February
February is a month for planning the year ahead. It unfolds as a pause between winter’s retreat and spring’s awakening, between the old and the new, offering a rare opportunity to clarify our dreams and intentions as we gather ourselves in preparation for what lies ahead.
A gentle ‘Farewell’ to Winter
February is best described as a calm bridge between winter and spring, likely to be felt as a breakthrough from previous blockages and burdens. This month is a breath of fresh air, bringing a promise of hope and renewal in the form of a pit-stop period.
February is a gentle month, light and white. No rushing, no pressure, no delays, no major challenges. This is a time for final rest and gentle forward motion: to ride the waves with ease.
It is the last month of winter, and nature is quietly waking. The first plants are sprouting in the ground, and the birds are slowly returning from their exile. Yet winter still clings to the earth.
Opening with Imbolc, the ancient festival marking the first stirrings of spring, February carries the quiet promise that winter is beginning to soften — and that life is preparing to return.
It is a month of slow growth beneath the surface, where we strengthen for what is to come—accumulating energy, awareness, readiness, and wisdom—a gentle wake of what has been lying dormant.
The Month of Purification
The word February is derived from the Latin februa, meaning “purification rites”. Its Roman name, Februarius Mensis, literally means “month of purification”, and in ancient Rome purification rituals took place each year in February. The month was named after the festival of cleansing and sacrifice devoted to Februus, the god of purification, held on 15 February in the old Roman calendar. At that time, February also marked the final month of the calendar year.
For the ancient Romans, February was a month of purification—a time when farmers burned their fields and evil spirits were expelled from the city. It was also a period dedicated to restoring health and fertility to both the land and to families. February was furthermore associated with the dead and with closure, a time when the bonds between the living and the dead were strengthened. Ultimately, it was about marking the end of one year in order to begin a new one.
Nurturing Your Dreamseeds
February is a good time to remember to nurture the dream seeds you planted at the beginning of the year and to set up routines and plans for following up on your dreams.
Try to challenge yourself to think outside the box and come up with new and innovative ideas and solutions for what you are longing to birth into the world.
There is an independent energy at this time that supports breaking out of old beliefs, attitudes, and ways of thinking, making it possible to shift something in a big way. Especially around the days of the New Moon, we are supported in making fresh starts that carry our vision through imagination and gestation, as we find new ways forward in the manifestation process.
With the return of the light,
the grass starts greening,
the trees start dreaming,
the mind starts waking,
the heart starts shining.
Inside,
inside.
Observing Your Inner Landscape
Pay attention to your habits. Be aware of your reactions, your emotions, and how you feel. Use your intuition when rational thought does not provide enough clarity—especially then. We are learning new ways to navigate as new paradigms shift the world as we know it. Pay attention to what wants to change, and support it rather than resist it.
Try to resist moving forward with big projects or major undertakings, as there will be plenty of time for this next month. Avoid impulsive decisions until a more balanced point in the month, when greater clarity is possible. For now, your intention should be focused on self-awareness and gentle movement in the direction of improvement, satisfaction, and right relationship, purpose, and path.
Preparing for the Future
February is an opportunity to build up your inner power, courage, and sense of value in preparation for the future. We need to embrace the responsibility of creating our own future, rather than leaving it to others or expecting something or someone “out there” to do it for us.
Overall, this is the perfect time to gather our tools, sharpen our saw, and make healthy personal decisions for the way forward. We are preparing for next month’s significant shifts, as we begin to write a new chapter in our lives with the Astrological New Year around the Spring Equinox.
Rest, gather, and collect within, strengthening the foundation of your vessel so that you are ready to enter the waters of change that arrive around springtime.
Blessings,
Sidsel Solmer Eriksen, Founding Editor
February Practices
Celebrate Mid-Winter
Mid-Winter, Kyndelmisse, Imbolc, or Candlemas is a quiet celebration that rests between late winter and early spring.
Originally a festival of light for both indigenous and Christian traditions, it honours the returning warmth and the slow stirring of life beneath the earth.
True to the energy of the winter season, this is a time to plan, to imagine, and to set intentions for the months ahead: what to grow, what to nurture, what to bring into being.
The seeds remain buried deep in the soil of Mother Earth, yet even in their hidden sleep, they begin to dream of sprouting in the near future.
You can read more about Mid-Winter and find inspiration to celebrate it here.
Mini Fire Ceremony
Being a month of purification and burning, February invites you to find a way to incorporate the Fire element into a small ritual of “burning away the old” and “welcoming the light.”
Fire ceremonies are a cornerstone of many medicine traditions—ancient practices developed to help us heal and celebrate the turning of the year, whether in community or in solitude.
An old Imbolc tradition was to light candles at sunset in different places around the home, preferably by the windows, and let them burn through the night. During the day, winter was symbolically “swept away.”
In today’s world, where we have lights everywhere in our homes, a simple way to honour Imbolc is to light a candle and perform a mini fire ceremony—letting go of winter and welcoming the light.
The AIRE water oasis in Copenhagen dedicated to the Art of Timeless Water Therapy
Water Therapy
With its strong theme of purification, February offers the perfect excuse to visit a hammam or spa. The days around the New Moon—or even Valentine’s Day—are especially favourable for any kind of water therapy. .
Walks in the rain, or simply allowing yourself a good cry, are other ways to release emotions and process the past, cleansing and restoring before the spring season. As Bruce Lee said: “Be water, my friend.”