Gotta be honest. After my Yule experience, I was counting the days till the next sabbat. But I didn’t really “get” Imbolc.
I mean.. Yule makes total sense. The longest night is over, when dawn comes the light is now back, and will continue to grow every day. But what exactly is Imbolc about? It’s not quite spring yet. I googled and googled trying to figure out exactly what kind of ritual to perform and how to make it as meaningful as Yule.
When the time came, I dutifully went outside and set up an altar. I covered it with a pretty floral scarf and lit all the white candles I could muster. I had another bonfire, burning all the leftover pine boughs and of course Lugh (my Yule tree).
I cast my circle, and again read from a ritual I found online. I called on Brigid and asked her to help me the upcoming year. The start-up company I work for has had a very difficult year, and we’ve barely stayed in business. Part of my job is to write the marketing, and Brigid is a goddess of writing and abundance.
And that’s when it hit me. From my journal:
I think I get it. This day is about hope. The first stirrings of it. I’ve asked Brigid to help me. To bless my year. There are a few emerging signs that things will be ok.
Like the first stirrings of a pregnancy.
This day is about celebrating that hope. The seeds will germinate. The babies in the womb will grow. Life will return.
So yeah. It wasn’t the life-changing profound moment Yule was, but it was definitely meaningful. And very cool.