The word Imbolc means, literally, "in the belly" or womb of the Mother.
And
indeed, in the womb of our Mother Earth,
hidden from our sight, there is the
quickening of the seed which was planted at the winter solstice
just as the
seeds of plants are beginning to germinate under the frozen ground.
Imbolc is also the feast day of Brighid (Bride, Brigantia or Bridhe),
Celtic
Goddess of healing, smithcraft and poetry, and she is symbolized by fire.
Brighid is also a fertility Goddess and the patroness of midwives.
The Celts
honored Brighid by performing circumambulatory rituals for the benefit
of
the crops and by lighting of sacred fires. Bonfires were lit on the tors.
At
her shrine in the ancient Irish capital of Kildare, a group of ten
priestesses kept a perpetual flame burning in her honor.
At Imbolc, the
Asatru tradition which worships the Saxon and Norse deities sees Bride
as
transformed as part of her threefold nature from the winter aspect of the
aged hag into the virgin bride, which symbolizes the transformation from
death to rebirth.
The attributes of the Goddess were transferred by the Catholic Church to
Saint Brighid,
coincidentally the patron saint of healing, smithcraft and
poetry!
The custom of the perpetual flame was maintained at the monastery at
Kildare.
This fire was never to be breathed upon (it had to be tended by
bellows). The flame was first lit in the sixth century,
and was only
extinguished once in the thirteenth century before Henry VIII
disbanded the
monasteries, at which time the flame was extinguished for good.
Another name for this holiday, Oimelc, means "milk of ewes" for it is at
this time when sheep and other farm animals (cows and goats) are giving
birth.
In ancient times, the milk from their sheep was crucial to a tribe's
survival over winter.
Ewes must become pregnant and give birth before than
can lactate and produce milk.
As Goddess of Fertility, Brighid presides over
the birth of the lambs.
Candlemas
In the fourth century, Christianity reformed the festival of Imbolc first
into the celebration of the purification of the Virgin Mary
and called it
"Candlemas", named for the lighting of candles at midnight by the faithful
as symbols of the purification of Mary.
Under Jewish law, it was necessary
for a woman to be "purified" after the birth of a child.
In Rome, by the end of the fifth century, the feast was celebrated with the
addition of a candlelight procession
which was a substitute for the Pagan
torchlight processions around the city walls.
This Pagan festival was a
celebration honoring Juno, the virgin mother of Mars.
Traditions of Imbolc
A very nice tradition that is still practiced by Witches in the British
Isles
and in many parts of the United States is to place a lighted candle in
each window of the house, beginning
at sunset or after your ritual, in
honor of the Sun's rebirth.
If it is possible, the candles are allowed to
burn until dawn.
Candle Crafting
Of course, the making of candles is traditional at Candlemas.
To make
homemade candles in molds, you will need the following supplies,
which are
obtainable at most arts and crafts stores or in candle shops:
Candle wicking
little star-shaped tin wick holders
metal rods or wooden dowels
equal amounts of parafin and pure beeswax
candle molds
You can purchase candle molds, but there are many household items that can
be used instead. Empty wax milk or juice cartons, tin cans, and paper cups
make good molds that can be disposed of when you are finished.
Non-disposable items, such as muffin tins and jelly glasses, can also be
used.
It will be necessary to spray the non-disposable item with special
candle sprays available in craft stores,
or silicone spray non-stick cooking
spray.
To prepare the molds, cut a piece of candle wicking long enough to fit the
mold,
allowing a couple of inches to tie the wick to the metal rod or dowel.
Attach one end of the wick to a tin wick holder and bend the points of the
star up to hold the wick in place.
Center the wick holder in the bottom of
the mold and tie the other end of the wicking
around a metal rod (or dowel)
placed across the top of the mold.
Cut the parafin into small pieces and the beeswax and place them into the
top of a double boiler.
Fill the bottom part of the double boilder halfway
with water, put the top part back on top, and heat the double boiler over
low heat to melt the wax.
A coffee can placed inside a pot of boiling water
will work, too, but you must be extremely careful to keep the flame very low
on the stove.
Never, never melt the wax directly over the flame.
When the wax has melted, you can color by adding pieces of broken wax
crayon.
You can also scent the wax by adding essential oils or special
candle scents.
After the wax has melted and has been colored and/or scented,
remove the
double boiler from the stove and pour the melted wax into the molds and
allow it to harden.
As the wax cools, it may contract in the center at the
wick and form a cone-shaped cavity.
You can just fill the cavity with some
melted wax, if you wish.
After the candle has cooled and hardened
thoroughly, remove it from the mold.
Brighid's Cross
Another tradition is the weaving of Brighid's crosses from straw or wheat.
These might also be bought in Irish craft stores, but they are very easy to
make.
If you are using dry reeds or straw, soak the materials in a bucket of water
until they are pliable.
It is not necessary to soak them for hours...
twenty
minutes to a half hour is sufficient for wheat or the kinds of reed used in
basketry.
Twigs and vines might take longer to soften.
Cut the reed into uniform lenghths, depending on the size you want to make
your cross.
To start, bend two pieces in the middle to form loops and hook them
together.
Turn the pieces so that they lie flat at right angles to one another. This
will make the base of the cross.
Next, bend another piece in half and loop it over one of the two base
pieces,
but with the "legs" in the opposite direction from the legs on the
other base piece.
Pull it tight and hold it in place while you bend another piece of reed and
loop it over the piece
you just added in the same manner, forming the cross
shape.
Now loop another bended piece of reed over the last piece you added,
parallel to the first base piece of the cross.
Continue in this fashion, looping the reed over the piece you previously
added until the cross is the size you desire.
Tie off the ends with a piece
of reed, string or straw, and trim.
The crosses are then hung over the hearth or stove for protection,
especially against fire.
It is traditional to burn the previous year's cross at Imbolc, but you could
keep the same crosses from year to year.
Traditional Foods for Imbolc
Seeds (Poppy, Pumpkin, Sesame, Sunflower, etc.) Poppy and Sesame seed
breads,
rolls and cakes, and herbal teas. Any dairy products. Spicy foods in
honour of the Sun are excellent.
Dishes made with peppers, onions, leeks,
shallots, garlic or chives are appropriate, along with curry.
Spiced wines
and dishes containing raisins, which are also symbolic of the Sun, are also
traditional for Imbolc.
Bride's Song
I am the birght Queen who rides in on the morning,
I am the Light
I am the poet whose teeth bite the wind,
I am Song.
I am the serpent whose eyes are a flame and a testimony,
I am Truth.
I am the brown rabbit with her snow-tailed brood,
I am Creation.
I am the mist that pearls the edges of the days,
I am Merging.
I am the flutter of moonlight in the midnight forest,
I am Magick.
I am the white wolf with my sacred hunger,
I am Death.
I am the secret stream with my litany of soil and root,
I am Mystery.
I am the mute stone in the howl of moorland storm,
I am Wisdom.
Wonder, strive, search, and never find me,
Yet know me always in the unfurled heart.
***************************************************************
as taken from The Magickal Cauldron
