no, not camp... i know we all love camp, lol... this is more low-key... think of it more like one thread for our imbolc conversations to go, so we dont have to hunt thru the pages and pages and pages of the monthly chat thread to find that recipe or craft idea.... 
saphire and i will be "hosting" but the idea is for everyone to share what they do, so this can be an awesome resource, esp for all the new gals we have with us!
with that in mind, i thought i'd start with a general "what are we actually celebrating here?" kind of thing.... then share some general symbols and themes, then focus on brigid, and saphire will add in some on other traditions...
then tomorrow, we can talk about crafting and decorating, then rituals and activities, then food and drink! and then... friday we can just... oh, chat like the usual chatty pagans we are?
or if you have any ideas, please share! (again, not "camp" but "conversation"... imagine we're all hanging out over coffee... )
~*~*~*~*~
you could read forever and find so many different takes on where the term came from, what it was originally to celebrate, and where various traditions evolved from, and of course our own ideas all range the spectrum based a LOT on what sort of climate we live in... but the general gist is that it's the time to get ready for the earth to re-awaken. think of groundhog day... how much longer will winter last?
...this is the time when the pantry might be looking a little sad... the harvested goods are running thin, but nothing yet is growing. that's one reason a lot of people associate sheep with imbolc... the sheep would start lactating in anticipation of giving birth, and so sheep milk was an important influx of food at a dark and cold time (ok, major celtic focus so far, lol).
here's a sort of list-view-compilation-overview i pulled from a bunch of places:
deities: All Virgin/Maiden Goddesses, Brighid/Brigid, Aradia, Athena, Inanna, Gaia, and Februa, and Gods of Love and Fertility, Aengus Og, Eros, and Februus.
themes: purity, growth and renewal, the re-union of the goddess and god, fertility, and dispensing of the old and making way for the new... also a time to set goals for working on throughout the rest of the year, esp. in terms of rituals/practice/spirituality & creativity.
symbols/decorations: candles/lamps, candle wheels, Brideo'gas (corn dollies), Brigid's Crosses (or "wheels"), Brigid’s Mantle or "Brat Bríde," besoms/brooms, first greens/flowers and or white/yellow flowers, Priapic Wands (acorn-tipped), ploughs (often decorated with greens and flowers, they were brought in to bless for the upcoming planting), seeds as a symbols of new life to come (either planted or blessed), and as it's Brigid's day: Iron decorations like horseshoes, wells, fires (all things sacred to brigid).
animals: hibernating animals - groundhog, bear, badger (i found a lot about bears and how bears might have had a lot to do with things originally... if anyone is interested i can try and find that bit again)
herbs/plants: angelica, basil, bay laurel, blackberry, celandine, coltsfoot, heather, iris, myrrh, tansy, violets, first flowers of the year, anything with white or yellow flowers, chamomile, cinnamon, red clover, crocus, dandelion, dill, frankincense, heather, nettle, orris root, primrose, rosemary, rowan, saffron, snowdrop.....
foods: seeds--pumpkin, sunflower, poppyseed (cakes! yum!), muffins, scones, honey and honey cake, breads, dairy products (esp. sheep's milk)... also peppers, onions, garlic, chives... raisins... and to drink--spiced wines, mead, or herbal teas.
incense: basil, bay, wisteria, cinnamon, violet, vanilla, myrrh, rosemary, frankincense, jasmine, camphor (who wants to smell that for fun, i ask you?), lotus
colors: white, yellow, pink, red, orange, light green, brown. (white and yellow most often mentioned)
stones: amethyst, bloodstone, garnet, ruby, onyx, turquoise.
activities, crafting, rituals, etc:
~removing yuletide greens from home & burning them
~cleaning, cleansing, purifying (feb is the month of "purification")
~candles! making, blessing, & lighting (leave one burning in window all night) buy and bless (or make) ritual candles for the year, esp. for healing.
~nature walks—going out looking for signs of spring, collecting pebbles and other natural trinkets (also wassailing!
to bless and "awaken" the trees)
~said to be a good time to make a broom
~a chair or a "bride's bed" with a corn doll decorated and left by the hearth
~burning last year's brigid's wheel and making a new one to hang over the front door
~leave out Brigid's Mantles or "Brat Brídes" (bits of fabric or ribbon to be blessed, then later used especially for healing rituals)
~set out salt and water to be blessed by Brigid, and used during the year for healing rituals
~putting out food and drink for Brigid, such as buttered bread, milk, grains, seeds
~blessing the garden with cream (or white wine, in my case-- too hot here for cream, lol)
~blessing and or planting seeds
~*~*~*~*~*~
for those who like a little "lore" with your coffee......
i found this awesome site (total celtic focus) on looking into historic roots (i'm a total history buff, so i love it)... quite a few great articles, here's one specifically on brigid. (if you *really* want to read a LOT more... here's a list of books with little reviews.) and here's one on general celtic traditions.
i also (though be warned, i've not read it yet) found what looked like an interesting sermon from a UU church...
~~~~~
ok, so there's my nerdy pagan imbolc file... who else wants to share theirs???
:
saphire and i will be "hosting" but the idea is for everyone to share what they do, so this can be an awesome resource, esp for all the new gals we have with us!
with that in mind, i thought i'd start with a general "what are we actually celebrating here?" kind of thing.... then share some general symbols and themes, then focus on brigid, and saphire will add in some on other traditions...
then tomorrow, we can talk about crafting and decorating, then rituals and activities, then food and drink! and then... friday we can just... oh, chat like the usual chatty pagans we are?
or if you have any ideas, please share! (again, not "camp" but "conversation"... imagine we're all hanging out over coffee... )~*~*~*~*~
you could read forever and find so many different takes on where the term came from, what it was originally to celebrate, and where various traditions evolved from, and of course our own ideas all range the spectrum based a LOT on what sort of climate we live in... but the general gist is that it's the time to get ready for the earth to re-awaken. think of groundhog day... how much longer will winter last?
...this is the time when the pantry might be looking a little sad... the harvested goods are running thin, but nothing yet is growing. that's one reason a lot of people associate sheep with imbolc... the sheep would start lactating in anticipation of giving birth, and so sheep milk was an important influx of food at a dark and cold time (ok, major celtic focus so far, lol).
here's a sort of list-view-compilation-overview i pulled from a bunch of places:
deities: All Virgin/Maiden Goddesses, Brighid/Brigid, Aradia, Athena, Inanna, Gaia, and Februa, and Gods of Love and Fertility, Aengus Og, Eros, and Februus.
themes: purity, growth and renewal, the re-union of the goddess and god, fertility, and dispensing of the old and making way for the new... also a time to set goals for working on throughout the rest of the year, esp. in terms of rituals/practice/spirituality & creativity.
symbols/decorations: candles/lamps, candle wheels, Brideo'gas (corn dollies), Brigid's Crosses (or "wheels"), Brigid’s Mantle or "Brat Bríde," besoms/brooms, first greens/flowers and or white/yellow flowers, Priapic Wands (acorn-tipped), ploughs (often decorated with greens and flowers, they were brought in to bless for the upcoming planting), seeds as a symbols of new life to come (either planted or blessed), and as it's Brigid's day: Iron decorations like horseshoes, wells, fires (all things sacred to brigid).
animals: hibernating animals - groundhog, bear, badger (i found a lot about bears and how bears might have had a lot to do with things originally... if anyone is interested i can try and find that bit again)
herbs/plants: angelica, basil, bay laurel, blackberry, celandine, coltsfoot, heather, iris, myrrh, tansy, violets, first flowers of the year, anything with white or yellow flowers, chamomile, cinnamon, red clover, crocus, dandelion, dill, frankincense, heather, nettle, orris root, primrose, rosemary, rowan, saffron, snowdrop.....
foods: seeds--pumpkin, sunflower, poppyseed (cakes! yum!), muffins, scones, honey and honey cake, breads, dairy products (esp. sheep's milk)... also peppers, onions, garlic, chives... raisins... and to drink--spiced wines, mead, or herbal teas.
incense: basil, bay, wisteria, cinnamon, violet, vanilla, myrrh, rosemary, frankincense, jasmine, camphor (who wants to smell that for fun, i ask you?), lotus
colors: white, yellow, pink, red, orange, light green, brown. (white and yellow most often mentioned)
stones: amethyst, bloodstone, garnet, ruby, onyx, turquoise.
activities, crafting, rituals, etc:
~removing yuletide greens from home & burning them
~cleaning, cleansing, purifying (feb is the month of "purification")
~candles! making, blessing, & lighting (leave one burning in window all night) buy and bless (or make) ritual candles for the year, esp. for healing.
~nature walks—going out looking for signs of spring, collecting pebbles and other natural trinkets (also wassailing!
to bless and "awaken" the trees)~said to be a good time to make a broom
~a chair or a "bride's bed" with a corn doll decorated and left by the hearth
~burning last year's brigid's wheel and making a new one to hang over the front door
~leave out Brigid's Mantles or "Brat Brídes" (bits of fabric or ribbon to be blessed, then later used especially for healing rituals)
~set out salt and water to be blessed by Brigid, and used during the year for healing rituals
~putting out food and drink for Brigid, such as buttered bread, milk, grains, seeds
~blessing the garden with cream (or white wine, in my case-- too hot here for cream, lol)
~blessing and or planting seeds
~*~*~*~*~*~
for those who like a little "lore" with your coffee......
i found this awesome site (total celtic focus) on looking into historic roots (i'm a total history buff, so i love it)... quite a few great articles, here's one specifically on brigid. (if you *really* want to read a LOT more... here's a list of books with little reviews.) and here's one on general celtic traditions.
i also (though be warned, i've not read it yet) found what looked like an interesting sermon from a UU church...
~~~~~
ok, so there's my nerdy pagan imbolc file... who else wants to share theirs???
:
:
:
:
I learn something new everyday 
(and no energy... this intensive thinking is draining)
