It’s Imbolc tomorrow, February 2, and in keeping with ancient tradition, I am going to plant a tree. An apple tree, to be precise. It still feels very wintry here, with hoar frost on the trees and a forecast of snow tomorrow, but crocuses and snowdrops are pushing through the earth with bright green shoots, and we know the year’s turn towards the new is really happening now. Not so long until spring, and warmth in the air again!

Early February has long been celebrated as a holiday in many cultures: in ancient Ireland it was Imbolc and Brigid’s Day, in the Mediterranean and later in all of Europe, Candlemas and St. Bridget’s Day. In the US Feb 2 is Groundhog Day, a celebration of the lengthening days causing small furry creatures to poke their noses out of their hibernation holes and sniff the warming air. The Chinese and Tibetan New Years also occur in this time period, usually falling somewhere in the late January, early February window.

At this time of year in the Northern Hemisphere, the land, refreshed from the resting period of winter and purified by frosts, is getting ready for cultivation, for the renewal of the agricultural year. This is a moment of quickening, as the spark of life reappears, coming up from its deep underground slumber.

Read the rest of this year’s essay on Imbolc at http://planetaryenergies.net/2009/02/01/planetary-energies-imbolc-2009/