Imbolc
Right now, i am starting to prepare for this upcoming Sabbat. So far i have made my wishing tree..a lil late but i guess better then never. Also i would like to make some candles. Since i dont feel like mucking about with melted wax this year. I was thinking of Bee's Wax Sheets. One can buy an assortment of colors and easily add a few drops of oil, gems, and herbs to it. TaDa!!..lickety split you have your candles. I also want to make a wreath. I cant remember the proper name of it. But its a wreath wrapped in ivy and 8 candles adorn it. Would look lovely with ribbons mixed about the ivy as well.. I think i will post some pics of crafts when they are done.
Date: Usually celebrated on February 2, can be celebrated on the exact cross-quarter day between Yule and Ostara (can be found on most lunar or Witch calendars)
Lore: The Goddess recovers from the birth and the God is young. Imbolc is a purification, and a festival of light and fertility. This is the opening of spring and the origin of the popular "Groundhog Day."
Special Time: This is a time to celebrate the light and to honor the Maiden aspect of the Goddess, as well as the child aspect of the God. It is a time to purify, of new beginnings and such. It is a very joyous time, with much in the future to look forward to and sort of a playful feeling in the air. This is a time for making plans for the future, which will be encouraged to develop in future Sabbats.
Activities: Imbolc is celebrated with symbolic new beginnings and sweeping out of the old. Many like to have self-dedication rituals and reinitiations at this time. Traditional activities are making candles, lighting a candle in a window and burning it until morning, using candles in magic and divination, doing a "spring cleaning" of the house, blessing seeds that are hoped to produce good plants for food and other things, re-stocking the magickal cabinet, and going out looking for signs of spring, collecting pebbles and other natural trinkets. Some people like to put a wheel symbol on their altar at this time of the year.
The Imbolc season:
Imbolc Herbs
Angelica, basil, bay, chamomile, cinnamon, red clover, crocus, dandelion, dill, first flowers of the year, frankincense, heather, myrrh, nettle, orris root, primrose, rosemary, rowan, saffron, snowdrop
Imbolc Incense
Rosemary
Cinnamon
Wisteria
Frankincense
Myrrh
Basil
Jasmine
Camphor
Lotus
Imbolc Colors
White
Orange
Red
Yellow
Pink
Brown
Imbolc Decorations
Lamps
Besom (witch's broom)
Yellow flowers
Candlemas Candle Wheel
Brigit's Bed
Brigit’s Crosses
Iron decorations like horseshoes
Seeds
Wells
Fire
Imbolc Foods
All dairy products
Curries
Onions
Chives
Garlic
Spiced wines
Seeds
Honey cake
Sacred breads
Herbal teas
Imbolc Sacred Gemstones
Amethyst
Garnet
Onyx
Turquoise
Spellwork appropriate for Imbolc
Catalystic spells
Spells for beginnings
Rejuvination spells
Purification spells
Spells for good luck for future endeavors
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