Imbolc/Oimelc

Imbolc (in the belly of the Mother) or Oimelc (the feast of ewes’ milk) from sunset on January 31-sunset February 2, the rising of the light and the stirring of new hope

Animal: serpent

Tree: Willow

Incenses and Herbs: angelica, basil, benzoin, celandine, heather and myrrh.

Candle colours: pale pink, green, blue and white.

Crystals: dark red gemstones such as the garnet and bloodstone, but also amethysts, rose quartz and gentle moonstones for fertility and awakening feelings.

Symbols: Use the very first snowdrops or very early budding leaves or flowers, milk, seeds and honey.

Imbolc rituals will bring new love or the re-growth of trust, awakening fertility and for the initiation of any projects that start in a small way.

Agricultural signficance:

This was the all important time when sheep and cattle had their young and so fresh milk and dairy products were available to the community; for the young and very old this could mean the difference between life and death. It also marked the very early stirrings of life with the first flowers and when the land might be soft enough to plough.

Folk/magical significance:

At dusk on January 31 in the pagan calendar and midnight on February 1 at the Christianised Candlemas torches, candles and sacred bonfires were lit to attract the Sun. There was a procession clockwise around the frozen fields with blazing torches, led it was said in pre-Christian times, by the maiden Goddess herself who melted the snows of winter with her willow wand.

Ritual significance: A festival of healing of the land as well as people and animals. Eight candles were placed in a circle in water and lit so that the light rose from the water of the goddess, the unity of Fire and Water. It was a festival of milk also, that was sacred to the Celts as communion wine to Christians, as the nurturing power of the still lactating Mother Goddess.

Deity forms: The Maiden Goddess Brighid, the Virgin Mary who presented Jeus at the temple at this time and was cleansed after a ritual period of seclusion.

Personal activities

• In age old tradition, pour fresh milk on to the Earth as a tribute to the Mother and as you do so, ask for fertility in any aspect of your life where you need it.
• On the night of February 1, place nightlights safely at every window of your home to welcome Brighid into your home.
• Make a tiny straw bed and in it place a small doll dressed in white with a quartz crystal on the heart to represent the maiden Brighid. Pour a little honey on the bed and three drops of milk, surround it with the first greenery or buds of Spring. Place in the straw  symbols of the blessings you would like in your life, whether tiny charms related to your craft or connected with your home.
• Take a ceramic heat proof bowl of milk and in it drop ice cubes to represent the cold of winter; gently melt the ice with a small candle or burner beneath the bowl, stirring it and naming the energies you wish to move in or through your life to awaken your personal Spring.
• Create a circle of pink or blue candles and sit within the circle, absorbing the light of the new season.

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