Celebrating Imbolc has been a bit of a challenge in 2021. For those of you that don't know, Imbolc is a traditional Pagan festival that marks the start of Spring on the 1st of February. It can feel like a quiet festival; most of the time the land is still in the grip of winter and I am still in hibernation mode (wear a duvet like a cape all day and feast on mac and cheese most nights). However, new life is emerging. Buds start to appear, the blossom is on its way and the light is growing.
It is a time to shake off the cobwebs, get some spring cleaning done (*not* something I generally leap to do), get outside and breathe in that fresh air and start up some shiny new projects. However, this year is different (understatement of the century). The world is still in the grip of Covid-19 and for those of us who are medically vulnerable (or have medically vulnerable loved ones), it is still a time when even going outside involves shrinking away from others on the street in horror. It has been a tough time to try and feel full of the joys of Spring!
Nevertheless, part of being a Priestess is facing the fear and doing it anyway (unless that fear involves jumping into a scorpion pit in which case I'd advise NOT doing it). And so I carefully created my Imbolc altar and planned a little ritual. I dressed my seasonal alter in green and white and added white candles, images of the Goddess Bridie and little bowls of soil. (I live in a studio flat in London and so obtaining the soil involved going out to the communal grassy area after dark and surreptitiously collecting soil with a bowl and a spoon). To celebrate Imbolc and welcome the first stirrings of spring we wrote our hopes, dreams and plans for this year on pieces of paper and then 'planted' them in our little bowls of soil. We lit white candles and welcomed back the light, we gave thanks to Bridie for her fire and her inspiration... and we visualised a 2021 in which Covid-19 finally buggers off.
A few days later we planted our pieces of paper in Greenwich Park (and then spent quite some time stopping our little sausage dog from digging them up).
Bright Blessings to all... and may this year be brighter than the last!
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