Imbolc – February plans

Imbolc is the witchy or (neo)pagan holiday that happens on February 1st and 2nd in the Northern hemisphere. On those same days, Southern Hemisphere witches celebrate Lammas or Lughnasadh. Since I’m in the Northern part of the world, this blogpost will focus on Imbolc. For ideas on how to celebrate or decorate for Lammas, check this blogpost.

February plans

For some, Samhain (Halloween) on October 31st counts as the “witches’ new year” but personally I still start my year on January 1st with preparation time during Yuletide, beginning on Winter Solstice on December 21st. January continues as a month for preparing and planning and then on Imbolc things start for real. This makes it a more relaxed and slow start of the year which I very much welcome.

Imbolc marks the middle of Winter with growing daylight and Springtime approaching slowly. Traditionally and still today this Gaelic festival is celebrated by making Brigid’s crosses, cooking with dairy (vegan alternatives count too!), sowing seeds (indoors), and weather divination.

My plan is to dedicate February to finishing and starting craft projects. As I wrote in the previous blogpost about the (almost) daily creative challenge Februstitchery, I want to focus on creating, mending, and upcycling objects made of yarn, thread, or fabric. I’ve been procrastinating mending clothes and socks for a while, and I think a month of repairing damaged but still useful objects follows nicely after a month of planning & preparing.

Altar and symbols

Fitting with the Februstitchery theme, I set up my altar space with a focus on needlecrafts. I added yarn, my crochet hook “wand”, and a postcard and two metal boxes with needlecraft references. The heart-shaped “taart” (“cake”) broche made by Lindsi of All Cakes Are Beautiful refers to both enjoying (vegan) dairy products and Valentine’s day. The cow thimble reminds me of crafts as well as (vegan) milk and so does the goat tin. I’ve also added objects that symbolise friendship for me: the buttons bracelet, the Baby Fire tea party postcard, and of course the “friends rule” lino print by Mawy.

I recently learned that ants aren’t as hardworking as people think they are. They like to pretend to be busy instead and rest when no one pays attention. Great role models! 😀 Talking about animals as role models… I added the angry bunny patch by Yori for the year of the rabbit (Chainsaw Bunny approves). All other patches are made by Yori too while the amazing woven wall art is by Jessica. Molly Roberts‘ cards add some more beauty, inspiration, and magick to the altar.

The colours I associate with Imbolc and February are yellow, baby pink, white, black, gold, and silver so these all feature heavily on my mantelpiece and wall.

I set up a second small altar that contains my spell bottles, the first doll I ever got as a baby (the little blue one in the photo below), and some self-care and self-love tools.

I’m very curious to see your seasonal space!

Pancakes and stitches

I don’t have many plans for Imbolc but I would like to at least include pancakes and a hot plantmilk drink. 🙂

It will also be the first few days of “Februstitchery” so I’m sure I’ll have fun with that. I’ll show you what I made soon! If you are participating, I’d love to see your craft project(s) too! You can use the hashtag #februstitchery if you like.

❤

To all Southern Hemisphere witches, happy Lammas! To all Northern Hemisphere witches, happy Imbolc!