by
tylluanpenry
@ Friday, 01. Feb, 2008 - 10:02:40
As a Pagan, today is one of the cross-quarter festivals, Imbolg (variously written as Imbolc, Imbolg and even Oimelc)which marks the first day of Spring.
I can already see you shaking your heads in disbelief.... 'No, Spring starts on March 21st' you might say. Does it really? Have a think about it - if June 21st is Midsummer's Day, and December 21st marks the depths of Midwinter, then March 21st (the Equinox) is actually the middle of Spring, not the beginning.
Anyway, I can see signs of Spring all around me. The evenings are lengthening noticeably provided the sky isn't full of grey clouds. Daylight filters through my curtains a little earlier. The bulbs are poking up through the earth like spears. The birds are singing. The earth is changing gear.
Even if you're not a Pagan, I would urge you to get out of doors however briefly today, and just notice the day, the sky, the sunshine, the colour of the earth.
When I was a child I marked the changing seasons by noticing what the world around me was doing. For example, one of my aunts would always say 'Tis on the eve of Valentine the birds begin to mate.' And sure enough, if you listen out you'll hear a marked change in the birdsong around the middle of February.
You don't have to live in a leafy suburb or deepest rural Wales to be able to do notice the changing year. It's a tribute to Nature's power that even in the most congested of cities, you'll find weeds struggling to grow and birds struggling to sing.
The signs are always there, we just need to look for them again.
Happy Imbolg everyone!
