Imbolc Incense

Description

This blend is dedicated to the first of the three spring festivals and is an offering to Brigid, reborn from the underworld as virginal goddess of light and vegetation. Clad in white the she rides across the land and at her touch nature revives.

It contains herbs, woods and resins that vibrate with the rising of the sun and hint at first glimpses of flowers and sprouts in nature. These first flowers and buds are an important food source for bumblebees, which already fly at low temperatures, as well as other pollinating insects that just begin to wake up from hibernation. Such flowers are the cornel cherry’s blossoms, fragrant witch hazel and of course the colorful catkins of hazel trees. Buds and tree juices also provide sugar to various other animals. Among the ground vegetation, most emblematic of Imbolc are snowbells, blue glory of the snow, the yellow flowers of winter aconite, crocuses and of course the eminent flowers of the lenten hellebore. Soon also the first sweet violets show up as well the solar flowers of lesser celandine and coaltsfoot on its scaly stems.

As the juices begin to rise again under the bark of trees it was custom to gather the healing sap of the birch. Besoms made from birch twigs sweep the house clean during February cleansings. Besides, birch as well as hazel are sacred to the goddess, and birch =beith as the first letter of the tree alphabeth is emblematic of new beginnings.
The name Imbolc is derived from old Irish imb-folc, meaning “ablution” or “round cleansing”. Another name for Imbolc is Oimelc, meaning the first “ewe’s milk” or “in the belly”. Traditionally Imbolc marks the first of the Irish spring festivals and honors the goddess Brigid as virgin. Brigid’s name is translated as ‘bright one’ or ‘shining one’. The goddess has roots in the tribal goddess Brigantia of the old Celtic Brigantes. Similar deities are the Germanic Perchta and the Welsh Ceridwen. The Irish St. Brigid of Kildare is named after the Celtic goddess. Her feast day is congruent. On February 2nd Christians celebrate Candlemass (German Mariä Lichtmess), which incorporates the blessing of altar candles in the name of the Maiden Mary and candle processions.

Brigid’s symbols are straw figures, crosses, ribons, birch besoms, wells and snowbells. St. Brigid’s crosses are made from rush or sweetgrass (aka Mariengras), an aromatic grass especially favored by the goddess. The Irish place the brat bríde, a white (sometimes red) cloth or ribbon outside the home. Then St. Brigid is asked to bless the cloth and imbue it with the power of her own cloak. The next morning the cloth is collected and stored savely. It is believed to cure headache and protect livestock. Likewise, it was custom to place clothings outside for St. Brigid to keep her warm on her journey through the country.

Typical rituals performed during Imbolc are blessing and lighting white and green candles, burning straw figures made in the previous year, crafting rush crosses for St. Brigid, pronouncing wishes, asking for prophetic dreams, weather forecasts and house cleansings. Other household traditions include bannock bread, drinking milk and making a magical cheese (thought to be prophetic and apotropaic against the sídhe). On Imbolc also the garden year is planned and the first seeds are sown.

The time of Imbolc is also associated with the big celebrations of the carneval season, which ends in February and marks the beginning of Lent. In the Alps the infamous Perchtenläufe drive out the winter. During Roman times the Lupercalia were helt in February, which included the Februa (= atonement and purging rituals).

February is also known as mud month, for its cold, gray, wet weather and muddy ground. It’s often accompanied by another wave of flu epedemic (modern flunami) and other diseases spread, since the immune system is weakened from preceding lack of day light and vitamines. February is hence also the ‘fever’ month, since fever is a reaction of the body’s immune system, speading up metabolism and cleansing the body from toxins. Latin febris means heat or fever.

On a lighter note, I like to refer to February as moss month, because moss thrives during this time of the year, when it’s still cold but the ground is touched unhindered by the sun and moss is among the first plants to kick off photosynthesis, which is expressed in its fresh green appearance on otherwise muddy ground.

Since Imbolc is a lunar mid-point/cross-quarter festival on the wheel of the year, it is not bound to February the 1st but oriented on the February full moon.

The February full moon is also called full snow moon and hunger moon. In different native American traditions it is also referred to as Bear Moon (Ojibwe), Bald Eagle Moon (Cree) and Bony Moon (Cherokee).

Originally a German tradition by the name “Dachstag”, Groundhog Day is celebrated on February 2nd and the appearance of badgers or groundhogs is observed and judged; according to weather proverbs:

When the groundhog sees his shadow on the morning of Mary Candlemas, he will again go into his hole and remain there for six weeks. But if the morning of Mary Candlemas is overcast, the groundhog will remain outside and there will be another spring.

Contains: birch bark, hazel catkins, cornel cherry blossoms, dammar, frankincense, moss, sandarac resin, vetiver root, sweet violet, rose petals, witch hazel blossoms

Scent: floral, fresh, warm

Uses: burn during February cleansing and purification rituals, add to water in ablution rituals (e.g. of images or crystals), wear for protection, healing, strengthening, amicability, honoring and connecting with the goddess in her maiden aspect, weather forecasts, lunar spells, oneiromancy, oracles, fumigating candles, brigid’s crosses, a garden diary and the seeds to be sown