There are so many options for celebrating Imbolc. I’ve written about them myself before! But there are plenty of people who can’t be any way obvious about their celebrations. So, here are some ideas to help you with a quiet Imbolc celebration…
Cook a meal
Now look, every February, I start seeing “Brigid and round yellow foods” types posts. Please don’t do that. There’s really nothing in Irish lore to connect Brigid to either yellow or round foods in particular. I do have a whole blog post on food and Imbolc for you to check out, though, so take a look at that.
But a lot of Imbolc celebrations are about coming together as a community in a fairly casual setting. So you could, to celebrate Imbolc, cook a nice meal for your family and/or friends. You don’t have to explain why you’re doing a dairy based meal. You don’t have to explain why you chose that particular day. You can just say, hey, I fancy cooking a nice meal and have us all sit down together. Off you go!
And look, we all have to eat, so this is a perfect example of a quiet Imbolc celebration!
Plant some seeds
These can be physical seeds or metaphorical seeds. Physical seeds are easier, let’s face it. I did this accidentally a few years ago. Yes, I know, but there’s a story. My Mam sent me a bunch of seeds during Covid, just to give me something nice that wouldn’t take too much minding and looking after those seeds and ensuing plants became part of my daily ritual. And afterwards, Brigid did smack me over the head with the spiritual benefits tending plants gives me.
Peace, quiet, slow change – these are all things I struggle with and those plants gave me.
Now, I also use Imbolc for planting metaphorical seeds. I start talking to people about my plans for the Forge and what programs or courses they might be interested in. All sorts of things. I also start researching things I want dive deeper into – and at least try and prioritise a bit…
Spring cleaning
Look, if you’re anything like me, housework over the winter months drops a bit. And definitely, the energy around the house needs a bit of a spruce up. Most of winter in Ireland is taken up with keeping heat in and weather out. Which means the energy around the house can stagnate.
Now, I’m not talking about a massive, week long binge on cleaning. Maybe making time once a week to spend an hour deep diving on one area. Give it a really good scrubbing.
And most people engage with some sort of spring cleaning, so most won’t recognise this as a quiet Imbolc celebration. But by doing a good scrub of a place, you’re cleaning up the energy as much as the physical world.
Now, you can add in a final rinse with salt to help with the energy. Mugwort is also a great addition. You can add in some noise, or music, or smoke to help with the energy as well.
But that might be outside the scope of what’s acceptable in your community or space. But cleaning is rarely seen as problematic!
In bed at night
So, here’s the thing. You know when you get into bed? You can think whatever you want at that point. Once the lights are out, no one can see your facial expression. No one can supervise what you think or whisper to yourself. Unless they’ve videoing you in your sleep, in which case, pleas refer to last week’s post!
But in bed at night, this can be your quiet Imbolc celebration. This can be your time to connect in with Brigid. This can be your time to pray. This is your time.
A quiet Imbolc celebration
So here’s the thing. No one can tell you how to celebrate any festival. People can point out authentic ways, traditional ways, ways they use. But the way you celebrate any festival is up to you.
I hope these ideas give you a starting point at least, but if you’re feeling stuck, there is still time to join the Imbolc Retreat. And honestly, that will look like some meditation and journaling, so for some of you, that might work.
If not, please feel free to reach out for more help!
