Blessings on Imbolc neighbors!
Did you plant some seeds this first weekend in February? Did you catch and sunrise and sunset everyday this week? Have you noticed the days begin to creep towards the light? I did. Some of you may still be in deep winter mode and others are enjoying the mild sunny days of late winter, and enjoying the briefest beginnings of spring. One of the ways I know that spring is begining is all of the Mango trees in my neighborhood go into bloom. Have you noticed anything blooming near you, maybe it’s the more traditional first flowers of crocus and daffodils.
All of these are signs of Imbolc. A festival celebrating the Goddess as maiden and the God as a toddling child. It’s a time to assess the intentions we set around Yule, or the first of the calendar year, and keep what we need and release what we don’t. It’s a time to sweep out the old stagnant energy from winter and bring in the fresh feeling of newness and spring. It’s time to get prepared for the year ahead. It’s time to ask the universe for support in achieving all that we set out to accomplish.
In the following post I’m sharing with you three different rituals for this fire festival. Something intimate you can perform as a solitary, or with a friend. Something your household can do as a small group. And something larger maybe an extended family or even your neighborhood, or just the people that you call your tribe. I hope you can enjoy my take on these rituals, and please take them and make them your own.
A Solitary Candle Blessing (Could esily be converted to a virutal duo)
What you will need:
- Gather up all the candles in your house – or make some fresh
- All your good intentions
Set your candles on your altar or your workspace, if you’ve read some of my other posts you know I like to make magick on my escritoire, any flat surface with enough room will do. Choose one candle, a white taper candle would work well, or a candle in a color corresponding to the season ( light green, yellow, or pink) but you can choose any one that you already have. Light your first candle and repeat the below verses. Please change any of the pronouns as you see fit, and adjust the aspects of the deity to align with any deities you choose to invoke here.
Goddess I light this candle as a symbol of the quiet spark of your guidance that lives within me.
I embrace your gentle nurturing spirit during this turn of the wheel.
This flame burns as bright as the promises of the future.
I will ignite my intentions with your blessings upon these flameless candles.
That their light will one day burn with the transformative power of your fire.
I open my spirit to you, embracing the moments of growth throughout the coming year.
Allow the one candle to burn until the flame goes out, spend some time ruminating on the intentions you’ve set for yourself or your family or household this year; as you watch the flame flicker and dance. Sit as long as you need or can, or until you feel the goddess has left you, this would be a great ritual to invoke a specific goddess Brigid is a particular favorite for thia time of year. Thank the goddess for joining you and blessing your candles. Snuff the flame out if you must walk to far away from it, and feel the peace and hope of new beginnings blooming in your chest.
Small Group Seed Planting Ritual (great for including children of all ages)
What you will need:
- Seeds
- Soil
- Pot
- Water
- Paper
- Pen or pencil
I have added soil and a pot to this list as many will likely be beginning their gardens at this time of year by sowing indoors; however if your garden is ready to be sown directly, please do so by all means.
Fill the pots to your liking or desired depth with the soil, prepare the soil for the seed, and make the seed ready for planting. Children can be a great help in this respect using spoons to fill the pots with dirt, my toddler loved this activity.
Once your pot is thoroughly prepared take out the paper and writing implement and write down some proverbial seeds you would like to plant. I prefer to use some thin strips for my paper. Another great idea would be seed paper, which eliminates the need for additional seeds at all. I wrote my 4 intentions on the paper this year, as well as a goal that I really wanted to nurture. Please note that some younger children may need a bit of help with this. Once you’ve written what you needed on your slip of paper fold it, origami it, roll it into a small ball or seed if you and prepare it for planting.
The the plant seed and your paper seed and hold them in the palm of your hand. Each participant should do the same. Close your eyes and envision what your life would be like once that intention has been fulfilled, or goal achieved. How sweet that future will be. Infuse those intentions into the seeds and place them into the pots, covering them with dirt.
At this point you may choose to speak some words over the seeds, I happen to like these.
Goddess young mother to a young God.
Help me nurture these seeds, that they may grow within the ground and within me; as you nurture the sun and the earth to warm and flower.
That I may benefit from their transformation as you see fit.
Thank you goddess for your guidance.
Finish preparing the pots and give them a good watering before setting them somewhere with adequate sun. Don’t forget to tend your plants as you tend to your goals. Neither will grow or transform if you don’t put some work into them.
Large Group Circle for Igniting Change and Removing Barriers.
Please note I have not performed this ritual it is an example of a ritual I would do if I had a large group of people gathered for imbolc.
What you need:
A large enough space to accommodate your group in roughly a circular shape.
A single candle in a central location (like the center of a circle).
A candle for each participant.
Have everyone gather with their candle in a circle in the ritual space.Take a moment to look around the circle and acknowledge one another. You’re here to support each other and help each other, this is your village.
The leader of the ritual may begin with the following words.
Goddess, Maiden, bless us with the delecate fire of ispiration.
Allows us to burn with the desire to [insert goal/desired change here].
They would then approach the center candle and light their own candle to signify the start of this goal and your intention towards it.
This flame is but a symbol of your inspiration.
Each member of the circle will take their turn lighting their own candle and asking for the goddesses aid in their desire.
Once all candles are lit, everyone might repeat the words.
Let this delicate flame burn quietly within me guiding me, inpiring me, burning me from within towards my desired goal.
The leader of the ritual would then continue with the second half using the following words.
Goddess, Maiden, aid us in our quest for transformation allow us to [insert request for change here]
This request is typically something each member wishes to release, and the leader would complete this by blowing their candle out. Each other member would repeat the same words and. Low their candle out. Once the circle has completed again the leader might move towards the middle of the circle and everyone could repeat the following words.
I extinguish this habit as I extinguish this flame.
It no longer tempts me, and I will be transformed.
We thank you goddess for you inspiration and your guidance in our transformation.
We are blessed that you were here with us.
We offer you libations of the food and drink we are about to partake in (feel free to provide another appropriate offering).
Blessed be.
Ground your circles energy with a tree exercise or by dancing and leave the circle. I highly recommend finishing the celebration by feasting with your coven, neighbors, village, what have you.
Finally I leave you with a little extra.
If you’re merely dabbling in magick like I was you probably read some tarot cards, so I’ll share with you a special but simple tarot spread for Imbolc.
I recently used this spread and it was insightful yet achingly commonsensical.
For this spread shuffle the deck in any way you see fit and ask the deck
What do I need to release and what do I need to embrace to help my intentions grow?
Then pull 2 cards for each intention. I have 4 intentions, so I pulled 8 cards 4 release cards, and 4 embrace cards.
If you have very many intentions (keep in mind these are intentions, not goals) you may want to review my post on intention setting where I discuss the distinction between goals and intentions. Otherwise you can pull 1 card per intention, you may want to adjust the question you ask of the tarot to something similar to How can I nurture my intentions to flourish? You might then use your intuition based to the reading to decide if this is something you need to release or embrace.
I hope you enjoyed some of my thoughts and ideas on some options for rituals for Imbolc. If you have something you do every year, I would love to hear about it. Share with the neighborhood in the comments.
Until next time blessed be!
