Internet Book of Shadows, (Various Authors), [1999], at sacred-texts.com
CompuServe on-line Imbolc Ritual, 1993 (8-8,Jehana) You are sitting in your room, the computer before you... You feel your own power and energy building, growing... A pale blue light surrounds you... It expands out and away from you, forming into blue flame... Growing, growing, reaching ever outwards... Boston... Boston blue flame ... energy grid... moving outward... Connecticut... Shelton.... Brookfield... blue flame.... energy grid.. moving outward... New York City.... blue flame, speeding southwards... Jersey City.... Blue flame , spreading southwards... Baton Rouge... Westwards.... Northwards... Blue flame, energy, powergrid, connecting... Detroit.... Blue flame, racing back towards east... Connecting Boston. The Circle is Cast... The Circle is fluid; those who seek to gate in late may well expand this circle. The Circle Is Cast. (8-18,Tapestry) Guardians of the East. We welcome you. Your breath of fresh air. Your spring breezes. Your new beginnings; and their promise of infinite potential. Be here now! Guardians of the South. We welcome you. That spark of life that smolders within the slumbering seed and the pregnant ewe and the forsythia buds. Your promise of Summer's heat. The urgency of love's passion. Be here now! Guardians of the West. We welcome you. The melting ice, dripping from the eaves. The spring rain that mistily drapes us with love. The healing sound of water burbling from a spring. Be here Now! Guardians of the North. We welcome you. The rocks beneath the winter snow. The roots of trees seeking earth's warmth downward. The swell of the hills, the thrust of the great mountains, The tracks of the wolf in the new-fallen snow. Be here now! (8-8,Jehana) We call upon Brighid, patron Goddess of 2113 the Fires of the Forge; the Fires of Inspiration. We call upon Brighid, patron Goddess of the waters that give life Giving life, transforming seeds buried deep below the frost into the amazing gift of Growth and Possibility and Potential. We call upon Brighid and become like the Sword, forged by fire, and tempered by water. Hail, and Greetings! (Here, any and all are welcome to mention their own personal invocations) <ga> (8-13,Babs) Hail Lady of the Forge. (8-22,Lynne) I call white and golden light to the Earth for her healing I ask Bridget to send a blessing onto the Earth (8-13,Babs) Make it so. (8-18,Tapestry) Hold a seed in your hand. Project yourself beyond the hard seed covering. To the soft kernel inside. At one end of the kernel is a tiny, sharp point. The kernel can split in half and the sharp point becomes a tiny germinal plant. Imagine the seed planted in the soft soil of the garden. The snow covering the ground insulates the seed from the cold winter winds as it sleeps. The tiny germ feels the gentle warming of the sun and the moisture of the melting snow as it slowly wakens. This wakening of the tiny, hidden embryo of the plant is Imbolc - the first stirrings of Spring. The time when the tiny seedling thrusts roots into the soil, and prepares leaves to capture the sun's future nourishment and warmth. When the ground is soft, the snow gone, and the sun smiling upon the land it will be ready. Imbolc is the time when the pregnant mares develop bulging udders for their foals, and about two weeks before they deliver, the oozing colostrum dries into a waxy covering on the teats. When this happens, the farmer knows that her time is near. Spring will arrive soon, and both the mare and the farmer will be ready. This is Imb-olc. The name comes from the "Oim" (ewe's) - "olc" (milk). The ewe's udder, like the mare's, swells and prepares for the birth of twin lambs - usually in late February or early March. This sign was very important for herdsmen in the north because ewes usually look for a secluded place to give birth, and if her time was near with a bitter cold snap or late winter storm brewing, the results could be disastrous. This is also a day one-third through the Celtic Lunar 2114 Month of Luis; the Rowan tree. The celebration of Brighid's (Breed) Day, or Candlemas, one of the 4 Great Fire Festivals of the Celtic Year. The others are: Beltane, Lammas, and Samhain. For each, a balefire, bonefire, or candle was lit to mark the spiritual beginning of the season. It was seen as the rebirth of spirit, the spiralling out again from darkness. Let us go to sleep tonight thinking about these new beginnings. These new births, and the beginning of our new selves. To concentrate on our own beginnings within the womb of the Mother. How we begin anew with the understanding, compassion, and love conceived within her fertility. Let us concentrate on maintaining a groundedness within Her. Concentrate on learning to focus ourselves to the tasks at hand and complete them with the calmness of knowing that She guides our every move and thought. In so doing, we will become more caring and competent, loving and assured. (8-8,Jehana) (Pause to reflect and meditate on this) Thank you, Brighid. We accept Your gifts and Your blessings. Hail and Farewell ! (8-8,Jehana) Guardians of the East, we thank you. For your breath of fresh air, for your spring breezes, for the new beginnings you bring us, we thank you! Hail and Farewell! Guardians of the South, we thank you. Reminding us of the spark of life that smolders within the slumbering seed, the pregnant ewe, the forsythia buds. For your promise of Summer's heat, for the urgency of love's passion, we thank you! Hail and Farewell! Guardians of the West, we thank you. The melting ice, dripping from the eaves. The spring rain that drapes us with love. For the healing sound of water burbling from a spring, we thank you! Hail and Farewell! Guardians of the North, we thank you. For the rocks beneath the winter snow. For the roots of trees seeking earth's warmth downward; the swell of the hills, the thrust of the great mountains, The tracks of the wolf in the new-fallen snow. we thank you! Hail and Farewell! 2115 (8-8,Jehana) The energy that surrounds us, contains us; the blue flame... See it... Visualize the blue flames that surround this our Circle See them flame brightly. And now, widdershins, the blue flame starts to fade. Fire seal the Circle round, Let it fade beneath the ground Let all things be as they were Since the Beginning of Time. 2116