Pagan Imbolc: A Time for Celebration and a Special Feast

Jan 22, 2011
Jill Stefko

Gaze at the Sunset on Imbolc - cohdra

Imbolc, Festival of Purification, in February, celebrates longer days and spring's approach. Celebrate! Feast features food made from provided recipes.

Imbolc, on February 1st or 2nd, depending on tradition, celebrates the time when livestock has given or soon will give birth. Milk is flowing. Daylight is noticeably longer as light overcomes darkness. It’s a time to heal and discard mental and physical unwanted baggage and to welcome Ostara’s, the first day of spring. Many people in the United States mark February 2nd as Groundhog Day, when the little creature predicts whether or not spring will come early. If it sees its shadow, winter will last for six more weeks.

Imbolc Décor and Ambiance

Gaze at the setting sun. If you can’t see the sunset, tape pictures to walls and windows. Cover the altar with a yellow cloth. Place white, light green, pink, brown, red and/or yellow candles, Imbolc’s colors, in silver colored holders on it. Adorn the altar with Imbolc’s symbols: potted or silk crocuses, violets, heather, irises, wisteria and white and yellow flowers, paper snowflakes and/or real snow in a silver bowl, figurines of lambs and robins, seeds, clear quartz, turquoise, garnet, ruby, amethyst, garnet, onyx and bloodstone crystals. Burn myrrh, vanilla, cinnamon or blackberry incense.

Imbolc Celebration

Take a walk before sunset. Look for signs of spring’s arrival, robins, crocuses or, for those who live in the country, lambs. Put lit votive or pillar candles in every room in your home. Place brooms by the front, back and/or side doors to symbolize sweeping out the old and ushering in the new. Gaze into the candles’ flames. Feel renewed strength, creativity and energy that is the promise of the coming spring. Get rid of emotional and physical clutter. Acknowledge the past and the future while visualizing a more positive time. Give thanks for what will happen in the present year.

Plant seeds indoors in anticipation of sunnier days ahead. Tend to them as they grow into seedlings that can be transferred to outdoor gardens. As the plants mature, they symbolize hopes and dreams that will materialize in the future. Just before sunset, turn on all electric lights in your home for several moments to celebrate the days growing longer and the joy that will happen.

Imbolc Feast Recipes

Traditional foods include dairy products, lamb, curries, onions, scallions, garlic, bell peppers, raisins, spiced wine, ale, mead and herbal teas. Greens are featured because they symbolize spring’s imminent arrival.

Cheese Crusted Onion Soup: Sauté 3 1/4 cups thinly sliced onions in 2 teaspoons salad oil until golden brown. Stir in 1 cup sherry or port and blend well. Add 1 1/2 quarts beef bouillon. Bring to boil and simmer for 1 hour. Put the soup into heat resistant serving bowls. Sprinkle croutons and crumbled bleu cheese over the soup. Top with a thin slice of Swiss cheese. Broil until cheese is golden.
Filled Peppers: Remove tops and seeds of 4 large bell peppers. Sauté 1 1/2 cups ground lamb, beef or turkey with diced peppers’ tops, 1 minced garlic clove and 1/2 teaspoon curry powder until meat is cooked. Fill peppers with the meat mixture. Pour 1 (16 ounce) can tomato sauce over filled peppers. Bake in 325 degree oven for 1/2 hours, adding more tomato sauce if needed.
Barley Pilaf: Sauté 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms and 3 scallions in 1 teaspoon salad oil until browned. Add 1 cup pearl barley and 3 cups chicken bouillon. Boil. Cover and simmer for 45 minutes or until barley is tender and bouillon is absorbed.
Green Salad with Creamy Dressing: Toss 4 cups mixed salad greens, 2 sliced hard boiled eggs and 1/2 sliced green pimento stuffed olives together. Dressing: Blend together 1 cup salad dressing, 1/2 cup sour cream, 1/2 cup chilli sauce, 1/2 teaspoon powdered mustard, 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce and 2 tablespoons half and half cream. Chill overnight.
Raisin Pudding: Beat together 1 (3.4 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix, one pinch each ground cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, 2 cups cold milk and 1/3 cups raisins for 2 minutes. Chill overnight.

Imbolc Afterglow

Relax, reflect on the day’s activities after enjoying the feast. Discuss plans for Ostara, the first day of spring. Seeds, both physical and mental, have been planted to symbolize hopes and dreams that will happen in the future.

Talk about whether or not the groundhog saw its shadow. This tradition has Pagan roots. Imbolc was also the Festival of the Goddess Brigit, whose snake emerged from hibernation to predict the weather. The Palatinate people of Germany and Switzerland replaced the snake with hedgehogs, another hibernating animal. If the hedgehog saw his shadow, he retreated to return to hibernation which meant there would be six more weeks of winter.

The Pennsylvania Dutch from the Palatinate region brought this tradition to America. The hedgehog isn’t native to America, so it was replaced by the hibernating groundhog also called woodchuck. Residents of Punxsutawney Pennsylvania have celebrated the day’s tradition since the 1800s. Phil, its resident groundhog, is probably the most famous of the prognosticators. He emerges from his burrow amid a crowd of celebrants who wonder whether or not he’ll see his shadow.

Bask in the afterglow of Imbolc’s celebration and feast.

Sources:

Buckland’s Complete Book of Witchcraft, Raymond Buckland, (Llewellyn Publications, 1990)

The Celtic Druid’s Year, John King, (Blandford, 1995)

Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner, Scott Cunningham, (Llewellyn Publications, 1992)