Last night we had our annual Imbolc gathering. I love this festival, it never fails to leave me feeling inspired and hopeful! The wheel of the year is turning and the season is underway ~ life is begin to stir as the first shoots emerge. Light is returning, but there are still dark days to come. It is a time for planning, to think of the year ahead ~ a time of hope, when dreams seem just a touch nearer as the darkness lifts a little. For each of the 8 Celtic seasonal festivals I throw a little dinner party and I invite a few friends over to celebrate and partake of a lil' magic and merriment. The Imbolc feast in Boo's kitchen is mushroom stuffed pancakes served with creme fraiche and beetroot salad (which was sadly missing this year 'cause some fool forgot to buy beetroot...). Pancakes are eaten in many traditions at this time of year as they represent the sun we are so gladly welcoming back. And they are yummy... This is followed by roast chicken (free range & organic of course!) with puy lentils in a red wine and garlic sauce, savoy cabbage and mashed swede & parsnips. The lentils are my way of showering a little good luck on my guests and the coming year, their round shape representing little coins. Following this we have Russian poppy seed cake, seeds being very relevant to this time of year with it's budding fertility. It is a truly scrummy cake, and its very distinctive flavour is really beginning to become associated with this festival in my mind, Imbolc cake, yippee! We eat around the table centrepiece, the corn dolly of the Lammas festival, who is lying cosy surrounded by candles. This is representative of the ancient 'brides bed' rite, whereby the dolly is laid in a basket or something else to suggest a bed and a wand, candle, or other vaguely phallic object ( ie, longer than it is wide!) is laid across her to invoke the fertility of the land and ensure a bountiful harvest in the coming year. We have nothing really to harvest here in the literal sense of the word, although Mr Boo tells me he plans to grow tomatoes and beans on our patio this year, so we'll see what the bride does for us later in the year!
In our house we see Imbolc as the start of the year and don't start any new years resolutions until now. This gives us all of January to think about what we hope to achieve during the coming year (...and recover from the almost certain Yuletide overindulgence without going cold turkey and throwing ourselves into a detox that will surely fail!). Themes of this festival traditionally include healing and purification (represented by water) and creativity (represented by fire ~ the flames of inspiration & passion) so after dinner we 'purify' ourselves by washing our faces with salt water and then sit around a blazing fire talking through our plans for the year ahead. It's lovely to do this with friends and really get a sense of who everyone is and the direction their lives are taking them, I had a really nice time (hopefully they did too!). At some point I'll post a list of this years resolutions ~ 'the seeds we wish to sow', but talking with everyone brought to light a few things I'd like to alter or add to my list so it need a bit of tweaking!
By the end of the evening I felt happy and inspired and looking forward to the year ahead, a time of new beginnings. Get those candles lit, turn on all the lights and ask that the light may find and fill your home this year, and may Brigid bless you with creativity and inspiration!
Witchy Boo!
xxx
Traditional symbols of Imbolc & other associated bits and bobs…
Colours: pale blues & white
Flowers: snowdrops & other winter bulbs
Gods/Goddess: St Bridget, Brigid (ancient grain goddess ~ also of fertility and fire/creativity and inspiration)
Symbols: candles, corn dollies.
Foods: pancakes(representing the sun), lentils (fortune & luck), seeds (growth)
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