Make a Swedish Snow Lantern. This is a fun way to enjoy the snow, involve kids, and candles. If you live somewhere there is snow, this is a great way to spend the day.
Make a Brigid’s Cross. The Goddess Brigid is always a big part of Imbolc. This cross is usually hung over or near the entry doorway for protection?
Light candles. Candles are used as a form of sympathetic magic to help bring the sun and the warmth back after winter.
Clean your home. A long time ago, our ancestors that lived in colder climates, virtually spent all of their time indoors. As a result, their homes were well-kept during this time.
Declutter your home. Again, one of the themes of this day is about hearth and home. If you have more items than you need, take the time to figure out what you no longer need and donate, sell, or give it to someone who needs it.
Cleanse your home. Every so often, homes have negative energy build up. Now is a great time to cleanse your home of that negativity.
Do guided meditations. A lot of this day is about stillness as well. Search YouTube and find some guided meditations that you like.
Do inner work. Do lit work. Do shadow work. Learn to lucid dream, astral project, or shamanic journeying. The important this is to improve your spirituality by learning something new.
Unplug all electronics for the day. This should be a day of calm self-refllection. Electronics tend to ruin that. Turn off all electronics. If it’s something that you find difficult to do, you may want to make it a habit. Back when I was learning to meditate, I was encouraged to do it during down time like waiting in line at the post office or grocery store. However, that’s the time when most of us pull out our phones now, robbing us of those opportunities.
Light your home by candlelight for the night. I always loved candlelight. It really seems to make things seem special. It gives enough light for interactions with family and friends, but not really enough for solo activities.
Make and eat foods made with milk and dairy products. This is probably the least-celebrated of all of the Sabbats, historically. I think there were only two cultures that celebrated it, back in the day. Those that did, celebrated it because after a long and hard winter, the goats started to lactate again, giving everyone milk and cheese to eat. You don’t have to go out of your way to get goats milk and cheese, but if you do, my favorite is gjetost, a Norwegian goat cheese. But really anything to do with dairy is great. We have a homemade Mac & cheese recipe we like. Ice cream or cheesecake are also fun options. Here is a link to some other cooking options for Imbolc.
Make your own cheese. Making your own cheese is surprisingly easy. The tough part is finding creamline milk that hasn’t been ultra pasteurized. I am lucky that I have a dairy up the road that sells milk like that! Here is a how-to guide on making simple cheese at home.
Read books to improve your spiritual knowledge. There are so many great Pagan books out there. There is also a lot of fluff out there too. In order to find a good book nowadays I usually go off the recommendations of friends or go to an actual bookstore and flip through the book first. You can also try the inter-library loan system. Unfortunately, where I live, they don’t have a lot of Pagan books, even for inter-library loan.
Feed animals who might be struggling through the winter. Those of us whose ancestors lived in cold climates struggled with having enough to eat throughout the winter. Animals still experience that struggle. If you live in a cold climate, consider leaving out some food for them.
Take a walk in the snow (if your locale permits). Even if you live in a warm climate, it’s still a great idea to take a walk in nature and experience what weather is typical for Imbolc in the climate you live in.
Create a corn dolly. This sounds odd because corn is associated with Lughnasadh, but the husks need to be dried first. Apparently Imbolc was a time they were made, possibly in keeping with the need for fertility for planting at Ostara. Here is a tutorial on how to make one.
Create a protective sigil. Home magic is something that is great to do on this day. Here is a guide to making your own sigil.
Do divination. Divination is something else that was commonly practiced historically. Usually questions were asked about the harvest and community, but feel free to ask what you want to know. Don’t have a form of divination? Now s a great time to learn! Tarot, runes, pendulums, palmistry, tea leaves, scrying, the choices are endless!
Tell stories. Now is a great time for storytelling, preferably by candlelight. Pick stories that teach a lesson, teach about your religion, or traditional stories from your people.
Do a ritual. Spend time honoring your personal God’s and beliefs in a ritual.
I had gotten my first degree of Correllian Wicca from witchschool.com back in the day. Since I was trying to improve my spirituality, I decided to go for my second degree. I was a little disappointed to find that the first lesson after the introduction (which I failed) was on tarot. I was hoping for maybe some advanced techniques in energy use, improving the chakras, how to do advanced things like draw down the moon, learn more about the Gods or Pantheons, etc. However, there was just this lesson about the history of tarot and how to use them for divination. I was disappointed, but decided to go with it.
As someone who owned one set of tarot cards that have maybe been used 5 times in the past 10 years, I decided to do what I could. I always understood tarot to give pictorial messages, so I went with it. However, there were specific meanings given to each card by witchschool, which I was trying to learn. So I did a spread like this, read through the witchschool version, read through the booklet that came with the cards, and then attempted to read the pictures to see what stood out at me. The witchschool versions were difficult to decipher. The booklet seemed to indicate that things would go well with buying our house. However, my brain was too muddled from the first two, I really couldn’t concentrate on figuring out what my intuition told me. I will keep working on the tarot cards, but these are not my strength. I suppose it doesn’t hurt to get better though!
Since I started this blog as a spiritual journey, I figured I would tackle the spiritual items first. Since I moved, these were scattered in various locations throughout my bedroom, cluttering up everything. I made a pile intending to take care of it right away. However, I ended up letting it sit for a week instead. My altar is an old TV stand, so it just has two shelves to hold everything. In the past, I had a whole drawer elsewhere dedicated to divination items. I had my drum, incense, and various other articles located on my bedroom bookshelves.
My pile of spiritual stuff. I daresay many people would have a bigger pile than I do!
I made three piles: one of items that I LOVED. One was stuff to give away or throw away. The third had items I wasn’t sure about. I was thorough. I took all of my seashells out of their container and went though them. I took all of my gemstones out of their container and went through them. The majority of the items I wasn’t sure about ended up being kept, but I am happy and proud to say that everything now fits underneath my altar now, even my drum!
I usually celebrate the Sabbats with my Circle. Unfortunately, I have moved far away from them. As a result, any time they gather for a night ritual, I can’t attend. I’d fall asleep on the way home. I thought they were celebrating Samhain on a Friday night, so I didn’t attend it. I later found out it was on a Saturday, so I was a little annoyed. I had to figure out how to celebrate this Sabbat on my own.
Now, Samhain is my least favorite Sabbat. Usually our Circle’s ritual will involve honoring the deceased and I spend the whole night crying because I miss them. Never mind the fact that the last family member I lost was close to 10 years ago, I still bawl my eyes out every Samhain because I still miss them.
While I did decorate my altar with the photos of deceased friends and family this year, I decided to treat Samhain like a new year and did some divination based on my resolution to lose weight. I asked how I could overcome the my issues with consistency and asked what was holding me back. My favorite go-to divination tool is a pendulum, but this required more than a yes or no answer. I dug through my pile of divination tools that are rarely used and was drawn to two that I almost never use — crone stones and tarot cards.
First, I decided to draw three crone stones. Usually when divination tools are drawn in groups of 3, the first one represents past, the second one represents present, and the third one represents the future. I drew them in the above order. According to the booklet that came with them, the first one is The Dancer. The Dancer’s message is that physical energy can be used to tap divine energy. Get outdoors. Take a yoga class. Yes, the booklet actually said that! I used to enjoy running, but my body can’t handle it anymore. I have been meaning to start walking, but have had difficulties finding the time.
The second stone was She Who Knows. The booklet discussed the inner knowing that we all possess. I turned my attention inward and realized that it is my emotions holding me back. My first husband was emotionally abusive and some of it still affects me today. Admittedly, the more time goes by, the less it affects me. I am healing, it’s just taking longer than I would like. I look forward to the day when I am completely healed! I feel like my weight-loss journey is one of the last vestiges of the emotional damage. He once told me he wasn’t attracted to me after I gained weight. I think subconsciously I stay this size so he won’t still be attracted to me. It’s not even like I see him that often. Nonetheless, it’s time to move on.
The third stone was Let Go. The booklet said it signifies the release of emotional baggage. That’s what I need to do to succeed at losing weight and getting healthier? So I just need to figure out how to get rid of my emotional baggage. It’s easier said than done. I’ve been working on it for years.
I am not really adept at using tarot cards. It took me forever just to find a set I liked. I needed to use the paper that came with it just to remind myself how to do the traditional spread. For those of you who are interested in such things this is the Tarot of the Moon Garden.
1. PRESENT POSITION – Judgement: Rejuvenation, rebirth, improvement, and development. That sounds about right. 2. IMMEDIATE INFLUENCE – The Sun: Accomplishment, contentment, success, satisfaction. This sounds like a pretty good influence! 3. GOAL OR DESTINY – The Star: Fulfillment, the proper balancing of desire and work, and effort, love and expression, bright prospects. Wow, you can’t get much better than that! 4. DISTANT PAST FOUNDATION -Knight of Pentacles: A mature and responsible person, reliable, methodical, patient, persistent, organize. Yup, that’s the person I used to be. I am working hard to become her again. 5. RECENT PAST EVENTS – Seven of Swords: New plans, endeavor, partial success. Again, this seems right. I keep moving, starting new jobs, starting over, and starting new weight loss plans that don’t come to fruition. 6. FUTURE INFLUENCE -The Fool: Thoughtlessness, folly, lack of discipline, irrationality, insecurity, and enthusiasm. This is going to be what influences my future!? Well, shit. I had hoped for something a little more promising. 7. THE QUESTIONER -Nine of Cups: Success, marital attainment, well-being, abundance. Well, I do have a job I like. I have an awesome husband and an amazing son. I like where we live. I could use a little more financial abundance. Things are tight with money right now and I need to lose weight, but otherwise I’m doing quite well for myself. 8. ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS -King of Pentacles: A person of character and intelligence, loyal friend, reliable marriage partner. I’m not sure how this is an environmental factor. It just sounds like a description of me. Maybe I am the environmental factor? 9. INNER EMOTIONS -Nine of Swords: Concern, anxiety, and despair. Well, that about sums it up! 10. FINAL RESULTS -Ace of Swords: Great determination, initiative, strength, force, activity, triumph, and success. I couldn’t ask for better!
A few of these made no sense like the King of Pentacles and the Fool, but overall, it looks like I am going to be able to do what I’m supposed to do and lose the weight.
I also tried to do some shamanic journeying to ask for wisdom. However, I ended up falling asleep instead, so that ended my Samhain.
