I'm going to circle my Imbolc Altar with white candles each representing goals I have for the new year.
I'm going to make paper snowflakes and cast them into the bon fire to banish the winter and bless in the new season.
I'm going to place ice in a special container on my Imbolc Altar to melt away any negativity and then pour it out off my property.
I'm going to plants seeds indoors and buy an indoor house plant and make friends.
I'm going to bless my pets with safe amulets.
I'm going to offer milk to the Gods by pouring some on the ground outside and leaving some in a bowl for the wild animals.
I'm going to do a vision quest/meditation on the Wolf Totem.
IMBOLC is a Fire Festival in the fixed astrological air sign of Aquarius. The magic that you do during this time period will have long-lasting consequences. Uranus and Saturn (modern and classical planetary rulers, respectively) bring the ability to make sudden changes, reach for rewards, and learn how to interact with authority figures.
Page 81 of Silver RavenWolfs "Solitary Witch" B.O.S.
Another interpretation from "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Wicca and Witchcraft Third Edition"
Imbolc (February 2): Rebirth of the Sun
Imbloc (pronounced IM-bolk), which is also called Candlemas, is the time when Wiccans celebrate the renewing fertility of the earth. The Goddess is seen as recovering from childbirth, and the God is a small child. There is the feeling that spring is coming, but a certain restlessness or cabin fever can set in. This can also be the bleakest time of the year when we start to fear that spring will never arrive. Many people celebrate Groundhog Day on this date. And what is Groundhog Day but a way to let Nature reassure us that spring really will come? Sometimes, even though it is still cold, you can see early buds on trees on this date. This is another way that Nature reminds us to hang on; life is getting ready to burst forth.
Imbolc, a Greater Sabbat, is a time to celebrate with seeds, or with a newly germinating idea. Some covens like to initiate new members at this time of year. Imbolc is a holiday of purification and of the renewed fertility of the earth. It's a great time for some early spring-cleaning, too. Get rid of things you don't need. Get ready for the spring season to come.
Chants for ritual from the book "Grimoire for the Green Witch Complete Book of Shadows" by Ann Moura:
Clear out the old and let the new enter. Life starts anew at this time of cleansing.
With my besom in my hand I will sweep out that which is no longer needed so as to purify my surroundings, preparing the way for new growth.
This is the Mid-Winter Festival of Lights. Spring lies within sight, the Earth quickens, the milk of ewes flows, and the seed is prepared for sowing. Now does Grandmother Crone place the Infant God of Light in the arms of the Mother, relinquishing Her hold on the Child of the New Year, that the seasons being to turn once more. Her time of midwifery is past, and the Crone departs to reunite with the Holly King in the Land of Snow and Ice.
I call upon the power of these herbs that their scent now released in this cauldron's fire purify me, my surroundings, and the tools of my Craft. With this rite I am reaffirmed in my Craft and made ready for the renewal of life in the coming of Spring.
May this besom be cleansed that nothing cast out of the Circle in the coming year return with it or cling to it. So Mote It Be!
As I have purified all within this Circle, I am now ready to Renew my oath to my Lady and my Lord.
By the power of this smoke I wash away the negative influences that this place be cleansed for the Lady and Her Babe.
We welcome in the Goddess and seek the turning of the Wheel away from Winter and into Spring.
Great Lady enter with the Sun and watch over this room!
Mother of the Earth and the Sun, Keep us safe and keep use warm, As over our home You extend Your blessing.
And now more reading from "The Witch Book The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft, Wicca, and Neo-Paganism" by Raymond Buckland:
IMBOLC
Also known as Oimlec, Candelaria, and Luperucs, Imbolc is one of the four major Sabbats of Witchcraft, falling on February Eve. It marks the halfway point through the "dark half" of the year, or the winter months. Great bonfires, or balefires, were once lit on the highest hilltops across Britain and much of Europe to lend extra energy to the God as he made his way through the dark half of the year toward energy Beltane (May Eve) and the coming of the Goddess. The Goddess herself was in the throes of transferring from the Crone aspect to that of maiden, when she emerged from the Underworld in the spring.
The Christian church adopted the old Pagan Imbolc festival, as it did so many others, calling it Candelmas. By the fifth century, a procession of lighted candles became a regular part of the Roman Catholic rites, echoing the Pagan origins.
Stewart Farrar says that Imbolc, or the Irish form of i'mbolg, means "in the belly," being the "first foetal stirrings of Spring in the womb of Mother Earth." However, Graham Harvey says the word means "lactation." Regardless of meaning, it traditionally marks the beginning of lambing season and the time of lactation of the ewes. It is also the Feast of Brighid, who is fertility bringer. In a monastery at Kildare, in Ireland, a perpetual fires was kept burning in Brighid's honor.
The making of Corn Dollies and Sun Wheels is a popular Pagan practice, to recognize and honor the Maiden aspect of the Goddess. In many cases, the straw used to weave the Corn Dollies is that which was cut from the last bundle - known as the Corn Mother - at the previous year's harvest.
Imbolc is the time of the year when Wiccans look to make a change, to clear out that which is no longer useful in their lives to make room for the new things that need to come into their lives. Some traditions and Solitaries symbolically sweep the circle with a broomstick as part of the Imbolc rites.
