Imbolc marks the moment when the lengthening of daylight finally becomes noticeable. The night begins to loosen its grip, and with it comes a quiet but persistent sense of hope. There is a feeling that warmth and sunlight are on their way back, that change is inevitable, and that the year ahead is slowly beginning to reveal its shape. It is a time when people instinctively want to pause, look forward, and ask themselves: what will this year become?
In Celtic tradition, Imbolc is ritually connected with the goddess Brigid — a primordial mother figure, a guardian of sacred knowledge and tradition. As a triple goddess, she is also associated with fate itself, determining the key transformations destined to unfold throughout the year.
The image of the threefold goddess appears across many pagan cultures, often embodying the will of Mother Earth. She governs not only natural cycles, but also the invisible currents of communication between worlds. As a goddess of winds, Brigid was believed to carry messages from other realms, acting both as messenger and medium through which knowledge spreads.
In ancient imagery, Brigid was sometimes depicted as a bird with a human head — a mysterious and otherworldly creature. Those who were able to “see” understood, by her form and her song, in which aspect the goddess was revealing her will at that particular moment.
Imbolc has always been deeply connected with purification — first and foremost, the purification of consciousness. It is a time to release unnecessary mental noise, to realign oneself with the rhythms of nature, and through that alignment, to rediscover one’s own true rhythm. No world exists in isolation; everything is interconnected. For harmony to be possible, the human being must be attuned to nature itself.
With the spread of Christianity, the folk celebration of Imbolc gradually transformed into St. Brigid’s Day.
In Celtic tradition, Imbolc is ritually connected with the goddess Brigid — a primordial mother figure, a guardian of sacred knowledge and tradition. As a triple goddess, she is also associated with fate itself, determining the key transformations destined to unfold throughout the year.
The image of the threefold goddess appears across many pagan cultures, often embodying the will of Mother Earth. She governs not only natural cycles, but also the invisible currents of communication between worlds. As a goddess of winds, Brigid was believed to carry messages from other realms, acting both as messenger and medium through which knowledge spreads.
In ancient imagery, Brigid was sometimes depicted as a bird with a human head — a mysterious and otherworldly creature. Those who were able to “see” understood, by her form and her song, in which aspect the goddess was revealing her will at that particular moment.
Imbolc has always been deeply connected with purification — first and foremost, the purification of consciousness. It is a time to release unnecessary mental noise, to realign oneself with the rhythms of nature, and through that alignment, to rediscover one’s own true rhythm. No world exists in isolation; everything is interconnected. For harmony to be possible, the human being must be attuned to nature itself.
With the spread of Christianity, the folk celebration of Imbolc gradually transformed into St. Brigid’s Day.
Allfather Odin and his wife, the goddess Frigg
In ancient Scandinavian culture, this same seasonal period was marked by the festivals of Dísablót and Dísþing, held between late January and mid-February. In modern pagan practice, this time is often associated with the goddess Freyja Vanadís and celebrated as a festival of returning spring — and, inevitably, of love. It remains a perfect occasion for romantic gestures and heartfelt blessings between partners.
However, the medieval historian Snorri Sturluson, in The Saga of Olaf (chapter 77), describes an assembly and fair in Uppsala held during the Feast of the Purification of the Virgin Mary (February 2), known as Dísþing. Here, sacrifices were offered to the goddess Frigg. This appears especially fitting, as Frigg is the Mother of the Gods and the great spinner of fate, the one who determines how the coming year will unfold.
However, the medieval historian Snorri Sturluson, in The Saga of Olaf (chapter 77), describes an assembly and fair in Uppsala held during the Feast of the Purification of the Virgin Mary (February 2), known as Dísþing. Here, sacrifices were offered to the goddess Frigg. This appears especially fitting, as Frigg is the Mother of the Gods and the great spinner of fate, the one who determines how the coming year will unfold.
Temple of Demeter at Eleusis_Telesterion
In ancient Greece, this same time of year was marked by the Lesser Eleusinian Mysteries, dedicated to Persephone, daughter of Demeter.
According to the philosopher and translator Thomas Taylor, these Lesser Mysteries were intended for unpurified souls. In his work The Eleusinian and Bacchic Mysteries, he describes their purpose as follows:
“The Lesser Mysteries were instituted by the ancient theologians for the purpose of giving occult meaning to souls immersed in material bodies and entangled in the physical nature.”
Within the doctrine of the Lesser Mysteries, the physical body was understood as a tomb — a false and temporary dwelling, and the source of suffering and illusion. For Eleusinian philosophers, birth into the physical world was, in the fullest sense, a form of death. True birth occurred only when the soul was liberated from its material nature.
The ancients expressed this paradox in a striking phrase: “The dead seize the living.” Only those initiated into Eleusinian philosophy could fully grasp its meaning. It suggested that most people are governed not by their living souls, but by the dead weight of bodily instincts and sensory оболочки — the outer shells that obscure true awareness.
According to the philosopher and translator Thomas Taylor, these Lesser Mysteries were intended for unpurified souls. In his work The Eleusinian and Bacchic Mysteries, he describes their purpose as follows:
“The Lesser Mysteries were instituted by the ancient theologians for the purpose of giving occult meaning to souls immersed in material bodies and entangled in the physical nature.”
Within the doctrine of the Lesser Mysteries, the physical body was understood as a tomb — a false and temporary dwelling, and the source of suffering and illusion. For Eleusinian philosophers, birth into the physical world was, in the fullest sense, a form of death. True birth occurred only when the soul was liberated from its material nature.
The ancients expressed this paradox in a striking phrase: “The dead seize the living.” Only those initiated into Eleusinian philosophy could fully grasp its meaning. It suggested that most people are governed not by their living souls, but by the dead weight of bodily instincts and sensory оболочки — the outer shells that obscure true awareness.
