Hey, fellow Pagans, I have a few questions (As always. HaHa). I have a couple books I am reading and one says Imbolc is on Feb. 1 and the other says Feb. 2. Which are you celebrating? Also, how do you say this? I've only been reading and have no one to speak with. Is it Em like Auntie Em or I'm like I am? Is it bowl or ball? And is the c hard, soft or silent? Hey thanks for any help. BTW. I celebrated this morning with a little ritual to the Goddess Brid and tonite I'm driving iron stakes into the four corners of my house for protection.
MM Tarabelle. Always nice to see you here. =) It's Im-mulk (pronounciation). Imbolc or Candlemas can be celebrated either on the 1st or 2nd. Traditionally some Celts celebrate on the 1st based on the Celtic wheel of the year. Personally, I am celebrating tomorrow and hoping to be flu-free and will be renewing my vows. I would do it tonight but a hacking cough while re-dedicating myself seems wrong. Brighid's blessings on ya!
I've read somewhere - don't ask where I'm afraid I've forgotten - that the celts thought of the new day as starting at sundown. So by that reckoning, you could think of Imbolc beginning on the evening of the 31st jan, or 1st feb. We have 'the day followed by the night', they had 'the night followed by the day'. Wisdom in there somewhere......
Somehow I don't have a 'feeling' with Imbolc.. dunno why.. looking forward to Ostara though About the dates.. as I see it pagans don't really celebrate one specific day (as in, the specific date isn't the cause of the event) but more the beginning of a certain period.. so the date is somewhat lenient in my opinion. I read that the name 'imbolc' comes from the Gaelic word "oimelc" which means "ewes milk".. that's kinda cool because in Dutch, that would be called 'ooi melk' which sounds pretty much like the Gaelic. Had no idea you pronounced it like 'Im-mulk', interesting. Ah well.. but anyways.. happy imbolc!
I'm celebrating on both days (meh, why not ) - i'm not big into ritual myself - i think it can be fun and all, but I don't really take it TOO seriosuly... but this year I'm celebrating for a friend of mine... hence this post: http://hipforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=64418
Hey, thanks for the pronunciation. I had it all wrong. And I hope you have a wonderful, magical day today! The book I'm reading says that the major ritual for Imbolc was to protect and bless the coming birth of the lambs, which guaranteed milk for everyone. Milk was a part of the ritual I performed.
I didn't really celebrate Imbolc last night or the night before since I've been so busy and things have been chaotic in the family, but funny, I did drink a lot of milk, how coincidential is that, hehe. Anyway, even though I didn't do anything to ritualize or celebrate, I certainly did feel a higher sense of energy, like my spirit was more in-tune, so it just goes to show you that the spirit can subconsciously celebrate sacred events without the body knowing.
I'm celebrating it, in a sense... my family celebrates a bit of a tradition on feb 2, with my mother being French, we do a whole diner of crepes (like pancakes)... so what I did was brought over a few candles to do a mini 15 min. ritual thingy with the family (they're not wiccan, but learning!) and did something with my husband, a bit more of a ritual, afterwards when we came home.
