Celebrating Imbolc: the beginning of Celtic Spring

Seasonal rituals for the coming weeks, and a recipe for apple and almond cake 🍰

“Since I started following the Celtic Wheel, I’ve been much more attuned to the in-between seasons marked by the Celts that not only celebrate the magic of the moment but signal a movement forwards. Imbolc (pronounced ‘IMM-bolk’), the festival of fire and light, is the Celtic feast celebrating the very beginning of Spring – a pivotal moment of change that signifies new beginnings, growth and renewal. We are still in Winter, but look closely and you’ll notice the seasons beginning to shift little by little, day by day as the light grows stronger, little by little, day by day.”

Extract from my book, Slow Seasons.

I hope you’ve had a gentle start to the year, and sending you all best wishes for Imbolc as the season turns. Here are some things I’ll be making and doing in the coming weeks to celebrate the very start of Spring:

Celebrating Imbolc

Today, 1st February, is the Celtic festival of Imbolc: the midpoint between Yule - the Winter Solstice - and Ostara - the Spring Equinox - in the Celtic Wheel of the year. Imbolc marked the first of the Spring festivals in our ancestors’ tradition as Winter began with Samhain at the end of October. And it makes sense - this week I’ve been spotting so many of the first signs of Spring, from the first snowdrops tentatively peeping out of the earth to the the sound of birdsong gradually increasing to the first hints of daylight past 4.30 p.m. It may still be stormy outside (as it was earlier in the week), but there are small but important signs that lighter, longer days are coming.

Lighting the Candles

Imbolc is a celebration of the returning light, growth, fertility and renewal. It also has links with the Christian celebration of Candlemas on 2nd February, and both include festivities associated with light, particularly the lighting of candles. Fire symbolises purification and protection, welcoming the return of light and hope. In the Celtic tradition, the hearth was usually extinguished and re-lit, with candles in each room and a broom placed by the door to symbolise the cleaning out of the old and celebration of the new. I’ll be lighting the stove this week, and I’ll still be embracing candles in a big way for the next wee while. For my latest seasonal gathering we made hand poured soy wax candles and hand rolled beeswax candles together at Elliott’s Studio here in Edinburgh and it was such a cosy way to spend an afternoon. Make sure you’re signed up on my website to hear first about tickets for future events, which I’ll be announcing soon. And if you live further afield, in Slow Seasons there are step by step instructions for how to make a hand poured soy or beeswax candle!

Tentative Planning:

I often find that February can be a tougher month than January in some ways, usually with continuing cold and darkness and a growing sense of impatience for Spring. I’ve also just finished a big writing project, so I’m feeling a bit of a post-deadline slump. I’m working on a few journalistic commissions now but am otherwise trying to sit with the feelings and to nurture some nascent creative ideas without scaring them away! Though Spring is on the horizon, this is still a time to rest and plan: Imbolc comes from the Old Irish world “Imbolg”, which translates roughly as “in the belly” - a time of early pregnancy and new beginnings. The name itself reminds us this is the very beginnings of Spring stirring. So instead of caving to (mostly self-imposed) pressure and rushing things, I’m taking time to let ideas percolate. I’m planning some creative dates with other freelancers in the coming weeks, and some exciting collaborations for later in the year; nurturing the ground and sowing the seeds.

Snowdrop Season

Have you spotted your first snowdrop of the year yet? Here in Scotland the very first snowdrops, gallanthus, have just begun to appear. It’s always a real milestone for me; their delicate white, drooping bell-shaped flowers offer assurance that Spring is on its way again. Gallonthophiles – snowdrop mega fans like me – celebrate with festivals, nature trails and gatherings. I’m very much looking forward to visiting my favourite garden, Cambo, for their annual snowdrop festival in the East Neuk of Fife. I’m hoping to get a few more snowdrops to plant “in the green” in our communal patch, and I’ve got a few other spring bulbs I’m planning to “force” inside my home including tête-à-tête daffodils and muscari in vintage terracotta pots - watching them grow seemingly before your eyes brings some much-needed growth and greenery indoors at this time of year.

Recipe: Apple and Almond Cake

This cake belongs to Imbolc, a season of gentle beginnings when the world is still quiet but signs of new life are starting to appear. We are coming to the end of orchard fruit season, enjoying the last of the apples and pears stored over Winter, and baking with them feels grounding and resourceful. This apple and almond cake has a rich almond sponge with chunks of apple and little pieces of marzipan running through it, then topped with more apple and flaked almonds that turn golden as the cake bakes.

Note: I used leftover marzipan from Christmas but you can leave it out if you prefer.

INGREDIENTS

For the cake

• 120g butter

• 120g caster sugar

• 50g ground almonds

• 1 tsp almond extract

• 2 tbsp milk

• 70g self raising flour

• 2 eggs

• 80g marzipan chopped

• 80g apple chopped

For the topping

• 30g marzipan grated

• Half an apple thinly sliced

• 2 tbsp flaked almonds

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 160°C fan. In a bowl with a wooden spoon or in a stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy - around five minutes.

Add the almond extract and the milk then add the eggs one at a time alternating with the flour.

Fold in the rest of the flour, the ground almonds, the chopped apple and the marzipan. Pour the mixture into a greased and lined 20cm tin. Top with the thinly sliced apple, the grated marzipan and the flaked almonds.

Bake for 45 to 50 minutes until cooked through. Allow the cake to cool a little before removing it from the tin, then leave it to cool completely on a wire rack.

It is delicious served with a cup of tea or warm with custard.

I will see you next for Ostara, the Spring Equinox, and in the meantime I’ll be here sharing my weekly posts in my paid community, with a recipe, craft, journaling prompt, seasonal glimmers, activities and seasonal reading recommendations spread across each season. I’d love it if you joined us there - here’s a flavour of my recent posts:

Imbolc Glimmers

Craft: Reusable Beeswax Wraps

Recipe: Marmalade and Chocolate Pudding

Seasonal Activity: Turner in January

Yule Reflections (Journaling Prompts)

Seasonal Reading: Midwinter

And if you enjoy my newsletter I’d love it if you could share it too to help me spread the word:

Thanks so much for being here and have a wonderful February. See you in late March for Ostara! Xxx

You can find more seasonal musings, recipes, crafts and lifestyle ideas in my book, ‘Slow Seasons’, which you can order from a number of places here, or from me on my website directly here.