| Imbolg(February 2nd) |
| ��������� Imbolg, which means "in the belly", was not originally a Sabbat. It was a special day set aside to honor the Goddess who was slowly turning the Wheel of the Year back to Spring. It is the quickening of the year, the first fetal stirrings of Spring in the womb of Mother Earth. Like all the Celtic Great Sabbats, it is a fire festival - but here the emphasis is on light rather than heat. In other customs, winter was recognized as a harsh season for our Pagan ancestors, one during which many died of disease and malnutrition. It is not surprising that there are customs surrounding this Sabbat that are designed as actos of sympathetic magick to lure back the Sun. This Sabbat is more commonly know, even among Witches, by the pretty name of Candlemas under which it was Christianized. In Irish custom, where much of our Imbolg lore originates, this was a holy day for honoring the Great Mother Goddess, Brigid, in her guise as the waiting bride of the youthful Sun God. The moon is the light-symbol of the Goddess, and the moon above all stands for her threefold aspect of Maid, Mother, and Crone (Enchantment, Ripeness, and Wisdom). Lunar light is particularly that of inspiration. So it is fitting that Imbolg should be the feast of Brigid (aka Brid or Brigante), the radiant Triple Muse-Goddess, who is also a fertility bringer. Among her many sacred interests were fertility, creative inspiration, metalsmithing, and medicine. She was also a protectress, healer, and a guardian of children. Her festival was so ingrained in Irish culture that the church was forced to rename the holiday "St. Briget's Day" in honor of a Saint who is, in reality, the Goddess. This is a classic example of a Pagan deity christianized with little attempt to hide the fact. The hisorical St. Brigid lived from about 453 - 523 AD; but her legends, characteristics, and holy places are those fot eh Goddess Brid, and the folk-customs of St. Brigid's Day in the Celtic lands are plainly pre-christian. Tradition, incidentally, says that St. Brigid was brought up by a wizard and that she had the power to multiply food and drink to nourish the needy - including the delightful ability to turn her bath-water into beer. In the not-so-distant past it was customary in Irish villages for young women - and sometimes young men - to dress up as Brigid in old, worn clothing, or to carry her image through town, going door to door asking for alms for the "poor Biddy", a nickname for Brigid. Giving to her was thought to bring good fortune in the harvest to come. In France, Imbolg is a day to honor yet another Saint. The Feast Day of St. Blaize, a thinly disguised version of Brigid, is a Saint of winter protection and healing who was once widely worshipped and revered by the Celtic Bretons. In keeping with the theme of this fire festival, Blaize's name is associated with the the English word "blaze", as in fire. Two other names commonly used for this Sabbat are Imbolc and Oimelc, both meaning "ewe's milk". In Europe, this was the time when pregnant ewes began lactating, and the even was celebrated as another sign that winter was ending. In Scotland, on the eve of St. Brigid's Day, the women of the house would dress up a sheaf of oats in woman's clothing and lay it in a basket called "Brigid's Bed", side by side with a phallic club. They would then call out three times; "Brid is come, Brid is welcome!" and leave candles burning by the "bed" all night. If the impression of the club was found in the shes of the hearth in the morning, the year would be fruitful and prosperous. The ancient meaning is clear: with the use of appropriate symbols, the women of the house prepare a place for the Goddess and make her welcome, and invite the fertilizing God to come and impregnate her. Then they discreetly withdraw. When the night is over, they would return to look for a sign of the God's visit. If the sign was there, their invocation had succeeded, and the year is pregnant with the hoped-for bounty. The Romans dedicated this Sabbat to Venus, and the Greeks named it the Festival of Diana, both Goddesses of Love. The first flower of Spring, the Crocus, was sacred to both these deities, and the flowers were picked and used to lavishly adorn homes, altars, and people - especially young women who represented the Virgin Goddesses at the Sabbat rituals. In ancient rome, February was a cleansing time - Februarius Mensis, "the month of ritual purification". The month of February was dedicated to the Goddess Februa and the God Februus for whom the month is named. Februa is the Goddess of Fresh Starts. At its beginning came the Lupercalia, when the Luperci, the priests of Pan, ran through the street naked except for a goatskin girdle and carrying a goatskin thong. With these they struck everybody who passed, and in particular married women, who were believed to be made fertile. This ritual was both popular and patrician (Mark Anthony is on record as having performed the Lupercus role) and survived themselves as well, to allow the Luperci more scope. Pope Gelasius I, who reigned from 492 - 496 AD, banned this cheerfully scandalous festival and met with such an outcry that he had to apologize. It was finally abolished at the beginning of the next century. Lupercalia aside, the tradition of February cleansing remained strong. In other words, by that time a new tide of life had started to flow through the whole world of nature, and people had to get rid of the past and look to the future. Spring-cleaning was originally a nautre ritual. In some parts of Ireland there is a tradition of leaving the Christmas tree in place (stripped of its decorations but retaining its lights) until Imbolc; if it has kept its green needles, good luck and fruitfulness are assured for the year ahead. In the Nordic tradition, Imbolg was know as Disting-tid, and was a day to ritually prepare the earth for future planting by strewing it with salt, ashes, and sacred herbs. This was done even if the land was still covered in snow and ice. As I said at the beginning of this lesson, Imbolg is also known as Candlemas, a name derived from the practice of ritually lighting fires to lure back the slowly waxing sun. In Anglo-Celtic cultures, one of the most popular of these candle lighting customs was to have a young woman, representing the Virgin Goddess, enter the ritual area carrying a circle of lit candles. This was, in essence, a lighted Sun Wheel, a symbol of the Wheel of the Year being warmed and lighted again by the returning sun. Later they adopted the custom of wearing the candles as a chaplet on the head. This idea came from one of the Norse invader's Yule customs, and many modern covens and solitaries still practice this ritual at Imbolg. The Swedish folk song "Jeanette Isabella" commemorates the carrying in of the Candle Wheel upon the head of a young woman dressed in virgin white. In modern Sweden, this custom remains intact, though the crown if usually made up of woven wortleberry twigs or, evergreen boughs and is used with the celebration of St. Lucia's Day, which falls near Yule. Lucia's original incarnation was that of Lucina, the Roman Goddess of Light, whose Latin root word "Lux" literally means "light". Lucina's Sabbat became tradition through a belief that any work done on her day would be found undone the next morning, and all the household candles would be broken. Another widespread Candlemas belief in the British Isles, France, Germany, and Spain is that fine weather on Candlemas Day means more Winter to come, but bad weather means Winter is over. Guessing how long it would be until Spring shows itself as common a February pastime today as it was centuries ago, and it's one which absorbs much space in annals of ancient folklore. In America, Groundhog's Day, on February 2nd, is a weather divination ritual which tries to predict when the warmth of Spring will break through. We are told that the groundhog, named Punxsutawney Phil, will pop his head out of his burrow. If he sees his shadow, he will be frightened back into his hold where he will stay for another six weeks of winter. If he does not see his shadow, he will emerge from his underground home and Spring will soon follow. In Celtic lands it was considered a sign of an early Spring if one heard a lark singing on Imbolg. Larks are sacred to the God, and this belief may have stemmed from a conviction that the God was coming early, in a hurry to find his Goddess bride. Another symbol of the Imbolg season is the Grain Dolly, often called the bride. The Dollies are sheaves of grain (straw, corn, wheat, or barley) woven into either human or symbolic form, and were probably once part of crop fertility magick. The Dolly, made at Imbolg with dried grains kept from the last harvest, are dressed throughout the year to symbolize the Goddess of each Sabbat. She is shown pregnant at Midsummer and Lughnasadh, and as a crone at Mabon and Samhain. At Imbolg she is dressed as a bride. Her from is then laid in a Bride's Bed, usually a small corn crib, where she awaits her husband/son. Traditionally, the old Dolly is buried at Yule. Sun Wheels, also know as Brigid's Crosses, in some traditions, are also symbols of this Sabbat, and wheels made of vines are often woven at this time for the entire year's use. Sun Wheels are equilateral crosses encased in a circle that represents the Wheel of the Year. They are used especially at Midsummer and Lughnasadh when the Sun is at its peak, and smaller ones can be made to hang on Yule trees. Crossroads also figure prominently in this Sabbat because of their association with the Sun Wheel. Imbolg is a night that spirits of the dead are said to walk among the living in both the Norse and Irish traditions, and for centuries, it has been said that these people have seen spirits seeking the safety of a crossroads. The Irish often went on the eve of this Sabbat to bury negativity at a crossroad so it couldn't excape, much in the same way a Latin cross on a coffin was designed to keep vampires contained. the Norse would move their ritual sitet to the center of a crossroad, and build enough roaring fires around it to warm the bitter winter night. The pattern of the fires around the crossroad resembed a Sun Wheel with a center point. In England, Cornwall, and Ireland, Imbolg is a Sabbat when magickal wells are visited. In the Goddess' name, people throw coins into them in hopes of making wishes come true. the well is symbolic of the birth canal of the Goddess, from which all things come. Many of these ancient wells were taken over by church authorities and either covered over or encased within church walls. Because the heart has always been thought of as the organ of love (from a Pagan Aryan concept associated with the attributes of the Chakra System), it was adopted as a February/Imbolg symbol. These associations were later moved to St. Valentine's Day. Another reason the heart came to symbolize Imbolg was due to an ancient Druidic divinatory practice that once regularly took place on this Sabbat. At their center on the Isle of Anglesay in the South of Britain, they would gather to remove the heart from a living white bull in much the same way the Aztecs of old Mexico removed the beating human heart from their sacrificial victims, and then would examine its final convulsions and appearance for clues about the future. Imbolg was also the traditional time to collect stones for new magick circles and for general magickal use. Stones have always been seen by Pagans as containg within them the vital energies of the Earth Mother from who they are born. Stones were used to create the megaliths of Europe such as Stonehenge. Granite or red rock outcroppings were sacred to the Native Americans, and burial cairn in Celtic lands were constructed of native stones. Today, stones often mark off ritual circle space , and stone spells for protection and strength are known worldwide. Imbolg is a time of hope and looking forward, but it is still bitterly cold in much of Europe and North America at the time of this celebration - a time to be near home and hearthside. Therefore, it is not surprising that fireplace lore is a large part of this Sabbat. Before there was central heat, fireplaces were the only sources of warmth, and still are in most of the world. Families used to gather near it at night, not just for warmth, but to share stories, songs, and games. Besoms (broomsticks) usually stood near the hearth to protect it, and protective herbs were often thrown in the blazing fires. In Scotland on Imbolg night, it was a tradition for each memeber of the family to throw protective salt in the fire and devine their immediate futures by the pops and lights it made. Devining to determine how much longer it would be until Spring was another use of the Imbolg fireplace. In Brittany, grain sheaves not used to make the Grain Dolly were thrown onto the fire. If they were quickly consumed it meant that Spring was at hand; if they toolk a long time to burn, the winter would be a long one. If they broke in half and burned in two distinct pieces, there would ba a brief respite from the cold, with more winter to come. As I pointed out, without television, radio, and in some cases, books, our ancient ancestors gathered together to entertain and teach each other. In our technologically fat society, that custom has dwindled to almost nothing. As Wiccans we share a responsibility to carry on the traditions of the past. That is what these teaching and our gathering are about. A suggestion to help you pass the long nights of February is to learn to see auras. The aura is a ring of light energy which surrounds the bodies of living things. The light energy has been photographed by using specially formulated film, and psychics, adept at seeing them, have been able to accurately diagnose numerous physical and mental disorders from it. While you may not be able to learn to see patterns or symbols, anybody can train themselves to see the predominant color or colors of an aura and to accurately interpret their general meanings. To start, you'll need a partner and a neutral colored background for him or her to stand in front of. White, beige, or black are the best. Have your partner dress in neutral clothing as well, facing you. Use subdued lighting and soften your focus. Look at the person's third eye (just above and between the eyes), at the throat, or across the right shoulder. Don't look directly at the place you expect to see the aura as this will cause its image to fade. Rely on your peripheral vision instead. by doing this you should quickly see the misty outline of the aura, and soon a color, or the impression of a color, should appear. If you don't succeed at first, take a break and switch places and let your partner try while you relax your eyes and mind. If you still have no luck, try burning mugwort or jasmine incense, or drink valarian tea. These are all known to open psychic centers of the mind. Once you have began seeing the colors of the aura, you'll want to be able to interpret what the colors mean. Write down what you see or your impressions. Here is a list of the auric colors and what they generally mean. These are just the basics, a foundation on which to build... Color - Meaning Red - Often seen in athletes and in young children. Denotes an inner vitality and is usually indicative of good health. These people enjoy lots of social interaction and have a very strong sex drive. Deep reds can indicate touchy tempers, and paler reds have more in common with pink. Professional dancers are usually surrounded by red auras. Orange - Individuals with orange auras are very out-going, but often have knee-jerk reactions to stimuli, both positive and negative. These people are generally healthy, but orange can indicate a need to reduce stress. Darker orange indicates someone living under extreme pressure, and overly aggressive personality, or too much time in the public eye. Politicians are usually surrounded by dark orange. Yellow - Yellow is the color or the intellect and is often seen around teachers and serious students. The deeper the yellow, the deeper the intellect. Paler yellow indicates less creativity, and deeper yellow indicates more. Yellow auras frequently surround writers and journalists. Deep yellow bordering on orange indicates someone who uses his or her intellect to hurt and cheat others. Green - Green indicates a loving and trusting nature. It is the color of people who prefer their home life to any other, and is often seen around happy parents. Green is also seen around artists. Lighter greens can indicate an over-inflated ego, and deeper greens can indicate the deceitful nature of a good con-artist. Not surprisingly, nature lovers also have lots of green in their auras. Blue - Blue is the color of the natural healer and is often seen around herbalists and the better doctors. People with blue auras are usually extremely concerned for the welfare of others and are often found in jobs and activities that aid other people. Paler blues are indicative of deeply spiritual persons or ones who are musically gifted. Deeper blues indicate individuals with psychic gifts or those deeply into natural magick. Blue shafts of light are often seen rising from the heads of creative personalities. Indigo - Indigo is the color of the highly clairvoyant. Those with indigo are usually gifted in magick and are often very spiritual, though they must guard against becoming too self-absorbed. This color lower on the body indicates a need to change one's outlook on life. Violet - Violet is a color rarely seen in an aura, and is indicative of the sort of person we would all like to be. These people have a profound understanding of spiritual matters, are deeply empathic, and have well-integrated personalities - combining the best of all worlds and states of being. Some New Age thinkers believe those with violet auras are not on earth to work out their own karmic agenda, but to aid the rest of us in achieving their advanced state of mind-spirit. White - Be careful when you see a white aura that you are not merely seeing the misty shadow of the suric field itself. White is a rare color in an aura, and is similar to violet in its properties. Persons with white auras are also ver idealistic and often seem dreamy and disconnected to the everyday world. Pink - A pink aura indicates a very romantic nature - people who are generally at peace with themselves and enjoy their lives. Pinks have a strong sense of justice and are grossly offended by violence and bigotry. They should be cautioned about giving too much of themselves to others as they tend to allow themselves to be martyrs for those they care about. This color is often seen around the heart centers of young lovers. Olive - This color is indicative of a person who is encased by his or her own negative emotions. this person often displays the petulant behavior of a child, and is someone who is usally searching for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow while ignoring the joys and pleasures at hand. Aguamarine - This color surrounds sedentary people - not necessarily people who are bad - just a little lazy. these people need daily exercise which will usually turn their auras to a blue or green. This color can also indicate individuals who spend too much time in meditation and metaphysical pursuits at the expense of their physical life. Peach - Peach is another rare color, one which indicates a person with lots of compassion, understanding, and ability to sacrafice for the needs of others, but not in a martyr-like way. Lavender - Lavender auras are usally found around those who lead a double life. They live one way while wanting to live another, or they are dishonest in their dealings with their family and friends. Lavenders are usually not malicious, but are nearly always unfocused and may have an underlying problem such as alcoholism. Blue-Green - This color indicates a dreamy person, someone very emotional - a thinker rather than a doer. this color can also mean that the person combines traits of both blue and green auras. Turguoise - This is a less common shade of blue. It indicates someone with a deeply analytical mind. Turquoise is insightful and those people make good counselors. they communicate well and are often gifted in one or more fields of study. Brilliant music composers and innovative inventors and scientists often have turquoise in their aura. Red-Violet - People with this aura are usually highly driven toward their personal goals which are often in conflict with their ethics. This gragmentation causes them frustration and, in large amounts, can indicate the presence of stree-related illnesses. Beige - Beige indicates medicrity and a slow intellect. This does not mean that beiges are bad people. They are usually placid and pretty happy, just not overly bright or active. Green-Brown - This aura surrounds a person who is tied to convention, has no aptitude for critical thought, and is often fearful of the world and new ideas and things. They can be obsessive and dangerous, and become a threat to others. They usually have vigilante mentalities and are usually quite cowardly despite their blow and bluster. Brown - Brown can indicate an absessive-compulsive personality, or it can surround someone who is currently in a miserable or frightening situation. It usually means the person has given up trying to fight their problem and has slipped dangerously into a depression that requires medical intervention. Large brown auras are usually temporary. In small patches it can mean the beginning of an illness affecting the region of the body. Silver - Silver indicates a person interested in spiritual attainment, though they often only get it in superficial doses. It is also the color of wisdom, and, when it is seen at all, is often around elderly persons. Gold - Gold is extremely rare, but when seen, it is usually mixed with white, blue, or violet. It indicates a very strong and vibrant personality, one to which others are highly attracted. gold persons are closest to the highest ideals of violet, blue, and white in their make-up, only more strongly felt. Some New Age thinkers say that a gold aura surrounds those who are not native to this plane of existence. Gray - Gray is a very negative color in an aura. If the color is localized it indicates a serious illness in that part of the body, otherwise it means a negative persoanlity, one who is violent, dangerous, and best avoided. Black - This is another rarely seen aura, and that is good for all of us. black indicates just what one would think it does - an evil, sick personality, devoid of human warmth. This color is often seen in sociopathic personalities, or locally around regions of the body where life-threatening illnesses are centered. Imbolg is a season of hope, filled with new possibilities for the future, and a time to look forward to the warmth, joy, and lustiness of the Spring Sabbats. Blessed Be!!! Stones and their Meaning/Uses Agate - New beginnings. Amethyst - Spirituality Aquamarine - Stress reducer, water-related spells Bloodstone - Protests during childbirth Carnelian - dispenser of justice, used to help locate the guilty, increases energy Coral - Increase psychic awareness, protection on the sea, as currency Diamond - Eternity, strength, prosperity Emerald - Love, peace, a natural tranquilizer, aids neuroligical diseases Flint - Protection from faeries Fluorite - Increase mental powers Fossils - Past-life work, magick for animals Garnet - Healing blood diseases Geodes - Fertility, Earth magick, mediation Granite - Protection, fedelity Hematite - Grounding Holey Stones - Fertility Jade - Prosperity, fertility, balances female hormones Lapis Lazuli - Promotes courage, psychicism, healing, protection, helps sore throats heal Lodestone - Fidelity, binding spells, retrieving lost objects, attraction, job hunting Meteorite - Astral projection, teaches psychometry Moonstone - Sacred to Moon Goddess and Mother Goddess, psychism, fertility Obsidian - Symbol of the Crone, stone of mourning to Native Americans, scrying stone Opal - Boost immune system, protection, psychicism, promotes youthful appearance Quartz - Crystal healing, grounding, centering, focusing energy, connecting with other intelligences Pearl - Sacred to most ocean deities, Moon magick, water spells Red Sandstone - A dwelling place of spirits as in Arizona Rose Quartz - Used to facilitate love spells, bring peace, help end violence, promote logevity, Romans believed it prevented wrinkles Ruby - God energy Sapphire - Psychicism, healing, used to energize the psychic center known as the third eye. Tiger's Eye - Balances male hormones, protection Tourmaline - Protection, helps anemia Yellow Topaz - Protection, defense, strength in battle, promote vitality, healing, in Egypt was sacred to the Sun God Ra |
 |