1 FEBRUARY - IMBOLC (pronounced Imulk)
Imbolc was the second of the four great Fire Festivals. It was a time of the year seeing the birth of the first lambs. Imbolc means ‘in milk’. Ewes aren’t able to produce milk until they have their lambs and this marks the beginning of the lambing season. Since milk is necessary for the survival of the Celts, Imbolc was a time of great joy.
The end of the winter was now in sight and soon the lands would become green again: a time of awakening and hope for the coming spring.
For the Celts, this was Feile Brighde, the ‘quickening’ of the year. This is a celebration of hope and readiness for the Spring. At Imbolc the Celts would let go of the past and look to the future with renewed optimism.
This Celtic festival honoured the lighting of Brgid’s revitalising fire. Brigid is a Goddess of healing and poetry, of the Sun, Fire and the Hearth. Brigid brings fertility to the land and its people. At Imbolc, Brigid represents the Maiden aspect of the Triple Goddess. This is when she was pregnant with the seed of the Sun and the promise of new life. Seeds were beginning to awaken deep within the earth in preparation for Spring.
Imbolc was the second of the four great Fire Festivals. It was a time of the year seeing the birth of the first lambs. Imbolc means ‘in milk’. Ewes aren’t able to produce milk until they have their lambs and this marks the beginning of the lambing season. Since milk is necessary for the survival of the Celts, Imbolc was a time of great joy.
The end of the winter was now in sight and soon the lands would become green again: a time of awakening and hope for the coming spring.
For the Celts, this was Feile Brighde, the ‘quickening’ of the year. This is a celebration of hope and readiness for the Spring. At Imbolc the Celts would let go of the past and look to the future with renewed optimism.
This Celtic festival honoured the lighting of Brgid’s revitalising fire. Brigid is a Goddess of healing and poetry, of the Sun, Fire and the Hearth. Brigid brings fertility to the land and its people. At Imbolc, Brigid represents the Maiden aspect of the Triple Goddess. This is when she was pregnant with the seed of the Sun and the promise of new life. Seeds were beginning to awaken deep within the earth in preparation for Spring.