Imbolc – Brigit’s Day

A Celebration of Emergence

Lisnavagh House

Monday, 2 February, 2026

10 am – 5 pm

After a wonderful gathering of 14 women from around the country to celebrate Brigit as Goddess, I’m sharing some of the themes and thoughts from the day.

Women have been disempowered since the 4th and 5th century as a patriarchial Christianity took over from a matri-focal society. Once upon a time, womanhood and the fertility that created life was centred in the body, and was deeply honoured. Not just with Brigit in early Celtic times; this was a theme across many cultures.

The shift from pagan society to Christianity in 4^th – 5^th century brought a shift from the body to the head as the centre of creation or creativity. The Triple Goddess (Eriu, Banba & Fotla) – symbolized by Triple Spiral – was replaced by Trinity of the Father, which was about will and obedience, no longer dependent on the fertility of womanhood. This was a radical social and psychological shift from matri-focal society to patriarchy.*

The yoga programme on our day retreat provided time to connect inwards. Yoga is a practice from another culture yet universal in its path to self-actualisation. The breath is key in feeling our mind/body connection.

On Brigit’s Day, the theme was connecting to our centre – our “belly”, our core, pelvic floor, waist, our centre of power and our point of origin. Imbolc was our guide in this – it translates roughly as “in the belly”, signifying a seasonal space and time for re-generation as  Spring slowly re-awakens Nature’s potential.

A lot happens in the belly! The whole abdomen has a neural plexus that holds its own intelligence. We get “gut feelings” and “butterflies in the stomach” because our system recognises that something is up, and we feel it there. But the abdominal region is also the place where we ingest food; digest the nutrition we need; and dispel what we don’t need. It’s also the space where we hold – in the stomach, the bladder, and significantly of course, the womb. Honouring this gender difference; protecting and strengthening and relaxing this area is so important for our health. “Gut health” is not just a fad – it’s literally how we stay alive and well.

The belly is the easiest place to feel our breath come and go. The breath itself provides us with our rhythm of life, and is a literal connection to our world and each other (we all breathe the same air, as our face-masks during Covid highlighted!). In yogic terms, the breath carries “Prana”, or our life force.

The day’s programme provided lots of options for those gathered. It’s important to get what you need from a retreat – whatever its length – and on this day, the afternoon was a time for taking what you needed. Many opted for the simplicity of reading by the fire, resting and chatting.

Optional activities were also taken up. A swim & sauna in a beautiful sunken sauna and a rain-filled lake; foraging for nettles and mint as we chatted with the pigs in the walled garden; and making tea from our gatherings to sample Nature’s tonics were wonderful moments of gentle connection to our world and each other.

I’m very grateful for everyone who came and shared the day. It wouldn’t have happened without Emily who created and hosted the day at Lisnavagh, and gentle Ollie who works so hard in the kitchen with Emily to produce deeply nourishing food, much of it from the walled garden. Go raibh mile math agat!

Beannachtaí na Féile Bhríde

Om Shantih

Journalling Prompts

These are gentle prompts devised for our Brigit’s Day retreat to guide you in reflecting on what’s coming for you as spring stirs. Do as much or little as you like; write about what resonates.

What’s Stirring?

Brigit as Goddess was the Mother figure, associated with the Serpent, a symbol of regeneration and creativity. Today we celebrate Brigit and Imbolc, meaning “in the belly”, something brewing, something being created.

What new seeds of possibility are stirring ‘in my belly’ this Imbolc season?

Of all the desires stirring in me now, which seeds will I tend to first?

What is my part in the emerging global cultivation of values that honor our inter-connection with each other and Earth?

What have you shed to make room for the new?

It happens that we are also approaching Chinese New Year, when we leave behind the Year of the Wood Snake, symbol of shedding one’s skin, of letting go of the old. We move into the Year of the Fire Horse, associated with independence, action, freedom, and charisma. Horse’s free spirit combined with the dynamic Fire element gives a combustible mix of passion, courage, and radical change. Horse doesn’t always consider the consequences of its actions in the moment, so staying grounded when making decisions is important.

What have I shed, or what can I shed, that I no longer need? Habits, business or work-related dross, relationship patterns, emotional patterns…

What do I feel is gaining momentum for me as Spring dawns?

How do I respond to crisis or chaotic situations? What tools might I develop if I think I need to manage myself better?

How do I drop into stillness?

Exploring the Goddess Consciousness

“We are as Gods and might as well become good at it.” – Stewart Brand

It’s a time of significant global change, climate change, war and other ruptures in our status quo. A new, people-powered and collaborative wisdom and leadership is emerging.

This section stretches our thinking about a sort of divine power that we hold to create the world we want to see – to “be the change.” That spark of divinity – often buried by fear or confined by the boundaries of beliefs and personal ego – brings not only power but responsibility.

What does “standing in my power” mean to me? In a moment of chaos or drama, what does this look like?

How would I behave if I knew I was a god(dess)? How would I treat myself, how would I treat others?

What kind of consciousness would I hold about my smallest actions if I knew their effects influenced the entire rest of creation? If my lapses of consciousness could mean endless pain, or my awakenings could bring joy to the multitudes?

How does that already happen – where my everyday actions affect or influence others around me, on a smaller scale in my life as it is?

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