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Seasonal Living
Imbolc is here! After Yule celebrations, Imbolc is my most anxiously awaited sabbot. As much as I love the Winter and time to rest, plan for the year ahead, and restore my energy, I start to get a bit of cabin fever by the time Imbolc rolls around. While I know winter will last a little while longer and it’s not officially spring, Imbolc marks the coming end to winter’s dark, cold days and heralds in spring, new life, and planting season! All of which I live for as the self-proclaimed Witch of Underwood.
Imbolc is a cross-quarter day celebrated by many NeoPagans and Wiccans between February 1st and February 3rd depending on what method you use to track the solstices and equinoxes. Whatever day you choose to celebrate, Imbolc is based on the Celtic Agricultural calendar and is recognized as an early spring/late winter festival. Winter is still going strong, but there are signs of life popping out of the ground everywhere and if you live on or near a farm you’ll begin to notice baby livestock being cute as heck in the pastures. The air is heavy with promise for the future and it’s really an exciting time after harsh winter days. For those who live with and work with the land, this is the perfect time to start preparing for early spring planting. Some plants that like cold weather like lettuce are just about ready to be planted in the soil with minimal protection from the elements. This year I am experimenting with cold-frames to plant some of my cold crops earlier than I did last year to provide fresh greens for my family and our livestock. In addition to planting cold weather hardy plants, many farmers and flower enthusiasts are starting seeds indoors or in their heated greenhouses. Whether supported or happening naturally, new life is sprouting all around us! Imbolc is also the feast of Brigid, the Pan-Celtic fire Goddess of healing and inspiration. She’s also one of the Patron Saints of Ireland and on Imbolc she is celebrated various ways. The most popular tradition is to create a corn dolly in the image of the Goddess and pass it around the community. Each family the dolly comes in contact with will offer gifts to the dolly and since Brigid is the goddess of inspiration, the gift mostly consists of a poem or song rather than a material item. One fun tradition practiced by some groups is the Bride’ogas or the activity of carrying the dolly made in the likeness of Brigid from house to house at dawn with as much noise as humanly possible. Partakers would carry various instruments, including pots, pans, and tincans in order to awaken the sleeping spirits of spring. While this sounds like an absolute blast, I’m not sure the spirits of spring around our homestead would appreciate such racket so early in the morning… and neither would my neighbors, but if you choose to partake in this traditions, I would love to see all the fun you’re having! Another tradition is to craft a Brighid’s cross out of wheat stalks and exchange with others to be hung up in the home to protect from fire damage. You, like us, may not grow wheat where you live and thus do not have materials to craft the Brigid’s cross. However, you can absolutely use what you have near you. It could be tall grasses from your backyard or even bits of a spider plant. Make sure whatever you find in nature or in your home is gathered responsibly and with permission from the spirit of the plant. Don’t forget to offer gratitude as well! We do not have wheat growing on our farm yet, but I do have lots of dried grasses around the homestead which would be perfect for weaving a Brigid’s cross. I’ll be sure to post that creative endeavor on my socials for you to take a gander at! Unsurprisingly, farm implements such as the plough are heavily associated with this holiday. The plough for many represents new life and that means more food to replace winter stores. I know fresh greens and fruits are mouthwateringly good after a long winter of heavy foods and fats. Among Neo-Celtic and some Heathen traditionalists would and will decorate a plough to take from house to house while children sang and asked for treats and gifts from their neighbors. If the homeowner did not comply, their front yard was ploughed up. Which honestly sounds like a fun tradition I may begin this year in our local area! If singing and ploughing your neighbor’s yard is not a tradition you’d like to participate in this Imbolc, you may feel more aligned with the simple act of re-lighting your hearth fire. If you have any greenery left out from yule this is the perfect time to pack them away in storage or burn the natural greenery in a fire safe location. It can be said keeping Yule greenery in the house for too long invites the faerie folk to stay in your house beyond their welcome. While this may seem like a really fun idea, remember, the fae are not like us in many ways and cohabitating could be stressful for all parties involved. Boundaries such as this one is important for keeping the relationship balanced. Personally, after I burn my Yule greenery, I set up a small area on the porch out of the elements where my fae neighbors can stay when the weather is nasty. However, I have noticed most are more than happy to return to the outside and back into nature with the coming of spring. You can also put candles in your windows to welcome spring as well as engage in some spring cleaning and household purification rituals. Right now I’m preparing our garden for spring planting by crafting a cold-frame and mini greenhouses for seed starting. I’m also cleaning all my supplies for my magical workings in both the mundane and magical sense, pruning household plants, cleansing and cleaning my home, as well as preparing our pasture for baby goats! All seasonally appropriate activities we can all do to make the work in the warmer months easier and productive! Regardless of whether or not you’ve celebrated Imbolc before in the traditional sense, we’ve all participated in the non-religious tradition of Groundhog’s Day. This fun early spring activity comes from the tradition of weather predicting. While previous celebrations might not have included the mystical Punxsutawney Phil, it did highlight the “Hag of Winter” and her role in what early spring weather might look like. Like, Phil, the “Hag of Winter” takes this day to gather wood for her hearth. If the day is sunny and nice she will have much time to gather a lot of wood to sustain her through a few more wintery weeks. However, if the day is stormy or rainy she will not be able to gather wood at all indicating warmer weather in the near future. However you celebrate Imbolc this year I hope you are filled with lots of love, light, and no one ploughs your yard! Symbols Associated with Imbolc:
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AuthorCaitlin is a full-time special education teacher with a penchant for the wyrd. When she isn't hanging out with the coolest kids, she's out in her garden tending to her herbs or frolicking with her 2 goats, 40 chickens, 6 ducks, 2 turkeys, 2 dogs, and 6 cats. She understands it's a hoarding situation at this point, but life is too short to worry about boring things like that. Archives
May 2024
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