The season begins on February 2, and ends around March 21. It is symbolized by the Maiden Archetype and the second moon-phase, the Crescent moon. This Season's sabat is called Imbolc.
Following the period of New Moon darkness, a shy smile of moon appears near the western horizon at sunset. Still hidden within Earth’s shadow, the moon at this stage presents a fleeting, tantalizing vision. It represents a phase of instinctive, youthful, unconscious, and irrepressible activity. Thus, it corresponds to the Maiden’s passage in our lives-- a time of self-determined realities, untouched by worldly limits, filled with potentialities as yet uncorrupted by society’s conventional judgments.
IMBOLC: (February 2) Winter’s end. Traditionally, this is a time of purification and prophecy, observed by the lighting of candles to spark new growth. A debut, a time of “coming out” and a focus on instinctive creative activity, it is marked by festivities dedicated to virgin goddesses in many parts of the world. The lighting of candles honor an innocent, instinctive joy in simply being alive and awake
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