Sacred Saunter: Imbolc

Overview

Imbolc is a very old and beautiful Celtic holiday celebrating the return of warmth and the reawakening of life in nature. The word Imbolc is usually understood to mean “in the belly”, and refers to when ewes become pregnant and other life begins to stir. Tenderness, compassion and a focus on community are qualities to focus on at this time. While Imbolc is technically the midpoint between the Winter solstice and the Spring equinox, it is usually celebrated on February 1. (The midpoint is often a little later.)

Life awakening in the wild is itself a demonstration of the importance of community: insects become busy at the same time as the plants or other beings they have relationships with, newborn creatures are lovingly tended to so that they may extend their species and fulfill their roles in the community of all beings, and hibernating mammals awaken to do their part in supporting their local eco-system at the time when food becomes available to them. 

Rather than survival of the fittest, life is much more of a collaboration of eco-system residents. Without the great many symbiotic relationships between species, and care of each other within species, life on Earth would largely collapse.

Maria Popova starts one of her website posts with, “Nothing magnifies life — in the proper sense of the word, rooted in the Latin for “to make greater, to glorify” — more than the act of noticing its details, and nothing sanctifies it more: Kneeling to look at a lichen is a devotional act. We bless our own lives by recognizing and reverencing the details, the miniature marvels that make this improbable world what it is.”

Imbolc, traditionally in Celtic lands, celebrates the time when the Earth begins to reawaken. Depending on where you live, it may come sooner or later than February 1 (or August 1 in the southern hemisphere). In any case, at any time, there are always details to be observed about the land and its beings. Witnessing what life is doing is not just an act of devotion but also an act of compassion. We can develop empathy and a relationship for that which we come to know. 

John O’Donohue writes in Anam Cara, “When your affection is kindled, the world of your intellect takes on a new tenderness and compassion… You look and see and understand differently. Initially, this can be disruptive and awkward, but it gradually refines your sensibility and transforms your way of being in the world.” 

This Imbolc, may we find a deeper way of being in this world.

Wild blessings!

Invitation

Find a place to spend some time outside.

Walk the land noticing small details such as lichen on trees or rocks, melting snow or ice, even the direction clouds are moving in. Use all your senses; can you smell the earth as it thaws, or even if it is still frozen? What leaves or plants close to the ground are green at this time? 

Maple trees are tapped from the start of February or deeper into the month, depending on location. This is because the sap of the trees starts running at this time- when the nights are below freezing but the days are above freezing. Are there any indications you can find or sense that tells you sap is running in the trees?

Open your all your senses, including the ones beyond the five physical senses. Put yourself into a receiving mode to sense the energies around you. Increase your awareness and sense of perception to receive all you can. If you sense something and think it’s just your imagination, that’s okay. Make note of it the same as you would if you had perceived it with your physical senses. 

Before you leave, give an offering of gratitude. It can be simply words of thanks or a song or a blessing you give to the beings you spent time with.

Reflection questions

What were the most notable things you witnessed in nature on this saunter? Why are they notable to you? Does that notability speak to or mirror, maybe as metaphor, anything happening in your life right now?

Is there something that you became aware of or noticed for the first time? Can you find beauty in it? If so, can you write a short poem or letter to it about it’s beauty?

Resources

There are many websites about Imbolc. A few of them are:

https://www.newgrange.com/imbolc.htm

https://religionmediacentre.org.uk/factsheets/factsheet-the-festival-of-imbolc/

https://www.thereisadayforthat.com/holidays/ireland/imbolc

Website https://www.themarginalian.org/ is written by Maria Popova, a poetic author in search of the meaning of life. Highly recommended. Likewise her Almanac of Birds, a 100 card deck of artwork and poetry at https://www.themarginalian.org/2024/07/26/almanac-of-birds/

The Lost Art of Reading Nature’s Signs book by Tristan Gooley. Enthralling read that is all about seeing what we normally dismiss, the endless relationships and the giftings in nature.