Disclaimer: Any medicinal benefits given here are a product of my own research and as such should not be taken over the advice of trained medical professionals. If you are ill, please go and see a doctor. Always make sure that anything you consume is 100% safe. If you are pregnant, consult your doctor or midwife before consuming something you haven’t tried before.  

I am very passionate about sharing what I’ve learned with others at no cost but the time it takes to read, learn and implement.  Research for yourself.  Use what you like.  Dispose of what you do not. It is up to you how you utilize this information.   I am not a doctor…I am a Witch!

 

Imbolc & Brigid’s Love

Imbolc or Saint Brigid Day is a pagan holiday celebrated from February 1 or when the sun is at 15 degrees Aquarius, through sundown February 2.  Imbolc means “in milk”.  Other names are Candlemas, Oimealg, Imbolg, Brigantia, Lupercus, Disting, Lupercalia.  Primary ritual focus is for new growth, end of winter, rituals of purifications, offerings to deity, candle rituals.  Planetary ruler is Saturn (classical astrology) Uranus (modern astrology).

Imbolc is the festival where light is celebrated!  The hours of daylight begin to increase, and days become longer as spring approaches.  During this festivity, it was customary to light torches and bonfires to help the sunlight warm the earth again.  Based on a Celtic tradition, Imbolc was meant to mark the halfway point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox in Neolithic Ireland and Scotland.  It has a strong feminine meaning, celebrating the new awakening of the Mother Earth and all that implies to carrying in her womb something that will be born with the spring.

• Modern Imbolc:  The modern celebration is considered a low-key, loose and sometimes private affair concerned with reconnecting with nature.  Since it’s a climate-specific holiday, some followers of the Wicca religion adjust their celebration of it to correspond with a date more appropriate to the coming of spring where they live.  Others embrace the symbolism of the holiday and keep to the February 1 celebration.  The goddess Brigid is central to the celebration for modern Wiccans.  In the tradition of the original Celtic festival, Wiccan groups that worship Brigid might include fire rituals on Imbolc.  Traditions from both the pagan celebration of Imbolc and the Christian celebration of St. Brigid’s Day can be found in the modern Imbolc celebration.  Celebrants sometimes make a cross out of reeds, a corn doll or effigy.

• Ancient Imbolc:  In pre-Christian times, its observance began the night before February 1.  Celebrants prepared for a visit from Brigid into their homes by crafting an effigy of the goddess from bundles of oats and rushes.  The effigy was placed in a dress and put in a basket overnight.  It was celebrated by rituals which was including burning lamps and lighting bonfires in tribute to her.

• Celtic Legend:  the months from Hallowmas to Candlemas (called the “months of the little sun”) were ruled by the Cailleach or, or she is sometimes called, the Cailleach Bheur, a Scottish female deity that begins winter by washing her plaid in a whirlpool.  The Cailleach is not a lady to tangle with as she is depicted as a wild hag with venomous temper who hurries about with magick wand in her hand, switching the grass and blasting vegetation to unite the forces of sun, dew, and rain.  Her rags are the springs storms.  At Imbolc she leaves by raising the tempests in her wake.  Bried, or Brigit, on the other hand, a far more sensible goddess of healing, poetry, and the forging of fire, extends her blessings on this day, and it is to her that most generic and traditional Wiccan groups pay homage.

• Brigid Becomes St. Brigid:  Over the centuries, Brigid was adopted into Christianity as St. Brigid.  One of Ireland’s three patron saints, the Catholic Church claims St. Brigid was a historical person, with accounts of her life written by monks dating back to the 8th century.  Brigid (or Bridget) is the patron saint of Irish nuns, newborns, midwives, dairy maids and cattle.  Whether or not she existed, these stories contain aspects in common with the details of the pagan goddess and illustrate the transition from pagan to Christian worship.

• Candlemas:  Candlemas is a Christian holiday celebrated on February 2 that has aspects in common with Imbolc.  Its celebration can be traced to 4th century Greece as a purification holiday and a celebration of the return of light after winter’s darkness.  Candles have traditionally been used in its observance. It’s possible that Candlemas is a Christian adaptation of the Roman holiday Februalia, a purification and cleansing celebration.

Imbolc, manifests as the Maiden Goddess Brigid.  She was one of the foremost deities of the Irish Celtic pantheon.   Among the Tuatha De Dannan, she was one of the most popular goddesses.   Historians believe that she was a largely personal goddess. People around Ireland found different ways to worship her for many different reasons.  She was the goddess of spring, the dawn, and fertility. She protected mothers and children, in part because she was unable to protect her own son.  She was an agricultural goddess who watched over cattle and sheep.  She inspired smiths and other craftsmen.  The goddess of music was also called the most well-loved by the poets. Inspiring their songs made her the goddess of knowledge as well.

Brigid was so well-loved for so many reasons that she was one of the few pagan figures to not be lost when Christianity became the religion of the land.   As a Catholic saint, she inspired veneration well beyond the shores of Ireland, one who is invoked nearly as much as St. Patrick!  Here is a traditional prayer to St. Brigid that is very popular and has been passed down over the years, asking her to grant peace to those suffering anxiety.

• • • Saint Brigid.  You were a woman of peace.  You brought harmony where there was conflict.  You brought light to the darkness.  You brought hope to the downcast.  May the mantle of your peace cover those who are troubled and anxious, and may peace be firmly rooted in our hearts and in our world.  Inspire us to act justly and to reverence all God has made.  Brigid you were a voice for the wounded and the weary.  Strengthen what is weak within us.  Calm us into a quietness that heals and listens.  May we grow each day into greater wholeness in mind, body and spirit. 

Magickal Ideas for Your Sabbat Ritual

• Add a circle of white candles to the altar setup, each one representing a goal you would like to achieve int eh coming year.  Empower, then light during ritual.

• Banish winter by burning paper snowflakes.  Safely of course!

• Empower ice to banish negativity.  As the ice melts, so the negativity will drain away.  Pour water off your property.

• Plant seeds to be cared for indoors or buy an indoor plant to add to your hearth or sacred space.

• Bless your pet and give him or her a safe amulet for his or her collar, or place in a protected area on the case (for smaller animals).

• Purify your house with a house blessing ritual incorporated into the sabbat or do one separately.

• In ritual, offer milk to the gods, then pour outdoors on the ground, or leave in a bowl for the animals.

• Do a VisionQuest/meditation on the wolf totem.

• Traditional celebrated as a fire festival falling in the fixed astrological air sign of Aquarius.  The magick that you do during this time period will have long lasting consequences.  Uranus and Saturn bring the ability to make sudden changes, reach for rewards, and learn how to interact with authority figures.

• Make Candles

• Research Fire Deities of your Tradition or pantheon.

• Private Meditation and/or Ritual

• Place lighted Candles in all the windows of the house.

• Hold a Ritual with your Group and mark the perimeter of the Circle with lighted candles.

• Make candles together with your group. If you’re really ambitious and have the time, try to make enough candles to last you until next Imbolc.

• 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.

• Hold a candle-making party and then bless all the candles you’ll be using for the whole year.

• This is one of the traditional times for initiations and rededications into the Craft.

• Take a hike and Search for Signs of Spring.

• Decorate a plough and place on your doorstep.

• Perform rites of spiritual cleansing and purification.

• Weave “Brigit’s crosses” from straw or wheat to hang around the house for protection.

• Make a potpourri for Imbolc by taking a piece of fabric, filling with dried leaves, pinecones, and fruit peels. Tie with a ribbon.

Imbolc/Candlemas Invocations

Coret of candles, each flame a golden jewel, Saturn Lord withdrawn his cloak, yet remains his rule. 

Lamb’s bleats season’s greetings, springs essence on their breath, the sun pays homage to the sky in Aquarius.

The Lord and Lady dance the waltz within the magick round, to banish all that isn’t pure and prime the sacred ground.

The Cailleach swirls her tempest skirts to raise the season’s storms that which lies within her wake will surely be reborn.

The time has come for tilling to arrange for harvest’s gain the right amount of seed, and skill of the wind and sacred rain are needed to perform the task of planning for my future.  I conjure such by Breid’s bright word and nothing will refute her.

The cat that leaps is not the cat that lands upon the stair.  I conjure things that others think appear from the thinnest air, yet superimposition reigns my choice and pattern set. 

(Insert what you wish for here) My power grows, the light ignites desires manifest! 

Wisdom Candle Anointing Oil

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon rosemary

10 drops myrrh oil

In an airtight jar, light colored olive oil, add ingredients.  Mix well.  Turn jar over every day for 10 days before using.

“To Wisdon I call out, Wisdom I invoke, Wisdom I embrace, Wisdom that once spoke in every wheeling star, and in every sturdy oak, show your face again, remove your shadows cloak.”

Cinnamon Magick:  This is the perfect time for cinnamon magick

• Put Cinnamon in your hot drink or food to promote the element of fire, to bring an abundant drive to your energy and attract prosperity.

• Put a few drops of cinnamon oil in your wallet to attract money.

• Sprinkle powered cinnamon across your threshold of your home to attract prosperity to your door.

• Glue a cinnamon stick the inside of your mailbox to attract prosperous mail.

Imbolc Diffuser Blend

• 3 Drops Pine Essential Oil

• 5 Lavender Essential Oil

• 3 Drops Nutmeg Essential Oil

Imbolc Incense:

• 3 parts Frankincense

• 2 parts Dragon’s blood

• ½ part Red Sandalwood

• 1 part Cinnamon

• a few drops Red Wine

To this mixture add a pinch of the first flower (dry it first) that is available in your area at the time of Imbolc (February 1st). Burn during Wiccan ceremonies on Imbolc, or simply to attune with the symbolic rebirth of the Sun – the fading of winter and the promise of Spring.

Imbolc Oil

• 5 drops Sandalwood

• 5 drops Vanilla extract

• 6 drops Jasmine

• 2 drops Balsam

• Mix with 2 Tbsp. Grape Seed Oil

Candlemas Ritual Potpourri by Gerina Dunwich

A small cauldron filled with homemade potpourri can be used as a fragrant altar decoration, burned (outdoors) as an offering to the Old Gods during or after a sabbat celebration, or wrapped in decorative paper and ribbons and given to a Craft Sister or Brother as a sabbat gift.

• 45 drops Myrrh Oil

• 1 cup Oak Moss

• 2 cups Dried Heather Flowers

• 2 cups Dried Wisteria

• 1 cup Dried Yellow Tulip Petals

• ½ cup Dried Basil

• ½ cup Dried and Chopped Bay Leaves

Mix the myrrh oil with the oak moss, and then add the remaining ingredients. Stir the potpourri well and then store in a tightly covered ceramic or glass container. (The above recipe for “Candlemas Ritual Potpourri” is quoted directly from Gerina Dunwich’s book The Wicca Spell book: A Witch’s Collection of Wiccan Spells, Potions, and Recipes, page 162, A Citadel Press Book, Carol Publishing group, 1994/1995)

Imbolc Soap

• 1 cup grated unscented soap.

• ¼ cup hot water

• 1 Tbsp. Apricot oil

• 1 Tbsp. Angelica

• ½ Tbsp. crushed Bay

• ½ Tbsp. crushed Basil

• 6 drops Myrrh oil

Place grated soap in a heat-proof non-metallic container and add the hot water and apricot oil. Leave until it is cool enough to handle, and then mix together with your hands. If the soap is floating on the water, add more soap. Leave to sit for 10 minutes, mixing occasionally, until the soap is soft and mushy. Once the soap, water, and oil are blended completely, add the dry ingredients. Once the mixture is cool, then add the essential oils (essential oils evaporate quickly in heat). Enough essential oils should be added to overcome the original scent of the soap. Blend thoroughly and then divide the soap mixture into four to six pieces. Squeeze the soaps, removing as much excess water as possible into the shape you desire, and tie in a cheesecloth. Hang in a warm, dry place until the soap is completely hard and dry.  Recipe adapted from Kate West’s The Real Witch’s Kitchen Sabbat Soap recipe.

Imbolc Incense

• 3 parts Frankincense

• 1 part Myrrh

• 1 part Cinnamon

• ½ part Sandalwood

• ½ part Jasmine flowers

• 3 drops sweet White Wine or Sherry

From The Real Witch’s Kitchen by Kate West

Baked Custard with Ginger

• 3 Tbsp. brown sugar

• 3/4 tsp. finely grated fresh ginger

• 3 large eggs, lightly beaten

• 2 1/2 cups milk

• 1/3 cup granulated sugar

• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon

• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg

Mix brown sugar with ginger and divide evenly onto bottoms of 6 buttered individual custard cups or ramekins. In a medium mixing bowl, blend eggs with milk, sugar, vanilla, and seasonings. Pour evenly into prepared custard cups. Place cups in a large saucepan, then fill with hot water to come halfway up sides of cups (a hot water bath or Bain-Marie). Bake at 350° for 35 to 40 minutes, or until knife inserted near edge comes out clean. Remove cups from Bain-Marie. Run knife around edges to loosely. Place serving plate over top of cup and carefully invert custard onto plate. Serve warm or cover, chill and serve cold.

Liebkuchen (Honey Cakes)

• 1 cup margarine

• 1 cup sugar

• 1 egg

• 1 cup honey

• 1 cup sour milk* (see below)

• 2 Tbsp. vinegar

• 6 cups flour

• 1 1/2 tsp salt

• 1 tsp. ground ginger

• 1/2 tsp. mace

• 1 Tbsp. cinnamon

Prepare sour milk and mix dry ingredients. Set both aside. Cream margarine and sugar, add egg, beat until light. Add honey, sour milk, and vinegar. Add dry ingredients. Mix thoroughly. Chill 1 hour. Roll out to 1/4″ thickness. Cut into 2″x3″ rectangles and place on buttered cookie sheets. Bake at 375° for 6 minutes. Frost with plain vanilla frosting.

* For sour milk, add 1 Tbsp. vinegar to 1 cup milk and let stand for 10 minutes.

Pannekoeken (German Pancakes)

• 2 Tbsp. butter

• 6 eggs

• 1 cup flour

• 1/2 tsp. salt

• 2 Tbsp. sugar

• 1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 400°. Place butter in oven pancake pan. Heat for two minutes or until butter melts. Spread evenly in pan. In large bowl, beat eggs slightly. Stir in flour, sugar, and salt. Gradually add milk, beating until smooth. Pour into pan.

Bake at 400° for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 325°. Bake 40-45 minutes or until it reaches a deep golden brown. Remove from oven and immediately slide pancake onto a serving plate. Fill with fresh fruit and top with confectioner’s sugar. Serves 6.

* This recipe is served at the Haddie Pierce House Bed & Breakfast.

 

Sources:

Brigid History Mystery & Magick Courtney Weber (thecelticcraftshop.com)

Brigid poster (thecelticcraftshop.com)

Imbolc (thecelticcraftshop.com)

Solitary Witch Silver Ravenwolf (thecelticcraftshop.com)

Saint Brigid pewter (thecelticcraftshop.com)

Brigid Goddess of the Celts: The Complete Guide (2022) (mythologysource.com)

Imbolc: Blessings, Rituals & Meaning – HISTORY – HISTORY

Anxious? Pray this prayer to St. Brigid of Ireland (aleteia.org)

“Candlemas Ritual Potpourri” is quoted directly from Gerina Dunwich’s book The Wicca Spellbook: A Witch’s Collection of Wiccan Spells, Potions, and Recipes, page 162, A Citadel Press Book, Carol Publishing group, 1994/1995

Kate West’s The Real Witch’s Kitchen Sabbat Soap recipe.

Imbolc Recipes (angelfire.com)