Imbolc

 

The sun is pouring through my window, Ralph and Henry lay in a heap on the floor soaking up the beams. This is their first winter and I can see their happy faces in the sun looking forward to spring. With Imbolc approaching heralding the coming of the spring planting season, I’m beginning to see the first stirrings of life. The trees are slowly putting forth tiny buds, wrapped up tight against the cold.  

As a solitary practitioner I have devised my own traditions for celebrating the recovery of the Goddess after the birth of her Son and the beckoning of spring. I won’t share all of them with you, but I will share something that I am really excited about! I’m going to be starting my first vegetable and herb garden. This is something that I’ve never done before and I am so excited. The instructions say to start the seeds inside in a sunny window. I’m going to keep them in a room shut away from the cats because many of the things that we eat and enjoy are poisonous to household furry friends.  I’m going to dedicate my organic garden to the Goddess and ask her to bless its fruits for this year’s harvest.  (Side note for those of you who are not aware, the Pagan New Year is Samhain which is what most people today call Halloween. The Pagan New Year does not begin on January 1^st.)

There are many other rituals that can be done during Imbolc.  Spring cleaning for a witch not only means organizing, throwing away trash, and cleaning (or repainting etc) the physical house. A witch’s spring cleaning also means airing out negative energies, bringing in positive optimism for Spring, and updating protection charms and other household spells. In the Book of Shadows section I will include some good household charms and cleaning ideas for your Spring cleaning. As a witch I try to keep even my physical cleaning spiritual. This means using natural cleaning products and not harsh chemicals. I will include some recipes and more in the BOS section of the blog.  I hope you all look forward to Imbolc as much as I do! Merry part for now my lovely lambs! (Lambs are a symbol of Imbolc, can anyone tell me why? Comment below if you know the answer or have a favorite Imbolc ritual of your own!)

~S