Imbolc: Creating New Pagan Family Traditions

Also known as Candlemas, Brigid’s Fire, Oimelc, Lupercalia and—here in North America—Groundhog’s Day, this Sabbat is celebrated on the 2nd of February. The rituals surrounding this day evoke light, fire, hearth, health, cleansing and crafting.

Though the nights have been getting shorter since Yule, it’s only after Imbolc that it truly becomes noticeable. In some places, the weather has already begun to warm, with the first rains of spring melting snow and baring the earliest flowering buds.