Post by robincragin on Jan 6, 2016 18:58:09 GMT -5
“Imbolc”
Imbolc is the second of the Greater Sabbats in the Witches’ Wheel of the Year. Imbolc is an Irish Gaelic word which is pronounced im’-molk. Other variations of this festival’s name include the Gaelic Imbolg and the English Candlemas. Imbolc celebrates the official end of the “dead time,” the period from October 31 to February 2 during which Witches perform very little magic and no initiatory rites. This dead time coincided with the “death” of the sun, the light of day, and subsequently all perennial plant life. Pagan folk could see that daylight hours were visibly longer at Imbolc and country folk and Witches alike celebrated this turn of events as one of awakening for the earth’s energies.
Along with this extended daylight came the promise of spring and the renewal of life. Imbolc is a celebration of the first stirrings of the earth. In northern and western Europe, the ground is often still frozen or snow covered in early February. The return of light, the lengthening days signaled promise of the long growing season of the still-distant Summer.
The ancient Celts favored Brigid, the triple goddess of wells and springs, as the patroness of Imbolc. Devotees of Brigid believed she could bring fertility, and they lit candles in her honor to mark the growth of light and the coming change of season. So popular was Brigid’s worship that she is still the patron deity of contemporary Druidic circles.
Ancient celebrants made “Saint” Brigid’s Crosses from new rushes and hung them near the pens of farm animals to assure their growth and fertility. After the celebrants wove their crosses, they would carefully bury whatever rushes remained. Ancient celebrants might also make dollies from oat sheaves or corn-husks. One old custom consisted of dressing the oat or corn dolly in woman’s attire and then placing it in a “Brigid’s Bed” (usually a simple basket) along with a phallic symbol. Pagan folk believed that the custom assured a fruitful and prosperous year.
At the time of Imbolc (which literally means “in milk”) the ancient pagan folk noticed that female herd animals usually gave birth and suckled their young. This “lactation” period signaled the rebirth of the earth energies and the promise of spring and summer. The suckling of your, birth, and fecundity of the animal world gave rise to several pagan customs. One practice involved pouring the first pail of cow’s milk on the ground to assure a prosperous spring. it was also a day set aside for the blessing of plows and other agricultural tools. in one custom, farmers would wash their spades and other tools in fresh cow’s milk, again to assure bounty. In areas where the weather permitted, the plough might be dragged from one home to another. Yet another account tells of farmers pouring whiskey over their ploughs to assure blessings and a bountiful harvest.
The English language borrowed and shortened the word “whiskey” from
the Irish Gaelic word usquebaugh, or uisce beatha and Scottish Gaelic
uisge beatha. This compound descends from Old Irish uisce, “water,”
and bethad, “of life,” meaning literally “water of life.” Ancient pagan
folks poured whiskey over their ploughs in order to give life to the land.
Celebrants also made small food offerings to the fairy folk, who they believed blessed the fields with their magic and assured a good crop. Farmers might make the offerings to fairies by placing cheese or bread on a plough and then leaving it unattended in the fields.
Although customs varied from one region to another, the celebration was important for the ancient agrarian societies since it symbolically prepared the way for the earth’s fecundity.
Practice: Fairy Offerings
What You’ll Need:
* A piece of blank paper about 4x4 inches square
* A pen with red ink (or a quill pen with dragon’s blood ink)
* A small piece of cheese, bread, or fruit
To begin, use your red ink pen to write a wish you might have on the blank piece of paper. The lore of fairies indicates that they grant wishes for healing, fertility, or general blessing. Go outdoors at dusk and place the paper with your wish written upon it on the ground near a fern or a flowering plant, both of which are favorite places for fairies. If there are no flowering plants or ferns nearby, place the paper in some place hidden, such as in a shadow where it will go unnoticed by humans. Place your food offering on top of the paper, then turn and walk away, making sure not to look back at the site. Return to the offering site in a few days to reclaim the wish paper. Once you have it, burn it and scatter the ashes near your front door. If the paper is missing, know that the fairies have taken it. Word has it that the fairies work cheaply, so know that the fairies have noted your wish and they will grant it in return for your food offering.
*** A Word to the Wise: The English work “fairy” traces its roots to the Old French fae, and from Vulgar Latin Fata, the name of the goddess of fate. ***
Imbolc is the second of the Greater Sabbats in the Witches’ Wheel of the Year. Imbolc is an Irish Gaelic word which is pronounced im’-molk. Other variations of this festival’s name include the Gaelic Imbolg and the English Candlemas. Imbolc celebrates the official end of the “dead time,” the period from October 31 to February 2 during which Witches perform very little magic and no initiatory rites. This dead time coincided with the “death” of the sun, the light of day, and subsequently all perennial plant life. Pagan folk could see that daylight hours were visibly longer at Imbolc and country folk and Witches alike celebrated this turn of events as one of awakening for the earth’s energies.
Along with this extended daylight came the promise of spring and the renewal of life. Imbolc is a celebration of the first stirrings of the earth. In northern and western Europe, the ground is often still frozen or snow covered in early February. The return of light, the lengthening days signaled promise of the long growing season of the still-distant Summer.
The ancient Celts favored Brigid, the triple goddess of wells and springs, as the patroness of Imbolc. Devotees of Brigid believed she could bring fertility, and they lit candles in her honor to mark the growth of light and the coming change of season. So popular was Brigid’s worship that she is still the patron deity of contemporary Druidic circles.
Ancient celebrants made “Saint” Brigid’s Crosses from new rushes and hung them near the pens of farm animals to assure their growth and fertility. After the celebrants wove their crosses, they would carefully bury whatever rushes remained. Ancient celebrants might also make dollies from oat sheaves or corn-husks. One old custom consisted of dressing the oat or corn dolly in woman’s attire and then placing it in a “Brigid’s Bed” (usually a simple basket) along with a phallic symbol. Pagan folk believed that the custom assured a fruitful and prosperous year.
At the time of Imbolc (which literally means “in milk”) the ancient pagan folk noticed that female herd animals usually gave birth and suckled their young. This “lactation” period signaled the rebirth of the earth energies and the promise of spring and summer. The suckling of your, birth, and fecundity of the animal world gave rise to several pagan customs. One practice involved pouring the first pail of cow’s milk on the ground to assure a prosperous spring. it was also a day set aside for the blessing of plows and other agricultural tools. in one custom, farmers would wash their spades and other tools in fresh cow’s milk, again to assure bounty. In areas where the weather permitted, the plough might be dragged from one home to another. Yet another account tells of farmers pouring whiskey over their ploughs to assure blessings and a bountiful harvest.
The English language borrowed and shortened the word “whiskey” from
the Irish Gaelic word usquebaugh, or uisce beatha and Scottish Gaelic
uisge beatha. This compound descends from Old Irish uisce, “water,”
and bethad, “of life,” meaning literally “water of life.” Ancient pagan
folks poured whiskey over their ploughs in order to give life to the land.
Celebrants also made small food offerings to the fairy folk, who they believed blessed the fields with their magic and assured a good crop. Farmers might make the offerings to fairies by placing cheese or bread on a plough and then leaving it unattended in the fields.
Although customs varied from one region to another, the celebration was important for the ancient agrarian societies since it symbolically prepared the way for the earth’s fecundity.
Practice: Fairy Offerings
What You’ll Need:
* A piece of blank paper about 4x4 inches square
* A pen with red ink (or a quill pen with dragon’s blood ink)
* A small piece of cheese, bread, or fruit
To begin, use your red ink pen to write a wish you might have on the blank piece of paper. The lore of fairies indicates that they grant wishes for healing, fertility, or general blessing. Go outdoors at dusk and place the paper with your wish written upon it on the ground near a fern or a flowering plant, both of which are favorite places for fairies. If there are no flowering plants or ferns nearby, place the paper in some place hidden, such as in a shadow where it will go unnoticed by humans. Place your food offering on top of the paper, then turn and walk away, making sure not to look back at the site. Return to the offering site in a few days to reclaim the wish paper. Once you have it, burn it and scatter the ashes near your front door. If the paper is missing, know that the fairies have taken it. Word has it that the fairies work cheaply, so know that the fairies have noted your wish and they will grant it in return for your food offering.
*** A Word to the Wise: The English work “fairy” traces its roots to the Old French fae, and from Vulgar Latin Fata, the name of the goddess of fate. ***