Imbolc and the folklore of February.

Near the start of the month we begin to notice the daylight becoming slightly longer since the winter solstice. Although winter's grasp is still prevelant in the landscape we begin to feel a sense of awakening under its rule, which is felt by all its inhabitants and creatures. This magick is a special element that brings us a little boost of vitality as we start to awaken our own body, mind, and spirit during the last winter tide month of February- and so today I'll like to highlight some unique pieces of folklore and practices that could also give a little magick as we walk alongside the turning tides.

The origin of the name for the month comes from the Roman month Februarius which meant purification, referencing the purifaction tools used during Lupercalia known as februa. When the Romans made their calender they only had ten months (March-December) but had added January and February last since they originally believed the winter time to be a monthless period. In these early calendars the amount of days in February changed from having 23 to 27 days to realign their lunar based calendar of 354 days with the accurate seasons. Over time this system became highly unstable because it caused the seasons and certain festivals to be out of sync by sometimes months, thus resulting in Julius Caesar to make a solar based calendar with December as the new last month but having February retain its extra days for leap years every four years. We'll explore some of the folkloric reasons why this month has "borrowed" days later on but let's start at the first of the month on Imbolc.

Februa tools were ancient Roman purification tools but were specifically goat skin whips used around Lupercalia. They were used by the priests to strike people with fertility or to whip the evil out of an object/place.

We begin near the start of the month on the first where we can observe the sabbat of Imbolc. It sits just between the winter solstice and the upcoming spring equinox where it can also be referred to one of the four cross quarter days on the pre-christian Gaelic calendar alongside Beltane, Lughnasadh, and Samhain. The origin for its name is somewhat unclear but many scholars generally agree that the word Imbolc comes from the old Irish word "i mbolc," which means "in the belly." This likely alluded to the fact that ewes (female sheep) would be pregnant with lambs at this time but another meaning could be the seeds in the belly of the earth, waiting to germinate upon spring's arrival.

Depending on the region/ practice the holiday may be called different names like St. Brigid's day, which refers to the saint who is believed to have initially been a pagan goddess (read more here) or Candlemas which referenced to the usage of candles to symbolize the return of the light in the world. Regardless of what the day is called there exist many traditions and practices to the energy present at this time which is the re-awakening of the land and removing what is unneeded/unwanted. For those who walk with the natural rhythm they can sense it in the return of certain animals and blossoming plants, in the shifting night sky as Orion begins to escape the cold twilight sky in favor of the thawing daylight, and the subtle lingering light that persists past 5pm. The first and second days of this month are also uniquely tied to the weather with there existing multiple rhymes and practices to determine the status of the unpredictable forecast. In America we are familiar with the groundhog but in other parts of the world like in the british isles there exists a spirit known as Cailleach. She is a divine hag who is deeply intertwined with the landscape with it being common knowledge that 'if the first of February is nice and bright, she'll get firewood for the coming cold night.'

But another good rhyme I like to use is this one:

"If Candlemas be fair and bright,

Winter will have another flight,

But if Candlemas Day be clouds and rain,

Winter is gone and will not come again."

This just goes to show the two faced nature of this tide, but this first week should however remind us that winter is not a time of stagnation- but rather a time of development and contemplation for the soul, and by extension the evolution of the spirit of the person as well.

As we continue our journey through the month of February we should already know what we want to let go from the old year as we focus on cutting off any lingering ties or blockages we haven't yet removed. It is now that we initiate its release via purification and cleansing ourselves and our space, with the element of choice being water and also fire. Water is the element of motion and should constantly flow to remove what is not needed or wanted, however ice on the other hand is when that energy is made to be still and obstructed- this is exactly why freezer spells work the why that they do. But when you employ the natural function of melting into your spell work you can use that to help you remove bloackages on yourself and I sometimes in the winter will get a small handful of snow and place it on top of my head for that reason to break any conditions or blocked energy on myself. Similarly with fire it can be used to incinerate unwanted energy or to transform something/ somebody. At Imbolc I like to burn my old Brigid dollies/ crosses to get rid of the energy she held on and warded away, afterwards I use the ashes to further use in my protection powders or I simply spread them in my garden to bless my land for the coming planting seasons. If I am feeling particularly festive on that dat then I like to use both elements at once by having florida water poured into a metal cauldron and setting it on fire. I will then stand over this fire and pray for myself to hammer out my inner struggles (vices, addictions, etc.) and to be reforged anew- you can actually call upon Brigid for assistance as she is also a blacksmith. If fire is not your forte then you can instead use resins to add in the same effect with dragon's blood and frankincense being two great choices to awaken our spirits and shake off that dread.

Towards the end of the month we begin to notice the recurring oddity of leap days and what kind of magickal/ folkloric correspondences that they hold. As I've mentioned before there where added in to make our calendars stay on track with the seasons and whatnot but because of how of how uncommon they are there exists stories of the month 'borrowing' days for various reasons. Its often said that February would borrow a day from January or March to deliver one last brutal storm before spring's arrival- another story describes an old cow or sometimes an old woman mocking the month for not having any hardships, and in retaliation February decided to borrow a day from another month and unleash a terrible storm which killed the old cow.

A good rhyme to remember this is traditional Scottish one:

February said to fair March

I'll borrow of thee three days, and they shall be

The worst days that e'er were seen.

Odd things that can occur is that leap days are said to be the only day a woman can offically propose to a man, a custom that was said to have been created when St. Brigid complained to Saint Patrick about women having to wait so long for a man to propose to them. As a result St. Patrick created the day so that women can take matters into their own hands. If however the woman's proposal was rejected by the man he would be required to pay a penalty of some sort, with the man either having to give her a gown, money, twelve pairs of gloves (to hide her bare ring finger), or a simple kiss could suffice. However it's important to note that a marriage taking place on a leap day spells misfortune for the couple as it can result in either divorce or the death of one of the spouses! Similarly if a child is born on a leap year they are said to live an unfortunate life.

There exist dozens of old comics to showcase the humor these leap day proposals held.

Some spiritual/ witchy things that can be done on this day is the 'leaping' of your spiritual elevation and set long term goals/ spells. Because it occurs once every four years it can be a phenomenal time to set manifestation or banishing work to be generated over and over again, equally it can be used to help you accelerate certain goals like learning how to read cards or your ability to see spirits/ ghosts- who are also said to be more prevalent on this day. Lastly because the 29th is hidden day it can also be employed to reveal hidden things whether it be done in readings, hedge riding, astral projection, or conversely even in keeping things or secrets hidden for good!

I hope this article gets you thrilled about the uniqueness of the entire month rather than just the sole day of February itself. This article was also used for our Imbolc class held on 01/31 and if you want to read the ritual we did click here to receive it and happy casting!