Sun-lit clover. PD image from Pondzpd.

It’s that magical thin-time of the year again, so here’s some refreshed Imbolc-Candlemas inspiration to take you into this deeply creative, deeply Yin-Feminine time of the year.

Imbolc-Candlemas is celebrated during the first few days of February, and the exact-point occurs when the Sun is at 15 degrees of Aquarius — February 3rd this year (check your own time zone for any variations).

This is followed by the New Moon in mid-Aquarius on Monday, February 4th (check your zones for day/time in your area).

So it’s a nice few days to find some Muse time, gather back your dispersed energy, return to center, and restore your sense of what values and intentions are most important to you to embody, express, and act upon.

Imbolc-Candlemas also initiates what the late mythic astrologer Steve Nelson called the Candlemas Hora … a holy time. He said:

“This Mid-Aquarius “power gate” begins the Candlemas Hora, a 15-day period from Feb 3 to 18 when the nature of the New Year becomes illuminated and the vital energies of Nature stir to life.”

Bridget – Bhrìghde. Image from Olds Kool Si (Photobucket).

The Spirit, Wisdom & Origin of Imbolc – Candlemas

Imbolc, Candlemas, and/or Fèill Bhrìghde (sometimes spelled Là Fhèill Brìghde) were some of the names given to this time of year by the Gaelic-Celtic ancestors, as they marked the seed of the coming Spring (and return of the Light in the midst of Winter). The Christianized culture later called this festival Candlemas.

Other Nature-wise and Earth-connected cultures and traditions celebrated and honored the turning of the Seasonal wheel by other names.

For some of our ancestors, that reminder of coming Spring (and fading Winter) was a pretty big deal, in a region where it got plenty cold, and a time when there wasn’t the ease of electricity, central heating, a gas stove and electric fridge, or a chock-full grocery store.

It was no small thing to make it through the Winter, particularly in those frigid Northern climates, so the coming Spring on the near horizon was something to honor and celebrate.

Yet it’s truly relevant in our high-tech times, too, where ‘modern conveniences’ and a ‘sense of urgency’ abound, but people are more depressed, anxious, and isolated than ever (despite being constantly ‘plugged in’), and a genuine sense of meaning and purpose are deeply yearned for and sought.

Cross and Church, St. Patrick’s Well, Marlfield. By RustytheDog, CC Wikimedia.

Bhrìghde’s time & Our Time, Too

This was Bhrìghde’s time, too, both the Goddess and the Celtic-Christian Saint (Brigit, Brighid, Bridget, Bhríde, etc. – see below about name-spelling) of those who celebrated Imbolc, by whatever name they might have called it.

I feel a special affinity for this time of year, since I was born at Imbolc-Candlemas, with Sirius and Orion visible in the Winter night sky.

So it’s my ‘Solar Return’ and personal solar new year! It doesn’t have to be your birth day for you to receive and align with the magic of this thin-time and season though.

To stir soul and ancestral spirit of Imbolc-Candlemas…

Visit Bhrìghde and her “habit of the wildest bounty,” and the story of my own challenge of kindling my own ancestral connection to Bhrìghde, honoring that particular Family Tree branch of Gael-Celtic ancestors, for whom Bhrìghde was the patron saint and who remembered the ancestral sense of sacredness of this time.

For additional clues and insights on your role for these times, have a look at the current featured offerings or send me an email (info ‘at’ sophias-children ‘dot’ com).

Big Love, Big Heart, Big Spark!

Jamie

* There are various spellings for Bhrìghde – this one from the Scottish Gaelic and pronounced Breed-jhuh. Other common spellings include Brighid, Bridget, Brigid, Brigit, Brihati, and so on.

Featured Image Credit: The thermal springs at Aqua Sulis, in Bath, England. Photo by your Sophia’s Children creatrix, Jamie Walters (that’d be me!). Link here if you use it, please.

Let Your Divine-Spark Heart Light & Shine! PD pic from Tao Bao.

Give. Receive. Support the Work

If you’ve found regular inspiration … or a super-handy dose of it … in this and other Sophia’s Children articles and offerings, consider supporting the work in one of these ways:

See Support Sophia’s Children for a variety of options.

Stir your unique Spark as you orient into the coming months and year:

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Lots of love,

Jamie