Blog Article

Imbolc - A Time of Awakening

Honor the space between no longer and not yet. Nancy Levin

January is a funny time for me, I know that it’s a brand new year, but for me it doesn’t feel new yet. I need time to let go of the past year, and I need space to dream the coming year into being.

For me January is liminal.

It’s a month of turning inward and descending into darkness, a time of discovering the things within that I’m ready to let go of; those twisted old branches and rotting leaves that are in need of letting go. Then, a subtle switch, barely perceivable, but something changes. I begin to notice a stirring, a longing in me, dreams begin to solidify and the desire to move forward, unburdened into the new takes root.

This is my new year, and it ushered in by Imbolc and the stirring of Spring.

Imbolc is an often-overlooked holiday in the Witches Year, but in all honesty, it’s one of my favorites. It’s a Celtic fire festival that welcomes the return of the sun and marks the changing of the Goddess from Wise old Crone to Fair Maiden, this is a time of new life coming into being. We may only be seeing the tiniest hints of life above the surface but things are certainly beginning to stir in the darkness.

Imbolc brings with it a decisive cleansing for our spirits as well. This is the time to clear out the grimy patterns, the old chaos, and
the things that died within us during winter, so that we may make ready for the new growth to come.

It is a time of real transition and transformation, a time of leaving what is safe and comfortable in order to grow more fully into yourself.

However….

Even though we talk about growth and change and letting go of the things that no longer serve us with excitement and delight, if we are honest with ourselves, the reality of change is really, really hard. When it comes down to it, we are creatures of habit, we like things that are familiar, comfortable, and easy. We tell ourselves that we like change, and on paper it looks good, but in practice, it’s much simpler to stay the way we are. But real change requires us to let go of all that. We have to set aside what we know and step into a new way of being. And that can be really uncomfortable.

Imbolc is a time of confronting these challenges. It’s a time of being tested. Do you have the strength required to make real, lasting change? Can you leave what is safe, comfortable, and familiar in order to grow more fully into yourself?

Can you be comfortable with being uncomfortable?

Because this is also the time when your winter dreams are beginning to stir with new life. Those dreams are asking you to embrace fear and jump into the unknown.

These last couple months we’ve been dreaming a new way of being in the world, new ideas and plans for our life in the year before us. We’ve begun to nudge our heads out from our own inner worlds. This is the time to begin to bring your own inner work, those dreams and changes you’ve been dreaming about, out into the world.

Are you ready? Ready to be comfortable with being uncomfortable? Ready to embrace this time of unbecoming so that you can become? These dreams are yours to embrace, the fires of creativity and inspiration deep within you have been lit, and the growing energy of the season is supporting you in this time of awakening.