Candlemas: with the Celtic calendar we are already in spring!
After the winter pause for reflection, here we are with our spring surprises!
But how, you’ll say, it’s not spring yet!
We at Reizia follow the Celtic calendar, and spring began on February 2!
The seasons I was taught never resonated with me.
Officially, spring began when everything was already in bloom, and when summer came, the days began to shorten.
By the time winter officially arrived, the cold, dark, and snow had been present for quite a while and I just wanted to think about the days getting longer and not a whole winter season beginning.
Celtic calendar
In the Celtic calendar, on the other hand, the winter solstice denotes the center of winter, which begins with Samhain (Halloween) and ends in early February with Candlemas/Imbolc.
The summer solstice is in the middle of summer, it is its climax, in fact Nordic countries still celebrate midsummer, which means nothing more than the midsummer festival.
The two equinoxes are at the center of Celtic spring and autumn, respectively.
The beginning and ending dates of the Celtic seasons are the four dates in between the solstices and equinoxes, the ones that have remained popular holidays, or have been disguised as religious holidays, or have just disappeared from the modern calendar.
They are the festivals of the wheel of the year that we in Reizia always celebrate, because they bring about a change of energy in nature that has an energetic influence on us as well.
Candlemas/Imbolc
Candlemas thus determined the beginning of spring.
Along with her came the first primroses in my garden.
Now everything makes more sense.
This is the season of childhood, time for new beginnings, the season when the earth is reborn from the sleep of winter.
We begin to plow and plant seeds in the belly of Mother Earth, who will take care of them in the coming months.
The potential of what lies ahead is still all in the buds that enclose the leaves and flowers.
We, too, emerge from the darkness and prepare our path for the year that has just begun, inviting clarity.
We place our hopes in a fertile environment for them to grow and realize our dreams.
We honor the newness of our path by lighting candles: the ritual fire burns away what no longer serves us and transforms us through an alchemical process, just as it transforms rocks into metals, bringing out impurities, which can be seen and removed.
It is time to take care of our inner child, to look at the parts of ourselves that remain in the shadows, releasing blocked emotions.
We must be patient with ourselves as we become who we wish to be, as we shape our metal as we wish.
