Imbolc - 2 of February

Imbolc

Imbolc is the traditional name of Gaelic origins of this pagan festival. This means "inside the womb". In this perspective, Imbolc reminds us of the ancient Roman festivities, The Lupercalia, was a pastoral festival, in which they honored the wolf, that fed Romulus and Remus, founders of ancient Rome. The milk was regarded as a nutrient, wisdom in the form of liquid light. It would not be surprising that, later, the festival was renamed by Christianity as "Candlemas" (The Mass of candles), because it is a festival honoring the birth of the divine mother. The moon appears as the goddess carrying the light into the darkness of our soul, as Brigid the triple goddess of inspiration. Brigid is the guardian goddess of fire. This is the fire that "triggers" poetic inspiration, healing the ills of the body and soul and  in the forge creates and shapes the plow, the hoe, the wheel, and many other farming tools.It is therefore not a fire from the sky as the sun, but a chthonic fire, internal, which acts inside the body and earth.

So Imbolc means "from the womb" and refers to the power of internal creation of matter, of the body, earthly germination.

Imbolc is a festival of purification. It is the feast of light as an expression of wisdom we find in the feminine archetype. And if it is a time of purifying, is also a moment of transgression and reversion, visible in the current carnival rites. The parties of masked people and musicians who hide behind those ritual masks, reveals the spirit of rebellion urging the spring time to arrive. The reversal of the normal pattern of conduct, helps the soul to free itself from the shackles and constraints. It's what reminds us of the feast of Imbolc, learning, and the child in all of us who learns and reverts to start growing alone.