Celebrating Imbolc (Im-olk) 1st – 2nd February

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 Brigid, the goddess of fire and fertility, is celebrated amongst many witches during Imbolc. Imbolc is the halfway point between Yule and Ostara, signifying the coming of spring and daylight. It is a time of rededication to your faith, reflecting on new goals and intentions for the year or initiations of new witches. 

· Go for a walk 

· Spring clean

· Feast

· Self care with candles

· Meditate and Journal

Going for a walk is not only a simple ritual to help celebrate Imbolc but is also an amazing tool in helping improve your mental health. 

Start your day by going outside and breathing in the crisp fresh air, take yourself off to a field or park and look out for the first signs of spring. Take notice of the flowers starting to push through, the birds singing and acknowledge the brighter days coming. 

Improvements in physical health can help to support mental health. If going for a long walk is something you will struggle with start small, go out into the garden and have a wander around or take a short walk to the end of the street and back. Small steps can make a big difference and celebrating nature can be something as simple as smelling a flower or looking at a tree to acknowledge and appreciate its beauty. 

 As you go about your day to day life, even if you don’t struggle with your mental health, life can be so busy, overwhelming and draining. Things can easily snowball to the point where you are looking around you and thinking what happened to my home. 

Giving your home a spring clean has so many benefits to your mental wellbeing, clearing the space around you also clears the space in your mind, it gives you room to breath and it  removes that feeling of guilt we have for living in mess and that fear that a loved one is going to come around unexpectedly and start judging us. Mess can bring around so much anxiety and it can also be incredibly overwhelming. 

Cleaning through your home is a great way to celebrate Imbolc, it gives you and your home a fresh start and it gives space to welcome in the coming light from spring. Imbolc, just like spring, is a symbol for new starts and fresh beginnings and spring cleaning is an excellent way to begin the year. 

If you don’t feel physically or mentally able to do it all at once that is ok, it can be a struggle knowing where to start, it can be overwhelming and it can be physically difficult. Start slow, do 1 thing a day or spend 15 minutes tackling a part of a room. You don’t have to have a show home and you don’t have to do everything right away or perfectly to feel like you have achieved something. You are enough. 

No celebration is ever complete without a nice meal to go with it. Traditionally foods associated with Imbolc include dairy, seeds, grains and root vegetables. A hearty stew with root vegetables, lentils and dumplings will warm you up on a chilly day and often give a comforting feeling on a dark evening. 

Invite friends, family and loved ones around to share a meal, connect with people around you and have an evening filled with fun and laughter. 

Light some candles, white, red and green are traditional for Imbolc, and have a cleansing shower or bath. Wash away negative energy, clean your hair and use some body scrub to give your skin that extra clean feeling. Don’t forget to moisturise afterwards. 

Much like cleaning your home a physical cleanse also helps to clear the negativity from your mind, it can help you feel refreshed and energised and be a good starting point to help improve your mental wellbeing. Take it a step further and enjoy a face mask, relax and meditate for 20 minutes to refresh both your face and your mind. 

People often feel guilty for making time to put themselves first and whilst supporting and giving to others is extremely important in supporting not only your mental wellbeing but the world as a whole, you can’t take care of others without taking care of yourself first. This is why self care is so important in the chaos of life, even if it is something small. 

Light some candles and spend the evening meditating and journaling. Think about your goals for the year, what you want to achieve and how you can achieve them. Writing these down can be an excellent motivator and a reminder throughout the year to keep going. There is no goal to big or too small.