We've made it to the mid-point
of the Winter dark and bleak.
From this day on the Sun
will climb and thaw the
ground and creeks.
Bless us now, oh Maiden fair,
and keep us in your loving care.
Showing signs of new life everywhere
as you awaken from your sleep.
--Akasha
Awake sleeping Maiden,
Thy consort is close,
He comes through the woods for thee.
I light your candles
and pierce the darkness
Your re-union for all
to see.
--Akasha
Activities and Rituals:
blessing of seeds for this year's garden, fertility and purification, spring cleaning, "Bride's Bed" rituals, Home hearth fires are put out and re-lit, and a besom is place by the front door to symbolize sweeping out the old and welcoming the new, consecration of agricultural tools, All Virgin and Maiden Goddesses are honored at this time, Candle Lighting, Stone Gatherings, Snow Hiking and Searching for Signs of Spring, Making of Brideo'gas and Bride's Beds, Making Priapic Wands, Decorating Ploughs, Feasting, Bon Fires, rituals of initiation, transformation, new beginnings
Colors:
White, Orange, Red, Yellow
Tools:
Plough, garden implements
Herbs/Flowers:
Angelica, Basil, Bay Laurel, Blackberry, Celandine, Coltsfoot, Heather, Iris, Myrrh, Snowdrop, Tansy, Violets, First Flower of the Year
Stones/Gems:
Amethyst, Bloodstone, Garnet, Ruby, Onyx, Turquoise
Symbols & Decorations:
]Candles, Lamps, Brooms, Yellow flowers, Brighid's Crosses, Priapic Wands (acorn-tipped), dish of snow, evergreens
Foods:
All dairy products, curries, onions, chives, seeds, herbal tea, mutton or lamb, Poppyseed Cakes, muffins, scones, and breads, onions, garlic, raisins, spiced wines
Deities:
Dagda (Celt), Pan (Greek), Cernunnor (Celt),Osiris (Egyptian), Herne (Saxon), Jupiter (Roman), Demeter (Greek), Ceres (Roman), Cerridwen (Celt), Aengus Og, Eros, and Februus,Frigg (Norse), Cybele Brighid (Celt), Bride, Brigette, all virgin Goddesses and Gods of love and fertility
Animals:
Sheep, Wolves, Bears, Stags, Eagle, Raven, Groundhog, Owl, Snake
Other names for this holiday:
Candlemas, Imbolg, Brigit's Day, St. Lucy's Day, Feast of Brighid, Oimealg, Imbolgc Brigantia, Imbolic, Disting (Teutonic, Feb 14th), Lupercus, Candlelaria, The Festival of Lights, or the Feast of the Virgin..
* Make or decorate candles
* Brighid, the Celtic goddess of fire, healing, and poetry is considered the patron Goddess of Imbolc. Read up on her as a Celtic goddess and as her later incarnation, St. Brigit.
* Burn the evergreen boughs that decorated your home during the winter holidays in the Imbolc Fires and celebrate the return of the Sun's strength and the Godess as the Maiden.
* Brighid is the goddess of poetry. Write a poem in her honor, and read it aloud during any Imbolc ritual you may have planned.
* Cleanse and re-consecrate your ritual tools and clean your altar.
* Go through all your herbs and discard those that are more than a year old
* Weave "Brigit's crosses from straw or wheat to hang around the house for protection
* Perform rites of spiritual cleansing and purification
* Make "Brigit's beds" to ensure fertility of mind and spirit (and body, if desired)
* Ritually cleanse your home and start your "spring" cleaning
* Make a Crown of Light (i.e. of candles for the High Priestess to wear for the Imbolc Circle, similar to those worn on St. Lucy's Day in Scandinavian countries
* Place a lighted candle in each and every window of the house, beginning at sundown on Candlemas Eve (February 1), allowing them to continue burning until sunrise. Make sure that such candles are well seated against tipping and gaurded from nearby curtains, etc. If you are not able to use real candles use those candle lamps sold at crafts and department stores for the Christian Christmas season.
* Buy a "salt lick" block and leave it out for the wild animals.
* Make a window garden with seeds, soil, old glass jars or rinse some tuna or cat food cans, and get ready for spring! Easy items are beans, mints, marigolds. Even carrot or pineapple tops and avocado pits are fun to do.
* Make a Bride doll
* Make a tiny "Candle Garden" by filling a small aluminum pan with fine salt or sand and "planting" birthday candles, Hanukkah candles or even tea lights in the "garden"
* Tie tiny strips of fabric in trees near a stream and ask Bride for her influence in your life. Use cotton strips and the birds will use them for nesting or they will bio-degrade over time
* Play a candle game where the men stand in forming a circle whole passing a candle quickly and the women stand on the outside of the circle trying to blow out the flame. The one who succeeds gets to claim a kiss.
* Meditate as a family. Have everyone explore what it would feel like to be a seed deep in the Earth, feeling the first stirrings of life. Lie on the floor and put out tendrils. Stretch and bloom.
* Have a bardic circle where everyone brings poetry, songs or a short story that they have written to honor Brigid (Brigit/Brigid/Bride was the daughter of Dagda. She was the protector of the poets, the forge and the healing persons.)
* Help your kids go through all their clothes, toys, and books to find the unwanted and outgrown items. Donate everything to a charity that will give the items to children who need them.
* Go for a walk. Search for signs of spring. Take off your shoes and socks and squish your toes in the mud!
* Lead the family on a parade around the outside of your home, banging on pots and pans or playing musical instruments to awaken the spirits of the land. * Have your children hold some herb seeds in their hands. Talk to the seeds. Bless them with growth and happiness. Fill them with love. Plant an in-door herb garden.
* Make corn dollies and a cradle for them to sleep in.
by Amber K & Azrael Arynn K
I've been interested in the goddess Brigid for a long time, and jumped out of my chair when I heard this book existed. I was even more ecstatic when it didn't disappoint me. I was afraid the book would be a skim-over-the-surface effort, touching only briefly on Brigid and then continuing on to subjects having nothing to do with her. Basically, I was afraid the book would try too hard to be eclectic. Fortunately, the two Ladies K did a wonderful job with their subject. They briefly mentioned other holidays celebrated in other cultures at the same time, and then settled down quite comfortably to talk in-depth about Brigid in her several forms: as an ancient goddess, as a faery of the Sidhe, and as a human saint. I was especially impressed with the section on St. Brigid. Most pagan authors, when writing about Brigid, simply frown angrily at the end of the goddess's myth and rant, "And then the Christians stole her and made her into a saint!" Lol. Here, St. Brigid gets respect. There is an impressive collection of St. Brigid wonder tales, several of which were completely new to me. The authors even see a silver lining in the replacement of the goddess by the saint--by recasting Brigid as a human woman, the Irish may have felt closer to her, since she was more like an old friend than a distant deity. Then the authors get into practical suggestions: rituals, crafts, and recipes. They include rituals for one, for a family, and for a coven. There is a thick chapter on making your own candles. And the recipes, which I didn't get to try yet since I got the book the day before Imbolc, look yummalicious! And for the authenticity police, there is a note by each recipe saying whether it's ancient, post-Crusades, or post-Columbus. Overall, a warm and approachable guide to the Imbolc Sabbat, by two authors who seem like really great people. I have tons of ideas for next year now.
