The essence of Imbolc lies in the halfway point between the Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox.  We are celebrating life, all life, as it transitions from one season to the next.    Imbolc is a great time to think about mental, emotional, or physical changes you want to implement in yourself or your environment. (Think of it as a time to reaffirm your New Year’s resolutions, if you are the type of person to make them).

As an example, I was horrible with plants when I was younger. No, seriously.  I killed a cactus.  A cactus…  For a number of years, every Imbolc I would buy plants.  If the plants survived the year, then I could get more the next year.  I succeeded after some trial and error, and I now live in an apartment surround by greenery I nurtured myself.  I ran out of space on the windowsills of my apartment a few years ago, so now I do other rituals to celebrate the turning season. While I have an altar, I like to include these rituals in different parts of my home. This year I chose simple candle and bowl combinations in my living room and bedroom.  At the very least I suggest a collection of the following items:  a bowl/cup,  salt/dirt, tealight candle, basil or bay leaves, pine cones, rosemary or lavender sprigs, leaves etc.

I filled both my bowls about halfway with salt, and placed a tealight slightly off center to accommodate the other materials I was adding. Behind the tealight I placed a couple of bay leaves upright into the salt, along with a few small sprigs of rosemary.  The whole thing symbolizes nature starting to stir and bloom with the coming of spring.  On Imbolc, I lit both candles and reaffirmed the positive changes I wanted in my life for this year.  Super simple ritual that lasted only a few minutes.

Holidays within the Wiccan tradition are always interesting.  There are a myriad of influences and concepts to the word “tradition.”  At the beginning of my journey, I constantly found myself confused about when to practice, and most importantly, how.  It took me some time to settle into my own routine as a solitary, and even then, the ways in which I practice continuously evolve just as I do.   The fact is, that many things can be including in an Imbolc ritual, although some practitioners are more specific than others.  I cannot stress enough, how important it is for new practitioners to find a path comfortable for them rather than sticking to someone else’s perspective.  Your rituals are more meaningful when they are designed around your experiences.