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As with any holiday, sabbats usually include food, friendship, and opportunities for crafting items appropriate to the season. Imbolc is no exception. Crafting allows everyone to contribute and participate in the festivities. When food and other items are crafted by participants in the celebration, it infuses the environment with the energies of those participants. It also creates a connection between the festivities and those who help with the crafting.

Imbolc Recipes

The next three recipes can be used together to make a wonderful Imbolc-themed snack table. Some covens and other groups enjoy cakes and ale, although many different foods and drinks are often substituted. When combined with copious amounts of milk, this Imbolc feast can definitely be used in place of cakes and ale. Each recipe can be made independently, and they work perfectly together. You can complete all of the crafting for this feast in less than twenty-four hours. One person can easily do the crafting, but there are some steps that can be done as a group. For the best-tasting results, seek out dairy products that are organic and preferably locally produced. The fresher and more natural the ingredients, the tastier the results.

Yogurt “Cheese”

Imbolc is a sabbat closely associated with milk and milk products. Even simple cheeses are cherished when the first milk of the year is available. You might think of cheese making as a process using strange cultures and esoteric aging techniques. Make no mistake: cheese makers work wonderful magic to produce the astounding variety of cheeses available to us in the twenty-first century. Rather than venture into the mystic realm of cheese making, you can make a very simple cheese with just a few ingredients you might already have on hand. This technique works overnight and requires very little labor. The result is a soft cheesy yogurt similar to cream cheese that can be flavored easily with a variety of savory and sweet ingredients.

Ingredients:

1 quart of unflavored yogurt
(whole milk yogurt is recommended)

Cheesecloth

A colander or mesh strainer

A small saucer

A bowl large enough to comfortably
hold the colander or strainer.

Begin by placing the saucer (a jar lid can work as a substitute) upside down in the bottom of the large bowl. Place the colander on top of the inverted saucer. The saucer lifts the colander well above the bottom of the bowl to allow for complete draining. Line the colander with 3–4 layers of cheese cloth. Spoon the yogurt into the colander and place the bowl into the refrigerator overnight.

The next morning you will find that the liquid whey has separated from the yogurt and run into the bottom of the bowl, leaving behind a firm “cheese.” Place the bowl on the counter and carefully gather the cheesecloth at the top, enclosing the ball of cheese. Twist the top of the cheesecloth to ensure nothing can squirt out of the top and gently squeeze the cheesecloth from top to bottom to extract any remaining liquid. Expect to extract about half of the yogurt as cheese and half as whey. You can then open the cloth and transfer the cheese to a mixing bowl. The cheesecloth can be washed and reused many times.

The unflavored cheese can be served as it is, but a pinch or two of salt will greatly enhance its flavor. What’s even more fun is to make an Imbolc-flavored cheese. For a savory cheese, try adding two tablespoons of dried sweet basil and a teaspoon of salt to the cheese immediately after it is strained. For a fruity option, thaw half a cup (or more) of blackberries and use those in place of the sweet basil. For an even sweeter variant, use half a cup of blackberry preserves or locally harvested honey.

Mix the ingredients thoroughly with a fork. Cover the bowl and return it to the refrigerator until shortly before serving it. For a nicer presentation, once the cheese is chilled again you can gather it back into a ball and then slice the ball in half. Place each half flat-side-down on the center of a serving platter.

Butter

Making butter is easy and something every butter lover should do at least once. You can make butter using a blender, hand blender, hand mixer, or about any other tool that will help you to agitate liquid. You can even make butter using a tightly closed jar!

Ingredients:

a blender or one of the other tools discussed above

a pint or more of heavy cream

a fork

ice cold water

a teaspoon of salt (optional)

Begin by pouring the cream into the blender and “churning” it on a high setting. After several minutes of mixing you will see the cream begin to separate into solid butter and liquid “buttermilk.” When you can clearly see the small pieces of butter spinning in the blender you can turn it off. Keep in mind that there is often a thick ring of butter around the blades in the bottom of the blender. Strain the contents of the blender through a fine sieve or cheese cloth. After straining, place the butter into a bowl and press it with a spoon or spatula until all of the liquid has been extracted. Save the liquid buttermilk for use in the next recipe, for soda bread.

Gather the solid butter together and shape it into a ball or other convenient shape. If you plan to use the butter within a day, you can shape it and return it to the refrigerator to chill. If you want butter that will last much longer, you need to “wash” it. Add at least half (and up to a full) cup of ice-cold water into the bowl with the butter and mix them together. Pour off the water and again press all of the liquid out of the butter. Mix in a teaspoon of salt with a fork, if desired. You can form the butter into many shapes, but a simple approach is to form it into a log shape and wrap it with parchment paper. If you roll the wrapped log back and forth on a smooth surface, you can even out many of its rough edges. Store the butter wrapped in the parchment and it will last a month in a refrigerator (or up to a year in the freezer, if the wrapped butter is placed in a tightly closed plastic bag).

You can add herbs or other flavoring to butter just as you did with the yogurt cheese. Different flavorings can be added to the cold butter and mixed thoroughly with a fork. You can also gently heat the butter and add flavorings to the melted butter to better disperse the flavors.

Soda Bread

This simple and traditional Irish bread requires no yeast and is a tasty way to enjoy the yogurt cheese and butter from the previous two recipes. It is also a great way to use the buttermilk leftover from churning the butter (although you can also use buttermilk purchased from the grocery store).

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda (use a recently opened
container, stale soda won’t work as well)

1 teaspoon sugar (optional)

2 teaspoon salt (optional)

1 cup buttermilk

Thoroughly mix the powdered ingredients and stir in the buttermilk. Mix with a spoon for one to two minutes and then knead with your hands for another thirty seconds. If the mixture is too dry, moisten it with a little more buttermilk but don’t handle the dough any more than is absolutely needed. This dough should be a bit lumpy and wispy, so don’t try to make it smooth.

Form the dough into a round shape about eight inches wide. Place it on a cookie sheet that has been covered with parchment paper, or more traditionally, dusted with flour. Press the top flat and then cut the top with a sharp knife. Traditionally you would make two intersecting cuts of equal length across the dough and going about an inch into the sides of the dough in a cross shape. It looks more festive if you make three cuts that create more of a star or asterisk pattern.

Bake the dough at 400o F for 40 to 45 minutes. The top should be brown and the loaf should make a hollow sound when thumped. Remove it from the oven and allow it to cool for fifteen minutes covered with a towel. It can then be served hot or allowed to completely cool before cutting. This traditional bread is filled with tiny pockets and crevices that butter and cheese can fill, making it the perfect centerpiece for your Imbolc feast.

Drinks

Complete the feast with mugs of warm milk or hot cocoa. Alternately, if you and your guests don’t find it too chilling, you can make milkshakes by blending ice cream and fresh milk. If you are a little more daring and you enjoy the taste of yogurt, you can make a whey shake by using the whey from the yogurt cheese in place of milk in your shake. Add some vanilla, honey, or blackberries for a tasty and sweet way to finish your feast.

Fortune Cookies

Chinese New Year usually falls within the Imbolc time frame, but even in years where it doesn’t, this is a very fun project for any Imbolc celebration. To be fair, the fortune cookie is an American creation and certainly isn’t traditional anywhere in Asia. While it might be a bit of a stretch to connect these tasty divination treats with traditional New Year’s celebrations, they are still a perfect fit for any Imbolc or New Year’s celebration.

You can make fortune cookies for you family and friends or those in your grove or coven. Fortune cookies can be used in divination rituals and can even be used to replace the moon cakes that are traditionally used in many circles. Since you are able to create any fortune you wish, you can even make cookies for specific people (for example, a new parent, a new initiate, a birthday, etc.). There are some fun ideas at the end of this section for how you can involve others in the cookie making, but first let’s take a look at the recipe and the simple method for making these awesome cookies.

Ingredients:

4 egg whites

¾ cup sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

9 Tablespoons butter, room temperature

10 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

½ cup ground almond meal

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Fortunes or messages on small slips of parchment paper

Wax paper (to protect the fortunes)

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Mix the egg whites and sugar. Once the mixture is well-combined, add the other ingredients one at a time. Mix thoroughly after each ingredient is added. Use a wire whisk to mix the butter thoroughly with the other ingredients. For best results, use a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper. Write the fortunes or messages onto slips of parchment paper and fold several times. These cookies are a bit greasy, so if the fortunes aren’t well-wrapped in wax paper the messages might become unreadable.

Once all of the ingredients are completely mixed, measure 1 teaspoon of dough for each cookie and place them 3 to 4 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheet.

Bake for six minutes and remove from the oven. The cookies should be not yet browned on the edges but still one uniform light color. As they bake, they should flatten into a roughly circular shape. If any of your cookies come out uneven, you can use a biscuit cutter make perfect circles. Just be aware that at this stage the cookies are sticky and not very firm, so handle with care.

As soon as you remove the cookies from the oven, place one of the prepared fortunes in the center of each cookie. It’s best to put it slightly off-center so the fortune isn’t too close to the edge when you fold the cookie. Quickly fold over each cookie to form a half circle that looks a bit like a Chinese dumpling. Use the edge of a butter knife to crimp the edges of the cookie to seal the fortune inside. Parchment paper makes this process easier, since you can lift the paper and put your hand under the cookie when doubling it over. If the center breaks open during the process, crimp that edge as well.

Bake the folded-over cookies for another 6 to 8 minutes. For a consistent color you can flip the cookies over at the 5-minute mark. Finished cookies will be several shades darker than when you removed them to add the fortunes. Remove the cookies from the tray and allow to cool. These cookies are very tasty, so remind people not to eat their fortunes! As you bake each tray of cookies you should keep the uncooked dough in the refrigerator until you are ready to bake.

Making fortune cookies can be a great choice for an Imbolc potluck dinner. They are a great project for an entire group as well. The whole group can join in the process of making one large batch of cookies, with different people doing different parts of the process. Making the cookies as a group means you can bake and fold your cookies and take them directly into a ritual. A fun variation on this is to have everyone bring several fortunes ready to go into the cookies. That way the fortunes are a surprise for everyone. You can even do that if only one or two people bake all of the cookies. Just collect everyone’s fortunes and deliver them to the cooks before the baking begins. Remind everyone to carefully wrap their fortunes in wax paper to ensure the messages remain visible once baked in the cookies.

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Fortune Cookies

Imbolc fortune cookies also make great little gifts. Make a few dozen for friends or co-workers. If you want to add a bit of educational flair, you could put a fortune on one side of the paper and then a Neopagan term and its definition on the reverse side. It’s a great way to share some fun (and tasty) cookies with non-Wiccan or non-Pagan friends and share a little knowledge along with the entertainment. It can also be a nonthreatening way to introduce a few new ideas to those who may not be knowledgeable about Neopaganism.

You can use this craft for a lot of different magickal or ritual purposes, and it can also be a fun way to break the ice in groups with new members. For instance, if you are teaching a class about tarot, you could put a different major arcana tarot card in each fortune cookie. Pass out the cookies to your students and have them open their cookies one by one and reveal the card within. You can then discuss the card and its various interpretations before having the next person open their cookie and start a discussion about their card.

If you’d like, you can make fortunes very specific. You can even create custom cookie for each person attending your gathering, ritual, or party. If you choose to make cookies for specific people, you’ll want to be certain you can identify which cookie should go to which person. The easiest way to do this is for the fortune to have the name of the person (or a number or symbol representing that person) printed on it on at the very end of the slip of paper. When the fortune is placed inside the cookie, leave the name or symbol hanging outside the cookie so you can quickly determine who should receive it.

For most fortune cookies made for Imbolc, you would want fortunes that reflect this celebration. Remember that this is a sabbat focused on new beginnings, birth, and the promise of the coming spring. It is also about being thankful for surviving the cold winter. You can print out your fortunes with a printer and cut them into slips tiny enough to fit inside the cookies. You can also cut small slips of paper and have people handwrite the fortunes. The fortunes might even be as simple as what you personally wish for the person receiving the cookie.

Crafts

Brigid’s Cross

Brigid’s Cross is a symbol of protection that is traditionally prepared just before Imbolc. Completed crosses are left outside the front door the night before Imbolc in hopes that Brigid will bless them. On Imbolc, the blessed crosses are hung to protect the home. They are often placed near outside doors to prevent misfortune from coming inside. It’s a good idea to leave a grain cake or a bit of grass for Brigid’s white cow companion—even an oatmeal cookie works great!

Although a Brigid’s Cross would traditionally be made from straw taken from the last harvest or from wild-harvested reeds, a variety of modern craft materials can also be used. You can make lovely crosses from materials found at most craft stores, such as pipe cleaners, drinking straws, or strips of colorful paper. Some craft stores also sell straw. You can also find materials in your own yard or the nearest park—straw is just dried grass. You may find some appropriate grass in your yard or flower beds at this time of year that has gone to seed and is dried. This is especially true if you grow any decorative grasses. As long as you have stems at least five inches in length, you can use grass or even dried lavender stems to make your cross.

You will need:

If you are using straw or other dried materials, begin by soaking them in water for twenty-four hours. If you are using pipe cleaners or other crafting materials, you can skip this step. If there is still snow on the ground where you live, melt some of it for soaking. The melted snow represents the spring thaw that is soon to come.

After soaking for twenty-four hours, the pieces should be pliable. You should be able to easily bend the straw or stems in half.

  1. Cut all of your straw to equal length.
  2. Begin with one piece of straw held vertically in one hand.
  3. At the center of the first piece, place a horizontal piece of straw, forming a cross.
  4. Bend the horizontal piece in the middle to the right so it is doubled over.
  5. Rotate the pieces a quarter turn counterclockwise so the doubled-over piece of straw is pointing upwards and the first piece is horizontal.
  6. Place a third piece of straw horizontally above the first piece and double it over to the right, so it wraps over the second piece.
  7. Rotate the pieces another quarter turn counterclockwise.
  8. Double a piece of straw over the center straw towards the right (this will give you cross shape with 4 equal length arms).
  9. Continue to rotate the cross counter-clockwise, adding another piece of straw wrapped around the top arm of the cross until all 9 pieces of straw have been used.
  10. You should now have a cross with 4 equal arms but if the arms are not of equal length you should cut them now to ensure all arms are the same.
  11. Tie off the center of each arm with thread or string (wire or rubber bands may also be used).

Your cross is now ready to be blessed and hung in your home. Keep the crosses up until you replace them with new ones next year.

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Brigid’s Cross

Imbolc Incense

Incense making is only as complex as you choose to make it. This is a simple blend of incense that will be heated over charcoal (or in an incense heater or aroma lamp). It works best if the ingredients are powdered, but finely chopped will also work. For ideal results you should make this incense several weeks before Imbolc, but it can still be made on Imbolc if aging it isn’t possible.

You will need:

Begin by chopping or grinding cedar chips or basil leaves as finely as possible. A coffee grinder or blender can be used, but even a mortar and pestle can be used to grind.

Mix 5 teaspoons chopped or powdered cedar wood with 1 teaspoon dried basil leaves in the bowl.

Stir with the craft stick until the basil is equally distributed in the mixture.

Add a few drops of honey to the mixture. Use just enough honey to stick everything together—don’t add any more than you have to.

Mix with the craft stick until the honey is evenly distributed. Complete the mixing with your hands if needed, wearing the disposable gloves (latex or otherwise); otherwise wash your hands immediately after you finish mixing.

Once you can gather the incense together in a single ball or glob, drop it into the plastic bag. Close the bag and seal it inside the glass or plastic container. Allow the incense to age until Imbolc.

On Imbolc you should open the sealed container and plastic bag. Pinch off pea-sized balls of incense. If the mixture is still sticky (it takes a week or two for the stickiness to go away), roll the balls in powdered cedar wood or basil to make them easier to handle.

As for use, any time during your preparations for Imbolc or during rituals is great. Remember that it won’t burn on its own like a cone or stick of incense. Instead, you will need to heat the incense over charcoal unless you have an incense heater or aroma lamp. If you use an aroma lamp, empty any water and dry the bowl. Then line the bottom of the bowl with a small piece of foil. Light the candle as you normally would and place one of the balls of incense on the foil. The heat from the candle will gently warm the incense so it releases its scent with little or no smoke. The incense can be safely stored in a sealed container for decades.

Dipped Candle Making

There are a variety of ways to make candles: you can hand roll beeswax candles or make floating wick candles or try many approaches in between, but this is a simple and traditional technique. You can use most types of wax you might find in your local craft store, but this approach will also work using paraffin wax from the grocery store. Paraffin wax tends to smoke more than most types of candle wax, but it will still work and can be easily colored.

For the best results, check your local craft or hobby store for soy wax, which melts easily in the microwave so it is the simplest to work with. Just put it into a microwave safe glass container. A container about six inches tall is best. If you use paraffin wax, it is most safely prepared in a double boiler. Remember that wax is flammable and should not come too close to ignition sources. You can purchase wicking specifically for candle making (in a pinch you can use cotton string) along with dyes for candles at many craft or hobby stores. For safest results, especially for novice candle makers, purchase the heaviest wick available. A wick with a wire core will make it easier to straighten candles when they are thin.

Although the end result isn’t quite as pure, you can also color candles using wax crayons. Color is an important part of candle magick, so decide the purpose for your candles before you decide on a color. Scenting candle wax requires more instruction than space will allow in this book, but scented wax squares are available at craft store that make it simple. We’ll look at one way to scent candles after they are made in the next part of this chapter, on dressing candles.

It is generally easiest and most useful to make white candles, at least for your first batch. Candles made on Imbolc carry special energy, and some people will spend most of this holiday making dozens of candles of different colors. You can use this technique to make candles for use in any of the spells or rituals in this book series.

For this project you will need:

This style of dipped candle produces two candles for every wick. You will dip both ends of the wick into the wax at the same time, creating a candle at each end. This technique will produce two candles about five inches long for each cut wick.

Begin by cutting your wick into twelve-inch sections. Most wicks will get a bit longer once soaked with wax so don’t be surprised if they stretch. With the wicks cut, heat the wax and color or scent it if you desire. At this point, I would ask for Brigid’s blessings as Goddess of the Flame.

I call upon you Brigid, Goddess of the Flame and of
the Sacred Well, to bless the candles that I craft today.

I ask that you imbue within them the strength, power,
and protection that has helped so many over the millennia.

Come to me Goddess and bless these candles that
they will bring your energy and power when called upon.

Thank you, great Goddess.

You might prefer to call to your own deities or even a deity closely identified with your reason for making the candle. For example, if you were making prosperity candles, it would be appropriate to call to Laksmi (goddess of fortune and prosperity) and ask for her energy and blessing.

Candle making is a fun group project as well. You will be amazed at how many candles you can produce in a single afternoon with the help of a few friends—and lots of wax and wick. Chanting and happy conversation will keep positive energy flowing throughout the process.

Remember to prepare your cooling rack so you can hang your candles as you dip them. Begin by holding one of the cut wicks in the center. Allow the ends to hang straight down. Dip the wicks into the melted wax. The wicking may try to float at first, but by dragging the wick back and forth a few times the wax will penetrate the wick and it will sink below the surface. Take care not to put your fingers in the wax. Remove the wick from the wax. The first few times you dip a wick it may wrinkle when it comes of the wax. Gently tug on the ends of the wicking to straighten both ends should this happen. After the wick has been dipped and straightened, hang the wicking over your cooling rack. One candle should hang down on each side. As the candles get larger you should take care that none of the hot candles touch, as they could melt together.

Continue this process until you have used all of your cut wicks. By the time you have finished dipping your last wick, the first set of candles may be cool enough to dip again. Remove the first cooled wick and dip it back into the melted wax. Every time you dip the candles the melted wax adds another layer to the outside of the candle. The first few times you dip the wicks, they may not seem like they are changing, but continue the process and they will begin to get larger before your eyes. For candles five inches long, you should dip them until they are a half to three-quarters of an inch in diameter.

You may have to reheat your soy wax periodically. Just place the container in the microwave for a minute and make certain you remove any stray wicking from the container before microwaving. Paraffin candles can be dipped directly from the double boiler so the wax is always hot.

Once the candles have cooled, you can cut and trim the wicks to size or leave the candles in pairs until they are needed. You can also carve, decorate, and dress the candles any way you would like. You will find that candles you make on Imbolc will be amazing sources of energy throughout the year.

Candle Dressing

The simplest way to make a dramatic change to a candle is “dressing,” a technique that adds both the scent and plant energy. Dressing uses essential oils, often undiluted. As many undiluted oils can be very harsh on skin, many people wear disposable gloves whenever handling these oils in their concentrated form. Essential oils that have been added to a carrier oil (a benign oil such as sweet almond or olive that dilutes essential oils) are generally safe for bare skin but you should still keep contact to a minimum.

To dress a candle, the sides (and occasionally the top) of the candle are lightly coated in essential oil. As the candle warms from the flame, it heats the oils on the candle. The oils usually dissipate long before the flame reaches them, so candles can be dressed more than once. The easiest way to dress a candle without touching the oil is to use a cotton swab, paper towel, or soft cloth. Drizzle a small amount of oil onto the side of the candle or onto the cloth or towel. Use the swab, towel, or cloth to spread the oil evenly across the surface of the candle. Any cloth or paper towel used to spread the oil will retain its scent for a long time. You might use it as a room freshener until the last trace of scent is gone. You might wish to blend several different essential oils for dressing your candle. Try to mix the oils several days in advance and put the mix into a sealed container. Shake or stir the contents once or twice a day to ensure that the oils blend completely.

You can also find special paints in many hobby or craft stores that allow you to paint decorations on your candles. You can also use a sharp blade to carve symbols or words into a candle. You can accomplish much the same thing with a heated nail carefully held in a pair of pliers. There are lots of creative ways to make a purchased candle unique to you and your goals.

Corn Dollies

There are about as many ways to make corn dollies as there are to make chili! Corn dollies are often associated with harvest
festivals but they are traditionally made at Imbolc as well. At Imbolc they may be made from straw from the last harvest of the previous year or from reeds or grasses collected just before Imbolc. While you may not have a marsh in your backyard where you can collect reeds, many of us can find suitable plant materials outdoors (assuming they aren’t buried under snow). Many of the grasses grown for decorative purposes are wonderful for making this style of corn dolly. Look for grass (usually brown and dry at Imbolc) with seed heads on them. They should be about as sturdy as the bristles on a new broom when bunched together. If you cut some down and look at the cut ends you should see that they have a hole or appear hollow at the end. Those stems may be the perfect solution. Look for stems without seed heads too. As long as they are equally sturdy, you can use them along with the seed heads.

For a more urban solution, visit your local craft store. Those stores often sell dried plants and flowers for decorative purposes. Look for the same characteristics you would in the wild; remember that anything you buy in a craft store should be properly dried, clean, and ready before using. Straw and other dried materials can be used but you should try to find at least one dried stalk with a large seed head for every corn dolly you want to make. Get a dozen stalks or more for each corn dolly. Straw is usually compressed so the straw itself is flat rather than round. You can work with this straw but you still need at least on stalk with a seed head, even if that stalk looks different from the rest of the straw that you use.

Gather between ten and fifteen stalks, and cut them to equal length. Most of the stalks will be bent in half to form the body and legs of the dolly. The remaining stalks will form the dolly’s arms. Using a shallow pan (such as a cookie sheet) large enough to hold the stalks, soak them in warm water overnight except for any stalks with seed heads, which will be used for the head and don’t need to be flexible. After soaking, the stalks should be flexible where you can easily bend and twist them without breaking. If not, continue soaking until they can be easily bent. Flattened straw from a straw bale may already be flexible enough to use without soaking.

Leaving 3 to 4 stalks behind, gather a handful of the stalks into a bundle and grasp the bundle in the middle with one hand. Double the bundle over at the midpoint to form the body of the corn dolly. Hold the bottom half of the doubled-over bundle to keep the stalks in place. With your other hand insert the stalk with the seed head down through the center of the doubled-over bundle. The base of the seed head should be slightly above the top of the doubled-over bundle. The ends of the stalks should be at the bottom and the seed head at the top to represent the dolly’s head.

While holding the doubled-over bundle with the seed head in one hand, use the other hand to pick up the remaining 3 to 4 softened strands. Use those remaining strands to form the dolly’s arms by tying them horizontally around the upper body of the corn dolly, about a third of the way down from the base of the seed head. Wrap the strands all the way around the bundle at least once and leave the ends protruding out like outstretched arms. If your strands will keep the shape, you can even pose the arms into different positions. You may need to tie the arms into a knot to keep them in place if the strands aren’t stiff enough. You can also use a little thread or twine to tie the bundle together and hold the arms in place. This is a traditional female corn dolly.

To make it a male dolly, separate the bottom part of the bundle into two distinct pieces to represent legs. You may need to tie the legs at the bottom to keep them apart. Remember that at Imbolc, female corn dollies are made to represent Brigid and her blessings of warmth and light. Making male corn dollies isn’t a traditional Imbolc activity.

With such an abundance of crafting materials, you can create quite an impressive Imbolc altar. The bread, cheese, and other edibles will make a wonderful centerpiece to an altar covered with a white or yellow cloth. Adding an arrangement of fresh flowers from the season, such as daffodils or crocuses, will help to bring life energy to it. Including an assortment of candles and at least one corn dolly and one Brigid cross to your altar will result in a stunning Imbolc altar, filled with offerings for this wonderful sabbat.

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Corn Dollies

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