Imbolg Eve
In Celtic times, the day was considered to begin at dusk the preceding night, so all major celebrations would commence the night before the day of the festival, much as New Year festivities start on its eve.
Also called Imbolc, Oimelc and Candlemas, this is the festival of Bride or Bridget. It celebrates the Goddess's transformation from Crone to Maiden and heralds the coming Spring and the change from dark to light. One of the ways to celebrate this is with a Circle of lights.
Everyone gathers in a Circle, lit only by a single black candle; the wick should be trimmed to give the smallest of flames. Each person has an unlit white candle. When everyone is ready someone says, "this is the festival of Imbolg and the first signs of returning life tell us that Spring is on its way. Let us light the path for the new season and say farewell to the old. Blessed Be" They light their white candle from the black one, state something they wish for in the coming season, and extinguish the black candle. Going around the group Deosil, each person states their own hopes and lights their candle from that of the person next to them. When all the candles are lit, everyone says together, "We welcome the Goddess as Maiden. We welcome the signs of new life. We welcome the coming Spring. Blessed Be." The candles can be placed somewhere safe to burn whilst everone enjoys a feast or, if this not a family celebration, they may be extinguished and taken home to bring Spring into everyone's home.
_____The Real Witches Year___
by Kate West
to all my witches and wizards out there, make sure you light your candles tonight!! And make sure to take down any and all left over Yule Greenery in your house, or it may be bad luck for the coming year!!
Tuesday, February 01, 2005
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8 comments:
Right on my Pagan sista! Shall be lighting candles and chanting very soon this eve! Blessed be and LYLYS!
Wait a derned minute...I wanna go!
Drinking? Did someone say drinking? More importantly, is there any SEX involved in this celebration ...
... wait ... did I miss it already?
Damn.
-G
It's all cool, but the word 'imbolg' really sounds like the noise your stomach makes after a trip to Tijuana. Or perhaps a Klingon mating ritual. :)
I loved this post and would comment more if it weren't for how long it takes to log on to Blogger for making comments. Phooey.
My three white feather trees are still up... does that count as yule greenery? Should I take them down? I'm just so lazy...
Sweetie darling! I found a FABULOUS webpage and just had to share it with you. It seems all of this stuff is on the east coast, and a lot of it is in New Jersey. Nonetheless, I was captivated and thought you would be too...the website is: unquiettomb.com
have a looksie! I wanna SO go on a roadtrip!
*scratch scratch* I don't think I have any "Yule greenery" unless it's growing on something in the fridge.
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