Hi! I’m Liz, a native North Carolinian, now settled and enjoying a simple, creative life with my wife in Sweden. I want to warmly welcome you to the Wild Soul Collective. 🫶🏻 I write seasonal letters and record a monthly podcast for those of us who long to live a slow life in rhythm with nature. All letters are always free for everyone. If you haven’t yet, please subscribe + join. We would love to have you here. ❍↟☽
Hello, lovely you. And welcome to February.
I have to be honest with you. I have a difficult time with February. It has been that way for many years now. At first, I never understood why. I think maybe I just didn’t connect with this in-between, transitional month. And, then, for the past few years, for me, grief and loss have been deeply associated with this month, making it even less enjoyable. Nevertheless, here we are. And we begin this month, as we begin every February, with the beautiful, soft, hope-filled festival of Imbolc.
Approaching the threshold of spring energy
Imbolc is the midpoint between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. A turning point on the wheel of the year. A shift in the seasons. We now find ourselves slowly leaving behind deep winter and crossing over into very, very early spring energy.
To be honest, it’s really not that obvious that the seasons are changing. And many of us in the northern hemisphere still have months of winter weather ahead. But, the ancient festival of Imbolc reminds us that time is indeed passing, nature is most definitely cycling through her rhythms, and we are initiated into the time of the year where hidden, invisible stirrings begin to hint to us that winter is very slowly coming to a close and spring will come again.
Deep in the earth, hidden from us, the plants begin to prepare for the growing season. Roots stretch and grow deeper. Nutrients are soaked in. Seeds begin to germinate and break from their pods. Snowdrops even break through the earth and snow, a sure sign that spring will come again.
Imbolc actually, literally, means “in the belly”. Starting in February, ewes often carry new life within them. Other animals also begin their gestational periods now and will be ready for birth come spring. Of course, the sleeping animals begin to slowly stir and wake from their winter slumbers. And we, too, may begin to feel a wee bit more energy as February unfolds and daylight lengthens with brighter mornings and later sunsets. But, most of what happens throughout February is quiet, silent, and not really obvious. Which, of course, can make it feel like winter is never ending, spring is never coming, and time is moving ever so slowly.
But, that’s the beauty of slowing down and living in rhythm with the seasons. It teaches us to embrace and observe and connect with the energy that is all around us from day to day. In February, I find myself slowing down so that I can hunt for these hidden signs of the coming spring.
These are the predawn hours
For me, the ancient light festival of Imbolc, celebrated on February 1, sets the mood for the whole month. I associate this season, this time of the year, with the energy and feeling of the predawn hours. If I had to choose the hours that this season embodies, then it would be the mystical, quiet hours between 3 am and 6 am.
For hundreds and thousands of years, the predawn hours have been known to be a spiritual, liminal time of day. In ancient Rome, it was known as the 4th watch, the last shift when guards changed and kept watch over troops before sunrise. Before the Industrial Revolution and the invention of artificial light, it is thought that people naturally slept for 4 hours, woke for 2, and then slept for 4 hours again. Many spiritual people and religious traditions have also used these early predawn hours as sacred hours for prayer, meditation, and connection with the divine.
Have you ever woken during the predawn hours and felt the energy of the late night/early morning? Is it a time that feels a bit frightening to you? Are you uneasy? Do you just want to sleep again? Or do you feel inspired or wild or full of magic?
However you experience them, these hours are a dreamy, in-between state. Sometimes they are filled with deep sleep. But, closer to morning, these hours are a time of being half asleep and half awake. Not really aware, but stirring and moving and stretching. During these hours, whether you find yourself sleepy-eyed in bed and roll over to sleep a bit more or whether you quietly rise early before others wake, there is no rush, no hurry. Time moves slowly. Magic feels possible. Spirit feels nearby. A bit like February, I’d say.
The predawn hours are the threshold for the morning and the rising of the sun. When and how we all wake to a new day is quite personal, I believe. Some of us are groggy and slow, some of us are awake and inspired. However we find ourselves in these quiet, solitary, magical predawn hours is just fine.
Winter slumber or spring stirrings?
If, as February begins, you find yourself still craving and needing to stay in your winter slumber, then by all means stay warm and snuggled and cozy where you are for the time being. It is still winter. It is not yet spring. Remember, the rhythms of the seasons unfold very slowly, so take your time. Keep slumbering, keep wintering.
If, however, you are awakened by the soft, flickering candlelight of Imbolc and feel ready to rise for a while during the predawn energy of February, then you have some quiet, magical moments available to you.
The magic of February is that everything is slowly and invisibly awakening, growing, and shifting. And that provides the perfect space for creativity and mysticism, for whenever we begin to stir and awaken.
How to use the energy of February
I want to follow the rhythms of the earth and use February for hidden, silent soul work which helps me to make sure my own roots, like the plants, are strong and deep. For me, February, which I associate with the spiritual hours of predawn, is the time of the year to refresh, restart, or re-commit to some grounding practices that support creativity, mysticism, and connection with the divine and my own soul. And, lord knows I need all of that, since I have such a hard time with February.
As a way to slowly begin to stir and wake from my winter hibernation, I often recommit to some grounding practices that help me to make sure that my roots are deep and my soul is calm, before the active season of the year arrives - another part of the year that this old, autumnal soul has difficulty with.
In any case, this is the perfect time of the year (with all of that mystical predawn energy) to introduce a few spiritual practices back into my daily life. So far, this year, I have just begun a weekly kundalini yoga class. I am also focusing my slow mornings on journaling and meditation before work. I love those times when it’s just me and a candle and the moon (or sunrise, as it will be by the end of this month).
The purpose of spiritual practices, in my opinion, is to bring the sacred into daily life. It is a way to create self discipline, practice awareness, engage in mindfulness, and bring magic into everyday, ordinary life. And, I mean, February can be a pretty ordinary, mundane everyday kind of month. So, letting the festival of Imbolc initiate me into the predawn energy of February feels like the perfect way to drop down into the mystical, spiritual, grounding season of slowly waking and preparing to welcome the new energy on its way in a few months.
A new understanding of February
I suppose that February gets a bad rap from me. It is a difficult month, but the fact that so much of the magic of February is hidden, challenges me to find a way to trust in the process of it all. The transition months, like February, that take us from one season into the next, are not easy. And, it often seems as if nothing is happening. In February, I have often felt like I am stuck in my grief and that winter will never end.
But, every time I return my awareness to the unfolding rhythms of nature, I remember the gifts of the present season - even the difficult ones. And I settle back into the wisdom of the earth and the deep calm within my soul.
Understanding February in relation to the predawn hours inspires me to find the mystical, spiritual, deeper meanings that are part of the energy of this month. And, as always, there is no rush. There is only the quiet unfolding of it all. And a chance to embody and embrace the rhythms of life.
So, today, I light candles all over my home to celebrate the festival of Imbolc and to welcome in the slow, soft, quiet shifting of the seasons. The slow, soft, waking season is upon us and the light is growing every day.
Are you ready to to stir and wake a little in the dark predawn hours? Or are you still feeling the call of winter’s slumber?
Blessed Imbolc, loves. Welcome to February.
xoxo. liz.
February happenings
☀️ February sunrise/sunset times in Norrköping, Sweden (Mondays)
05 Feb - 7:54 / 16:25 (day length 8 hours, 30 min)
12 Feb - 7:37 / 16:42
19 Feb - 7:19 / 16:59
26 Feb - 7:03 / 17:14 (day length 10 hours, 15 min!!)
🌙 Moon phases (Europe)
09 Feb - Super New Moon
24 Feb - Snow Full moon
✨ Sacred Days
01 Feb - Imbolc: The festival of fire and light that marks the midway point between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox.
02 Feb - Candlemas: A medieval celebration of the 40 days after Christmas and the official end of the holiday season.
14 Feb - Ash Wednesday: Lent begins, a time of inward reflection and spiritual practices during the 40 days before Easter.
29 Feb - Leap year extra day!
🎵 The playlist
The soft, slow stirrings of February 🐑