The Promise of Spring

January always seems such a long month with the short days and gloomy weather, but it’s end is in sight and the promise of Spring is just around the corner. Next week we finally say ‘farewell’ to January and with the turning of the wheel of the year we welcome February with the celebration that is Imbolc. Imbolc, also known as Candlemas or the Feast of Brigid is celebrated on the 1st & 2nd February and marks the mid-point between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox. Imbolc is the promise that Winter doesn’t last forever, and that Spring will soon be round the corner.

Imbolc is Celtic for “in the belly” and honours Brigid, the Goddess of healers, poets, smiths, childbirth, fire and the hearth. Imbolc is a time for purification after the excesses and slumber of Winter, a time of renewal, planning and setting intentions. It is a wonderful time to declutter, plan you garden for the coming of Spring and to sow the seeds of your goals for the coming year. Make a list of your goals & wishes for the year ahead and start planning how you are going to reach them.

There is some interesting weather lore associated with Imbolc

“If Candlemas Day be fair and bright

Winter will have another flight

But if it be dark with clouds and rain

Winter is gone, and will not come again”

This weather lore plays out in a couple of infamous folklore. In Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, if the Groundhog “Punxsutawney Phil” comes out of his burrow on 2nd February and sees his shadow, then 6 more weeks of winter will prevail. In Celtic folklore, on Imbolc the Cailleach, the Goddess of the Winter months, runs out of her store of winter firewood and goes to gather more. If the day is fine and dry, it means that she will be able to gather more firewood and prolong the harsh winter months, but if it rains, she will have no fuel and so will have to give way to spring.

There are some wonderful herbs associated with Imbolc, including basil, bay leaf, dandelion, angelica and Violet. Dandelion roots are especially sweet this time of year and make a great decoction to help cleanse and balance the body ready for Spring. A decoction is like an infusion, but the herbs are simmered in water until some of the liquid has evaporated rather than infused in boiling water. A decoction is used for the tougher parts of a plant such as the roots, bark or seeds. To make a standard decoction of dandelion root, put 30gsm of cleaned fresh root and 1 litre of water in a pot, cover, and bring to a low simmer for 10-20 minutes. Turn off the heat and steep for an additional hour. Decoctions can be drunk hot or cold and should keep for up to 3 days in the fridge. Drink 60-100ml 3 times a day.

Over the past week I’ve started to feel a stirring and a shift in energy, the days are getting longer as the sun is creeping higher in the sky day by day and I've started to plan what I am going to do with our garden this year. You can also feel Mother Nature awakening from her Winter slumber and the birds are also starting to change their tune and getting ready for Spring. Our garden robin has found a mate and it has been a delight to watch the pair of them ‘out on a date’ on our bird feeder this week.  There may still be cold times ahead (especially if the 1st February is fair and bright), but there is hope that the warmer sunny days will return and new life will abound with the onset of Spring. Have a wonderful Imbolc and know that after this point we can start to look forward to Spring and all the joys she brings.

Tuning into Mother Nature’s cycles is a great way to tune into our own natural rhythms and cycles, after all we are nature too.