The Maiden archetypes also connect to this time of the year. The Maiden archetype represents the youthful, free-spirited stage of a woman’s journey our journey, symbolising exploration and self-discovery. As non-gendered alternative, The Initiate embodies beginnings, curiosity and the courage to step into the unknown. Whether you align with The Initiate or The Maiden, this archetypal energy represents emergence and the unfolding of potential.
For a full list of pagan holidays and pagan festivities check out my post about The Wheel of the Year.
A time for initiation and healing, for reclaiming what has been forgotten.
In Glennie Kindred’s Sacred Earth Celebrations book she shares the following:
Here at Imbolc the unconscious is emerging from the time of incubation and rest, revitalized, potent and fertile. Imbolc is the time for initiation and healing, for reclaiming what has been forgotten. It is a time for invocation of the life force and working with the dynamics of its potency.
We are trying in our own way to live the dreams and visions of a new age, but we are still bound by our old conditioning and life patterns. We each carry the seeds of a new vision, of a new way of being. Each time these visions re-emerge after the incubation period of winter, they are stronger and we are surer.
Now is the time to prepare inwardly for the changes that will come. Plant your ideas and leave them to germinate. Bring your visions and inner understandings out through poetry, song and art.
A seasonal breathwork or ritual playlist
You can use this playlist for ritual, journalling, breath work or any other practice that supports you to connect with yourself and explore the themes I’ve talked about. I’ve shared some suggested journal prompts below, along with a suggestion for a ritual practice. If you’d like to find out more about breath work, or pranayama, you can check out my post about how to practice breath work.
Imbolc journal prompts
Here are some prompts that you might like to reflect on as part of your practice:
How do I feel about the ideas of rebirth, transformation, and change?
What do I need to cleanse or clear out at this time?
How can I bring fire into my life, to celebrate the return of the sun?
As I walk through the world, what emerging signs of Spring can I notice?
What do I need to nurture?
What seeds am I planting for the year ahead
Seasonal rituals to explore
I’ve shared some simple rituals for daily life in this post
Other simple ideas for rituals might include:
Lighting a candle
Journalling (perhaps using the prompts above)
Intuitive movement to connect with your body
Making an offering to the earth or nature (making sure its biodegradable!)
Pulling oracle or tarot cards as a tool for reflection
Setting intentions
