Do you need some magic to push through the last bit of dark winter? When the cold seems no longer bearable, a red-headed Fire Goddess can live within all of us, burning away the cold, dark winter. There’s something wonderful about the stillness of a crisp mid-winter morning, and something truly magical about the first few days of February. Even though it’s cold, there’s a sense of change, like a scent of spring in the crisp winter air. Like the earth is about to inhale and burst forth in a spring song come mid-March. Living a slower, more intentional life has put me in touch with the shifting of the seasons. It’s a deeply-fulfilling gift I am so glad I fostered within myself.
It’s hard to live a seasonal life (maybe that’s why we all suffer seasonal depression), especially in a consumer-driven society. And the idea of celebrating first thing in February seems totally off, doesn’t it? Let’s not forget Valentine’s Day. How convenient for those who’ve got to the end of their winter stores to only have cheese and alcohol left! And you might as well get cozy after all that. Voila! Valentine’s Day provides a shallow and consumer-centric substitute for what pagan communities provided in a much healthier and communal way.
I’m getting ahead of myself. Just grab a warm blanket, a glass of your favorite beverage, and breathe. Press Play on my Imbolc Spotify Playlist above and let’s talk about February 2:
What’s So Great About Imbolc?
I love self care. I love candles. I love cheese. I love soft and cozy pillow talk. I also love the Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell Classic: Groundhog’s Day. You know what these have in common? They are all sacred to Imbolc! So if you need an excuse to enjoy these things, look no further than the festival of the flame that lives within!
It’s only been in the past couple hundred years that the pagan triple-goddess Brigid was turned into the Catholic St. Brigid. Before that, Europeans have been celebrating the full moon between the winter solstice and Spring Equinox since forever. [[Check out GatherVictoria.com for a great article on the history of Imbolc/St. Brigid’s Day.]]
There are plenty of articles written on who the pagan goddess was and how she turned into St. Brigid of the Christian religion, so I won’t waste your time with easily-obtainable info. Long story very short: She is a triple goddess of early spring and aggressive fertility, that’s all we really need to know for our next steps:
A Muggle Ritual for Imbolc:
What I am more interested in is HOW TO INVOKE THE GODDESS BRIGID on Imbolc, and how to keep her hearth fire burning bright in your heart until Spring is officially here (March 21) and Gaia gives you a lil boost. What I think I love most about Imbolc is that Brigid is part warrior goddess, part abundantly fertile mother. Like an aggro Venus, a rebel with a cause. The energy that is behind a seed sprouting through the unknown freeze of winter is exactly what we are harnessing here.
One of the most casual ways to invoke the energy of a deity is in clothing and color magic. The colors associated with Brigid are white (snow), light blue (for the cold blue sky), light green (tender spring shoots), burning red and yellow (for fire flame), silver metal for the frozen streams and gold metal to invoke the sun, her counterpoint. Conifer wreaths and shawls are also sacred to Brigid, as are sweaters, fleece onesies, and silk wrap dresses.
After donning your best Brigid attire, light a white candle (also a symbol of Brigid) and meditate for about ten minutes. Feel the breath turn into a flame in your belly, lighting up and begin to glow bright and glow red, orange, yellow. Ask yourself: What am I hungry for? What lights my soul up?
Take note of what bubbles up here. Chances are, it won’t be food that comes to mind. After ten minutes of meditation, write down as many keywords as you can of visual cues and associations that crossed your mind.
A Real Witch’s Ritual to Invoke the Brigid, the Fire Goddess Within:
- Brigid Clothing (i.e. your coziest, queenliest outfit!)
- White Candles (one etched with the triple Moon or three separate candles are adequate)
- Mint essential oil
- Paper
- Green or Blue Pen
- Red, Pink, and/or Yellow marker
- Place to bury the paper, preferably in a field or under a tree.
- Don your best Brigid clothing and light a candle dressed in mint essential oil (use a cotton ball if you are sensitive or new to essential oils). Smoke cleanse yourself and offer your efforts to your ancestors, your guides, and Brigid. Ask them for loving guidance and protection.
- Before going into meditation, say outloud “I ask for guidance in my garden.” You may center yourself using your favorite meditation technique, but be sure to focus on the fire in your belly. You can use Fire breathing, chakra visualization, or any method you wish. After you feel centered, flutter your eyelids open.
- Take your sheet of paper and fold it in thirds or thereabouts. Unfold it so it lies horizontally in front of you. Draw a line from top to bottom on the left fold.
- In your left-hand column, write an equally-distanced list of up to ten things you want to grow in your life this year. Anything from “$10,000 Savings account” to “Healthy relationships with my parents” to “managing my own company”, etc. Whatever you want!
- Write your desires up until the line, then turn the word into a plant. Draw the sentence into a stem, add a few leaves, but wait until they’re all filled out to draw the flowers.
- When you are done with you list of no more than 10 wishes, turn the paper so it’s vertical again, like a normal sheet of paper. Say your desires outloud while drawing flowers on top of the stems. The more you can zone out during this step and keep layering flowers on top of each other, the better. If you can manage to slur your words together into an indecipherable mantra, so much the better.
- After you’ve got your fill of flowers and you’ve lost idea of specific desires, pour some of the hot wax from your brigid candle on it. Fold the paper up as small as you can manage and pour a little more wax on top to seal it. Politely ask Brigid and ancestors to bring these things to you and thank them for doing so. Make sure to close with: “An it harm none, so mote it be.”
- Find a place in a field or under a tree to bury your paper. Walk around the spot three times and then walk away from the spot without looking back.
- When you get home, you’ll probably be very hungry, so I recommend making one of these delicious recipes beforehand. After all, Imbolc is about keeping your breadbasket full!
- Added bonus: This is a great time to petition the goddess for fertility and a great way to honor her is to have sex on this very magical day. The Empress is a great card to meditate on beforehand.
Recipes for Imbolc and St. Brigid
