It is Imbolc Eve, there's a frozen layer of snow on the ground outside, my brat Brighde is tied to a barren maple branch, and I am indoors on the couch with my dearest lover and a basket of hand sewing. The light is growing, and our Lady is returning to tend it.
Imbolc is more than a day, it is a season. It is the season of the earth reawakening from the slumber of Samhain. It is the season when Brighid strides the land, helping us to rise and rejoice over what’s to come. It is the season when the serpent grows stronger, brighter, and begins to stretch itself up and out of hibernation.
Basically, if you missed Imbolc day, don’t fret. You have lots of time to celebrate.
Imbolc is one of the four fire festivals of the Gaelic tradition. Typically celebrated on February 1, Imbolc marks the start of spring by celebrating Brighid, a deity associated with fire, the sun, livestock, and new life.
In a Brighidine tradition, a Gaelic polytheist tradition focused or centered on Brighid, Imbolc is the most important of the holy days. Personally, I use it as a time to celebrate the coming of spring, and use it as an opportunity to reaffirm Brighid’s presence in my life, renew or make vows for the coming year, and to cleanse myself of the burdens of winter. The following ritual reflects those goals and can be conducted either by oneself or with others. It was developed as part of a challenge I set for myself to create rituals for each of the four Gaelic fire festivals as well as both solstices and equinoxes that could be used specifically in a Brighidine tradition. This ritual is completely customizable and can be adjusted any way you want to best suit your needs.
Because this is a longer post, look under the cut for the ritual!
Materials
Cleansing incense, preferably juniper
Nineteen tealights or small candles
Milk (or water)
Dishes needed to contain milk (or water) and offerings
Matches or a firelighter
Whatever else you generally use for ritual
Divination tools if you like
Altar/Ritual Set-Up
Honestly, this can be done pretty much however you want. This ritual is not intended to require a hyper-specific set-up. If you have a way that you usually set up, by all means please do that. The only thing that is truly necessary to carry-out this ritual exactly as it is written is the candle set-up to perform the Nineteen Flames of Brighid. Even that can be modified to suit different needs.
The set-up I will use is as follows: A round table (likely the small round table by my bed) in the center of a room (likely my craft room so that I can neatly lock out my two kittens who delight in wreaking havoc) that will have a statute of Brighid (though any representation of her would do), a candle to represent her sacred flame, a small container of water to represent her sacred well, a dish containing milk, another dish to make offerings into, a fire-safe container with charcoal for offering incense, a sprig of juniper incense, and nineteen tealights likely arranged in a spiral or circle around the altar. I will also have divinatory tools tucked under the table for in-ritual divination, and have my white-handled boline that I dedicated to Brighid at the ready (mostly because I like to have it!).
The Ritual
Begin by casting a circle/creating ritual space. Again, this is a very customizable ritual, so feel free to do this however you please. Personally, I will be creating ritual space by using juniper incense to cleanse and establish a space by ritual working by walking three times clockwise around my working space with the lit incense in my hand.
After the ritual space has been created, welcome in/give honor to the three realms of land, sea, and sky. Though this can be done in any way you chose, I typically go with an incantation for each. For example:
Land
Hail the land
That which holds us
That which feeds us
That which carries our feet
Our bodies
Our beating hearts
Hail the green mantle
Who’s darkened soil
Nourishes
Sea
Hail the sea
The saltwater womb
From which life emerged
At to which all life
Slowly returns
Hail the great ocean
Who’s waves beat
The endless pattern of life
Upon the sandy shore
Sky
Hail the sky
The air that embraces us
And fills our lungs
With song and voice
And raving, wild screaming
Hail the tender wind
The angry storms
The tangled song of life
After welcoming in land, sea, and sky, you may welcome in ancestors, regional land spirits, or any other entities or deities other than Brighid that you may wish to acknowledge. Since I live in the Ozarks, I will be taking a moment to honor the land of that place.
When all other spirits/entities have been honored, it is time to invoke Brighid, Herself. Again, this can be done in any way you wish. I typically take a moment to center myself and then speak off-the-cuff to call on and welcome her into my space. You could also prepare something before hand, such as:
Hail Brighid,
Whose flame I tend
Hail Brighid,
Whose hearth I sit beside
Hail Brighid
Whose bread I eat
Hail Brighid,
Whose yarns I spin
Hail and welcome mighty Brighid,
Mother of the coming spring
Who’s flame grows brighter
In warming hearths
And in the lightening days
I call on you, beloved Brighid
To join with me now
In joyous ritual
To welcome you home
To celebrate your greening mantle
That melts the winter’s aching frost
And awakens the slumbering earth
Hail Brighid,
Wise mother
And be welcome here with me
After welcoming Brighid, if you have brought offerings to make for her, do so then. Offerings of food or drink can be placed or poured, and words of thanks can be given.
Once Brighid has been invoked and thanked, it is time to move onto what I refer to as the “working” portion of the ritual. First, juniper and milk (or water if you prefer) are used to cleanse away the lingering, stale energies of winter in preparation for the coming of spring. Given that winter is the time when the Wild Hunt rides, when our bodies are fatigued from lack of sunlight (exacerbated by a modern schedule that requires us to work when we should be hibernating), and many of us are still recovering from holiday stress, Imbolc is an ideal time to clear away that negative energy. Using juniper incense, fumigate your whole body. Focus on the cleansing power of juniper, and envision it clearing away all of the winter gunk that may be clinging to you. When you feel that that the juniper has done it’s job, take a small dish of milk (or water) and call upon Brighid to bless it. For an extra touch of Gaelic pizzazz, add a small piece of silver (a ring or a coin should work just fine) to the dish to bless the milk. Once that is done, use your fingers to anoint yourself with the blessed milk. Let it clear away the winter months and help to ready you for the coming summer.
After you feel cleansed and refreshed, the second working is the renewing or making of vows. This step is, of course, completely optional, but I feel that Imbolc is the ideal time to reaffirm my dedication to Brighid and to my personal path. If you chose to do make or renew any vows, do so in whatever manner seems most fitting to you.
The third “working” is what I call the Nineteen Flames of Brighid. This is a tradition that I developed with others and is heavily based off of Lunea Weatherstone’s Nineteen Flames for Brigit which can be found here. The idea is simple: using nineteen candles to represent the nineteen-day cycle of traditional Brighidine flamekeeping, light each flame to honor a different aspect of Brighid. As you light each flame, say the following aloud:
1. I light this flame to honor Brighid of brightness, radiant Brighid of the sun.
2. I light this flame to honor Brighid of the hearthfire, Brighid of the sacred home.
3. I light this flame to honor Brighid of the memory-fire who keeps our ancestors' names alive.
4. I light this flame to honor Brighid of the timeless fires, and her tenders who keep it burning.
5. I light this flame to honor Brighid of the healing waters, Brighid of the healing hands, Brighid of the holy wells.
6. I light this flame to honor Brighid, poetess, who's ballads are the world's truths.
7. I light this flame to honor the golden shield of Brighid, may it ever protect those who need it.
8. I light this flame to honor the fiery sword of Brighid, may it ever be in the hands of those seeking justice.
9. I light this flame to honor Brighid the Cowless, who releases the enslaved and empowers the oppressed.
10. I light this flame to honor Brighid Foster-Mother, Brighid Midwife, who keeps all children in her care.
11. I light this flame to honor Brighid of the keening, who embodies the world's grief.
12. I light this flame to honor Brighid of the hills, who comes in the spring, to green all the land.
13. I light this flame to honor Brighid the shepardess, protector of all animals.
14. I light this flame to honor Brighid of the flowing rivers, Brighid of the deepest lakes, Brighid of the wild springs.
15. I light this flame to honor Brighid of divine inspiration, who fills us with sacred imbas.
16. I light this flame to honor Brighid of the wheat sheaf, who never let a stomach hunger.
17. I light this flame to honor Brighid, the gentle swan of peace.
18. I light this flame to honor Brighid of the augury, Brighid Who Knows.
19. I light this flame to honor Brighid of the forges, who's great hammer and anvil crafted all the stars.
When all your candles are lit, if you so like, take some time to sit with Brighid. If you chose, now would be an excellent time for meditation or to make any other prayers or offerings to Brighid. Spend as much time as you want sitting with and honoring Her. You might also chose to do some divination at this point. Again, use any method you like. Personally, I will take some time to do some tarot and use my Brighid oracle deck to get some insight (hopefully) on the coming year.
Once you are ready, you can begin to wrap things up. Take the time to thank Brighid for her presence, and bid her farewell. Do the same for the other spirits or entities that you have invited and honored, including land, sea, and sky. When all entities have been thanked and you feel ready, open your circle or sacred space any way you wish. Since I set up my space by walking clockwise, I usually walk once counterclockwise to open up my space.
And that’s it! Go forth and walk confidently into the coming spring!
