Imbolc Celebration

Celebrating Imbolc & following the old ways…but why?!

Ancient knowledge is so important because people belonging to the very distant past relied on the cycles of earth to survive. They got us through those early times before we had WiFi and glamping.

By default, we used to be tight with mother nature. 

It was well known and accepted that we are earth and earth is us. So it made clear sense to pay attention to cycles and phases of nature to not only understand our crops but to better understand our bodies and psyche as well. 

This gift…this art… is not practiced that much anymore. As we’ve beautifully evolved into luxury and convenience, we’ve also created such a life that doesn’t depend on nature to survive like it used to. 

The wisdom, guidance, money, truth, freedom and love we SEEK…is found in the well of ancient knowledge.

You just need to believe it’s there to drink from it. 

Now that the wheel has turned and we are entering the midway point between winter and spring – let’s drink from the fire energy that the earth is generating during this time!

As we’re entering this sacred day; I drink from the well and soak up the blessings this quarter has to offer by creating a beautiful Imbolc celebration consisting of 3 main elements (of which I’ll break down in detail below): 

Step 1: Decluttering Your Home

Start prepping for your Imbolc Home Blessing early in January to give yourself time to clean. Think of this home blessing like a you would inviting company over. You clean up your home for visitors and you want to clean up your home for greater energies as well. Clearing clutter and deep cleaning your home is also a very blunt way of welcoming your new dreams to flow in.

So start as early as you can so you don’t get overwhelmed when the February 1st starts to creep up!

I simply walk around my house and make a list of problem areas where stuff piles up and/or where energy feels stagnant. Once I have my list I schedule a time to clear each area over the remaining days left before Imbolc.

Step 2: Collect Sacred Items for Your Altar

I use my altars as tools to help me follow the seasons and tap into the greater energies rotating the earth. Doing this opens the portal that funnels our desires right in.

This is also known as magick.

Magick is subtle yet very real – I cannot tap into it for you, you must try it yourself to build your conviction.

Each altar you create in your home has specific items to create a specific intention.

The primary intention for this altar is to honor the earth energies emerging for Spring. The secondary intention is to make a bold request for a desire to manifest while Mama Earth is extremely fertile and about to burst with fire and creation energy.

Imbolc marks the exact midway point between winter and spring. What energy (or change) must occur for winter to fade away and spring to be born?

If the energy of this time of year were personified, it would look like Brigid, the Goddess of Poetry, Home and Hearth. Because of this, we are creating an altar and dedicating it to Brigid.

“She is the great goddess of the Eternal Flame. She reminds us that life always stirs within even in the coldest of seasons, during the darkest of nights…”

She is the survivor of winter and the natural mother of all things. She has lasting strength through the hard times, and she is the warmer of the home.

She is associated with spring and the promise of new life, fertility, and birth of all things. There’s a lot more about her all over the internet.

As you collect your Imbolc altar tools and organize your house, think about Brigid and what she stands for – how do you want to call her energy into your home? How do you already relate to her?

On Feb 1st we’ll honor this beautiful fire energy as we invite it into our fresh clean home.

Step 3: Imbolc Blessing

Do not buy anything that you don’t have the money for, there are substitutions for everything so please let know in the comments what you may need to swap for something more handy, if needed. It’s way more meaningful (and magical) to find something in your home than to go out and buy something that causes money stress. 

For the blessing you need: 
1. Sacred tobacco also known as lobelia inflata and organic zig zags. Do not use tobacco from cigarettes.

2. Sage

3. Your Home:)

For your altar: 
1. Table or counter space dedicated to Imbolc until Spring. 
2. Lime green cloth and another piece of cloth (color your choice)
3. 3 white pillar candles 
4. A red tea light 
5. A wooden pentacle (you can draw your own on cardboard if you don’t have one)
6. Small bowl of water 
7. Small bowl of fresh earth and flowers 
8. Charcoal disc and loose lavender incense (or lavender incense stick) 
9. Glass bottle to write the seeds you want to plant. (What you want to manifest) 
10. Brigid Goddess statue or something to resemble her like making a ‘Brigid’s Cross” or using my image above.

Now that you know what to do with your home and altar, it is time to bless and activate it.

To Bless and Activate Your Altar:

Go with you intuition here, set up your altar in a way that feels balanced and symbolic to you. Dedicate each section to each element (earth, air, fire, water) and lastly, a representation of Brigid.

Each pillar candle will represent your honor to the God, Goddess, and Spirit. The red tea light represents welcoming the warmth of the sun back in. Your lime green cloth represents the emergence of Spring, your wooden pentacle represents you tied into all the elements, the glass bottle holds your dreams of which you are requesting the greater energies to help come true. Your bowl of water, earth, herbs and flowers are your offerings to the greater energies in gratitude for their help.

Once your altar is set up exactly how you want it, in other words once it feels good to look at, then you are ready to bless and activate it.

Once it’s activated you’ll proceed with blessing your home.

With calm and peaceful intention, sit before your altar and take 3 breaths in and out, to the count of 4.

Light all your candles, bless your elements in the appropriate manner and stand in front of your altar with your arms open. Repeat the following blessing of the altar and call them to hear your written requests:

“Divine Universal Source Energy, God, Goddess, Spirit. Fire, water, earth, and air, be with me. Hear my words as I now request your presence. This Imbolc, this time of new life, and your promises fulfilled. Hear my gratitude for your return in my soul. Set into motion my requests as I have willed. Accept my altar as a meeting place, fit for the divine. My home, your home, our energies intertwined.”

-Incantation taken from Wicca Magazine