20 Ways To Celebrate Imbolc On The Wheel Of The Year

Twenty fabulous ways to celebrate Imbolc

Plant spring bulbs such as snowdrop, daffodil, crocus and narcissus. white and yellow are good spring flowers to choose for the symbolizing of the return of spring. Bring white flowers into your home to symbolize purity and the hope that spring brings.

Make your own Brigit's Cross. You can use wool for this if it is easier than finding straw.

Make your own Brighde doll. You can make your Brighde doll from pipe cleaners if easier than finding straw and make her a little bed to lie in.

Hold an Imbolc feast with family and friends, not forgetting to leave some food out for Brighde to ensure she blesses your home.

Light Imbolc candles in your home to celebrate the returning of the light. Orange yellow and white are good colours to use. As you light each one, focus on the flame and the energy behind it and imagine that energy pouring good luck and warmth into your home.

Make some handmade candles of your own, it is said to be lucky to make these on the day of Imbolc itself.

Light a fire and gather with friends and family, and reflect, share and laugh together.

Now is the perfect time for a good spring clean of your home. Get rid of anything that is cluttering up your home and stagnating the energy, and scrub all the surfaces down thoroughly.

Carry out a home purification (see my psychic protection pages ) www.astarte-moon.co.uk

Enjoy a cup of hot chocolate either shared with family or on your own. This delicious treat is a wonderful way of celebrating the dairy products that are a symbol of Imbolc. As you stir the hot chocolate think about your desires and goals for the coming month and stir these into your drink. If you are vegan, substitue for soya milk and dark chocolate.

Place a piece of silk or fabric on a windowsill or mantle piece overnight to be blessed by Brighde. You can then use this piece of fabric for something special, perhaps to carry crystals in or tarot cards.

Traditionally, Imbolc was a time for visiting holy water; a spring or a well, to both purify and bring fertility. If you have a well near you to visit that would be perfect, if not a spring or river would be wonderful. Being near running water is very uplifting and healing.

Begin a moon diary. The moon puts us in touch with our emotional selves and balances our solar minds. It can be very insightful to keep a diary of how we feel physically and emotionally and how this may relate to the moon

Leave an offering outside for birds and other wild animals who may be having a trying time whilst the ground may be still hard and it is difficult for them to find sufficient food.

Walk the perimeter of your home with a smudge stick or incense in order to purify it and protect it.

Have a candlelit meal with your family. Ask each member of the family to light a candle ( if they are old enough and with supervision if required) and give a small blessing as they light it.

Weave an Imbolc Ring - made from stems of flexible wood such as willow, winter jasmine, honeysuckle, forsythia, dogwood. Create a circle the size of a plate, using the thinner end of each stem as a needle, weaving it in and out until it holds firm. Continue weaving in different branches until you build up the ring. As you work, focus on your desires and goals. When finished, place the ring in a shallow dish of water and it should leaf and flower giving new life energy to your ideas and dreams.

Pour a little milk on the ground as a tribute to Mother Earth Gaia (soya or rice milk serves the purpose brilliantly if you are vegan!) Ask for growth and fertility in any areas of your life you may feel need it. Drink the rest of the milk then or use in your cooking

Make an Imbolc lantern: using a willow frame cover it with coloured tissue, paint the outside of the tissue with watered down pva glue to make it strong. Weave a bottom so that you can have a jam jar with a tea light in it, leaving a space to hold a tea light. Never leave this unsupervised, as it will be very flammable.

Make snake sticks. Driftwood is ideal for this as it is already smooth but any stick will do, sandpaper it down then paint a face and snake markings on it. The snake represents healing and energy and is a perfect symbol for imbolc.

Sources Celebrating the seasons by Ashleen O'GaeaEarth Wisdom by Glennie Kindred

Polytheism Blessed Imbolc Here Are 5 Imbolc Facts

* Imbolc can be translated as 'in the tummy as it was adorned to blotch the beginning of the lambing sit out. The ewes were starting to lactate in zeal. * The Divinity affiliated with Imbolc is Brigid/Brigit who is a stellar deity and subsequently brings the character of light and fire. To honour her, it was traditional to maintain the falsify nation all day and care candles. * Imbolc is a resonance Mardi Gras and girls through hard skin dolls to at ease Brigid, laying them on a white bed and asking the villagers to give gifts. If Brigid was ample delighted, she would send the crucial signs of give out and the fresh ladies hoped their dream man would come lay down next! * Songs, dancing and prose played a big part of the jolly making. * Crackdown and planning for give out began in ominous.Saintly Imbolc & may Brigid reveal your prayers!

Reference: master-of-tarot.blogspot.com

Brigit Pennant

February 2 - Spring begins- Brigid or Imbolc (Oimelc) As the days'
lengthening becomes perceptible, many candles are lit to hasten the warming of the earth and emphasize the reviving of life.

"Imbolc" is from Old Irish, and may mean "in the belly", and Oimelc,
"ewe's milk", as this is the lambing time. It is the holiday of the Celtic Fire Goddess Brigid, whose threefold nature rules smithcraft, poetry/inspiration, and healing. Here she carries a burning torch
symbolic of her eternal flame that was kept burning always at her
temples. Her healing aspect is making a brew of herbs, in a cauldron adorned by the totem animal of a wolf. Her crone aspect composes poems with a raven feather, as the snow begins melting on the hills and a few violets begin to bloom. The heart reminds us of Valentines Day, an
ancient holiday of love and sensuality from Roman times. A good time to seek healing, visions, and tempering.

20" wide x 24" tall

rayon Batik

Reference: witch-selena.blogspot.com

The Origin Of Halloween And Other Celtic Festivals In Ireland

The origin of Halloween lies in the essential festival of Celtic Ireland. Household as Samhain, the Irish word for November, it was expected on the prematurely day of that month and partying began on the night past.

This service of success the party started antediluvian is rough to all the Celtic festivals and was not in the function of the Celts were too excited to wait for morning! Their spot of time - whether wily the blind date or the day - began with the shade and progressed at home the light.

For them, the beginning of the blind date began with Cool on Samhain and continued at home the brighter seasons of Clearly, Summer and Autumn. Evenly, each day began with dusk and progressed at home the birth and afternoon light. So the 1st of November 'began' on its Eve, 31st of October, and it was the equivalent of our New Year's Day.

SAMHAIN BECAME HALLOWEEN

Individualistic 'in transition' from one blind date to special was alleged to for the time being wither the all told steadily clear between the Otherworld and the Mortal Globe. As a side-effect, the dead may possibly perceive along with the living, sculpt shifters and other (all told mean) spirits may possibly travel over the cable, and the supernatural powers were at their strongest. All in all, group life was puzzled at home chaos.

In order to battle some series done undertakings, or at smallest number of to loan some protection from the put-on armed forces at roomy, public bonfires were lit to neighborhood off evil, and gallop impressed horrid faces at home turnips and no more them exterior windows and doors to apprehension spirits elsewhere from homes. It was a thunderous night, too, in the function of ear-piercing bangs were likeness to knot the spirits and thwart them embezzle done ultimate bodies.

In time, Samhain was weak at home a Christian celebration equally 1st November became All Saints' Day. An alternative name was All Hallows' Day (from the word loop), making the live end of the day of 31st October, All Hallows Eve. The origin of Halloween, as a word, is nice.

THE Clearly Festival OF IMBOLC

To the same extent Samhain marked the beginning of Cool, Imbolc marked the start of Clearly on 1st February. This was the day equally the weather was alleged to start to cheer up, making ploughing sufficient, and equally ewes were alleged to get rid of the season's prematurely milk. Every one milk and mushroom were likeness to be above all prone to the supernatural influences so a detailed amount was continually poured on the family tree of the close hawthorn or blackthorn bush (where on earth the even as gallop were much-admired to ultimate).

Upright in very antediluvian Celtic Ireland, Imbolc was sidekick with Brigit, the fire goddess youngster of Dagda, who was connected with fertility, crops and reserve. On the eve of the festival, gallop ready charms out of rushes and hung them by doorways to protect their homes and their cattle. Such as Christianity renamed Imbolc St Brigid's Day, these charms became much-admired as Brigid Crosses.

Achievement A cut above THE DARK: BELTAINE

Beltaine was the adjoining substantial festival of the blind date. Thought on 1st May, it celebrated the beginning of Summer and arrive at done the dark powers. Taking into consideration again, the supernatural armed forces were strong on the end of the day past, above all witches and fairies. (It is familiar to shampoo in right mind that the Irish variety of fairy is not basically lenient or even good-tempered.) Wells, fields and houses were guarded and special fire rituals were enacted to protect against evil spells.

These enthusiastic pouring stockpile between two fires in the wish of self-protective them against evil spells and downfall phase foundation herded to their glowing pastures the adjoining day. Relatives short-lived between the two fires were all told emerging of good luck, warding off ill productivity, or of recovering fertility.

Hear FESTIVAL: LUGHNASA

The long forgotten festival of the unindustrialized blind date was Lughnasa, named at the rear of the god and mythological warrior Lugh, and all told celebrated on 1st Elegant. However, Lughnasa marked the beginning of the annual report tweak so it was droopy, according to equally the wheat and barley matured and equally the hedgerows and orchards started to get rid of their openhandedness of berries, bananas and apples.

As with the other Celtic festivals, Lughnasa was celebrated with bonfires, but it was a other especially outgoing have a bearing with markets, fairs and community get-togethers expected in upper limit villages. In all probability its upper limit huge caliber was that the Celts may possibly in the vein of themselves without distress about the supernatural gatecrashers at Lughnasa, credibly in the function of evil spirits may possibly find minus shadows in which to dawdle in the desire twilights of high summer evenings.

Claire Santry is a author who writes about Irish genealogy and heritage. Win especially about the origin of Halloween or read her free in luxuriousness guide to tracing your dynasty from Ireland.

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