Imbolg was not originally a Sabbat as we think of one today, but a special day set aside to honor the Goddess who was slowly turning the Wheel of the Year back to Spring. Winter was a harsh season for our pagan ancestors, one during which many died of disease and malnutrition. It is no surprise, then, that most of the customs surrounding this Sabbat are designed as acts of sympathetic magick to lure back the sun, and speed up the coming of the balmy warmth of Spring.

    In Ireland, where much of our Imbolg lore originates, this was a holy day for honoring the Great Mother Goddess, Brigid, in her guise as the waiting bride of the youthful Sun God who was now returning to her. Among her many sacred interests were fertility, creative inspiration, metal-smithing, and medicine, and she was also protectress, healer, and a guardian of children. Her festival was so ingrained in the Irish culture that the Church was forced to rename the holiday "St. Bridget's Day" in honor of a saint who is, in reality, the Goddess. Not long ago it was customary in Irish villages for young woman to dress up as Brigid/St. Bridget in old, worn clothing, or to carry her image through town with them. The girls would go begging door to door asking for alms for "poor Biddy," a nickname for Brigid. Giving to her was believed to bring good fortune in the harvest to come.

    In France, Imbolg is a day to honor yet another saint. The Feast Day of St. Blaize, a thinly disguised version of Brigid, is a saint of winter protection and healing who was once widely worshiped and revered by the Celtic Bretons. In keeping with the theme of this fire festival, Blaize's name is associated with fire, as in the English word fire.

    Two other names commonly used for this Sabbat are Imbolic and Oimelc, both meaning "ewe's milk." In Europe, this was the time when pregnant ewes began lactating, and the event was celebrated as another sign that winter was ending. In Cornwall they honored this event by making a ritual drink from cider, mashed apples, honey, and the milk of pregnant ewes.

    The Romans dedicated this Sabbat to Venus, and the Greeks named it the Festival of Diana, both Goddesses of Love. The ever-present first flower of Spring, the crocus, was sacred to both these deities, and the flowers were picked and used to lavishly adorn homes, altars, and people - especially young women who represented the virgin goddesses at the Sabbat rituals. Though the Roman version of the Imbolg Sabbat was dedicated to Venus, the month of February was dedicated to the Goddess Februa and the God Februus for whom the month is named. Februa is the Goddess of Fresh Starts, and her month was often euphemistically referred to as "the cleansing time." Imbolg is also known as Candlemas, a name which was derived from the practice of ritually lighting fires to lure back the slowly waxing sun. In Anglo-Celtic cultures, one of the most popular of these candle lighting customs was to have a young woman, representing the Virgin Goddess, enter the ritual area carrying a circle of lit candles. This was, in essence, a lighted Sun Wheel, a symbol of the Wheel of the Year being warmed and lighted again by the returning sun. Later they adopted the custom of wearing the candles as a chaplet on the head. This idea came from the Norse invader's Yule customs, and our coven still practice this ritual at Imbolg.

    The Swedish folk song "Jeanette Isabella" commemorates the carrying in of the Candle Wheel upon the head of a young woman dressed in virgin white. In modern Sweden, this custom remains intact, though the crown is usually made up of woven wortleberry boughs, and is used with the celebration of St. Lucia's Day, which falls near Yule. Lucia's original incarnation was that of Lucina, the Roman Goddess of Light, whose Latin root word "lux" literally means "light." Lucina's Sabbat became a tradition through a belief that any work done on her day would be found undone the next morning, and all the household candles would be broken.

    Imbolg is a time of hope and looking forward, but it is still bitterly cold in much of Europe and North America at the time of this celebration - a time to be near home and hearth side. Consequently, it's no surprise that fireplace lore is a large part of this Sabbat. Fireplaces were in the center of every cottage. Families used to gather near the fireplace at night not just for warmth, but to share stories, songs, and games. Besoms (witches brooms) usually stood near the hearth to protect it, and to throw protective salt in the fire and divine their immediate futures by the pops and lights it made.

    In our coven, we put the long nights of February to good use by learning to see auras. The aura is a ring of light energy which surrounds the bodies of living things, humans included. The light energy has been photographed by using Kirlian Photography, and psychics adept at seeing them have been able to accurately diagnose from aura readings many physical and mental disorders.

    To practice reading auras, you will need a partner and a single neutral colored background to stand against. White, beige, or black are the best. Have your partner remove their clothing and stand against this background facing you. Use subdued lighting and soften your focus. Look either at the person's third eye (just above and between the eyes), at the throat, or across the right shoulder. Don't look directly at the place you expect to see the aura as this will cause the image to fade. You have to rely on peripheral vision instead. By doing this you should quickly see the misty outline of the aura, and soon a color, or the impression of a color, should appear. This aura represents the Energy Field of Life