Imbolc A Festival of Lights Imbolc is the second of the fire festivals. Our ancestors used this time as recognition for the coming fertility of the earth. Seeds to be used for planting were brought to be blessed and prepared. Great fires were lit on hillsides to welcome the returning sun and to celebrate the "pregnancy" of the earth.
For pagans today, instead of bale fires burning on hillsides at sundown, candles are lit and placed in windows throughout the house. In ritual, a young maiden (or two) represent the Virgin Goddess by wearing a crown with candles. Winter may still be with us, but it is losing its grip in face of the coming spring.
This is a time for recognition of the maiden aspect of the Goddess. She has recovered from the birth of the God at Yule and is ready to begin the cycle again. The maiden Goddess is the Goddess of inspiration, healing, and crafts. She is best known as Brigid though some traditions also recognize her as Aradia or Athena. The God is but a child at this time, and is sometimes associated with a dragon.
Imbolc is a time for banishing the darker things in our lives and to become renewed with spirituality. Imbolc is traditionally a time for self-dedication, and for the initiation of priests and priestesses. However, just because it is a tradition, dedications and initiations should be done only because the individual is ready.
There are a number of ways to celebrate this Sabbat. The most obvious is making candles. Other activities include making "Eyes of God/dess" or any other craft or artistic endeavor. Create a batch of moon cakes, or just take a walk outside to search for signs of the coming spring.
And in case you’re wondering - no, Ground Hog’s Day is not a pagan tradition. It is, however, based upon agricultural practices. And, yes, many of those practices do have pagan roots.
Magick associated with Imbolc: artistic endeavor, candle magick, cleansing, clearing, creation, creativity, dawn, dedication, fertility, growth, healing, hope, initiation, innocence, innovation, joy, knowledge, learning, new beginnings, physical desire, protection, purity, songs, and spirituality.
Altar decorations: besom, Brigid’s cross, candles, cauldron, crescent moon symbols, grain or corn dolls, lamps, paper snowflakes, plow, snowdrops, sprig of evergreen, sword, symbols of deer or lambs, white things, winter bulbs, and yellow flowers.
Colors: brown, light blue, light green, pale green, pink, red, yellow, and white.
Foods: cake, cream soups, dairy products, garlic, goat cheese, herbal tea, honey, mushrooms, pancakes, raisins, seeds, spicy food and wines, white fish, white meat dishes.
Herbs / Incense / Oils : angelica, apricot, basil, bay, carnation, celandine, cinnamon, clover, coltsfoot, dill, evergreen, frankincense, heather, iris, jasmine, myrrh, neroli, olive, pear, rosemary, snowdrop, tansy, vanilla, violet, willow, wisteria.
Stones : amethyst, bloodstone, garnet, onyx, and turquoise.
© 2000 Mother
