Imbolc Rite

You will need a corn maiden and a priapic wand. A lit candle in cauldron in south and some twigs of evergreen besides the cauldron.

Prepare Brigid's bed. This is done by dressing the corn doll in a white cloth and any other ornaments. Then place it in a basket or on a mat. Then lay the priapic wand across the doll and place two altar candles, one on either side, beside the basket.

Say:

"Bride is come. Bride is Welcome" (three times)

Return the besom beside the altar.

Kneel before the cauldron. Pick up the twigs and set fire to each in turn.

Then blowout each each and place in cauldron beside the candle.

Say:

"Now I banish winter. Now I welcome spring:
Say farewell to what is dead and greet each living thing.
Now I banish winter. Now I welcome spring."

 I live in the Chicago suburbs, and here is is late winter. The temps got up to 40 today, much of the snow has melted, and we went out to a local forest preserve for a Mini Imbolic festival.

I had saved boughs from our Yule greens ( an armload of them), as well as a variety of herbal brooms that I have made over the last 3 years, a couple of old Brigid Crosses, herbal protection charms that have expired and so forth. We grabbed these, along with a basket of pinecones that had been picked up and stored for craft projects for the last few years and assorted peices of paper with magical notes. Then we grabbed some hot dogs, marshmellows, skewers, buns and headded off.

Once there, I made a fire out of some paper napikins that were in the glove box, and mentally consecrated the flame to Brighid. Then we all started tossing in the items, and we got a nice blaze going ! Then we all passed through the smoke, asking for Brighid's blessings of health in the comming  year...and then roasted the hot dogs, with the awareness that these were absorbing her energy, and we in turn would take this into our bodies. It  felt sacred...and purifying !

Then we played Hide and go seek for a time while the fire burned down. Hide and Go seek was in honor of the Groundhog :-). Thew when it was safe, I scooped up a mayonaise jar full of the ashes to add to my herb garden and  indoor plants as a soil amendment- blessing. It felt like a very appropriate thing to do with the ashes of all of these sacred things.

Our formal ritual was held on Monday night, but this was a totally spur of the moment kind of thing that simply felt like a great way to make the festival last just a little longer.

 Diane

Then we went outside for a (clockwise) procession around  the garden (visualizing the vegie garden in full green and  talking about   the renewal on its way), and through the barn, (talking about the life  growing in the wombs and the udders filling with milk). As we returned  to the house, we could see the brilliant candlelight shining from the   windows and the light of the stars above.

Inside, we placed  three  additional candles before us (green, lavender and white); as we  lit each  one, we projected onto it a "wish" -- one for the earth at large, one  for someone we knew outside out family, and little Josie did one for  herself.  We sat and tried to visualize what it would be like if the  energies manifested themselves according to our desires.  We shared part  of some buttered bread and part of a cup of milk, and put the remaining parts outside the door.  Then we extinguished the candles.

Tempestua