Imbolc or Imbolg…A Sabbat by Any Other Name (Feb 2)

 

A. History

Imbolg is the Celtic name for the first sabbat of the wiccan faith, as well as some others who fall under the generic name of "witches". Imbolg is often known by other names, such as Candlemas, Brigid's day, and a host of others. "Imbolg (pronounced `immol'g', with a slight un-stressed vowel between the `l' and the `g') which means `in the belly'. it is the quickening of the year, the first fetal stirrings of spring in the womb of mother earth. like all the Celtic greater sabbats, it is a fire festival-but here the emphasis is on light rather than heat, the strengthening spark of light beginning to pierce the gloom of winter." (The Witches Bible complete, hereafter abbreviated to WBC, pg.61-62)

Brigid is a classic example of a pagan deity Christianized with little attempt to hide the fact- or, as Frazer put in the golden bough (p.177, approx.), she is "an old heathen goddess of fertility, disguised in a threadbare Christian cloak". the historical St. Brigid lived from about ad 453-523; but her legends, characteristics, and holy places are those of the goddess bride, and many folk customs surrounding her day are decidedly pre-Christian. most are fertility rituals, including the Brigid's (pronounced breed's) bed. this ritual includes dressing up grain, usually three ears of corn (symbolizing the three aspects of the goddess) or the last harvested sheaf of wheat (supposed to contain the spirit of the grain goddess) as a bride and putting her in a basket representing a bed with some symbol of the god, in hopes of promoting fertility.

In ancient Rome, February was cleansing time- februarius mensis, the month of ritual purification. at its beginning came the Lupercalia, when the Luperci (the priests of pan, who was a fertility god) ran through the streets of Rome naked except for a goatskin girdle and carrying goatskin thongs. with these, they struck everybody who passed, and in particular married women, in hopes of making them fertile. this holiday survived until about 600 ad.

 

The tradition of February cleansing is still strong even today. who has not heard of the concept of spring-cleaning? There are even traditions still present that it must be completed by the spring equinox or bad luck will follow. The evergreens of the yuletide season {which traditionally must not be removed before Candlemas or hobgoblins/witches/bad luck -pick your tradition- will haunt you} are burned at this time. this is symbolic of getting rid of the past year and preparing for the new. See "magical household" for notes on spring-cleaning. Me, I’m one of those nuts who quite literally tries to strip a room to the barest, clean anything that holds still for it, and then begin the Swedish Death Clean. Ruthlessness leads to piles going to a charity truck, my house smells much better, and my soul feels better for getting rid of junk.

 

B. Decorating the Altar

1. Symbols of the season, such as representations of snowflakes, white flowers, or snow in a crystal container can be on the altar. snow can be melted and used for the water. solar wheel on the altar asks for the wheel of the year to continue to turn.

2. Cauldron should be in the north quadrant of the circle with firewood laid within. the besom (witches' broom) should be beside it. alternately, cauldron can be filled with earth. unlit candles, one for each convener and guest are piled beside it. One candle stands upright at the center of the cauldron.

3. Altar cloth and candles should be brown, symbolizing the earth. alternately, there can be an orange candle, symbolizing the renewing vitality of the sun and anointed with musk, cinnamon, frankincense, or rosemary oil on the altar. Alternate colors: white, green, and white, or blue. I prefer blue and white, sticking with the snowflake theme. However, I recommend keeping things pale. This is winter, and everything is pale and quiet in nature.

5. Crown of light (crown of candles or lights) on altar. See "Sabbats" by Eddain McCoy p.89 for how to make a candle wheel. I personally err on the side of caution and prefer to make a pretty wreath with battery-powered lights tucked inside. This is a great project to make with your coven sisters in the bleak and boring weeks of January.

6. Have ready grain dollies. there are several techniques for making them. see "spell crafts", "sabbats", "ancient ways" p. 8.

Remember that they should be "dressed" as brides. Have a priapic wand (or the dominant male's wand suitably decorated) ready. Don’t stress about this! Go grab some raffia from your favorite craft store and make a dolly. “Dress” her in a scrap of lace tied with a white ribbon.

 

c. Rituals

1. Purification of homes after shut-in winter. Also, sweeping out of circle using besom. each of the members are also invited to "sweep out" that which they do not need in their lives. the besom may be passed from covener to covener to help them fulfill this task.

2. Fires of illumination, warmth, inspiration, and light. See "spiral dance" p. 174 for a fire ritual using candles and cauldron filled with earth. each covener takes a candle and visualizes what inspiration and creativity they wish in the coming season. then one by one, they put their candle in the cauldron. circle power is grounded into the cauldron to fuel the visualizations into reality.

3. Crowns of lights on female wiccans

4. Traditional time of initiation of new members. I will not get into that now. Suffice it to say that it’s the culmination of a process. I don’t teach privately anymore, but my coven once initiated the new members at this time.

5. It is traditional at sunset or after ritual, to light every lamp in the house if only for a few minutes. alternately, light a kerosene lamp or oil lamp with a red chimney and place this in a prominent part of the home or in a window. we have a fun thing we do with the kids. we darken the house entirely for a few minutes, then have every child running about turning on all the lights. this allows them to dissipate all the energy they built up during ritual.

6. If snow lies on the ground outside, walk in it for a moment, recalling the warmth of summer. with your projective hand, trace an image of the sun in the snow. Even if it doesn’t, a nice chilly walk to make you appreciate that chili later can be fun.

7. Foods- dairy products such as sour cream should be prominent since this is the festival of calving. spicy and full-bodied foods in honor of the god. Curries and all dishes made with peppers, onions, leeks, shallots, garlic, chives, raisins. This is both a dairy and fire festival, and you can’t have a good spicy dish without milk to wash it down and kill the burn, right? I’ll keep posting recipes to give you ideas.

8. Drinks- spiced wines, spiced dessert coffees especially Irish coffee. For those who can indulge, there’s piles of recipes using fiery substances like cinnamon whiskey, and even recipes that include setting your booze on fire.

9. Burn all evergreens which have adorned the house, including a branch of the fir tree (if you used a real tree). Be careful, they are very dry. If you are lucky enough to have a place where you can burn the whole thing, feel free. I gather all my evergreen decorations in a large brazier on the patio and feed the fire slowly. Resinous trees like pine burn extremely hot. This is also a good time to burn last year’s calendars and say goodbye to last year.

10. Make a bride's bed with one of the corn dollies you made last fall. dress the doll in bridal attire, then place her in a basket or on a square of white linen. lay the priapic wand across her to form an "x". light candles, one on each side of the bride's bed.  After ritual, extinguish the candles. leave all this set up overnight. In the morning, hang the bride up on or near the front door, where it may remain until Samhian. return the doll to the earth at that time.

 

d. Symbolism

1. Marks the recovery of the goddess after giving birth to the god. the sun (the god) warms the earth (the goddess) and the lengthening periods of light awaken her and seeds begin to sprout. see story of "Snow White" and "Rapunzel" told in "Ancient Ways" p.12

2. Sabbat of purification after the shut-in life of winter

3. Festival of light and fertility

 

e. The Garden

I also garden, and this is also the time of year for certain projects for the garden, if they have not been done last fall, and the blessing of the seeds, which I place under the altar immediately after Imbolg to gather energy until the seed blessing ritual done at Eostar. (This also gives the little buggers time to warm after storage in my refrigerator to protect them since last spring.) I buy a box of dixie cups and the seed starting medium too, and place them under the altar too, btw.) I *do* take the time to count back from our last frost date to make sure that Eostar is really a good time to plant some of the seeds, honest! Especially note it is time to plant lettuce and peas in many areas of the country. just go ask the folks at your local nursery and they’ll be happy to show you what’s good to do now for your area.

For those seeds that are early to plant like lettuces, they may have to go in the ground long before Eostar. That’s okay. Your intent is to bless them. A day or two under the altar blesses them, then you can pop them in a warm water-soaked towel to sprout or directly in soil. I do both. I give them a soak for a day or so, then pop them in the soil.  

Whew!! That’s a lot to do between now and February 2, isn’t it? Less than a month to make corn dollies, clean house, gather calendars and greens to burn, and make lighted wreaths. Take that walk. I’ll be posting recipes to let you celebrate all month long. Have fun. Enjoy those hot drinks and spicy foods, then cool it all with creamy desserts and breads.