Imbolc

My sisters around the globe - I love this beautiful ritual and it is pleasure sharing it with you all.
In the night of Feb 1st to Feb 2nd in honor of the Goddess Brigid ~ enjoy ❣️

The ancient Celts celebrated the beginning of February as a festival to greet the sun growing again after winter. Imbolc is a festival to expel the winter.The first animals awake from hibernation and the first plants stretch their tips from the cold earth. Imbolc is dedicated to the Goddess Brigid, she is intimately connected with the element of fire. Brigid is the patron goddess of the forge (art), the poets and healers.

The name of the festival derives from the Celtic word from Oimelk which means "in milk" -  the milk of ewes was meant. It is the time of the first born lambs and now it can be started milking the sheep. It marks the return of the light, the reawakening of nature and thus ensures fertility, new life and hope.

A ritual for restart and farewell.

Imbolc can be celebrated with a happy ritual - alone or together with your friends. Get dressed with white clothes, prepare a piece of paper and pen   and decorate your alter in white and green colors with symbols (see below) and many white candles. 

Light your candles and sit down.

Ground yourself – put 1 drop essential oil *grounding* (I use Young Living) in your left palm, put hands 3 times clockwise together and put your hands in front of your nose, breathe deeply. If you like you can put the rest of the oil  on the soles of the feet. Close your eyes and breathe deeply through your nose through the abdomen and  imagine  as roots grow from your soles into mother earth

Take your time and think about:
What would I like to release?
What do I have to let go?

Take pen and paper and write down your answers.
Burn the note outdoors in a safe place or indoors in a large glass bowl and release everything old to the friendly bright light (keep the ashes for later and spread into a river).

Rub the Young Living essential oil TRANSFORMATION  into your hands, rub palms 3 times clockwise and hold hands in front of your nose – breathe deeply. Put 1 drop of Transformationoil on your solarplexus  looking into the bright light of the candles.


Think about:
Which new seed wants to grow in me?   
What gives me strength and energy for the coming year?

Dreams and ideas emerge – take your time and write them down so that they can manifest in the new year. Burn this list also in another bowl. (Keep ashes for later to be transferred to a tree trunk - as a sign of growth)

The end of the ritual can be celebrated with a glass of pure water and a dish made from millet or Imbolc biscuits (see below). A bowl of water and a few grains of millet should be given as a thank you to the goddess Brigid. Place the candles in your windows and let them burn all night.

〷◠‿◠〷

Ritual Supplies & Ingredients
 
Imbolc is a time of renewal and purification.

SMUDGING:
• rosemary
• laurel
• myrrh
• cinnamon

YOUNG LIVING ESSENTIAL OILS:
Grounding and Transformation

SYMBOLS:
White candles – use a lot of candles and after the ritual place one candle in each window of your home • the candles in the windows should burn all night (Caution -use candles in glass!)  
• rock crystals and 2 large empty glass bowls

FLOWERS:

snowdrops, crocuses, white roses...Ivy, cereal wreaths

FOOD:

millet and Imbolc biscuits, spring water

COLORS:

white & green (for fertility and light)

Recipe: Imbolc biscuits
1 cup ground almonds
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 cup of powdered sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 egg yolk

Mix the almonds and sugar well. First knead the butter with your hands, then knead the egg yolk until well blended. The dough needs to rest cool (about 1 hour). Preheat the oven to 170 °C (350 °F). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and form about walnut-sized pieces from the dough, shape it into a moon or crescent. Place on the baking sheet and bake about 15-20 minutes.