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    Imbolc: Themes and Activities

    I thought I had better get the Imbolc thread going as we're creeping ever closer.

    We recently had the thread about pancake day (an idea that I ADORE by the way), but I thought it would be nice to have somewhere to discuss other Imbolc related themes. I have three questions to get us started.

    1) What are the themes and activities you associate with this festival? If you don't celebrate, is there something around this time that you observe instead? If so, what are the themes and activities you associate with THAT festival?

    2) Does anyone else have an element of sacrifice amongst their themes at this festival? I can't find this mentioned anywhere so think it's just me but would be delighted to find out I didn't make this up. There is no historical reason for this, but I like the stories of the Oak King and Holly King. Maybe it seems a bit mixed up, but I consider them aspects of the Green Man and as such, although they are defeated at the solstices, I celebrate their sacrifices at the following sabbat. This kinda fits with Lughnasadh, but seems unheard of at Imbolc (but a God of winter willingly giving way to spring as the ice retreats isn't too hard to imagine, surely?). Janet and Stewart Farrer suggested different Sabbats for their sacrifices, but after much contemplation, my version just seems more logical to me.

    3) There is a ritual I read years ago that I am sure was in a Scott Cunningham book. I don't remember which and as I'm not a huge fan of his writing, I gave my books away so can't look for it myself. It was a ritual or spell in which he poured milk into a bath of water. Can anyone tell me what this ritual was and why he was doing it? It's just been on my mind recently for some totally unknown reason and as I associate Imbolc with milk products, I'm thinking of making this an Imbolc activity.

    This is getting long, so I won't answer question 1 myself just yet. Thanks in advance. These threads are always really inspiring!
    夕方に急なにわか雨は「夕立」と呼ばれるなら、なぜ朝ににわか雨は「朝立ち」と呼ばれないの? ^^If a sudden rain shower in the evening is referred to as an 'evening stand', then why isn't a shower in the morning called 'morning stand'?

    #2
    Re: Imbolc: Themes and Activities

    The milk thing is because some people think the word came from "ewe's milk", "in the ewe's belly" or something similar. This is the time of year that sheep start getting ready to have their young.
    Great Grandmother's Kitchen

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      #3
      Re: Imbolc: Themes and Activities

      Thanks Dez. This is why I associate it with dairy too! What I meant though, was I wanted to know what Cunningham's ritual actually was. I don't think it was related to Imbolc and I'm inclinded to think it was in his book about the elements? I wish I could be more specific but I've seen him mentioned around here a few times and I'm hoping someone will recognise this.

      I was really just thinking, 'how can I combine something dairy-related to this festival?' and kept thinking of this ritual. My hunches are frequently paying off right now so I really want to go with this one.

      The dairy connection is doubly significant to me because cows are sacred to Brigantia, my patron.

      Oh and we've started lambing here already!! Maybe because of the mild winter. I love it when they lamb early because they all wear little plastic coats.. it's adorable (I try not to consider the fate of said lambs though).
      夕方に急なにわか雨は「夕立」と呼ばれるなら、なぜ朝ににわか雨は「朝立ち」と呼ばれないの? ^^If a sudden rain shower in the evening is referred to as an 'evening stand', then why isn't a shower in the morning called 'morning stand'?

      Comment


        #4
        Re: Imbolc: Themes and Activities

        We celebrate the WOTY pretty unconventionally... Calling it Candlemas rather than Imbolc for starters, and sort of combining a bunch of different themes that have been historically associated with the day. For us as a family, its sort of like the bastard holiday--the rest fit easily into our climate and/or secular holidays...but (IMO) Imbolc is sort of a hidden holiday. One of the reasons I associate it with the earth is because that is where the action is, so to speak...underground. At Imbolc, its (normally) time to dream of spring and summer, but not quite time to get ready for it. Its the time for percolating big ideas. Last year (and I think I might do it again this year), I tried on the idea of a Pagan "lent" (from Candlemas to Ostara), and I think I might again (though normally our Candlemas meal is colcannon, lamb and oat cakes)...I'm thinking about trying something new this year, ritual wise...but I'm not quite ready to talk about it I think. Since (for me) this is sort of the time to dream dreams and such, it seems like a good theme...
        Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of HistoryPagan Devotionals, because the wind and the rain is our Bible
        sigpic

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          #5
          The Pagan Porch - a Pagan Homesteading forum

          Sand Holler Farm Blog - aren't you just dying to know what I do all day?

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            #6
            Re: Imbolc: Themes and Activities

            For me the main themes involve the Sun King growing older - approximately 10 years old as translated in human years. As his light grows stronger it reawakens the Earth Goddess in her Maiden aspect - one might call her Kore. This aspect has less to do with her physical age (I tend to see the Goddess as ageless) and more to do with renewal after a long sleep and recovery after giving birth.

            As such, it's a good time for us to begin brainstorming for anything we need or would like to do later in the year - coming up with "seeds" that may be "planted" when spring finally does arrive, so to speak, as well as banishing any old energies that are no longer needed. I've often seen this referred to as "banishing the darkness of winter" so that the light of spring may return. I like to enact this by saving some evergreens from Yule and burning them.

            Jembru, the ritual you're thinking of is from Cunningham's Earth, Air, Fire, Water book and is meant to confer "peace" upon oneself. It involves adding a spoonful of milk to a bowl of water and then pouring this into the bath (or over oneself in the case of a shower). It didn't have anything to do with Imbolc, although I'm sure someone could incorporate it if they wanted to.
            Children love and want to be loved and they very much prefer the joy of accomplishment to the triumph of hateful failure. Do not mistake a child for his symptom.
            -Erik Erikson

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              #7
              Re: Imbolc: Themes and Activities

              Originally posted by Clive View Post
              Jembru, the ritual you're thinking of is from Cunningham's Earth, Air, Fire, Water book and is meant to confer "peace" upon oneself. It involves adding a spoonful of milk to a bowl of water and then pouring this into the bath (or over oneself in the case of a shower). It didn't have anything to do with Imbolc, although I'm sure someone could incorporate it if they wanted to.
              I knew someone would surely have this book. Yeah, it fits with my plans for my ritual this year. I knew it had nothing to do with Imbolc but was worried that people were confused. That's why I wrote in my last reply that it wasn't an imbolc thing. I'm simply combining the two.

              @Thalassa. I'm wondering if you could tell me any of the activities you do with the kids? The reason I ask is that my boyfriend likes to celebrate the sabbats with me but from a non-religious angle. For him, these days are just about feeling connected with the seasons and enjoying the natural world around him. Besides making pancakes together, I'm struggling to think of anything we can do as a couple. Your way of doing things as a family might be similar to what we are trying to achieve. I associate the festival with youth and playfulness, so even if the activities seem a bit childish, we might be able to use them. I also really like how you combine elements with the sabbats. To be honest, I have completely lost touch with the whole element thing. This inspired me to at least start thinking about the elements again!

              @Madness. Thanks for sharing your information with us too! The information about St. Brigid was very interesting to read. I've been doing a lot of research into Brigantia and it seems many people consider Brigid to have been the Irish name for the same Goddess (Brigantia herself had many variations of her name throughout England so it's not a huge leap to make). Even so, I haven't gone so far as to look at the Christianisation of her into St. Brigid. It's something I'll have to do eventually though and you've given me a head start.

              Where did you learn that some cultures celebrated all 8 Sabbats? I'd be interested to investigate this further because my research so far has indicated that the Wheel of the Year is a modern creation. The festivals are ancient, but apparently celebrated by different people at different times. There is a good article about this on Wicca For the Rest of Us, if you're interested to know what I'm babbling on about. The Celtic recons frequently write that they don't celebrate the Equinoxes and some ignore the Solstices. It seems that no one can agree!

              Are the dates we use for the fire festivals not taken from the Christian versions? Keep in mind that most of my previous years in Paganism were spent as a Wiccan, so I tended to be happy accepting the way we did things without considering what other people did (something I'm currently working hard to change, and the main reason I am so active on here right now). I thought though, that traditionally these sabbats were not fixed, but were instead celebrated when particular seasonal events occurred... for example.. the first lamb being born at Imbolc or the hawthorn or blackthorn blossom opening at Beltane... or is this just a Wiccan idea?

              Sorry to dissect so much. It's just that I am currently going through knowledge gained over 15 years, and trying to sort out the crap. It's hard to do this without hearing as many different opinions as possible.

              Thanks for all the answers so far, it's all very useful information!
              夕方に急なにわか雨は「夕立」と呼ばれるなら、なぜ朝ににわか雨は「朝立ち」と呼ばれないの? ^^If a sudden rain shower in the evening is referred to as an 'evening stand', then why isn't a shower in the morning called 'morning stand'?

              Comment


                #8
                Re: Imbolc: Themes and Activities

                Originally posted by Jembru View Post
                @Madness. Thanks for sharing your information with us too! The information about St. Brigid was very interesting to read. I've been doing a lot of research into Brigantia and it seems many people consider Brigid to have been the Irish name for the same Goddess (Brigantia herself had many variations of her name throughout England so it's not a huge leap to make). Even so, I haven't gone so far as to look at the Christianisation of her into St. Brigid. It's something I'll have to do eventually though and you've given me a head start.
                There's lots of 'lore' out there about Brigit/St Brigid/Brigantia. Don't believe it all! But much of it is fun to read. It's all based on oral tradition so we will likely never know the truth about the connection between the three.

                Where did you learn that some cultures celebrated all 8 Sabbats?
                Eh, I was sloppy in my wording if you got that impression. What I meant to say was that lots of cultures mark the major solar events (solstices and equinoxes) but some other cultures also marked the time between those. Perhaps it is just a coincidence that they fall right in the middle. Certainly the Celts did not have names for the solar holidays (that i know of...right?), so they were likely not among those that would have celebrated them in any large manner. So I didn't mean to say that celebrating all 8 holidays is common among cultures, or even in any culture come to think of it. I was just coming up with a cute way of explaining why the date matters.

                Are the dates we use for the fire festivals not taken from the Christian versions? Keep in mind that most of my previous years in Paganism were spent as a Wiccan, so I tended to be happy accepting the way we did things without considering what other people did (something I'm currently working hard to change, and the main reason I am so active on here right now). I thought though, that traditionally these sabbats were not fixed, but were instead celebrated when particular seasonal events occurred... for example.. the first lamb being born at Imbolc or the hawthorn or blackthorn blossom opening at Beltane... or is this just a Wiccan idea?
                I think this is one of those things we will never know. The Celtic fire festivals have been altered by Christianity since the 5th century AD. There is very little textual information from the time before that. So it's hard to really say whether they were moving dates based on the moon, fixed dates, days that corresponded with a natural event, etc. But for well over a thousand years, they've been at least somewhat close to the modern dates (give or take a week).

                I am no expert. I try to piece together from historical sources rather than from modern pagan books. However, since nearly all of this stuff falls into the realm of oral history, you just gotta take what you can get!
                The Pagan Porch - a Pagan Homesteading forum

                Sand Holler Farm Blog - aren't you just dying to know what I do all day?

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                  #9
                  Re: Imbolc: Themes and Activities

                  Bummer... I was hoping there was evidence of the 8 sabbats being celebrated together. I probably read it that way because I was seeing what I wanted to. I do this sometimes ^^

                  I'm actually happy to follow the modern wheel and it doesn't bother me that it isn't ancient, I just like to know about the origins of these things because it was something I never used to question.

                  I can't agree more that it is hard to know anything for sure. In my research, I'm currently focusing on the reconstructionists, because they try so hard to be historically accurate. They can never agree though and although I read things that seem to fit beautifully with my own experiences of Celtic deities, they rarely explain what evidence they're basing their ideas on so I can't chase it up. Although I'm doing my best, I'm basically recreating my own path that more than likely has nothing in common with how these deities were originally honoured. It's frustrating, but also very rewarding when things just 'click' with me.
                  夕方に急なにわか雨は「夕立」と呼ばれるなら、なぜ朝ににわか雨は「朝立ち」と呼ばれないの? ^^If a sudden rain shower in the evening is referred to as an 'evening stand', then why isn't a shower in the morning called 'morning stand'?

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Re: Imbolc: Themes and Activities

                    Originally posted by Jembru View Post
                    @Thalassa. I'm wondering if you could tell me any of the activities you do with the kids? The reason I ask is that my boyfriend likes to celebrate the sabbats with me but from a non-religious angle. For him, these days are just about feeling connected with the seasons and enjoying the natural world around him. Besides making pancakes together, I'm struggling to think of anything we can do as a couple. Your way of doing things as a family might be similar to what we are trying to achieve. I associate the festival with youth and playfulness, so even if the activities seem a bit childish, we might be able to use them. I also really like how you combine elements with the sabbats. To be honest, I have completely lost touch with the whole element thing. This inspired me to at least start thinking about the elements again!
                    Well, some of the things we/I do/have done (it depends on where we live and what is going on) includes planting seedlings indoors to transfer into bigger pots later, making pine cone bird feeders (just like this has historically been the famine time for humans, it is also that for wildlife that depends on seasonal plants), we make oat cakes/biscuit/cracker/thingies based on an old "hard tack" type recipe (they are actually quite tasty), we make our *special* candles for the year (if one is lucky enough to have snow, one could make snow candles instead). Often a few weeks before (like now) I'll look for other ideas for the Sabbat, and let the kids pick stuff out. Our celebration of the sabbats is pretty well oriented with the "lifecycle" of the sun as well--and how that cycle works with the Earth to produce different seasons, etc...Imbolc is the time of the
                    "Sun King Kid" as Chickadee calls him (sounds like a funky superhero sidekick name!)...and (for us) to start saying goodbye to winter (I this this is a totally cute kiddo ritual that we might try this year).
                    Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of HistoryPagan Devotionals, because the wind and the rain is our Bible
                    sigpic

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                      #11
                      Re: Imbolc: Themes and Activities

                      Snow candles are new to me! I love having a white Imbolc, and now I really, really want it this year! I actually have a good feeling it will at least be icy this year. I might plant some seeds. The coven used to do the cliche 'make a wish on a seed' thing at Imbolc, but not plant them until the equinox. I think I'll try the same thing but with an appropriate herb and plant it right away. They can be grown indoors at any time and starting early should mean it is strong and healthy for planting out when the weather is better. It would be really nice to fill a patio pot.

                      Oh, I mentioned the Kings in my first post. It seems that they're as much a Wiccan creation as the Wheel and the Triple Goddess. I never knew this so was worried I was going against the grain by changing how I celebrate their cycles. I'm not so bothered now, so I will indeed continue to celebrate a symbolic sacrifice at Imbolc. It makes sense to me, even if it is strange to other witches who follow the Wheel! ^^
                      夕方に急なにわか雨は「夕立」と呼ばれるなら、なぜ朝ににわか雨は「朝立ち」と呼ばれないの? ^^If a sudden rain shower in the evening is referred to as an 'evening stand', then why isn't a shower in the morning called 'morning stand'?

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Re: Imbolc: Themes and Activities

                        Just caught this article on mental_floss:

                        Where Did Groundhog Day Come From?

                        It's got a really nicely done diagram of the sun's positions during the year
                        The forum member formerly known as perzephone. Or Perze. I've shed a skin.

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                          #13
                          Re: Imbolc: Themes and Activities

                          Originally posted by perzephone View Post
                          Just caught this article on mental_floss:

                          Where Did Groundhog Day Come From?

                          It's got a really nicely done diagram of the sun's positions during the year
                          Thank you for this I loved it!

                          I celebrated Imbolc by placing a specially made griddle cake and some spiced wine at my alter and saying a few additional prayers as I did so.
                          Gargoyles watch over me...I can hear them snicker in the dark.


                          Pull the operating handle (which protrudes from the right side of the receiver) smartly to the rear and release it.

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                            #14
                            Re: Imbolc: Themes and Activities

                            A good friend of mine is going to light a candle at the Altar of St. Bridget in St. Patrick's Cathedral in NYC today. Thought that was a pretty cool mix of my odd little beliefs LOL
                            sigpic
                            Can you hear me, Major Tom? I think I love you.

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                              #15
                              Re: Imbolc: Themes and Activities

                              Happy Imbolc to all who celebrate!

                              Well, we didn't get snow this year. It was cold enough to frost though, so that was quite nice.

                              I never described my own celebration. Some things I always did, and have done this year, are dressing in white, leaving out the bed of hay, and welcoming back the Goddess by opening and closing the door this morning. Oh and as I do on every sabbat, I made a beautiful bouquet of flowers in the season's colours (all are white this year). JP likes to buy the flowers for me to arrange myself, so it feels like a joint effort. I'm delighted with the result.

                              The feast... ah the feast. Erm, well I really wanted to adopt the pancake idea. I mentioned it to a wiccan friend who told me that this isn't a new idea and it is mentioned in a few books, including Kate West's 'The Real Witches' Kitchen that I own myself (for the recepes of course ^^). I just never noticed. She says our coven even made them one year. I can only assume I was sick/couldn't be bothered to leave the house/working/in another country or really, really drunk at the time because I don't remember this at all. Anyway, we tried
                              夕方に急なにわか雨は「夕立」と呼ばれるなら、なぜ朝ににわか雨は「朝立ち」と呼ばれないの? ^^If a sudden rain shower in the evening is referred to as an 'evening stand', then why isn't a shower in the morning called 'morning stand'?

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