Hans Zatzka (1859-1945)
Roots
I always feel closer to my Celtic roots when I’m at home in Scotland. As I reach the end of this chapter in the UK before I embark on my travels, it feels somewhat, melancholic? I overlooked the fact that Imbolc will be the last sabbat I celebrate here, before my timezone and seasons change completely.
I suppose I always connected with paganism – I’ve been an animist since I can remember, even though I didn’t realise it had a name. I’ve always felt intense empathy for almost everything, which confused me growing up and often made me feel “weird” and a bit isolated. As I matured and was introduced to the nature-based belief’s, everything began to make sense. I’m not alone! It was like something clicked and I could begin to understand the way I was, and honour it.
Imbolc
The first signs of spring. The days grow longer as the dark makes way for the lingering light, and nature begins to stir. Celebrated on the 1-2nd February (or the 1-2nd August in the southern hemisphere), the midway point between the winter solstice (Yule) and the spring equinox (Ostrara). It’s one of the four fire festivals on the Wheel of the Year and celebrates renewal, fertility and the return of warmth and light.
It might not be the first day of spring, but it reminds us that it’s on it’s way. February carries the frost of winter and the days are often wet and grey, it can take some imagination to see the light in the distance – but Imbolc teaches us that not all changes are happening in plain sight. Imbolc translates as “in the belly” in old Irish which refers to the pregnancy of ewes and the beginning of the lambing season, and is associated with rebirth and purification. The first snowdrops are breaking through and tree buds are beginning to appear.
Imbolc is one of my favourite sabbats in the calendar. For me, it splits up the wait between winter and spring. It gives us something to celebrate when time can feel a little slow. I love acknowledging that spring (my favourite season) is brewing and I begin to prepare for the equinox – the real, traditional start of the new year! Imbolc also reminds us that new beginnings aren’t rushed, unlike the hurried reset the modern world insists on each “New Year.” Regrowth takes time, and a lot of rest. Moving slowly and intentionally during this period of transition alongside the natural world prepares us for the energy change that spring brings.
Goddess Brigid
Imbolc celebrates the Irish Goddess Brigid, the daughter of the Dagda (the chief of the Gods). She is associated with fire, healing, creativity and is connected to poetry, blacksmithing, and protection. Brigid also represents renewal and new beginnings, which is why Imbolc is also known as Brigid’s Day. As Imbolc celebrates the land beginning to wake from winter, it is a reflection of Brigid’s association with fertility and the approach of brighter, more fruitful seasons.
I personally don’t work with Deities (yet), but if I were, I think Brigid would be my natural starting point.
John Duncan (1911) Riders of the Sidhe
Choosing your own spirituality
Like so many of us, I was brought up (loosely) as a Catholic. I was baptised, I went to a Catholic school and made my First Communion. But no matter how much I tried, I didn’t resonate with Christianity. When I was around the age of 10, just before I started high school, I stopped believing completely. For many years I didn’t give spirituality another thought, until my late teens where I began to explore manifestations and pantheism. For me, the universe was the divine, why does there have to be a god(s)? This felt like the most relatable belief, so again, years went by without another thought – until recent years.
I began to research paganism more deeply around two years ago, which was spurred on by what I can only describe as a hole in my life. I was overwhelmed by gratitude and appreciation for nature and wanted to direct it toward… something? After reading similar stories online, I ended up down a rabbit hole of deities, alters, wiccans, druids and rituals – the list goes on. It was like a door opened into a world that was calling on me my whole life. Finally, a spiritual path I could connect with.
Animism and the wider paths of paganism, especially druidism, felt like I was coming home rather than learning something new. It’s the belief that everything in our natural world, such as plants, animals, rocks, water, weather, even inanimate objects, possess their own spirit and energy. It comes from the Latin word “anima” (soul/life), it understands the world as a network of connected beings that all have influence and presence. Druidic and pagan worldviews echo this deeply, looking at nature not as a resource to dominate but as a community of beings to listen to and respect. In this way, spirituality becomes less about abstraction and more about attentiveness, connection, and belonging within a world that is constantly speaking.
Following the Wheel of the Year means there’s always a sabbat around the corner, as there’s eight throughout the year; Samhain, Yule, Imbolc, Ostara, Beltane, Litha, Lughnasadh and Mabon. With the wheel turning endlessly, it marks a phase in the natural cycle: planting, growth, harvest, decay, and renewal. It encourages us to live in tune with nature, embrace the different stages of life, and find balance between light and dark, work, rest and respect the rhythm of life.
When following the Gregorian calendar, it’s easy to fall into the trap of waiting for the light to return, often with spring through to summer. We fall out of love with the colder, darker times and are taught to resent them, to plan for the chaos of summer. When I began tuning in with nature and these traditional spiritual ways of life, I started to move with every season, rather than against them. The improvement in my mental health from adopting this approach has completely changed my life and who I am as a person. Celebrating the phases in-between the seasons taught me to love them again.
Nature is sacred
Paganism isn’t defined by a single theology. Instead, these ancient spiritual paths can be understood through several broad belief frameworks, but one thing is shared – nature is sacred. Many pagan beliefs and traditions worship nature and see it as alive, just like us. If more of us viewed our world in this way, would we respect it more? Would we treat the land and everything within with more reverence if we seen it as living?