Imbolc (Candlemas, Brigid’s Day) is traditionally celebrated Jan 31-Feb 2, the halfway point between the Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox.

Imbolc is a festival that honors Brigid (Brighid, Bride, Brigit), a beloved pagan Goddess who was woven into the Christian church as St Bridget. In Kildare, Ireland, a women's only shrine was kept to her where nineteen nuns tended her continually burning sacred flame. She is a Goddess of healing (healers, medicine, spiritual healing) and inspiration (poets, poetry, creativity, prophecy, arts). She brings fertility to the land and its people.

Colors of the Season

White for purity and the color of milk.

Green for spring and healing.

Red for fire and creativity.

Gold for warmth of the sun and the color of grain.

Plants of the Season

Blackberry is Sacred to Brigid; the leaves and berries are used to attract prosperity and healing. Dandelion “the little notched of Bride”, snowdrop, crocus, acorns, oak tree, oat, chamomile, broom, shamrock, rushes, straw.

Imbolc Symbols

Fire - flames, candles, hearth, Brigid’s cross.

Water - cauldron, springs, wells, snow.

Grains- corn & oat sheaves for making Brigid wheels, Bridie dollies, Brigid's bed.

Animals- white cow with red ears, wolf, snake, swan, lamb.

Suggestions for celebration

Bless candles for use in future rituals and workings during the upcoming year.

Make Brigid wheels, placing the wheel above or on the door to bless the home & burning last year’s wheel. Also known as a Brigid's Cross it is traditional fire wheel symbol of protection.

Make a Brigid Doll is an old tradition which can be included in a ceremony and or placed in 'Bride's Bed' to bring fertility and good fortune to the home.

Put out food and drink for Brigid on Her eve (buttered bread, milk, grains, seeds).

Remove Yuletide greens from your home & burn. 

Imbolc Ritual

Decorate your altar with the colors and plants associated with the festival. Include a symbol of the season, such as a representation of a snowflake, a white flower, a Brigid’s wheel, or dollies. If you live in a region with snow, put some in a container and place on the altar. The melted snow can used for the water during the circle casting

Anoint candles with the Brigid Oil.

Light the candles and incense and cast the Circle.

"This is the time of the feast of torches,

when every lamp blazes and shines

to welcome the rebirth of the God.

I celebrate the Goddess,

I celebrate the God.

All the Earth celebrates

Beneath its mantle of sleep."

Take one of the lighted candles and slowly walk around the circle clockwise. You may want to read or recite a favorite poem.

Stop before the altar, holding up the candle. Gaze at its flame.

Visualize your life blossoming with creativity, with renewed energy and strength.

Celebrate with a simple feast of bread, butter, honey, and tea.

The circle is released.

Blessed Imbolc 

 

References

Farrar, Janet & Stewart (1987). The Witches Goddess.

Green, Miranda (1995). Celtic Goddesses.

Weber, Courtney (2015). Brigid: History, Mystery, and Magick of the Celtic Goddess

Cunningham, Scott (1988). Wicca A Guide for The Solitary Practitioner (pages 130 - 131).

 

Yule is the festival of the Winter Solstice, on or about December 21, the shortest day, and the longest night of the year. Celtic pagan traditions celebrated with the symbolic  battle between the Oak King who represents light (summer) and the Holly King who represents dark (winter) , the lighting of large bonfires to keep evil spirits from their crops through the dark months, and feasting.

Traditions and Symbols

Decorating the Yule tree, representing the Tree of Life, with pinecones, berries, fruit, coins, and corn to represent the hope for abundance and prosperity in the new year.

Burning of a Yule log, anointed with wassail, to symbolize the continual hearth fire and prevent bad spirits from entering the home.

Lighting of candles to lure back the sun.

Harvesting and hanging mistletoe, representing the fertility of the goddess and the seed of the Oak King, above doorways for protection.

Hanging bells to banish the negative and call in the positive.

A ritual at sunrise to welcome the light and warmth of the sun back to the land.

Colors of the Season

Red for the waning Holly King

Green for the waxing Oak King.

White for purity and the hope of new light.

Silver for the Moon.

Gold for the Sun.

Plants of the Season

Bay Leaves represent prosperity, luck, and success.

Evergreens are brought indoors to symbolize life, rebirth, renewal.

Holly Leaves, symbolic of the Holly King, symbolize hope and the red berries represent potency. Mistletoe’s green leaves symbolize fertility and its white berries the seed of the Oak King.

The Yule tree represents the Tree of Life and traditionally was decorated with the gift’s pagans wanted to receive from the Gods. Seasonal fruits and nuts like acorns, pecans, walnuts, oranges, and apples.    

Yule Ritual

Yule is a time of reflection during the long nights of the winter. As the trees and flowers go through their cycles of death and rebirth it is an opportunity to examine are own personal cycles of letting go of the old and bringing in the new.

A suggested ritual to help you celebrate your rebirth this Yule.

Clearing is a way of taking out the old and making the space for the new to enter our lives. Begin by lighting the Yule incense (included in your box) in a heat proof container. Walk around your home, while burning the incense, requesting energies that do not belong to you to leave and stay away.

Once you feel your space is cleared of unwanted energies, begin at the entrance of the room, and with the bell (included in your box) in your right hand, slowly move around the room in a clockwise motion, ringing the bell in a light but quick rhythm. Allow the bell to sound as it will. Voice your intentions for what you want to bring into your life  loudly and joyously. Let the bell lead you around the house. Ringing a bell will quickly change the way your home feels and help to manifest your intentions.

Decorate your altar and home with symbols of the season. Make yourself a cup of mulled wine or cider and light your candle. Think of all your accomplishments and ways you plan to adapt to strengthen yourself in the upcoming months. Express your gratitude for your achievements and what is to come. Many pagans stay up on Winter Solstice to greet the rising Sun with the ringing of bells.

The pendulum swings: Learning the basics of the pendulum. 

The first step is to know what a pendulum is and what it could be used for. A pendulum is a weight suspended so it can swing freely back and forward. For our purposes this is a piece of metal or crystal on a string or chain with a small piece at the end to hold onto.  We will be learning how to use a pendulum for basic divination and finding lost items. 

Which pendulum do I use?  This can be the most difficult part because it is not as simple as picking one you like. The pendulum has a choice as well. Many of you may have tried to pick a pendulum with a metal or crystal you have an affinity to, but you received no response from the pendulum itself. This means that the spirit of the pendulum does not wish to work with you, at least not without a lot of work. When first starting out that it is better to choose a pendulum that already works with you to learn the basics. The use of a divination kit can be extremely helpful and is highly advised for beginners. This will help you get the in touch with the spirit of the pendulum.

How do we know if the pendulum will work with us? Hold the pendulum in your dominant hand, suspending it over the open palm of your other hand. If the pendulum moves on its own, it will work with you. If it does not move at all you may want to choose another. 

  The basics of using a pendulum for divination consist of answering yes or no questions. To do this determine what swing is yes and what swing is no. The standard rule is that forward and back (from oneself) is yes and side to side is no. This is not always the case. I will take a pendulum that is responding to me and ask it yes or no questions, that I know the answers to. This exercise will exercise will determine what yes and no is for your pendulum. This can be everything from side to side, front to back, swinging in a clockwise or counter direction.  

The second use of a pendulum is finding lost items. This can be a bit more difficult but with a moderate amount of practice is doable. Position the pendulum the same way as previously stated and think of the item that is lost. As you think of the lost item you will find the pendulum pulls in the direction you must follow. Stop from time to time to recheck the direction. 

This last section will be on troubleshooting your pendulum. If you have a pendulum that is not working correctly it needs to be reset. This is very simple but may require a few items. To start place the pendulum in a small bag and sleep with it under your pillow. This will help reset the pendulums connection. You can also apply divination oil to the chain and pendulum while in use. This will boost the pendulums strength and connection. Drinking a cup of divination tea will help you open up to the pendulum as well, which will allow you to reestablish the connection.    

Once you have become adept at these basics a whole new world of divination will open itself up to you. This will allow you to find the answers you seek.

Dreamwork is a term that includes dream analysis and interpretation, lucid dreaming, dream walking, and dream spells. While we sleep our brain is processing the day's events and problem solving. The phrase "sleeping on it" suggest our dreams can offer a solution or new outlook to a problem.  For the magical practitioner dreamwork involves learning to speak the language of our dreams and interact with them in a way that helps our magical workings and communications. Dreamwork can enhance spell work, magical goals and shadow work practices. The winter months, when nature is hibernating, is an excellent time to explore your inner world through dreaming.

Keep a dream journal  to write down your dreams. Leave some blank pages in case you want to add sketches or collages. Take your dream journal and a pen to bed with you every night to have on hand when you awake.

Dream Working Ritual

Prepare your space

Make your nightstand a bedtime altar. Place on it items relevant to the dreamwork you are doing. Candles, incense, stones, oils, flowers whatever appeals to you and be sure to include your dream journal and a pen.

Prepare yourself

Take a bath with the Dream bath salts or use as a foot bath. Allow yourself to relax and think about the things you want to manifest or resolve in your dreaming . If you’re just beginning dream work ,you may want to focus on being able to recall your dreams when you wake.

Prepare for Sleep

Make yourself a cup of Dream Tea.  A bedtime tea is a ritual by itself and can enhance the lucid dreaming process. Dream Tea can improve your ability to remember your dreams and increase their frequency. You can add your Dream Recall Flower Essence to your tea.

Place your Dream candle in a bowl or shallow dish with water for safety and connection to the element of water. Light your candle. Focus on the flame and practice deep breathing to clear your mind. You can snuff the flame out and repeat on subsequent nights. Practice fire safety.

Anoint yourself (third eye, pulse points, soles of your feet) with Dream oil and/or saturate a cotton ball and place in your pillowcase. You may also spray your bed linens with Deep Dream Spray.

Lay down, close your eyes and become aware of the darkness. Observe how you feel and any images or visions you experience as you drift off to sleep.

Dream

Upon awakening write down everything you can remember from your dreams in your journal. Be sure to  include colors, environment/location, feelings, emotions, words, time of day, people, animals, symbols, etc.

Consistency and intention are the key ingredients for all spell work. The more you practice dreaming and  dream recall the better will you become at tapping into this altered state.

October typically marks the end of the outdoor growing season here in the mountains of NC. My indoor garden of houseplants provides a refuge during the winter months.

Houseplants are shown to enhance your mood and creating a soothing living space. An article published in The Journal of Physiological Anthropology 2015 34:21 sites how active interaction with indoor plants can reduce physiological and psychological stress and help with loneliness and depression.

Houseplants help purify the air in our homes by converting carbon dioxide to oxygen and trapping and absorbing many pollutants. Many of these chemical compounds, are released into our air through a process called “off-gassing,” and come from everyday items present in our homes and offices.

An indoor garden can be your refuge from the outside world and a source of great joy. Whether you live in an apartment or a house, when you introduce plants into your home you will start to notice improvements to your health and happiness. This blog will discuss some of my favorite easy to grow houseplants and their magical uses. 

I first met aloe as a young child. My great-grandmother had a large plant she kept in her bedroom to treat the radiation burns she received from undergoing colon cancer treatment in the late 1950’s. The leaves were harvested, split open and laid upon the burns on her back and abdomen. She said the medicine from the plant was the only thing she had ever used that brought her relief.

Aloe Vera
Aloe, Burn Plant, Medicine Plant, Chinese Aloe, Indian Aloe, True Aloe, Barbados Aloe, Burn Aloe, First Aid Plant.

Aloe, the most used form of which is known as A. vera barbadensis, is a succulent native to the south-west Arabian Peninsula. There are more than 500 Aloe species, 130 of which are native to Africa. The word ‘Aloe’ in Sanskrit means Goddess

Aloe was used by the Ancient Chinese and Egyptian people to heal wounds, reduce fever and treat burns. Ancient Egyptians believed that it promoted immortality and used it to embalm their dead. The first known written records of aloe come from ancient clay tablets found in Sumeria dating back to 2200 BC. Medical text from 1550 BC, the Ebers papyrus, refers to aloe and it’s pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory effects. Greek physician Pedanius Dioscorides (c. 40-90 CE) and naturalist Pliny the Elder (23-79 CE) both write of it healing benefits. During the 1100s Hildegard von Bingen was known to use aloe to help her migraines. She also prescribed the gel for gastric infections and ulcers

Deities – Aphrodite, Venus
Zodiac – Cancer
Planet – The Moon
Element – Water
Crystals -Obsidian, citrine and amethyst

Magically Aloe vera offers protection, good luck, and absorbs negative energies from the environment. In Mesopotamia and throughout the Middle East, leaves are hung over doorways to ward off evil spirits. A plant growing in the kitchen prevents accidents, particularly burns. A plant on a windowsill at the front of your house dispels negative energy and attracts good luck. For protection, break off the end of a leaf and dab the gel over windowsills and doorways. For healing spells anoint a green candle with the gel. For protection against the evil eye add gel to cleansing baths and spell jars.

How to Harvest Aloe Gel
You will need a leaf a foot long or several smaller leaves, a sharp paring knife, a cutting board, several small bowls, a blender, a jar for storage.
Start by cutting the leaves from the plant and propping them upright for a few minutes in a bowl to drain the aloe gel from the cut site. Then lay the leaf on a flat surface and cut into strips about an inch wide. Carefully remove the skin by sliding the knife underneath it and removing the block of gel. Cut gel block into small chunks and use a blender to make a puree. It will froth while blending. Gel can be stored for about a week in a jar with a tight-fitting lid in the fridge.

Aloe and Lavender Healing Gel
2 tablespoons aloe vera gel
10 drops lavender essential oil
Mix well and store in a jar with a tight-fitting lid. The gel will last for about a week in the fridge. Use for treating burns and skin irritations.

If you have pets please research the toxicity of the plant to animals.

DREAM ON!

By Pamela Shook 

One of the most frequent questions I get as a reader is “How can I get in touch with my guides?” or “How can I learn to trust my intuition?” The short answer is that it takes time, practice and experimenting with different tools and techniques. But one of the richest and most natural avenues to tapping into higher guidance is learning to interpret your dreams. 

Some cultures begin each morning sharing dreams and helping each other interpret them over breakfast, so they learn early how to remember their dreams, take them seriously, and work with them. Our culture values logic and teaches us to ignore intuition, so we have to work harder to tap into the magic and trust the messages. 

However, your subconscious mind is still loyally working for you to create these amazing little movies — four or five per night — whether you remember them or not!  Some dreams involve astral travel, visitations, or time travel, most dreams are created to help us process and resolve issues in our daily lives. 

 And while some dream symbols are pretty universal, we each have a unique dream language as individual as our fingerprint. Decoding your own dream language is key to growing both your intuition and creativity, solving problems, and generating inspiration when you feel stuck. You can even learn to program a dream specific to an issue you want to address, dream lucidly while awake, and do spell work to manifest the inspiration found in your dreams.  

The first step is keeping a dream journal. It can be a cheap spiral notebook, binder, or a lovely leather-bound journal—your call.  Keep it by your bed with a pen so you can write down dreams first thing.  If you wait even a few minutes, most details will fade. 

There are numerous ways to use Tarot to promote dream recall and to create spells to work with your dreams.  The most universal card for dreaming is The Moon (Luna).  So as you begin to work with dream recall, start with placing the Moon on your altar as you ask for a dream. 

Pamela Shook reads at the shop on Fridays and Sundays, drawing from over thirty years’ experience as a Tarot reader, Reiki Master, and Alchemical Hypnotherapist. In addition to more traditional readings, appointments over thirty minutes can include Reiki or Dream Work consultations. For further information, text 704-534-0687. To book an in-person reading, call the shop at 828-424-7868.