Longer Days, Brighter Nights: Celebrating Imbolc
- Meredyth
- Jan 30
- 5 min read
Updated: Aug 25
Imbolc is the ancient Celtic holiday that marks the midpoint of winter and celebrates the return of daylight.
The Celts organized their year around eight holidays known as the Wheel of the Year, marking solstices, equinoxes, and the midpoints between them. Imbolc falls halfway between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox, the moment when the returning light becomes apparent.
You don’t have to be pagan to get excited about longer days, especially since the manufacturing of Daylight Saving Time!
Imbolc gives us permission to shake off the heaviness of winter and step back into our light, both literally and personally.
What is Imbolc?
Imbolc (pronounced IM-bolg) comes from the Old Irish i mbolg, meaning “in the belly” — a reference to pregnant ewes and the first signs of new life stirring. It’s not quite spring, but it’s the promise of spring.
The holiday is associated with Brigid, the Celtic goddess of poetry, healing, and smithcraft. What do those three things have in common? Fire. The creative spark, the transformative heat, the forge that shapes something new. Brigid is often depicted tending an eternal flame.
Traditional ways to celebrate Imbolc include lighting candles (especially in windows), spring cleaning, and making Brigid’s crosses out of rushes or straw for protection. Some people leave out offerings of milk or bread. The theme is simple: welcome the light back, clear out the old, make room for what’s coming.
If you’ve ever felt the urge to deep-clean your apartment in early February, you’re not alone — you’re just tuned into Imbolc energy, whether you knew it or not.
The Sun's Return and Strength
There are two Tarot cards ruled by the Sun: Strength and The Sun. To welcome the light at Imbolc, I want to call on Tarot's card Strength to remind us what that solar power can do for our inner powers.
Another word for strength is courage. Fun etymology: the word courage comes from the Latin cor, meaning heart. So when we talk about Strength, we’re really talking about having the heart to be yourself.
The question that Strength asks of us is: Am I being true to myself? Where have I dimmed my light to make others comfortable? What would it feel like to be fully, unapologetically me?
The Tarot of This Moment: Strength
If you were with me in 2024, you know we spent that entire year working with this energy. Strength was our card of the year, and its lessons are still unfolding.
We might instinctively associate the word strength with brawn, but when we turn to the Smith Rider Waite, we see a beautiful maiden and a playful, happy lion. This isn’t about force. It’s about courage — heart-centered power.
The maiden represents yin energy: reason, logic, beauty, the divine feminine. The lion represents yang: passion, power, energy, the divine masculine.
Above them both floats the lemniscate — the infinity symbol — reminding us that nothing is lost or gained. These energies are in constant, beautiful exchange.
At its core, Strength calls us to shift from asking “Is it right?” to asking “Is it right for me?”
This is the work of leaving the ego’s protection and saying yes to the soul. It requires vulnerability. It requires trusting that when we surrender our illusion of control, we open ourselves to something greater than anything we could have imagined.
Where in your life are you still asking, “Is it wrong or right?” when you already know the answer to “Is it right for me?”
The Ace of Wands: Your Fire, Your Wand
In Tarot, Wands represent fire. Just as Strength represents the fire-sign of Leo, the Wands represent our fire — our passion, creativity, and hustle.
The Ace is the beginning: the spark, the idea, the moment something ignites.
This card speaks to Imbolc because they’re both about potential energy — what’s stirring beneath the surface, ready to come forward.
Imbolc celebrates the return of the light after the darkest part of winter. The Ace of Wands is the creative fire that wants to move once the light returns.
Think of it this way: if you’ve been waiting for a sign to start something new, the Ace of Wands is that sign. It’s Spirit handing you a lit match and saying, “Here. Do something with this.”
The only difference between a stick and a wand is the purpose you bring to it. The same goes for your own energy — you decide where to direct it and what gets your fire.
Imbolc marks the return of the light. The Sun brings the courage to shine. The Ace of Wands is asking: What are you going to do with your light?
A Ritual for Imbolc
We’ve covered a lot of ground: Imbolc marks the return of the light, the Strength card which inspires our courage to shine, and the Ace of Wands which hands us a spark.
All that’s left is to harness and move all this light and fire energy!
A Simple Ritual for Imbolc:
1. Light candles throughout your home. In Imbolc tradition, a candle in every window welcomes the returning light. Even one candle is enough. As you strike your match, call in the power of the Ace of Wands.
2. Sit with the flame. Place your hand on your heart, breathe deeply, and ask: What is my heart trying to tell me? Is this right for me? Trust whatever arises without judgment. Let the Strength card guide you.
3. Write two things down. One thing you’re ready to release. A limiting belief, an old identity, a pattern that no longer serves. And one thing you’re ready to claim: a creative project, a piece of your truth, a way of being.
Again, let your pencil be your magic Ace of Wands, casting truth into your world.
4. Burn the release (safely). Let go of what no longer serves. Fire transforms what we’ve finished carrying.
5. Keep the claim visible. Put it somewhere you’ll see it as the days grow longer. This is your Imbolc seed, the thing you’re tending as the light returns.
That’s it! No elaborate altar required, just a candle, some honesty, and a willingness to let the light back in.
Bonus Imbolc Traditions
Of course, if you want to make an elaborate altar, you certainly can!
If Imbolc is giving you some extra fire-energy, there are also more traditional ways to celebrate.
You don’t need to weave a life-sized Brigid effigy out of oat straw (though you could!), but feel free to get crafty and witchy with these time-honored practices:
Make Brigid dollies or Brigid crosses for your home
Bake oatcakes and leave milk outside for Brigid on Imbolc eve
Adorn your altar with red, white, and orange colors and candles. Other Imbolc gifts are wool, daffodils, and images of the sun
Enjoy some milk and cheese. If you can enjoy some lactose, raise a glass to dairy!
Enjoy a warm fire. Bonfires aren’t really in alignment with our planet today, so instead, I suggest a few scented candles
Plant seeds. You can begin planting your seedlings indoors, like snapdragons and pansies. Bachelor buttons, Delphinium, Poppies, and Violas will do well in pots outside. You’ll want to check what zone you are in to learn what to grow when, but the significance of planting is to remind us of the invisible magic that is taking place all around.
Happy Imbolc! May you welcome the light back, both in the sky and in yourself!
Reading the Tarot is my joy and my vocation. If you would like to receive a reading from me, I would be honored to serve you. You can book with me either in person from my San Francisco location or remotely from anywhere in the world here.
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