Imbolc 2013

Happy Imbolc, Gardeners

Just a day after the Pennsylvania groundhog Punxatawney Phil saw his shadow (or didn’t; I have never paid enough attention to know which portends which) and thereby foretold an early spring, the pagan holiday of Imbolc marks the cross quarter day between Winter Solstice and the Vernal (or Spring) Equinox. At 10:57 this morning, Eastern time, to be exact, the sun is a quarter of the way from its shortest stay here in the Northern Hemisphere to its longest.

Interestingly, along with Groundhog Day, the Christian holiday of Candlemas is also around now. As the early Christian leaders so blithely switched the birth of Jesus from the spring, when, according to all historical records, it actually happened, to coincide with (some might say preempt) Solstice, they came up with a holiday to overshadow Imbolc, to mark the presentation of the baby Jesus to the Temple. If Candlemas is celebrated in modern Christian dogma, I’m not aware of it, despite having been raised Catholic, which has more than its fair share of religious holidays.

But I happily celebrate Imbolc, which is noted by a number of pagan religions as the time of rebirth, coinciding as it does to the beginnings of the births of the year’s new livestock. I just like to be mindful of the changing of the seasons. Our modern life goes by so fast, especially to one who has passed her life’s halfway point some years ago, that anything to slow down the days and give one reason to pause and look about at the world, is good.

I’ve also been learning about Druidry, a “spiritual practice rooted in the living earth,” according to the book I’m reading, The Druidry Handbook by John Michael Greer. I can think of no better way to honor the Christian god I was raised to worship than by being attuned to and grateful for the natural world around me. If it leads me to live more gently upon the earth, so that the other species I share the planet with might also live, all the better.

My plans for the day (after working to find homes for my foster dogs), is to read up about pruning to get ready for that late winter ritual, plot my garden, and start some early seeds. Not many, though, since despite Phil’s assurance and last year’s absurd 80 degrees in March, I am hoping for a more normal Spring timeframe, and AccuWeather predicts a late start for those of us here in the Northeast.

I also found last year, having taken advantage of that warmth to put in the Learning Garden’s peas nice and early, that it didn’t help. Whether due to the cold weather that followed (and killed most of the fruit tree blossoms) or the still short hours of daylight, the early-planted peas did not produce much sooner than those I planted much later in my home garden. Isn’t it nice to know procrastination can be overcome?

So I wish you a happy and healthy Imbolc, fellow gardeners. I hope you each can take a moment, if not today, then soon, to follow Henry David Thoreau’s words and

Live each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influences of each.

Julie