Imbolc: The Enigma

[RegularJackass]

Imbolc is always on February 2, also known as Candlemas, Groundhog Day, and Chandeleur. While most of the other Sabbats are relatively clear-cut for someone who was raised in America, given that they're similar to the ones most people celebrate (Halloween, Yule, Easter/Ostara), Imbolc is not easy to understand. This much I know: it's a holiday of purification, fertility, new beginnings, and light. It celebrates the returning light of the sun and Light of the Sacred. It is also a celebration of the planting season to come, when seeds are sown. Some people put candles in every window overnight on February 1. Other traditional activities include making candles and crafts, making Brigit's Crosses if you worship Her, making sun wheels or depictions of the sun, gathering stones, searching the land for signs of spring, blessing seeds, leaving offerings of bread and milk for the Fairies, hanging out with females if you are also female, singing, burning the greenery from Yule, baking, and of course doing a spring cleaning before this holiday starts. Or during the holiday itself. If I am not mistaken, bonfires were once lit during Imbolc to celebrate. Many people honor Brigit, the Goddess of Smithcraft, Healing, Midwifery, and Poetry, once (still?) very beloved in Ireland, on this day, because it is sacred to Her. If this is you, great; if you don't know Her very well, it's a good opportunity for you to learn about Her. Unfortunately, despite all that I've supposedly learned about Imbolc, the heart of it remains mysterious to me. So all I can tell you is what I think it's about:
-Dissolving negativity and hatred in yourself
-Cultivating compassion for others and yourself
-Appreciating fresh air, clean water, spring, light, and sunshine
-Honoring the women of the household
-Cleansing and renewing the hearth, the home, and its inhabitants
I like to do an herbal bath and make a big pot of herbal tea on Imbolc too.

Imbolc is a fantastic time to give blankets, food, and clothing to the homeless. It's frickin cold.
Imbolc is also a good time to cast spells to purify the environment of pollution, or to purify yourself of negativity.

Taboos: Don't pick any plants
Traditional symbols include the broom, candles, and a Brigit's Cross
Traditional foods include butter, honey, seeds, oats, milk, and bread
Traditional herbs include rosemary, rowan, birch, heather, sage, and all of the first flowers of spring

Links:

http://hearthnhomewitchery.tripod.com/c ... mbolg.html
https://wicca.com/celtic/akasha/imbolclore.htm
http://www.pookapages.com/Imbolc%2019%20issue.doc.pdf
http://www.angelfire.com/wa3/angelline/imbolc_lore.htm