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Imbolc (pronounced im-bullug or im-bulk) is the Pagan festival at the beginning of February - historically Celts celebrated Imbolc any time between January and February but we know it as around 1st/2nd February.
This time celebrates the coming of the light, welcoming the return of the regenerative heat of the sun, and saying goodbye to the winter. This can mean releasing our own personal winter, the time we have spent in the darkness, understanding the lessons it has taught us, giving us time to root ourselves. Because we can only grow and stretch in the light when we have grounded ourselves in the teachings of the dark.
The image is of the cross of Brigid, a Celtic Goddess closely associated with Imbolc, and she is the Goddess of fertility, love, creation, new life, light and - in my experience of working with her energy - is an incredibly beautiful presence protecting all that is pure and loving. She is the Goddess of healers, poets, creativity, childbirth and of the element Fire and she is known by many names including The Bride and Queen Of The Heavens. Brigid is also part of the lunar cycle of Maiden, Mother and Crone - she is the Maiden of the waxing Moon, which we have this coming week until the Full Moon on the 9th February. Animals sacred to Brigid are the cow and the ewe.
The location of my main practice - East Kilbride - is a town named after her. Kilbride is translated as 'the clients or companions of the Bride' and it's likely that Gaelic monks from Ireland introduced the worship of Her to Scotland, with many ancestral sites of sacred wells and stone crosses discovered across the town.
Like the early new leaves of the first sprouting bulbs, we can begin to take our first tentative steps toward the Sun, allowing its warmth to soak into our bones. Take a walk outdoors and be aware of the presence of the early signs of new life. Light a candle with the intention of bringing in the loving light of Brigid, the increasing solar energy and its Fire Of Renewal, and may Imbolc give you the power and strength to break through your time in the darkness to a glorious new light-filled beginning.💗
Andrea
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