IMBOLC  LORE
          
It is traditional upon Imbolc, at sunset or just after ritual, to light every
lamp in the house – if only for a few moments. Or, light candles in each room in
honor of the Sun’s rebirth.   Alternately, light a kerosene lamp with a red
chimney and place this in a prominent part of the home or in a window.

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 on the
snow.

Foods appropriate to eat on this day include those from the dairy, since Imbolc
marks the festival of calving.  Sour cream dishes are fine.  Spicy and full-
bodied foods in honor of the Sun are equally attuned.  Curries and all dishes
made with peppers, onions, leeks, shallots, garlic or chives are appropriate.
Spiced wines and dishes containing raisins – all  foods symbolic of the Sun – 
are also traditional.

Triskellion’s Celtic Imbolc Ritual

This is the 1994 Imbolc Ceremony of Triskellion Coven, based in Washington D.C.
It was written by Anne Cross. Cast: Maiden, Mother, Crone, quarter wardens,
others.

Everyone stands in a ring. The Captain of the West sets the cauldron in the
middle of the ring. The three goddess-aspects enter the circle from the east
and circle deosil around the cauldron. The Maiden begins chanting:

Come to us from the Earth’s four quarters

Earth and Air and Fire and Water

Bring your minions to this home

Sylphs, Undines, Salamanders, Gnomes.

Ask your Captains, Nixsa, Djinn, Paralda, Ghob

To bring them in.

The first time, only the Maiden chants. After that it is done twice more, once
by the Mother and once by the Crone. Then everyone turns to the east to greet
Paralda, Captain of the Sylphs and Lord of the East.

Paralda: The Air is the element of the Spring,

The Maiden returns to bring forth her son

The Oak returns from his rest,

And the spiral turns anew.

Then everyone turns south to greet Djinn, Captain of the Salamanders and Lord
of the South. After Djinn, west for Nixsa, Captain of the Undines and Lord of
the West. Finally, we turn north for Ghob, Captain of the  Gnomes and Lord of
the North.

Djinn: The Fire has the power of warmth

The sun returns to our lands.

The light wakes the plants from their slumber

And the spiral turns anew.

Nixsa: The Water douses the land

The thirsty land drinks and awakens

The streams and rivers fill with melting snow

And the spiral turns anew.

Ghob: The Earth gives up her treasures

The bear wakes from his slumbers

The Holly Lord retires in the face of spring

And the spiral turns anew.

All face the circle. The Mother and the Crone step into the outer circle,
leaving the Maiden alone in the center. The five people who ask the blessing
arrange themselves in a five-pointed star inside the circle. After each person
speaks, they salute the Maiden.

Person 1: On this day we remember the Goddess who left us as Crone at Samhain,
and is to return to us. Come back to us, Lady, and bring the spring.

Person 2: Lady, the snowdrops have pushed their way through the cold, wet
earth, and we dream of your return. Come back to us, Lady, and bring the spring.

Person 3: The birds return from their winter homes. Come back to us, Lady, and
bring the spring.

Person 4: The plants which went down into the earth with you are close to
renewal. Come back to us, Lady, and bring the spring.

Person 5: The trees are waiting to bring forth new leaves. Come back to us,
Lady, and bring the spring.

Person 1: Come back from the Caves of Annwn, where souls are purged of pain and
sorrow.

Person 2: Return from Hel, where souls are freed from grief and despair.

Person 3: Come to us from the Mists of Avalon, from the Apple Orchard.

Person 4: Come from Tir-nan-Og, the Land of Blessed Rest.

Person 5: Return from the land of Faerie, where you have dreamed long dreams of
summer.

All: Come back to us, Lady, and bring the spring!

The Maiden (saluting): Cold Winter is gone, the snow will thaw

The badger stirs within the Earth

I sing the Goddess back once more,

To give the land its own rebirth.

The snowdrop comes, the robin sings

I come now, the Maiden

And with one voice

In spring and love and Goddess we rejoice.

The simple feast now. Then the circle is reformed and the Crone passes a
necklace to the Maiden.

Crone: I pass this to you and with it I bring

From ancient cold winter to much younger spring,

From one who is done to one in her prime

So mote it be, in comes the springtime!

The Maiden and Crone bow to each other. The Maiden puts on the necklace and
breaks the circle in the east.

Maiden: So mote it be! Fiat!

All: So mote it be! Fiat!

[A word to the wise: The first time we did this ceremony, an ice storm hit
Washington three days later and froze the city for a solid week. Use with
caution. ]

Candlemas = Renewal

Each year, we celebrate February 2nd around the world.  We call it Brigid,
Candlemas, Imbolc, St. Brigid’s Day, and yes, of course, Groundhog’s Day. Why
do we celebrate on February 2nd?  Is it like President’s Day – providing a nice
day for state and federal workers to stay at home?  Not really… Brigid has
been celebrated for many thousands of years.  It is the day on which we
recognize and honor the awakening of the maiden aspect of the Goddess.

Some of us celebrate the holiday as Brigid, in honor of Brigid who was a Celtic
Goddess of poetry, healing, fire and smithcraft.  In years past, the people of
the British Isles would build a nice fire in their hearth, light torches and
candles, and celebrate Brigid.  What were they celebrating?  The Maiden aspect
of the Goddess awakes or returns from the underworld.  At Winter Solstice she
was impregnated with Spring.  She sleeps until Brigid and returns, bringing
Spring and renewal for the earth with her.  The other names for this holiday
are just different names for the same celebration.

Some may ask what this really has to do with us?  We see that some of the
animal kingdom hibernates through the dark time of the year. We tend to follow
the same cycle.  During the dark time of the year we retreat within ourselves.
We focus internally.  We stay inside our homes in the warmth and think about
what is upcoming for us.  We may not even recognize it.  We may not even think
about it consciously, but subconsciously we are very much aware of it.  We are
very much a part of the spiral of birth, death, and rebirth throughout the
year.  We are interconnected with the earth and all that is on it.  You have
likely heard the old expression “Spring Fever” many times before.  This is
simply our anticipation of Spring’s return, when we can go out and live a full
life upon the earth once more.

Often if we look at our ancestors and the His/Herstory, we can find the answers
to many of our questions.  I hope that everyone has a beautiful Brigid and
remember… Spring is just around the corner.
Mayfair Lightwind

C A N D L E M A S
 
-by Gwydion Cinhil Kirontin

It seems quite impossible that the holiday of Candlemas should be considered the
beginning of Spring. Here in the heartland, February 2nd may see a blanket of
snow mantling the Mother.  Or, if the snows have gone, you may be sure the days
are filled with drizzle, slush, and steel-gray skies — the dreariest weather of
the year.  In short, the perfect time for a Pagan Festival of Lights. And as for
Spring, although this may seem a tenuous beginning, all the little buds, flowers
and leaves will have arrived on schedule before Spring runs its course to
Beltane.

“Candlemas” is the Christianized name for the holiday, of  course.  The older
Pagan names were Imbolc and Oimelc.  “Imbolc” means, literally, “in the belly”
(of the Mother).  For in the womb of Mother Earth, hidden from our mundane sight
but sensed by a keener vision, there are stirrings. The seed that was planted in
her womb at the solstice is quickening and the new year grows.  “Oimelc” means
“milk of ewes”, for it is also lambing season.

The holiday is also called “Brigit’s Day”, in honor of the great Irish Goddess
Brigit.  At her shrine, the ancient Irish capital of Kildare, a group of 19
priestesses (no men allowed) kept a perpetual flame burning in her honor.  She
was considered a goddess of fire, patroness of smithcraft, poetry and healing
(especially the healing touch of midwifery).  This tripartite symbolism was
occasionally expressed by saying that Brigit had two sisters, also named Brigit. 
(Incidentally, another form of  the name Brigit is Bride, and it is thus She
bestows her special patronage on any woman about to be married or handfasted,
the woman being called “bride” in her honor.)

The Roman Catholic Church could not very easily call the Great Goddess of
Ireland a demon, so they canonized her instead. Henceforth, she would be “Saint”
Brigit, patron saint of smithcraft, poetry, and healing.  They “explained” this
by telling the Irish peasants that Brigit was “really” an early Christian
missionary sent to the Emerald Isle, and that the miracles she performed there
“misled” the common people into believing that she was a goddess.  For some
reason, the Irish swallowed this.  (There is no limit to what the Irish
imagination can convince itself of.  For example, they also came to believe that
Brigit was the “foster-mother” of Jesus, giving no thought to the implausibility
of Jesus having spent his boyhood in Ireland!)

Brigit’s holiday was chiefly marked by the kindling of sacred fires, since she
symbolized the fire of birth and healing, the fire of the forge, and the fire of
poetic inspiration.  Bonfires were lighted on the beacon tors, and chandlers
celebrated their special holiday.  The Roman Church was quick to confiscate this
symbolism as well, using “Candlemas” as the day to bless all the church candles
that would be used for the coming liturgical year. (Catholics will be reminded
that the following day, St. Blaise’s Day, is remembered for using the newly-
blessed candles to bless the throats of parishioners, keeping them from colds,
flu, sore throats, etc.)

The Catholic Church, never one to refrain from piling holiday upon holiday, also
called it the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  (It is
surprising how many of the old Pagan holidays were converted to Maryan Feasts.) 
The symbol of the Purification may seem a little obscure to modern readers, but
it has to do with the old custom of “churching women”.  It was believed that
women were impure for six weeks after giving birth. And since Mary gave birth at
the winter solstice, she wouldn’t be purified until February 2nd.  In Pagan
symbolism, this might be re-translated as when the Great Mother once again
becomes the Young Maiden Goddess.

Today, this holiday is chiefly connected to weather lore.  Even our American
folk-calendar keeps the tradition of  “Groundhog’s Day”, a day to predict the
coming weather, telling us that if the Groundhog sees his shadow, there will be
“six more weeks” of bad weather (i.e., until the next old holiday, Lady Day). 
This custom is ancient.  An old British rhyme tells us that “If Candlemas Day be
bright and clear, there’ll be two winters in the year.”  Actually, all of the
cross-quarter days can be used as “inverse” weather predictors, whereas the
quarter-days are used as “direct” weather predictors.

Like the other High Holidays or Great Sabbats of the Witches’ year, Candlemas is
sometimes celebrated on it’s alternate date, astrologically determined by the
sun’s reaching 15-degrees Aquarius, or Candlemas Old Style (this year, February
6th).

Another holiday that gets mixed up in this is Valentine’s Day. Ozark folklorist
Vance Randolf makes this quite clear by noting that the old-timers used to
celebrate Groundhog’s Day on February 14th.  Once again, this shows the
resultant confusion of calendar changes and “lost days” that have accumulated
down the centuries. 

For modern Witches, Candlemas O.S. may be seen as the Pagan version of
Valentine’s Day, with a de-emphasis of “hearts and flowers” and an appropriate
re-emphasis of Pagan carnal frivolity.  This also re-aligns the holiday with the
ancient Roman Lupercalia, a fertility festival held at this time, in which the
priests of Pan ran through the streets of Rome whacking young women with
goatskin thongs to make them fertile.  The women seemed to enjoy the attention
and often stripped in order to afford better targets.

One of the nicest folk-customs still practiced in many countries, and especially
by Witches in the British Isles and parts of the U.S., is to place a lighted
candle in each and every window of the house, beginning at sundown on Candlemas
Eve (February 1), allowing them to continue burning until sunrise.  Make sure
that such candles are well seated against tipping and guarded from nearby
curtains, etc. What a cheery sight it is on this cold, bleak and dreary night to
see house after house with candle-lit windows! And, of course, if you are your
Coven’s chandler, or if you just happen to like making candles, Candlemas Day is
the day for doing it.  Some Covens hold candle-making parties and try to make
and bless all the candles they’ll be using for the whole year on this day.

Other customs of the holiday include weaving “Brigit’s crosses” from straw or
wheat to hang around the house for protection, performing rites of spiritual
cleansing and purification, making “Brigit’s beds” to ensure fertility of mind
and spirit (and body, if desired), and making Crowns of Light (i.e. of candles)
for the High Priestess to wear for the Candlemas Circle, similar to those worn
on St. Lucy’s Day in Scandinavian countries. All and all, this is certainly one
of the prettiest holidays celebrated in the Pagan seasonal calendar.