In the ancient calendars of the Goddess – Western Europe, the Celts, and our own Southwestern Hopi belief system – the First of February marks the day ‘the seed turns in the earth’. There is enough light now for life to begin again.
So if we want to observe the entirety of spring – from first hints to full blown on the edge of summer – Imbolc to Beltane – then spring has already begun, and will end with the oncoming heat of summer on May 1.
Candlemas was the Catholic church’s overtaking of the Goddess. And the groundhog comes from ancient tradition of observing this time and searching for omens as well. Underneath all the traditions is the movement and shifting of the Earth Herself, telling us time while being timeless.
And tomorrow, the light will be 2 minutes 8 seconds longer.