Signs and Portents

Spring often feels like a good time for looking forward and contemplating what the year ahead may hold. Even if it doesn’t much feel like spring at the moment, the beginning of February has long been a time of foretelling and forecasting.

You may have heard of the American tradition of Groundhog Day. On February 2nd each year, the state of the weather when the groundhog emerges from its burrow is used to predict the coming of spring. If it’s cloudy, it is believed that Spring will come early, but if it is bright then the groundhog will see his shadow and turn back into his burrow. This means there are still six more weeks of winter weather to come!

This is echoed in many old British sayings around Candlemas,  celebrations which take place around 2nd February (like Easter, it is a moveable feast). Although the wording may be different depending upon location in the UK, they all run along the same lines; ‘If Candlemas Day is clear and bright, winter will have another bite.  If Candlemas Day brings cloud and rain, winter is gone and will not come again.

However, these weather forecasts are believed to have their roots in much older practices. Certain dates have been important to mankind since farming began. The alignment of megalithic structures shows these dates have been important to man since at least Neolithic times (around 5000 years ago).  One of them is Imbolc, the 1st of February.

The summer and winter solstices, and spring and autumn equinoxes divided the year into 4 equal parts - dates close to these events became known as Quarter days.  Important dates midway between two Quarter days became known as Cross quarter days. These coincide with the four Celtic fire festivals (Imbolc, Beltane, Lughnasa, and Samhain) and important points in the agricultural calendar.

Imbolc marks the point in the year when the first signs of spring appear, promising that the hold of winter will be broken and the the wheel of the seasons will continue to turn. Customarily connected with the start of the lambing season, the origin of word is thought to derive from either the  Old Irish for ‘in the belly’, signalling the pregnancy of the ewes, or possibly the Old Irish for ewes milk.

Imbolc is traditionally a time of weather divination for the year ahead. For example, it was believed that Imbolc was the time of year when the Cailleach,  a Gaelic goddess also known as Beira, Queen of Winter would go out and gather firewood for the remainder of the winter. If she wished the winter to last a long time, then she would ensure the day was bright and sunny so that she could collect a large amount of wood to keep her warm. On the other hand if the weather is awful, it means she has fallen asleep. She cannot then gather wood to keep her warm, so she will keep the winter short.

An old Gaelic poem has it that “As far as the wind shall enter the door, On the Feast Day of Bride (1st February), The snow shall enter the door, On the Feast Day of Patrick (17th March). So according to prophecy, if it’s sunny, warm and windy on the first of February, we’re in for a few more weeks of winter!

What to look out for:

Days start to noticeably lengthen, and lambs and calves are being born. You can see the beginnings of new growth in the form of snowdrops and leaf bud - although with the mild winter we’ve just had you may have been seeing these things since last year!

You don't have to be a pagan to get a close association with the natural world, but why not get closer to nature and see what signs of spring you can spot at one of your local nature reserves? 

I first wrote this article for Sheffield and Rotherham Wildlife Trust, and it's published here by their kind permission. It's only right I give them a plug! They hold lots of events for all age groups and abilities throughout the year. Visit www.wildsheffield.com/whats-on for more details or call them on 0114 263 4335 to find out more.