Imbolc is the light at the end of the tunnel, the birth of the new spring. It is a small light, like a candle seen in the distance, because spring is still some distance away. It makes it only right to celebrate Imbolc with candles rather than torches or the blazing balefires that will mark our summer celebrations. To modern Wiccans and Neopagans, all sabbats are celebrations of the element of fire as we acknowledge and celebrate the sun’s movement through the skies, marking the changing seasons.
In some ways you could call Imbolc a “sleepy” sabbat—hardly surprising for a sabbat that marks the midpoint between Yule at the depths of the year’s dark days and the Vernal Equinox that marks the turn to the light days. Some sabbats like Beltane, Samhain, and Yule are widely celebrated. For many people, Imbolc celebrations may be nothing more than posting “Happy Imbolc” to friends on social media. Although this sabbat is easily overlooked in our modern culture where we can more easily relate to our electronic gadgets than to the rhythms of nature, Imbolc’s subtle celebrations can be the harbingers of a wonderful spring and summer to come.
While there are some public rituals and celebrations at Imbolc, the very nature of this sabbat tends to keep the celebrations more private and family-focused than many of the other sabbats. There are several reasons for this; probably the most important one is that this truly is a sleepy sabbat in its own way. As you saw in the last chapter, in ancient times Imbolc was a reason to celebrate because it finally revealed hope for easier days around the corner. It was a sleepy time of the year in a time when travel and communal activities were more difficult. Imbolc celebrations are usually limited to family, although in modern times, families often include people who are not genetically or legally related.
Another reason might be that Imbolc is a very introspective and reflective time. It is a time for self-contemplation and planning. These are quiet, internal activities and in that light you might view Imbolc as a very personal sabbat. It is a time to discard the things that aren’t working and plan for new alternatives. Imbolc’s very personal nature makes this a more subtle sabbat than some.
One problem some people encounter when attempting to relate to this sabbat is that traditional celebrations don’t seem to apply their local geographic conditions. After all, this sabbat is really based on the seasons and climate of northern Europe. Some Neopagans have gone so far as to declare Imbolc to be irrelevant to their practices. And yes, relating to this sabbat might be an issue in some climes if you try to celebrate the preparation of the fields for planting when there are three feet of snow on the ground and the first thaw is still months away.
There are several ways to deal with the apparent disconnect between the sabbat’s purpose and your own circumstances come February 1. One way some Neopagans do this is by adjusting the dates of the sabbat’s celebration. If you usually see the first flowers of the year in late March you could adjust the date for your Imbolc celebration until that time. Doing so would allow you to keep your spiritual practices in alignment with nature. The various spells and invocations commonly used at Imbolc will seem more applicable since they will reflect what you are actually seeing outdoors. Many Wiccans and Neopagans choose a nature-based spiritual path because it helps them feel more in tune with the planet’s rhythms. If that’s true for you, adjusting the date you celebrate Imbolc might be the better solution.
On the other hand, if you consider Imbolc the midpoint between the winter solstice and spring equinox, it is difficult to justify celebrating it what may be weeks later. Some Wiccans and Neopagans see things from this heliocentric perspective and don’t agree with the concept of “moving” a sabbat. From their perspective, sabbats happen based on where the sun is in the sky and nothing else. If you identify more with this perspective, there are still a few ways to make Imbolc more relevant to you.
In its modern form, Imbolc is often celebrated with a focus on the sabbat’s symbolic aspects rather than nature’s more
physical signs. When you think about the symbols of Imbolc as being mere reflections of the deeper concepts wrapped within the sabbat, it no longer matters if there is snow, rain, or sunshine outdoors. It is easier to identify with the concepts of Imbolc—rebirth, new beginnings, emergence, discarding what is harmful or not needed—when you see those symbols everywhere you go, and those signs in the physical world are merely reflections of greater truths. Just as it is possible to celebrate Samhain regardless of the temperature outdoors, the meanings within Imbolc can be celebrated no matter what you see outside your window.
Celebrating Imbolc at the same time as our ancient ancestors gives us a unique connection to our past and a time when life was much more difficult. This idea has led many Neopagans to paths that make every effort to reconstruct religions predating Christianity and its holidays. There might be several feet of snow on the ground, or your garden may have burst into bloom in January, but either way, performing rituals based on what we know of those ancient ancestors creates new connections to our ancient past. Performing those rituals on the same days those ancient ancestors performed their rituals makes that connection even deeper and more meaningful for many people.
Although visiting Ireland during Imbolc would certainly bring many of the sabbat’s symbols to life before your eyes, you don’t need to go that far to feel the energies and learn the lessons of Imbolc (or any other sabbat, for that matter). While many Neopagans and Wiccans consider themselves worshipers of the earth, we can learn lessons from every sabbat no matter the weather or temperature. Those challenges might be given to us so we have a chance to learn that sabbats are more than skin-deep with meanings that will resonate regardless of the goings-on of the physical world. Adapting to this and learning to step beyond the expectations of other people’s ideas in order to find your own way might be the most important lesson of all.
You don’t have to do anything elaborate to connect personally to Imbolc, even in our concrete-reinforced modern world. For example, you could take a walk in the park. While it’s not something most of us think about in the early February cold we often have at Imbolc, you may be surprised at how many symbols of the season you can find in many parks and sometimes even in your own yard. Whether the ground is covered with snow or just brown from the dark days, look for the signs of life breaking through. The tiny plants pushing through the snow or the ones fighting the brown landscape with the first signs of a green spring can be found even in the most urbanized areas. Those first plants and flowers are not only the promise for the new start that begins at Imbolc but also proof of how resilient life is.
No matter the problems that might have plagued us in the last year, the time for new beginnings appears in many forms in the world around us if we but take time to look. If you are a gardener (or hope to become one), this is the perfect time of year to choose what plants you are going to grow later. It may be time to buy seed. All those activities help to connect us to nature and her cycles no matter where we live or how disconnected our natural environment seems from our daily lives. Spend an hour at a local greenhouse and soak in the scents of new life and the energy of plants ready to emerge after the cold days.
Brigid in Modern Times
For Wiccans in particular, Imbolc is often a celebration of the goddess Brigid. Many identify this sabbat so strongly with her that they actually call the sabbat “Brigid” rather than Imbolc. For many practitioners, Imbolc is a very personal and meaningful sabbat that remains quite relevant to modern practitioners, and Brigid is at the heart of the sabbat.
Just as she was a central deity to the ancient Celts (and arguably others), Brigid is a key aspect of the face of the universal Goddess. Brigid is the primary or “patron” goddess for many Wiccans and other Neopagans. Among ancient deities still venerated today, Brigid is an unusually good survivor: she made the amazing transformation from goddess to saint, and her popularity survives into our modern era where so many other ancient deities have been lost. More amazing still is her rise in the modern era; not many goddesses become saints and then reclaim their goddess status, but Brigid has done just that!
When the Neopagan movement was gathering momentum in the 1960s, one large sector of the movement used Pagan ideas and deities to demonstrate the strength and post-war empowerment of women. Brigid is a strong, wise, clever, and powerful goddess, and she spoke to many Neopagans and Wiccans as the movement began to grow. Brigid truly represents the potential for any woman to be independent and self-sufficient while retaining her feminine qualities. Brigid shows that women, like men, can accomplish whatever they set their minds to do. Brigid also freed many women from the constraints placed on them by a male-dominated society. Brigid empowers women and men alike to find compassion and inner strength.
The image of a strong goddess is still intimidating to some even in the modern era, but that hasn’t slowed Brigid’s remarkable comeback as a Pagan goddess. Ironically the Catholic Church’s decision to make Brigid a saint was almost certainly a factor in her resurgence as a goddess. Her lore and legend as a saint only grew and kept her alive in the minds and spiritual practices of women until she began to rise again in her full glory as a goddess for a new millennium. In one form or another, Brigid has been worshipped continuously since prehistory.
If you think about it, this resurgence of Brigid is a beautiful representation of Imbolc. Brigid is a goddess known for her effective use of disguise. Although she had beginnings as a Celtic goddess, we could say that she took the guise of a Christian saint out of necessity. The period of her sainthood was not Brigid’s true face; it was more of a quieted, resting Brigid, although she continued to help those who called upon her. Then, as if emerging from a cocoon after a thousand-year metamorphasis, she transformed to her proper form as a goddess, completing the circle. And Imbolc is that moment of transformation—it is the moment your decision is made and the changes you desire can begin moving forward. Being introduced to Brigid was that moment of transformation for many women during the early years of Neopaganism.
There are still groups who claim a direct lineage to the original temple and sacred flame. In the twenty-first century there are growing numbers of new organizations of flame keepers and well watchers who serve Brigid, such as the Brigidine Sisters, Solas Beride, and Ord Brighideach, to name a few. There are public organizations dedicated to Brigid as well as secret orders where people serve Brigid much as our ancestors did, despite their living in a technologically advanced society where we have less and less direct contact with nature in every successive generation. Brigid’s story is truly one of success, and her worshipers uphold her known traditions with grace.
Dedicants to Brigid follow very traditional approaches to the keeping of the sacred flame in addition to some decidedly modern approaches as well. There are Pagan as well as Christian orders that hold gatherings in person and perform rituals and rites to protect the perpetual flame maintained in their temple or sacred places. There are also keepers who have developed modern magical rituals and spiritual techniques that allow them to accept keepers from around the globe to watch over the sacred flame in shifts.
In what some believe is a modern accommodation to inclusiveness and others think is a return to traditional practices, there are now orders of flame keepers who welcome initiates of any gender. In many sectors of the Neopagan community, being a keeper of the sacred flame was seen as a role for women exclusively. While there are valid reasons for some groups to limit their membership in many different ways, this rigid idea has found flexibility. As Neopagans continue to discuss and address challenges relating to gender inclusion (and even the very concept of gender itself), opportunities are created for everyone. Imbolc is where the seeds of such inclusiveness are planted.
Other Celebrations
Groundhog Day
An annual tradition many of us might consider “purely American” is in reality (like so many other things) a practice deeply rooted in history. In some such traditions, weather forecasting is based on an animal seeing its shadow. Shadows are often powerful magical objects and are sometimes considered entities unto themselves. In the US, it has been an annual tradition for more than a hundred years that every February 2, a hapless groundhog becomes the center of grand celebrations in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. Should the groundhog (in Pennsylvania or anywhere else, supposedly) see its shadow as it would on a clear, sunny day, then according to the tradition, there are still six more weeks of winter weather.
The tradition of using the groundhog might have come from early New England farmers who reminded themselves that regardless of the weather on that day, they shouldn’t have used more than half of the hay they had stored to feed their animals until the new growth of spring (“Groundhog day, half your hay”). While the adaptation of the groundhog to this task likely is American, the rest of this form of Imbolc divination has its roots thousands of years in the past.
Cultures throughout Europe and the Middle East have watched animals on this day as a weather predictor. There is a poem in honor of watching a serpent emerge from the ground on Imbolc, and it seems that Scottish highlanders would pound on the ground in an effort to bring serpents to the surface on Imbolc.10 Clear, sunny weather at Imbolc meant that more harsh weather was still to come while, ironically, gray and foggy days or those with rain or snow at Imbolc meant that winter has nearly ended. In some traditions it is merely the emergence of a particular animal that is a signal of the spring weather to come.
While this day can be a festive one for many people, it gained some popularity some years ago when a popular movie was made based on this “American” holiday, Actor Bill Murray found himself repeating the same day over and over until he changed himself and his choices in life. Since Imbolc is the time when change begins and when the old is swept away and new ideas and paths are formed, Groundhog Day is a very sabbat-appropriate film for Imbolc!
Valentine’s Day
February 14 is the feast day of Saint Valentine in the Catholic Church, but in the last century this celebration has been “borrowed” by corporations and transformed into the candy and greeting card holiday we all know (but may not love). In our modern lives, Valentine’s Day is about romance and love, especially new love. The origins of our modern celebrations actually extend back to the ancient Roman Lupercalia (discussed in more depth in the “Old Ways” chapter). As it was a mid-February fertility ritual, modern Wiccans might view Lupercalia as a blending of Imbolc (new beginnings) and Beltane (fertility). Remember that the idea of spring beginning on the vernal equinox is a very modern one. Until very recently, many Western European traditions held that spring began at Imbolc instead. You can often see threads of fertility magic (more often associated with the sabbat Beltane) in the lore and traditions of Imbolc.
Interestingly, St. Valentine was purportedly martyred at the command of the emperor Claudius II during the festival of Lupercalia. Thus February 14 was named as the feast of the unfortunate saint. St. Valentine’s Day didn’t become a day of warning about the excesses of Pagan celebrations of love and love making, as you might think. Instead, St. Valentine’s Day took on many of the traditions and symbols of the very Pagan festival that was said to have resulted in the saint’s death. And today the process has come full circle, in a sense: the Christian aspects of this celebration added by the story of St. Valentine have all but vanished in the traditions of this “new” holiday, which is now about honoring love and fertility. While now it is more common to receive a gift of chocolates and champagne or flowers than to be flogged with strips of bloody animal hides, our modern celebration of Valentine’s Day clearly has more to do with Roman ideas of sex and love than with the martyrdom of a Catholic saint.
Fertility is key in the beliefs of many agrarian communities, and many of its disparate concepts seem to come together starting at Imbolc. While the holiday may get its name from the birth of the first lambs and the first sheep’s milk of the year, Imbolc’s slightly warmer days stimulate mating in many animals who have shorter gestation periods but still raise their young in the spring , like most birds. That type of primal, mating energy extends far back in the most primitive parts of our collective unconscious. It is unusual that sexual energies and birthing
energies exist side by side, but that’s definitely the case at Imbolc. We celebrate the coming of the warmer, easier days but also feel the draw of that powerful sexual energy pre-Christian Romans celebrated at Lupercalia.
As Wiccans, Witches, and other Neopagans begin to reclaim the ancient celebrations (rather than the later ones designed to displace them), Imbolc, the Festival of Lupercalia (sometimes incorrectly called the “Festival of Pan”), and other ancient celebrations of the turning of the wheel, we are able to strip away layers of imposed tradition designed to obscure the original celebrations of earth and Goddess.
Mardi Gras
By some definitions, Mardi Gras is a religious holiday, but it is unlikely that many in the Christian Church would agree. Mardi Gras (“Fat Tuesday”) is the day before the first day of the Christian season of Lent, which is six Sundays from the Christian holiday Easter. Lent is a time of quiet reflection, fasting, and sacrifice, and it begins on “Ash Wednesday,” where the faithful receive an ash cross or smudge on their foreheads. Mardi Gras, therefore, is a holiday that has become a bit of a celebration of the many vices that can be given up for the duration of Lent.
Typified by the celebrations in New Orleans, Louisiana, in the southern United States, Mardi Gras is known for its wild parties involving revelry and sexual energies very similar to the festival of Lupercalia. As mentioned, Lent’s beginning is based on the date of Easter, itself based on the lunar calendar, so the date of Mardi Gras can fall within days of Imbolc, although it can also occur as late as early March.
While probably not based on sound Christian theology, the concept of Mardi Gras does fit with Imbolc in its own way. Mardi Gras is a celebration of life and its possibilities. It is a celebration of joy and pure revelry in an effort to clear away that energy to make room for something new. Mardi Gras is a form of spiritual house cleaning for many of its celebrants, just as Imbolc is for Neopagans.
Things You Can Do Today
In addition to the many ancient and modern traditions honoring Imbolc, there are plenty of things you can do without any need for complex rituals or specialized magic tools. Remember that the key element of Imbolc is the emergence from the darkness in preparation for the coming spring. Imbolc is the perfect time to create new plans and make new connections, and prepare for the dramatic change in weather that’s on the way. It is also the perfect time to remove obstacles and clear out the energies standing in the way of your life’s blossoming spring.
Cleaning
There is no reason to wait for the vernal equinox to start on a good cleaning of spaces that have become cluttered with the trappings of the long winter. While in some regions you may not be able to put your snow boots away quite yet, you can still clean out clutter both physical and magical. Even the happiest homes can become cluttered with the day-to-day, accidental accumulation of objects like magazines, unopened mail, books that were never replaced on the shelf, etc., in addition to the perhaps more subtle accumulation of negative energy from such sources as unexpected bills, arguments about curfews, and other sources of stress in our daily lives. We have more opportunity to air out our homes in warm weather so they are less cluttered in many ways. Months of closed doors can leave layers of unwanted energy, and cluttered spaces can actually cause physical stress in some people.
The act of cleaning a single space in your home can bring in a breath of positive energy that will bring peace of mind and soul. Sometimes cleaning is contagious and others will even join in. If you work hard to avoid physical clutter even in the depths of winter, you can still benefit by clearing away the negative energies that accumulate. You can use a besom (a traditional type of broom used by many Witches, Wiccans, and others) to sweep away negative energy just as you would sweep away dust, but you don’t need that specialized tool; an ordinary broom works just as well. It’s really wonderful to start by dusting near the ceiling and then working down towards the floor. As you work, visualize all of those accumulated energies clinging to the dust. And when you sweep away the dust, the negative energy goes with it.
Remember that you can help cleanse the spaces of others as well. Service to others has been and still is a part of many Neopagan paths since their beginnings. There are those who are not as able to step up and cleanse a space as easily as most of us. What better way to celebrate Imbolc than helping those who are more physically limited clean their homes? The benefits of cleaning a space of physical and magical “clutter” are amplified for those who are physically limited and rarely spend time anywhere else. You can help others prepare for the coming spring while cleansing your mind and spirit. It only takes the willpower to do it.
Plant a Seed
Although Imbolc falls before outdoor planting is safe in many parts of the world, in the British Isles this sabbat marked the start of spring, and planting was often possible around this time for the ancient Celts. In the modern era we can plant seeds at Imbolc regardless of the temperature outdoors. The seed is both a literal and symbolic representation of Imbolc. Literally the seed represents the beginning of work and the life and nourishment that will result from it; food is the difference between life and death for us all. However, the seed also serves as a symbolic representation of Imbolc because it represents potential. Much like an
unhatched egg (often associated with the next sabbat, Ostara), the unplanted, unsprouted seed can hold many things.
While you can look at a seed and often know which species of plant produced it, it’s still difficult to tell exactly what you will get if you plant that seed. The seed might sprout and grow into a large, healthy plant, but it could also be weak and barely grow no matter how much care and nurturing you provide. Sometimes a seed doesn’t even sprout the kind of plant you expect. You can’t tell by looking at a tomato seed if it will make large, hearty tomatoes or if it will produce bushels of cherry tomatoes. Many species of melons produce seeds that are virtually indistinguishable to those of us without a degree in botany. You might think you are planting zucchini but actually have pumpkin seeds. And some seeds never sprout at all. When you look at that humble seed, think about how much potential is there.
Our day-to-day lives are filled with seeds, too. Every project you start, from opening a new business to volunteering at a local festival, is like planting a seed. When you look at a new project, you think you know what it is and what will result. Once you plant it, however, it will grow as nature wishes, and you may end up with something quite different from what you first imagined. Some of the things that grow from these seeds are like annual plants. You do the project once, and as soon as it is concluded you never try that project again. Some of your projects might be “self-seeding,” so when one project has been completed it immediately plants the seeds for another to replace it, such as working on an annual fundraiser from year to year.
The most important seeds we plant are with those we love. Once those seeds sprout they are part of your life forever after. Entering into marriage is planting such a seed. Although sometimes marriages die, just as often they grow stronger every year of your life. Children are the ultimate seeds. Once a child has “sprouted” you will tend and nurture it with the expectation that your child will outlive you by many decades. All analogies have their limits, but reflecting on the sprouting and growth from a seed is an idea that can generate many hours of interesting thoughts.
You can manifest this meditation by actually planting seeds, even in the coldest climates. Your local feed store or home store is likely to sell not only seeds but trays, pots, and soil that will allow you to plant indoors even when there is a thick blanket of snow on the ground. If you are a gardener, Imbolc is often a great time to start seedlings indoors to later transplant into your garden when warmer weather arrives. In some climates the soil is warm enough that you can actually plant seeds directly into the ground at Imbolc.
While is easier for gardeners to buy plants ready to go into the ground instead of growing from seed, there is a unique pleasure in growing a plant from seed to full maturity. If you wish to plant seeds as part of this meditation and you already possess a green thumb, simply incorporate this practice into your annual planting.
If you have no plant growing experience or if you’ve become convinced that you have a brown thumb, you should select seeds that are easy to work with and sprout reliably. Sunflowers are generally easy to germinate and grow, so those might be a good choice. If you are planting outdoors at Imbolc, you could plant radishes or lettuce. Both are pretty forgiving to new gardeners, and radishes will finish growing in just a few weeks. You can also simply meditate on the ideas and concepts around seeds without planting anything.
Whether you plant actual seeds or merely plant seeds in your imagination, the ideas that go along with the seed physically and symbolically are worthy of study and meditation. If you plan to do actual planting, gather your materials at a place where you can work while you sit comfortably. If you plant only in your imagination, try to maintain the same pace that actual planting would require. The best way to accomplish that is to perform every action in your imagination that you would do in the physical world. It may be easier to accomplish that by physically planting a single seed into soil. That one representative seed that you plant might surprise you and grow into a magnificent plant.
Begin by preparing your seedling trays or pots for planting. You may also use soil pellets that expand when wet to become a tiny, biodegradable pot for seedlings. No matter which tools you choose to use, as you prepare the soil for planting, think about the importance of this preparation. Seeds have a chance to grow on any piece of soil where they land if moisture is available, but they will thrive if soil is provided that is loose, moist, and loaded with nutrients. This is especially true if the soil is free of competing plants and water and sunlight are present.
How does this relate to your plans for the coming warm days? If you have any metaphorical seeds—plans or projects, including even old ones coming back to life in the coming year—have you prepared the soil for those seeds to thrive? What can you do to prepare for the planting of your seeds to help ensure they grow to be healthy and strong?
Translating those ideas into the physical world should lead you to question whether you are prepared to carry out the plans held within your seeds. If you are planning to start a new business, have you crafted a business plan or gathered the resources your business will require to operate? Do you have appropriately talented people lined up to handle the work your business will do? Are there any permits or licenses needed for your business? These are all steps that you could take to help prepare the “soil” for the planting of the seed of your new business. You can see that this approach can be adapted to any kind of seed that you hope to grow. Use this meditation to consider what each seed needs before planting begins.
Next, you should plant your seeds. Place the seeds onto or within the soil you have prepared for them. Different types of seeds require different types of planting. Some plants produce small seeds that are scattered on the top of moist soil while others need to be buried an inch below the surface of the soil so that when it awakens it will push its head through the soil’s surface on its own. If you are planting unfamiliar seeds, consult the package to ensure you are planting the seeds using the preferred approach.
Now reflect on how those same ideas translate to your upcoming plans and projects. Do you know the best method for planting each of your seeds? If so, are you able to plant your seeds using the best methods? Using the new business example, you might ask yourself if you are locating this business in the best possible place. After all, the physical location of a business can have a significant impact on its success. Are you locating the business in an environment where it will thrive or have you chosen a place that will ensure the seedling will die?
Next, water your newly planted seeds. Different seeds might require different amounts of water to ensure germination. Too much water can wash away tiny seeds, while large seeds might need a deep soaking to become wet enough to trigger germination. Once the seeds sprout, if you don’t water the seedlings enough they will desiccate and die. If you water them too much they might die from root rot or from fungus. You have to know exactly how much water to give them for maximum growth. When the time comes, you will have to decide what type of fertilizer to use and how best to apply it to help your new plants to grow.
How do these aspects apply to your physical world projects and plans? Using the new business example, water could be seen as your investment in the company and fertilizer seen as marketing. For different kinds of projects these ideas would still apply, but your task is to try to decide how. What is the water needed for the seeds that you hope to see sprouted by spring?
It seems so simple, putting a dry little seed into some moist soil, but it can be a truly complex metaphor for the plans we make. Imbolc is a time not only to make plans, but to plant the seeds of your plans and ideas into fertile soil so they can sprout and take root in preparation for the growing season that is ready to begin.
Do Something Positive but Out of Character
Imbolc is not only about emerging from hibernation; it is also about making plans for the future. While it is sometimes the wisest decision to continue with our plans from the previous year, Imbolc is a time to review those plans and make changes as needed. While “staying the course” like this can be a good decision, it is also very easy to fall into habits this way. As you examine your plans for the coming year make sure you remain open to new ideas and different approaches. One great way to do that is to use Imbolc as your time to do something you have never done before.
Doing one new thing can easily inspire you to see things in a new light. You might think of it as a cleaning for your brain instead of your home. New activities require us to think in ways we haven’t before, possibly giving us new insights into old problems in many aspects of life. You could do something dramatic like flying in an airplane for the first time or running your first 5k, and both would certainly open your mind to new ideas. For most of us, a much smaller step will work just as well. You could do something as simple as going to a movie by yourself for the first time or going to a new restaurant. Talk to a stranger in the line at the grocery store. Try a type of pasta you’ve never tasted. It’s surprising how addictive this can become. If you love art museums, perhaps an afternoon at the roller derby would give you a whole new outlook on your future plans. Use Imbolc to act out of character and do something you weren’t sure you could ever do. It can give you confidence to make bigger changes and open pathways to new ways of thinking.
Thank A Deserving Stranger
Imbolc is a transformative sabbat, which is why there is focus on considering new ideas and freeing yourself from old ideas that hold you back. While some might describe this as stepping outside of your “comfort zone,” the concept is that speaking to someone that you may only know by sight or a person whose discussions with you have always been “just business” is doing something new. You may be anxious about speaking to this person, but even if the encounter lasts only a moment you will feel the energy of taking a step down a new path. There’s also the possibility that a positive, new friendship will emerge.
Is there someone at your local library who always finds the book you need? Perhaps there is a clerk at your grocery store who always makes sure your carton of eggs has a rubber band to make sure it’s secured. What about the person at work who always holds the elevator door for people who are running just a moment late? We all know someone who has a “thankless” job. Even if they are only the tiniest of things, recognizing the good deeds done by others builds positive energy for you both, and it gives you the benefit of trying something new as well as the satisfaction of recognizing a deserving person. You might also help clear some of the other person’s mental clutter from the winter.
Candle-Burning Etiquette
As this is a sabbat very much related to the candle, it is important to understand a few general guidelines for handling candles. Your tradition or path may teach specific guidelines about candles. If so, you should always follow those rules. Otherwise, keep a few things in mind when using them. Candles are often used to light other candles. When doing this you should take care to minimize wax from one candle mixing with the wax of others (especially when they are different colors or created with different energies). The mixing of different candle waxes can be a fun and useful magic technique, but only when done intentionally. Candles are obviously impacted by breezes and should be protected from them as much as possible.
Many Wiccans and Neopagans consider it the height of disrespect to blow a candle out, as the act is seen as using the element of air to defeat the element of fire. To avoid showing such disrespect it is generally considered proper to extinguish candles either by pinching the wick or using a candle snuffer. If you do choose to blow out any of the candles you use for magick, at least take care not to blow any hot wax around while extinguishing the candle. Candle snuffers are inexpensive and come in nearly as many sizes and designs as candles themselves.