A Group Imbolc Ritual And Candlelit Meditation

I wrote this Imbolc ritual in 2016 for my local moot. Our moot is very eclectic, and as such this ritual does not stick to any particular tradition or pantheon. This ritual incorporates traditional Brigid folklore and a guided meditation focusing on candlelight. It is easy to hold the main Imbolc ritual or the candlelit meditation on their own, but I have combined the two here. Please feel free to adapt and use this for your own rituals.

Tools and offerings:

• Altar
• Small tealight candles in holders, at least one per person, lit before the ritual begins (make sure these are safe for people to carry. For example, if the holder is too hot to handle, place each holder on a heatproof mat that participants can use to carry the candle)
• Brídeóg (a representation of the Goddess Brigid; this could be a doll, statue, Brigid’s cross etc.)
• Food offering (traditional offerings for Imbolc are dairy products)
• Drink offering (this could be ale or milk, for example)

Recommended but not essential: Mats/cushions for sitting on during the meditation (chairs for those who cannot sit on the floor), music suitable for meditation, incense, alternative food/drink offerings for those with special dietary requirements

Active Roles:

• Celebrant
• Brigid
• Doorkeeper (if necessary)

Layout:

This Imbolc ritual requires the participant taking of the role of Brigid, carrying the Brídeóg, to be outside the main group at first, as she will be “invited in” mid-ritual. Ideally, she should be outside the room, behind a door. If this is not possible, for example if the ritual is taking place outdoors, Brigid can simply stand apart from the others and outside the Circle. If she is separated by a door, there will need to be a Doorkeeper to open the door for her at the appropriate moment (as she may not hear her cue otherwise!).

All the other participants form a circle around a central altar. The altar can be decorated however you wish, but it must have space for the Brídeóg. The Celebrant occupies the centre of the circle. The small candles should be placed all around them and if practical all or most of the lights should be switched off or dimmed, so that the candles form the main illumination of the room. If this makes the room too dark, the lights can be switched off during the meditation only.

Ritual:

Celebrant may first wish to purify space and/or cast a circle before beginning (NOTE: Brigid and Doorkeeper will enter Circle later.)

Celebrant: Tonight we celebrate Imbolc, the point between Winter’s end and Spring’s beginning. It is a time to celebrate the return of the Sun’s light and warmth, and the emergence of new plants and animals as Spring arrives.

Let us begin our Imbolc ritual by a calling of the quarters.

We call upon the Spirits of the North, of the Earth from which the fresh green of new plants appear.
ALL: Hail and welcome!

We call upon the Spirits of the East, of the cool air that blows, refreshing us and filling us with inspiration.
ALL: Hail and welcome!

We call upon the Spirits of the South, of the Fires that warm our homes, and of the Sun that warms the Earth.
ALL: Hail and welcome!

We call upon the Spirits of the West, of the Water of the sacred wells that nourish us.
ALL: Hail and welcome!

Celebrant: Upon Imbolc, we honour the Goddess in her incarnation as Brigid, the Maiden.

ALL: Brig, Brigid, Brigantia
The Exalted Maiden
Triple Goddess of Wisdom
Keeper of the Sacred Flame and Well
Guardian of Home and Hearth
Patroness of Poetry and Art
Healer and Giver of Life
We honour you!

Celebrant: We also honour the Goddess of Fire, Wisdom and the coming Spring by Her many names in other traditions

ALL:  Athena and Minerva, the Wise
Hestia and Vesta, Keepers of the Hearth
Bast, Guardian of the Home
Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto, Bringer of Light and Joy
We honour you!

Celebrant: We also honour the God born of the Goddess – the Young Lord of Fire and Fertility

ALL: Ruadhan, Son of Brigid
Pan and Faunus, Gods of the Wild
Eros and Cupid, Gods of Love and Passion
Amun-Ra, God of the Sun and Creation
We honour you!

Celebrant: We now call upon Brigid once more, inviting her to join us in the Circle and to bless us with her gifts.

[Celebrant raises food and drink offerings]

Celebrant: Exalted Brigid, Your feast of Imbolc is the celebration of the gift of milk and dairy, upon which our people have depended for generations. We therefore offer you back a portion of this bounty in gratitude.

ALL: Please accept our offering with Your blessings.

Celebrant: Now let us welcome Brigid among us.

ALL: [to be repeated three times, while walking in a Sunwise circle around the altar]
Brigid, Brigid, come to our Circle
Come to our Circle tonight

[Brigid knocks on the door three times]

All: Brigid is come, Brigid is welcome!
Open the door for Brigid, and let Brigid come in!

[The Doorkeeper opens the door, and Brigid enters carrying the Brídeóg. Doorkeeper closes the door firmly behind Brigid]

Doorkeeper: I close this door on the past, and banish negativity from this circle so that we may look towards the future with hope.

Brigid: Brigid has come, and brings her light to you all.

[“Brigid” and Doorkeeper enter the circle. Brigid places the Brídeóg on the altar. “Brigid” and Doorkeeper join with the others in the circle]

ALL: [Repeat three times]
Brigid is come, Brigid is welcome!

Celebrant: Exhaulted Brigid, please fill this circle with your light. Fill us with positive energy, so that we may let go of past regrets, fears and ill feeling in order to embrace our hopes for the future. Bless us with your protection, healing and inspiration.

So Mote It Be!

ALL: So Mote It Be!

Celebrant: In order to let Brigid’s healing light in, and transmit that light to the world, we will now partake in a candlelit meditation. Take one of the candles you see around you, and find a space to be seated comfortably with the candle before you.

[Participants choose a candle and seat themselves. Once this is done, all other lights in the room should be extinguished so the only illumination is from the candles]

Celebrant: We now begin our meditation. Gaze upon the candle before you. Notice the intensity of its light in the darkness. Its kaleidoscope of colours – blue, yellow, red, white. See how it moves as the air about it moves. Reach out with your mind and sense its heat, its energy. Let the candle fill your vision. [Pause]

As you continue to watch the candle, focus on your breathing. As you breath in, imagine that you are drawing the candle’s light and energy deep, deep within you. Feel it filling you with warmth, spreading out from your chest up and through your arms, your spine, your head, and down through your stomach, your legs, your feet. Imagine it coursing along your body like the blood in your veins, lighting up each part it reaches until you are filled with light. Its gentle warmth is filled with a healing and purifying power, which cleanses and soothes each part of your body. With each inhale, you feel all your aches and pains ease a little more. With each inhale, you feel weariness replaced by energy, and all the tension and tightness in your muscles relax.

And as you breath out, imagine negativity being released from your body. See it as a black shadow, escaping your nose and mouth like smoke. In that negativity is pain, tiredness and stress, and little by little, it is escaping you. The light that you breath in is pushing out the darkness that you breath out. Gradually, your whole body is becoming light, with all the shadows banished. Inhale….the light enters. Exhale….the darkness leaves. [Pause]

Now, as you continue to draw in the candle’s light, be aware of the others in this room. They too are drawing in the candle’s energy and banishing the darkness. They too are filled with light. Realise that the light is connecting you all. Together, you are sharing in this experience of purification and healing. You are all sharing in this well-being. You are all one, connected.

Now see that you are rid of the shadows. You are all filled with so much of the healing light, you cannot contain any more. So now, when you exhale, imagine that you are releasing that excess light out into the world. Inhale, and draw the light in. Exhale, and send it out. See that light travel over this place, this town. See it touching the plants and trees, the insects, the birds, and all the wild creatures hiding in the earth. See it touching the people who live hear, see the light enter the homes and shops, the hospitals, the prisons, the schools, the churches, anywhere where people dwell. See them too filled with the healing light. The light touches everyone, of all walks of life, of all paths, of all ages. They too are filling with the light and banishing the shadows. And as they banish the shadows, they too are joined in this healing ritual of spreading the light.

Now see the light bathing the entire country, from coast to coast. You see the country as if from above, and the light radiating out like bright veins across the land to the sea, until all darkness is extinguished.

And now see the light flow into the sea itself. The sea becomes charged with the light, and the waves carry it across the world, to all continents, all nations. It fills the mountains and the forests, the deserts and the islands, the villages and farms and cities. Every plant, every creature, every person is filled with that light. The whole world, gradually, is illuminated. All things are bathed with that light.

Now see the globe of the world, as if from space. It glows with that healing light like a star, shining in the darkness of the cosmos. Everything on the earth is connected by that light. Everything is one. [Pause]

Now it is time to return. You are soaring back now from space, back to your country, back to this town, this room, this time. You are sitting here, among friends, and you know that you have spread your light and energy across the world. Return now, slowly, gradually, to consciousness. Be aware of the sounds around you, the objects around you. Gradually awaken.

[The meditation ends]

Celebrant: The meditation has now ended. We now share the food and ale among us, in order to ground ourselves and and share in the energies of the Goddesses and Gods. Take this time to reflect on your personal experience tonight, and what it means to you. May We Never Hunger, May We Never Thirst!

[The cakes and ale are shared]

Celebrant: Exhaulted Brigid, Great Goddess, Great God, and Spirits of all Nature, thank you for your blessings upon this circle. Stay if you will, go if you must. Hail and Farewell!
ALL: Hail and Farewell!

Celebrant:  Spirits of the West, of Water. Thank you for your blessings upon this circle. Stay if you will, go if you must. Hail and Farewell!
ALL: Hail and Farewell!

Celebrant:  Spirits of the South, of Fire. Thank you for your blessings upon this circle. Stay if you will, go if you must. Hail and Farewell!
ALL: Hail and Farewell!

Celebrant:  Spirits of the East, of Air. Thank you for your blessings upon this circle. Stay if you will, go if you must. Hail and Farewell!
ALL: Hail and Farewell!

Celebrant: Spirits of the North, of Earth. Thank you for your blessings upon this circle. Stay if you will, go if you must. Hail and Farewell!
ALL: Hail and Farewell!

ALL: The Circle is Open, Never Broken
Merry Meet, Merry Part, Merry Meet Again

[Ritual ends; participants feast on remaining offerings and may wish to leave some outside for nature]