February 1 marks Imbolc, the half way point between the yule (winter solstice) and the spring equinox. Traditionally, the pagan and druidic people who celebrated Imbolc worshipped Brigid, the goddess of hearth, craft and healing. Brigid is also one of the representations of the maiden, the waxing moon, in the triple goddess symbol of the maiden-mother-crone. Imbolc is a time of quiet growth, unseen underneath the surface. As this is a word I learned by reading and not by speaking, I’m not sure which of the two pronunciations I’ve read are correct: some intimate it is “imm-blk” or “imm-bulg” and some “imm-yolk”.
Regardless, I love this time of year, as the wheel of the year begins its ascent away from the darkness of the winter solstice. It was only when I started kicksledding a few years ago, and spending time in the forest through the deep heart of winter and into early spring, that I became aware of the earliest signs of rebirth and awakening in nature. Long before the brown grass brightens to green, long before the first crocuses and scilla emerge from the soil, you can see the deep snow retreating from the bases of the trees. There comes a point where you can smell the spring coming, where the cold bite of winter air gives way to the warm smell of wood and mud. I love it, so much.
February is a cold month for sure, barely out of the basement of annual temperatures and it’s not uncommon here to have days of -15C or colder. But the light comes back in February. I think it’s a statistically sunnier month, maybe moreso than stormy March or cloudy April. But it’s a time when you can begin once again to feel the heat of the sun on your face, even as the cold nips your cheeks.
I’ve seen a few memes these past few days about us having just survived the 10 darkest weeks of the year, but did you know that the accumulation of daylight also accelerates now? The first week or two after the solstice, we get less than a precious minute of additional daylight each day. That increases by a few seconds more each day until by late February, past the equinox and through mid-April, we accumulate more than 3 minutes of daylight every single day, until the accumulation slows as we approach the summer solstice.
The year is waxing, like the maiden crescent moon, full of optimism and opportunity.