Imbolc
On February 1st and 2nd witches and neopagans celebrate the turn of the Wheel of the Year - Imbolc, the festival of candles, milk, and awakening of nature.
The sheep are one of the main symbols of Imbolc.
Around that day the sheep prepare for birthing lambs and they start to lactate for the first time in the year. This milk is believed to be sacred and traditionally is brought as a gift to Goddess.
Traditionally on the 1st February Celts were celebrating the day of the light and the awakening of the new Sun. They lighted the torches in the fields and burnt fires on the tops of the hills. Even today there is a tradition to burn candles on Imbolc to bring back to Earth the light and warmth.
This festival has a close connection to Brigid - the ancient Celtic goddess. According to the legends she came in spring as a young innocent girl and by the end of the winter, she became a Crone. It was believed that on Imbolc she was walking through the earth with a torch in her hands melting the snow and bringing back to life all around her.
The sheep are one of the main symbols of Imbolc.
Around that day the sheep prepare for birthing lambs and they start to lactate for the first time in the year. This milk is believed to be sacred and traditionally is brought as a gift to Goddess.
Traditionally on the 1st February Celts were celebrating the day of the light and the awakening of the new Sun. They lighted the torches in the fields and burnt fires on the tops of the hills. Even today there is a tradition to burn candles on Imbolc to bring back to Earth the light and warmth.
This festival has a close connection to Brigid - the ancient Celtic goddess. According to the legends she came in spring as a young innocent girl and by the end of the winter, she became a Crone. It was believed that on Imbolc she was walking through the earth with a torch in her hands melting the snow and bringing back to life all around her.
Witches are celebrating Imbolc as a day when the Goddess awakens. She is young, innocent, and beautiful when she leaves her shelter, where she was since Yule. God is already born. He is still too young, but from Imbolc, his powers start to grow.
It is a time of cleansing and a new beginning. You need to prepare yourself for something new, that will come into your life. It is a good time to perform a spring cleaning, or at least to air your house. You may also take a bath with milk - that will help you to leave your troubles behind and to clear your thoughts from all worries because today the spring begins! You can also prepare a small altar for the festival and decorate It with a figure of the ship and with candles. For the celebration, you can prepare some milk or dairy.
Another Imbolc tradition is making the amulets from straw (traditionally it was made of rushes, but you can take any suitable plant) to protect your home from all troubles. It is called Brigid' cross - it is a small cross woven with four arms tied at the ends and a woven square in the middle. When hanging above the front door it protects from all evils.
As a part of the celebration, you can also make a figure of the young Goddess, that will be a symbol of purity or renewal.
As a part of the celebration, you can also make a figure of the young Goddess, that will be a symbol of purity or renewal.
Daria Martina
© Pandora Witch Shop
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