I M B O L C (February 2nd)

Dates:

Southern Hemisphere: August 1st

Northern Hemisphere: February 1st or 2nd

also known as: Candlemas, Imbolg, Imbolgc brigantia, Lupercus, Disting

IMBOLC: The earliest whisperings of Springtide are heard now

as the Goddess nurtures Her Young Son. As a time of the year associated with

beginning growth, Imbolc is an initiatory period for many.

Here we plant the "seeds" of our hopes and dreams for the coming summer months.

It is the holiday that marks the sun's growing strength

and some places may see a sign of spring.

It is a time of initiation and beginning.

Time to plan for the coming Spring

(and rest up for all that house cleaning!).

Plan some new rituals or work on your BOS.

Or perform a re-dedication ritual.

This is a good time for weather divination.

Of course, this is also where the idea for

"Groundhog Day" comes from...

if a shadow is seen, we will know that

winter will last another six weeks.

"If Candlemas day be fair and bright,
Winter will have another flight
If Candlemas day be clouds and rain,
Winter is gone, and will not come again."

Imbolic is a holiday of light...

turn on every light in the house, light some candles and

open windows/doors (unless it's way too cold!);

carry a candle around the house and do a blessing.

Get ready to welcome back the Sun!

Imbolic is a great day to make your own candles.

One custom is to put a candle in each window of your home

and let them burn down until morning. For safety sake,

you may not want to do this if you have pets or children.

In all cases, make sure the candles are well secured from tipping.

This is a good time for using candles in magick and in divination.

Imbolic literally means "in the belly."

In the womb of the Goddess Mother there are the beginnings of new life,

waiting to explode into our view! Imbolic is traditionally a day of honor

for the Goddess Mother Brigid (also spelled with a 't' by some and is pronounced 'Breed').

She is the fire Goddess of healing and inspiration; of the holy well and the sacred flame.

So celebrated was Goddess Brigid by the Irish in ancient times,

that the church named her St. Brigid and the day became "Saint Brigid's Day".

They hold celebration there to this day, gathered around her sacred well and

keeping vigil with candles. This tradition is carried out anywhere by

seeking out magickal wells (a representative of the cauldron)

and throwing coins in for making wishes. A doll is made from wheat or barley

and woven into human or symbolic form. St. Brigid's crosses (sun wheel)

are also made from grains. The dolly figure is usually dressed in white and

placed in a bed of grain, or in another place of honor in the house.

The Irish carried her through the fields to protect the crops

and bring fertility to the land.

You may make braided Brigid bread on this day as well.

(Recipes to follow)

Correspondences and Activities For Imbolic

-Altar: except for candles and white flowers, the altar is typically left bare

to signify simplicity and rest. It's all a matter of preference, however.
-Colors: white, green, blue
-Incense: may be vanilla, sandalwood
-Herbs: bay, basil, rosemary
-Oils: jasmine or balm
-Stones: amethyst or jet
-Foods/Drink: Angelica tea (good fortune) or your favorite wine. Of course,

water is great in representation of Brigid and the holy well!
-Make Braided Brigid bread.
-Make candles

A good book on the Druids...'The World of the Druids" by Green has a little bit about Imbolic.

Celebrated Feb 1st it celebrates the first sign of spring, the lactation of the ewes. Imbolic means purification. This Sabbat was closely associated with the Irish Goddess Brigit who later became a Christian saint. So it is closely related to purification and possibly connected to luring the sun back to the earth using fire as a tool in sympathetic magic.

Another reference, although not as scholarly, is McCoy's "The Sabbats". There is a reference to a lit wheel of the year later mutating to a crown of flowers on the maids head. ..

McCoy has a lot of fun ideas about how to celebrate this Sabbat. I don't know how authentic you would like to get.

Credit this to Cornovius Parisii

Imbolic may be the beginning of spring, in theory, but it seems much more like

"the deepest of winter" in terms of current Irish and Scottish weather.

There have been climactic shifts, but these occurred very early in Celtic times

(pre-700bc, ie Halstat).

Imbolic (along with the other three "fire" festivals conventionally called by their Irish names of Beltane, Lughnassagh and Samhain) is indeed marked on the Coligny calendar, a 1st century ad five-year bronze calendar discovered at Coligny in the Jura mountains and now displayed at the Gallo-Roman museum in Lyon (Gallo-Roman Lugdunnum, the capital of Gaul). Since this was a luni-solar calendar, the date of Imbolc and the other festivals shifted a bit from year to year - in a purely solar calendar they would have been on the same date (there is a school of thought that ties these to lunar phases, though, making them fixed in a lunar calendar and variable in a solar calendar).

These dates have persisted into Scots law, where they are the four quarter days (for example, quarterly rend is due on these days, they are ,marked as "red letter days" in a legal calendar, and so on. These same four festivals are also repeatedly referred to in the 9th-12th century ad) Irish mythological sources, as Imbolc, Oimelc, Imbolg, etc. Note that the "b" is silent so these all have much the same pronunciation in practice.

According to the historian Ronald Hutton, the derivation from the name "sheeps milk" is "linguistically impossible" but there we are. Most other folks seem to accept that derivation,

and it is around the time of year when sheep begin to lactate. Hutton also notes that there is a school of thought that links the Irish words for "milk" and "milking" with Indo-European word for purification, and this theory seems to be borne out by rituals (both Pagan and Christian - associated with Saint Brigid) which has appeared around this date. The biography of Saint Brigid (who apparently has no historical basis at all as a physical person and is very clearly a light Christianization of a pre-existing pagan Goddess) has purification aspects and also milk aspects (she was said to be the wet-nurse of Christ, in Irish Christian mythology). There is a particular four-armed cross, made of rushes, which is used in Ireland to mark St Brigid’s day, and is also used in Pagan ritual as well. Similar equal-armed crosses of Rowan (mountain ash), bound with red thread, are made in Lowland Scotland and in Cumbria. The arms in the Irish version are offset from the central portion, giving it a spiralling or sunwheel aspect.

The goddess Brigid was associated with smithcraft, poetry, and healing. She also had other aspects, for example in leinster where she was a battle goddess. In this, there was a fairly clear parallel with Minerva, and some Romano-British carvings use (deliberate?) ambiguity to represent either Brigid or Minerva (depending, presumably, on who was doing the looking).

There is a Romano-British carving on a rock outcrop in Chester, England, of Minerva which is also clearly a Brigid. It was later preserved during the middle ages since it was believed at that time to be a depiction of the Virgin Mary (who is not normally depicted with an owl and a spear, but there we are). There are linguistic links between Brigid, Brigantia (goddes of the Brigantes) and Britannia (Goddess of the whole island of Mainland Britain).

Scots folklore has preserved a Christianized but still somewhat Pagan ritual for Brigid (which has been widely adapted and incorporated by assorted modern pagan groups): on Imbolc eve, a doll is made from rushes (or straw), dressed in a dress and a bonnet, and laid on the floor by the fire. The door of the house is opened, and three times is said "failte na bride" (bridget is welcome). Offerings of food and drink are left out. The fire is banked up and covered over (smoored), again with a prayer to Brigid, to keep its heat in for the next day.

And credit this to ----Mike Nichols: (found it on the Internet)

Sementivae or Paganalia (Rom., Jan. 24) (Ancient: a.d. IX. Kal. Feb. This was a movable feast, however.)

This is the Festival of Sowing (Sementivae) after the seed has been sown and the land fertilized. There is a celebration in the villages (pagi) by which they are purified, and cakes are dedicated on the village hearths (pagani foci). Cakes of spelt and of the pork of the sow are offered to Tellus (Mother Earth), and to Ceres seven days later (Feb. 2). Ovid explains that Ceres gives the corn its vital power and Tellus gives it a place to grow. He presents a prayer to Them that the seeds grow and not be harmed by the weather or pests (an abbreviated version based on Frazer's translation):

Partners in labor, Ye who reformed the days of old, And who replaced the acorns of the oak by better food, O satisfy the eager husbandman with boundless crops, That they may reap the due reward of all their tilling!

He observes that Ceres was nursed by Pax (Peace) and is Her foster child, and he thanks these Godesses for permitting swords to be beaten into ploughshares. Also at this time folk may hang oscilla (little swinging figures for protection) in the trees. [OF I.657-700; SFC 68]

--Apollonius Sophistes (c) 1995

CANDLEMAS: The Light Returns

It seems quite impossible that the holiday of Candlemas should be considered the beginning of Spring. Here in the Heartland, February 2nd may see a blanket of snow mantling the Mother. Or, if the snows have gone, you may be sure the days are filled with drizzle, slush, and steel-grey skies -- the dreariest weather of the year. In short, it’s the perfect time for a Pagan Festival of Lights. And as for Spring, although this may seem a tenuous beginning, all the little buds, flowers and leaves will have arrived on schedule before Spring runs its course to Beltane.

'Candlemas' is the Christianized name for the holiday, of course. The older Pagan names were Imbolc and Oimelc. 'Imbolc' means, literally, 'in the belly' (of the Mother). For in the womb of Mother Earth, hidden from our mundane sight but sensed by a keener vision, there are stirrings. The seed that was planted in her womb at the solstice is quickening and the New Year grows. 'Oimelc' means 'milk of ewes', for it is also lambing season.

The holiday is also called 'Brigit's Day', in honor of the great Irish Goddess Brigit. At her shrine, the ancient Irish capitol of Kildare, a group of 19 priestesses (no men allowed) kept a perpetual flame burning in her honor. She was considered a goddess of fire, patroness of smithcraft, poetry and healing (especially the healing touch of midwifery). This tripartite symbolism was occasionally expressed by saying that Brigit had two sisters, also named Brigit. (Incidentally, another form of the name Brigit is Bride, and it is thus She bestows her special patronage on any woman about to be married or handfasted, the woman being called 'bride' in her honor.)

----Mike Nichols

© Daven, 1999

Candlemas is the Christianized name for the Pagan celebration of

the transformation of the Goddess from Crone to the Maiden of Spring,

celebrated in old Ireland by the kindling of hillside bonfires and the

lighting of candles. Also known as Brigit's Day, it is a Fire festival to

honor the great Irish Goddess Brigit, the goddess of fire and the

patroness of smith craft, poetry, and healing.

When Catholic missionaries arrived in Ireland they wisely felt they

shouldn't demonize the great Goddess of this ancient land, and so

they made her a Catholic saint. "Saint" Brigit then became the patron

saint of smith craft, poetry, and healing in the Church's eyes.

They explained their reasoning by convincing the Irish people that

Brigit was actually an early Catholic missionary, and that they'd

misunderstood that the miracles she'd performed were not of her power,

but rather by the power of God working through her. The Church then

proclaimed this day "Candlemas," keeping the symbolism of the

Fire Festival, but devoting the day towards blessing the candles

that were to be used in the coming liturgical year. However,

the service of Candlemas only addressed the lighting of "pagan" fires

by the populace, and not the symbolism behind these festivities.

Thus, the Church also marked the day as the "Feast of the Purification

of the Blessed Virgin Mary." This holy day marked the end of the

six weeks of Mary's impurity after giving birth to Christ at the Solstice,

and allowed the Church to co-opt the deeper meaning of this Sabbat,

as well as the celebratory activities.

We still see this theme of cleansing and purification carried into our rites,

as well as our seasonal activities today. While the house gets a thorough

spring-cleaning, its symbolism prepares our minds and bodies for the

resurgence of the coming season of warmth. The Maiden sweeps away

the debris of the old, dead season with her new broom; thus, we sweep

away the outdated and useless from our lives, and fill our minds instead

with new ideas, plans, and goals.

This Rite of Candlemas marks the first stirrings of the new Spring.

And, while it may seem strange to be celebrating Spring while snow

still covers the ground and the bitter winds of winter still whip around

your shoulders, the old name of this Sabbat actually explains the reasoning.

Imbolc (or Imbolg) literally means "in the belly;" thus, though the land is still

covered with snow and frost, within the belly of the Mother (earth),

the first faint stirrings of the seeds of the new season are beginning.

A festival celebrating light in the darkness, the Rite of Candlemas

is the celebration of the rekindled fire both within ourselves and

within the world, as personified by the growing strength of the new Sun God.

Ways to celebrate Imbolic are Do a big cleanout of your room

as this is a time of new beginnings. Have a gathering where everyone

wears white, brings flowers and writes a list of things they want to achieve

by the next Sabbat, Then turn them into poems, cast a circle and raise energy,

read your poems and when you are all finished, release the energy and yell

"MAY OUR DREAMS COME TRUE!!!!!"

http://members.optushome.com.au/avababy/imbolic.htm

Click below for: