Rise and Shine!!

Welcome to Imbolc weekend! It's time to celebrate the beginning of spring. This is the time of year when everything starts to wake up from winter slumber. The light is returning earlier and earlier every day.

Imbolc is the holiday where we honor the goddess, Brigid. As the daughter of Dagda who was the oldest god of the Tuatha de Danann, she is known as the fertility goddess. Additionally, she rules the hearth fires and put the flames into poetry. Early mythology speaks of Brigid having been born with a flame in her head and is said to have drunk milk from a mystical cow.

Let's talk about the origins of Imbolc. The celebration of this pagan sabbat started in the British Isles long before Christianity. Some of the earliest references to Imbolc were found in 10th century literature.

So, how are we going to honor Imbolc here at the homestead? First, I will be lighting candles at dusk to welcome back the sun. Tomorrow, I will be planting some seeds with intention and fashioning a Brigid's cross out of some reeds I have stored in my craft supplies. I will need to soak them overnight to make them easier to work with.

I have a pot of chicken and wild rice soup simmering in the crock pot and a loaf of bread rising in the oven. As a solitary practitioner, I do what my heart moves me to do., and I encourage those just starting out on their pagan/witch pathway to do the same. I will, however, give you some of the traditional ways to observe Imbolc.

I mentioned that I was going to plant some seeds. In some parts of the world, folks will actually start planting their spring gardens. Here, in Indiana, not so much. I will be sowing rosemary, basil and lavender seeds and setting my intentions for growth.

Along with the sowing of seeds for growth, a person could also take a walk outside and see if there are any signs of spring returning. I will probably forego this particular activity because it's just way too cold.

However, I will be taking a cleansing and rejuvenating bath in which I will add some frankincense and myrrh. Instead of starting a bonfire outside, I will be lighting candles in the bathroom while I bathe. When I finish up, I am going to write my intentions for the upcoming months on paper and before I extinguish the candles, I will burn those pieces of paper and send the ashes to the wind for the universe to touch.

Tomorrow evening as dusk falls, I will do my Imbolc meditation with some birdsong music in the background. That will wrap up my Imbolc celebration.

I hope you all have a blessed Imbolc.