Imbolc - 2014

Image from Google Image Search.

Hello again!  Merry meet!  Many blessings to you on this auspicious day!

I pray everyone is having a blessed Imbolc (or Candlemas), and that Brigit is smiling upon us all today, whether you celebrate this day as hers or not.

My coven and I, as usual, will be practicing on the weekend.  As I've said before, we tend to follow the rituals from About.com's Pagan/Wiccan section, with a few modifications for our own beliefs, so we will be doing many crafts and eating some of the foods set out on this page.

Also, as I've said before, even if you DO follow this journal and practice Paganism or Wicca, please DO NOT feel obligated to follow our exact practices.  Everyone has their own Path in life, even members of my own coven follow different Paths than myself, once beyond my teachings.

Image from American Girl.

Now, for those of you who don't already know, Brigit (also Brighid; Brigantia; Brigitta; Brighit) is the Celtic "goddess of fire, the forge, hearth, poetry, inspiration, healing, sacred wells, and midwifery," leading her to be a patron goddess of women in childbirth.  She and her two sisters, also called Brigit, are what's known as a Triple Goddess, and she was considered the Triple Goddess of the ancient Celts.  She has come to be celebrated on February 1st or 2nd, during Imbolc/Candlemas, due to her connections to fire, light, and new life.

When I was younger, I found many of the teachings of the history of Imbolc to be very interesting.  Many different cultures all around the world had their own way to celebrate on this day.  The Romans, the Egyptians, and the Celts all had their own means to present this day as auspicious in their own histories.  Even the early Christians used it as a gateway to convert Pagans to Christianity, since this was a day where many Pagans were first initiated themselves.

Traditionally, the colors used today are red and white, and many times has wreaths with candles sticking out from them placed on the altar or around the home.  When I learned that tidbit, it made me think of Saint Lucia, a Swedish saint from the American Girl doll Kirsten's world.  In it, Kirsten wants to be Saint Lucia and wear a white robe with a red sash, and put a wreath of candles upon her head to deliver a tray full of yummy things to eat and drink to her family members.

Image from American Girl.

 Today, we will be eating our own yummy things, like Braided Bread and, my personal favorite, Fish and Chips.  I absolutely love cooking, and I definitely enjoy sharing a meal with friends, so any chance we can get to have a meeting with everyone's delicious ideas, we go for it, and Imbolc certainly isn't one that's left out from the group.

And, on that tasty note, I shall take my leave.  I have bread to bake and fish, I pray, to cook properly!

Many blessings to you, once more!  Until next time!

☽⚝☾

Sources:  Zell, Wigington, and American Girl.

The Cold Moon

Image from Google Image Search.

Did anyone see the moon last night?  Was it perfectly full for you?  Was it almost there?  Well, tonight, it is the first full moon of the year for where I live.  The Cold Moon.

Now, everyone has a different name for this moon.  Some call it the "Winter Moon" or the "Old Moon," some even call it the "Wolf Moon."  According to the Celtic Myth Moon site, every moon has at least nine different groups of people calling it different things each month.  Some repeat, while others find their way to a different month than most.

As it is the first full moon of the year, I was hoping to perform a small ritual, however, as it is a Thursday, I may need to wait until this weekend.  Mine and my coven's rituals usually follow the examples left to us by Patti Wigington on Pagan/Wiccan About.com.  Despite the different name for the moon in this ritual, I plan on following this one with my fellow witches.

Image from Google Image Search.

Rituals have this wonderful ability to be performed by yourself or in a group.  I know some witches who take these and alter them to fit their needs, or who completely write their own using the same guidelines, as well as witches who get together in a gaggle of giggles and try their best to not "mess up" as they follow the lines given to them.

I remember the first time my coven and I did a ritual.  It was Yule, and it was a giggling disaster.  It was just before most of us turned 21, and we had all the supplies and things we needed to complete the ritual, even the cloths for our hair to represent the three aspects of the goddess, but we kept messing up the words that none of us had time to memorize.

At the time, we were horrified, thinking that we had messed up so badly we would need to do it again, but then, our coven Druid spoke up, saying the goddess would appreciate laughter returning in the dark times, despite our words being "the wrong ones", and that she would still hear our prayers to her.  We agreed, and it was then that we truly realized we had not "messed up", we had just simply found a different way to go about the same thing many Pagans near and far were doing that very night.

When we began to practice more openly, I learned more about the other Paths people take, and we infused more of that acceptance into our rituals and meetings.  Even within our own coven we have many different Paths with the same main ideas.

But!  Back to the moon!

Do you plan on holding a ritual?  Did you already have one or are you postponing it until you can?  What are you up to tonight?  Leave a comment and let us know!

Thank you for joining me!

☽⚝☾