February 1st is Imbolc, the pagan festival celebrating the first signs of spring. As the snowdrops sprout and the lambs spring forth, there’s a sense of excitement in the air with the feeling that now is the time to set intentions and plan for the coming seasons. 

February is also the month when some of us celebrate St. Valentine’s Day. Personally, I always thought that this was a day for single people to let someone know they liked them, but it seems to have developed into more of an event for established couples to show their affections for each other. 

As such, February is associated with love, but I want to flip that and dedicate this month’s blogging to self-love and care. For many of us, especially women, the thought of taking care of ourselves feels selfish, but there is a big difference between taking care of yourself and being selfish. As they say on airplanes, make sure you fix your own oxygen mask in place before you think about helping anyone else. After all, you can’t do anything for anyone if you’ve run out of air!

Self-care simply means that you attend to your own needs, supporting yourself to be healthy in every sense of the word. This might mean treating yourself to a spa day or a night out with friends, but it can also be as simple as making sure you eat three nutritious meals a day or giving yourself half an hour’s peace in a bubble bath. Anything which supports you to feel healthy and happy is self-care. 

If you’re not used to practising self-care, it might seem daunting to start looking after yourself the way you do the people around you. That’s okay. Choose one small little thing you can build into your daily routine. Maybe it might be a ten minute walk in the fresh air during your lunch break or a five minute meditation first thing in the morning. Choose something which woks for you and start doing it every day. As you become more accustomed to proactively practising self-care, you can then add to it until self-care becomes second nature. 

You might like to solidify your intention to starting taking care of yourself with this little Imbolc ritual. Feel free to adapt it to suit your needs.

A ritual for Imbolc

You will need:

• Seasonal fruit/vegetables or food associated with the lambing season such as goat’s or sheep’s cheese
• Wine or fruit juice
• Incense
• A large candle
• Seeds or a bulb you can plant at this time of year

To prepare for the ritual, you might like to spend the day cleaning your home, clearing out things you no longer need. Making your home somewhere you feel comfortable and happy is the ultimate in self-care!

You should have chosen your new daily self-care practise already, but if not, now’s the time to decide what you’re going to do for yourself moving forward. 

Take a warm bath or shower to prepare for your ritual. As you are relaxing in the water, think about the self-care activity you’ve chosen. Why did you choose that one in particular? What difference is it going to make to your life? Imagine yourself in a month’s time when you’ve had a whole four weeks of daily self-care. How are you going to feel? Allow yourself to experience those feelings of happiness and gratitude as if you’ve already done it.

When you are ready to get out of the water, wash yourself down, imagining that the water is taking away anything which no longer serves you. When you get out of your bath or shower, allow yourself to appreciate the fact that you are already a different person, a new person who is comfortable prioritising their own health and wellbeing.

If you have them, put on your ritual robes or white clothing. If you don’t have these, wear something you love which makes you feel happy. 

Set up your altar or ritual space with the food and drink, candle and your seeds or bulb. Light some incense. You might like to waft the smoke around your working space. 

Close your eyes and focus on your breath for a few cycles. When you feel ready, start to draw in a brilliant white light with every breath, filling your body. Let this light spread outside your body as well, surrounding you with a bright bubble of protective energy, keeping away any negativity. 

When you feel that you have created sacred space, open your eyes and light your candle, saying I light this candle in honour of Imbolc. With the growing of the light, I give thanks for the new cycle which is beginning, releasing anything which no longer serves me. 

If you work with a particular deity, this is the time to invite them to join you in your ritual.

Now is the time to focus on your intention. Either make a declaration out loud or say it silently in your mind, but actively say I promise myself that I will [do your chosen activity] every day. Spend a moment sitting with that declaration, knowing that you will keep this promise to yourself because you value and honour yourself. 

When you are ready, take your seeds or bulb and hold them next to your heart. Fill them with loving energy, knowing that as they grow they will bring more and more joy and contentment into your life. You will be nurturing these seeds in the way that you will be nurturing yourself; as they grow, so will your inner peace. 

Say:

As darkness now fades, I call in the Spring

I welcome the light and the love that it brings

I promise to care for myself every day

For I deserve to always feel this way

Place your seeds back in your ritual space and take a moment to gaze upon the candle flame. Unfocus your eyes and let any thoughts rise to the surface. You might like to journal your feelings – is there any part of you which is feeling nervous about practising self-care? It is okay to feel how you feel. Now is the time to let it out and work through those emotions so you can keep your promise to yourself.

Watch the movement of the candle flame, noticing whether it seems to hold any messages about your new way of life. When you are ready, close your eyes and hold that flame in. your mind’s eye. Let it grow brighter and brighter, getting larger and larger until your whole body is filled with its warm, beautiful energy, helping to banish any lingering negativities and filling you with hope, creativity, and happiness.

When you are ready, open your eyes and eat and drink some of the food on your altar. Leave a little food and wine as an offering before formally closing your sacred space. Say:

i am grateful to have had this time celebrating Imbolc. A new cycle has begun and thus I step forward in confidence, welcoming all the opportunities this new season has to bring. 

If you invited any deities to join you, this is the time to thank them for their presence and bid them farewell. 

Finally, close your eyes and visualise the protective bubble you built at the beginning of the ritual disappearing. Clap your hands (or ring a bell if you have one), saying:

This rite is now at an end. So mote it be!

Leave your offerings in a suitable place, now your ritual’s over. Plant your seeds or bulb in a little pot and put it somewhere you can tend to it every day. As you water it, remember your commitment to yourself. As your plant grows, let it reaffirm your dedication to being kinder to yourself. 

What self-care practise did you choose? Let us know in the comments.