BLESSED IMBOLG!!

Imbolg/Imbolc/Candlemas/Festival of Lights

Our next holiday celebration is the cross-quarter and greater sabbat of Imbolg. Imbolg, as we all know, is also known as Imbolc, Candlemas/The Feast of Flames, Festival of Lights, and Groundhog Day among others.  It falls on February 2^nd of every year and it is a time for purification and cleansing ~ the “sweeping out of the old and bringing in of the new” as it were. It marks the first fetal stirrings of Spring in the womb of our Earth Mother and seeds are prepared for sewing.

It is also a time when we honor the Triple Goddess in Her maiden aspect of Brigid (pronounced “Breed”) who is the goddess of fire, inspiration, healing, craftsmanship, and midwifery. She is also the patroness of the hearth, poets, smiths, craftspeople, healers, and priests/priestesses. The God who was born of the Goddess at Yule stirs in His slumber and awaits the Spring Equinox. It is also said that Groundhog Day (later known as Candlemas), which had its’ beginnings in German Paganism and is celebrated in both the United States and Canada, symbolizes the manifestation of the God Himself. In regard to six more weeks of winter: “If Candlemas day be sunny and bright, Winter again will show its’ might. If Candlemas day be cloudy and grey, Winter soon will pass away.” Of course, in reality, either way we must still endure six more weeks of winter before the start of Spring. Personally, I just adore Groundhog Day here in the States. It is such a fun festivity whether celebrated locally or abroad. We always enjoy watching "Punxsutawney Phil" awake from his hibernation to make a brief appearance to predict our winter's future on early morning of February 2^nd. For more on Phil, please read my post, “Can't get enough of that Phil!” Just an aside, last year when we took our 5-day cruise on Ontario, Canada's Rideau Canal, the Captain and family business owner's sister, who happened to be the Cruise Director named Ann, told us a story of how she made a special trip to Punxsutawney, PA here in the States for the express purpose of actually meeting "Phil" and joining in on the town's festivities! Such a delightful woman!

Imbolg is a good time to get organized ~ spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically. It is also the traditional time for dedications, rededications, and initiations if you are associated with a coven or group. It is an ideal time to cleanse your sacred space, altar, and tools. Activities may include making Brigid’s Crosses, Sun Wheels, a crown of candles, creating a grain or wicker dolly to represent Brigid, making a Brigid’s Bed using the corn or wheat from the previous Lughnasadh, and hanging a scarf outside on the eve of Imbolg so that Brigid will bless it with healing powers. Other activities include hanging three ears of corn on your door until Ostara to honor the Triple Goddess and making Dream Pillows for every member of the family. I always like to cleanse and bless our home on Imbolg.

Also, on Imbolg eve, it is customary to leave food and drink out for Brigid such as buttered bread, milk, grains, or seeds.

IMBOLG CANDLES

We light the candles on Imbolg

Weave our crosses end to end

We light the candles on Imbolg

To urge the Sun to come again,

We light the candles on Imbolg

To honor the Goddess Brigit,

We light the candles on Imbolg

To plow the field and sow the seed

~ Lady Caer Morganna

Imbolg: Honoring the Goddess Brigit

Imbolg, also known as Imbolc, Festival of Lights, Lady Day and Oimelc, is a fire festival which celebrates the on-coming of Spring. The word Imbolg literally means, “in the belly” (of the Goddess) and it honors the Celtic Goddess Brigit. She was the Goddess of fire, wisdom, poetry and sacred wells. She was also a deity associated with prophecy, divination and healing. Because the Goddess is in her maiden aspect as Brigit, the word "bride" was derived from her name. To symbolize her, we craft corn and grain dollies and make a "Brigit's bed" in which to place her in as a way to encourage her return and the return of the sun.

This sabbat represents new beginnings and spiritual growth.  The “sweeping out of the old and bringing in the new” is symbolized by the sweeping out of the circle with a besom (or broom) which is traditionally done by the High Priestess of the coven who wears a brilliant crown of 13 candles on top of her head. Also, Brigit’s Cross, one of the archetypal symbols of Ireland, while it is considered Christian, has its’ roots in Paganism and the Goddess Brigit. It was traditionally hung on the kitchen wall to protect the house from fire and evil.   It is usually made from straw, but can also be made with various colors of pipe cleaner sticks. It is woven counter-clockwise into a center square and four radials tied at the ends. These are easy to make and are a lot of fun for kids as well!

In  ancient Europe, Candlemas was celebrated as a torchlight procession to purify and fertilize the fields before the seed-planting season and to honor and give thanks to the various associated deities and spirits. Even the Christians adopted this sabbat celebration, giving honor to the Virgin Mary.

An Imbolg Poem

In the bitter cold of winter

Spring seems so far away

How long  ’til the Imbolg candles

Urge the sun to come to stay?

To help you count the nights so long

Are these little candles of white

Ignite one each eve at dream time

And it will soon be Imbolg night!

(Poem taken from Edain McCoy’s book, “The Sabbats"; image credit)

Weekend Happenings

Well, it all started on Friday morning when I woke up about 4:30AM to find that for some unknown reason, my cat Tabitha decided to pee on my blanket which I had laying on my lap. Great. So, I got up, took off my pajama pants, threw them in the hamper, and had planned to do a load of laundry first thing after I got up in the morning.

So I did just that. Halfway through the load of wash, I heard a LOUD screeching coming from the laundry room downstairs. WTH? I ran downstairs to check out what it was - it smelled like burning rubber! Apparently, the bearings burned out and were stopping the spin cycle from working. Not only no spin, but no draining of the water sitting in the tub either - I had to scoop the water out of the washing machine by hand.

Today, my husband and I had to bite the bullet and purchase a brand new washing machine at Best Buy. They are supposed to deliver the new one this Friday (if my husband can get a day off from work), set it up, and take away the old, broken one. 

Moving on, I needed a pick-me-up so I stopped off at The Mint Leaf and bought these pretty heart earrings ...

AS for the rest of the night, I will be chilling out and relaxing with my sweetie pie, Teddy!

Have a great week everyone!

Snow Day

Snow, coming down hard and fast and almost three hours LATER than predicted this morning of course. I, as well as a few other of my fellow co-workers, decided we would much rather be safe than sorry so we took a PTO day today due to the crappy-A weather. My husband left for work before it started and he called me around 12:15 to tell me that the roads were slick and VERY bad! I think I made the right choice to stay home! ...

So, since I am home today I am going to make dinner for my husband and my mom who is staying overnight at my house because I have to take her to (yet) another doctor appointment tomorrow morning before I go to work. (sigh)

"I'm off today. but did make the mistake to driving out to Fleetwood (PA) to visit my father. Ride home was not fun. Cars all over the place!" - A pic that a co-worker sent me this afternoon. (Photo courtesy of M. Mauger)

Anyhow, at least I get to spend the day with my precious fur babies! Teddy seems to be fitting in pretty well with all of his new siblings.

Sir Leo is THE BEST big brother ever!

Ginger lounging in her favorite spot on the sofa.

Teddy (Bear) and Ginger playing with the mouse laser pointer.

Sunday Odds and Ends

Well, it is a cold, rainy, dreary Sunday here today and I decided I would just stay warm at home in the house doing not too much of anything except putting away my Yule decorations and such.

The only time I ventured out was to drive down the road to "The Mint Leaf" in order to check out their new stock of sweaters. And, while I was there I picked up a couple of more items at Soul Centered Wellness and The Stinkleberry Soap Company. These are their new batch of macaron soaps ...

I saw this book and thought that it sounded pretty interesting - one very important point which I would like to make is that "revenge" is not something that I believe in. I much prefer to leave any judgements up to karma and the Divine. 🌟

My new sweater and matching heart earrings ...

While at The Dollar Tree store (or shall I say "The Dollar and .25 cents store?) yesterday I couldn't resist this cute little Spring sign. Of course, I am not decorating for Spring quite yet - after all, I am currently preparing for the upcoming Sabbat of Imbolg, the Greater (Cross quarter) Sabbat which falls between Yule/The Winter Solstice and Ostara/The Spring Equinox. 

 

💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙

I also want to wish my beloved Dad a Happy Heavenly 90th Birthday today! I miss you so much!

As for the rest of the night, I am watching a marathon of one of my classic tv shows ... "Columbo".

Free at last! Free at last! Goddess Bastet, I am free at last!

 

Yesterday, we gave Teddy the last of his meds and were finally able to take his "cone of shame" off of him. I am sure that he is very happy about that. 

He will still have to be separated from the rest of the kitties until tomorrow (Friday) due to having to use the paper litter (Yesterday's News). 

He is eating well and drinking, playful and content. In fact, he has been having fun batting and chasing his cat toys around. Sir Leo began playing with one of his toy balls with a bell inside when Teddy ran up to him and they briefly sniffed noses  this morning ...

This weekend, we will continue our feline introductions one kitty at a time.

🐈😸🐈😸🐈😸🐈😸🐱😸🐈😸🐈😸🐈😸

Just an aside, we received a phone call from our vet asking how Teddy is doing. They always call to check up on their patients which I do like. They also send a photo copy from the individual vet appointments so that we have documented records, care instructions, etc. 

Crockpot Pot Roast

This weekend, I tried a new slow cook recipe for Pot Roast in the crockpot. Since my husband was diagnosed with diabetes, I have been trying my best to cook homemade meals in order to keep his glucose levels down. It was a recipe he found on the internet. It is simple!

All you need is a crockpot, a bag of small potatoes, a small pack of raw mixed veggies (green pepper, onions, carrots, etc.), 2 packs of DRY onion soup mix, 2 1/2 to three pounds of roast beef, and four cups of water ...

Wash/rinse and dice the potatoes in quarters then place in the crockpot along with the mixed raw veggies ...

Cut up the roast beef in small cubes ...

Add the potatoes and veggies then add the two dry packs of onion soup ...

Cook on low temperature for 6 to 8 hours or as long as needed.

Leftovers!

For more great recipes, please check out Jan and Eddie's blog titled, "The Low Carb Diabetic" - a wonderful site with some awesome recipes that I will most definitely be trying!

Teddy's Update

Blessed Saturday, friends! As promised, here is an update on Teddy's recovery. When we picked him up at the vets yesterday morning, they told us that he ate very little that morning and to try to feed him when we got him back home. We did just that and he ate his kitten chow like a good boy. Within the first half an hour that we settled him in his holding cage, he had already managed to get his cone off. We tied it a bit tighter this time and so far so good ...

They also sent three kinds of meds home and a list of care instructions for after his surgery. He is doing fairly well with taking his meds, too ...

My husband said that he calmed down pretty quickly after I left for work and THIS is the scene I came home to ... lol!

Daddy loving on our little fur baby ...

I am not doing much at all this weekend - I am on cat duty watching after Teddy. That is okay because there is nowhere I would rather be!