The next three days, starting today, are very sacred ones in many traditions. In the Northern Hemisphere, they celebrate the first stirrings of spring, the stirrings that we in Maine find hard to appreciate quite yet. Now is the time to notice. It is undeniable that the light is growing, and it will continue to grow no matter the temperatures, ice, and snow. Nor can the human-made catastrophes around us stop it.
Today, February 1st, is Imbolc to Pagans, Candlemas to Christians, and is also celebrated as St. Brigit's Day, especially in Ireland. Today is the first day Imbolc is celebrated, but some celebrate Her day on Feb. 2 and others on February 3rd. This year Chinese New Year is celebrated today and the Shinto festival, Setsubun, celebrated the day before the beginning of spring, falls on February 3rd. (It can fall anywhere between February 1st and 4th.) Today is also the deepest day of the Dark Moon, when we can not see her at all, but She, too, will be with us for several more days—until we see the sliver of the New Moon, possibly this Thursday, February 3rd. Look to the west at dusk for her coming.
I believe these High Holy Days deserve to be celebrated not as a day, but as a season—and may once have been. That's why I say, "Happy Imbolc-Tide!" In my observations, I have found that the energy of celestial events and the most sacred days of the year linger longer than a single day. This is good, not only because it makes it easier not to miss celebrating them in our busy modern lives. I also think that's how life works. We cycle round and round again. One phase fades and is replaced by something new. The special holy days help us humans to notice, remember, and move with the Holy, in this sacred, circle dance—everyday.
In the coming days, may we feel and notice stirrings of spring in the air, in the light, with the shifting Moon, and in our Hearts.
Lindy Gifford is an artist, photographer, graphic designer, creative coach, and writer, ordained an interfaith chaplain in 2015 by the Chaplaincy Institute of Maine (ChIME). A life-long Unitarian Universalist, she is rooted in daily interaction with and connection to the Earth and Creation, as well as the Christian and pre-Christian heritage of her ancestors. She is the author of the Doodle-ography Journal. Her spirit-based practice as a creative coach and publishing consultant is Manifest Identity. Lindy lives on and learns from the Damariscotta River, where she and her husband Steve raised two shining daughters.