This is my personal Book of Shadows. If you find it useful or helpful in any capacity, please consider buying me a Coffee.

Imbolc

Core Holiday
February 1st

Imbolc marks the midpoint between Midwinter and the Spring Equinox. Winter still reigns, and yet creation is finally begining to awaken beneath the surface; what was only promised at Midwinter now begins to show itself. So where Yule is the assurety that creation continues, and divine providence never ceases, then Imbolc is the earliest, most intimate evidence that life is returning. A seasonal gateway through which the Shekhinah quietly reemerges into the world- felt as warmth returning to soil, hearth, womb, and milk.

And yet the Divine Presence does not arrive all at once, but reenters creation softly. Imbolc therefore carries the holiness of the in between, and the sacredness of the liminal: Neither deep winter nor spring, but the space of becoming. This is the A time of purification and preparation when we return to alignment (both internally and environmentally) in preparation for what will be when everything finally unfolds fully. In this way, Imbolc sanctifies waiting itself- shaping us into capable partners in renewal so that when the fullness of new life finally emerges, we are already aligned to receive and sustain it.

Associations

Colors
  • Cream
  • Pale Yellow
  • Soft Green
Stones
  • Clear Quartz
  • Moonstone
  • White Agate
  • Tree Agate
Herbs
  • Chamomile
  • Lemon Balm
  • Almond
  • Bay Laurel
Foods
  • Dairy products
  • The 5 Species
  • Simple Breads
  • Root Vegetables
  • Honey
Symbols
  • Candles
  • Keys
  • Brooms
  • Woven Cloth
Activities
  • Threshold Cleaning
  • Home Cleansing
  • Beating the Bounds

Prayers

Adonai, Master of the World, Source of life, and Renewer of Creation, as the earth stirs beneath winter’s cover, we give thanks that your sustaining breath never departs from the world.

Help us to notice the small ways in which your renewal enters into the world. Align our hearts with your rhythms so that we may be ready to receive the life you are unfolding. Teach us the holiness of waiting, and the wisdom of tending what is not yet visible.

May the light increasing in the world also increase within us, in clarity, compassion, and faithfulness. And let the return of warmth and life be a sign of the Shekhinah drawing near.