Imbolc - The Passing of the Torch: Brigid, The Cailleach, and The Substance

Imbolc is an important day in the Irish calendar marking the transition from the harsh grasp of Winter to fertile, forgiving Spring. In Irish mythology this shift is embodied in the symbolic handover between the Cailleach, the ancient hag of winter, and Brigid, the youthful goddess of abundance, creativity, and Spring. This powerful metamorphosis is not just about the changing of the seasons; it is a profound reflection on transformation, identity, and the cyclical nature of existence.

Much like the Cailleach, who struggles to maintain her dominion over the land before ultimately yielding to Brigid’s emergence, we often find ourselves caught between versions of who we were and who we are becoming. The old self—deemed undesirable, outdated, and no longer fit for purpose—must make way for the new. But just as the Cailleach is never truly gone (as anyone who’s experienced Irish weather knows well), neither are the old iterations of the self. Imbolc reminds us that change is necessary, but it also reminds us that the past is never erased—it simply takes new form. The past and present are in constant dialogue, and one cannot exist without the other. 

This dynamic is eerily echoed in The Substance, one of my favourite recent films, where the protagonist fails to give her past and present self equal respect. The older version of herself is locked away, kept in dark, stark conditions like the Cailleach, while the young version thrives in a hyper-saturated world of pop and vibrancy—Brigid’s world of new life and promise. The film visualizes the violent rupture between past and present, where the transition is not organic but forced, tearing one self from another in a brutal, unnatural and deliciously gory mutation. Both Imbolc and The Substance explore this truth: reinvention is not about destruction but integration—acknowledging that what came before is always part of what comes next. 

Self Portrait as The Cailleach at her eternal resting place, The Hag of Beara.

Shanti as Brigid on a moss bed in the depths of the woods