With Imbolc just a few days away, I was wondering if anyone could help or share some ideas. Even though I’ve always been part of the spiritual/Wicca community, I haven’t really celebrated the Wheel of the Year much due to being brought up in a Christian household.
I’d love some simple ways to honor Imbolc—maybe things you do yourself, small rituals, spells, or traditions? I’m also thinking of buying myself a bunch of flowers for the season. I know snowdrops are associated with Imbolc, but I haven’t been able to find any in my area. Does anyone have recommendations for other flowers that would suit the occasion?
Thanks in advance for your help! Many blessings to you all.
You can make Brigid’s cross. I still have the one I made last year. Brigid is connected with Imbolc.
I don’t happen to have the link but i ended up finding a very simple one on Pinterest. I will look and see if I can find the one i used to share with you.
You’re already got some great ideas for CasLyn and Tracy. For some more, there’s a whole bunch of Imbolc celebration ideas shared in the following Imbolc posts:
I’m going to second Tracy’s suggestion of using local flowers. All of the Sabbats are seasonal celebrations about honoring nature - in my opinion, the best way to celebrate them is by incorporating the world around you!
Snowdrops tend to be one of the first flowers to pop up. If there aren’t right now, you may be hard pressed to find others. Still, you could keep an eye out for Hellebore, or could use any greenery that has weathered the winter - spruce, pine, holly, and other evergreens will also make nice decorations or inclusion to your Imbolc spellwork
Whatever you choose to do, I’m wishing you a blessed Sabbat! Have a lovely Imbolc
Consider also the flowers you can get at the grocery store. I recently found a hyacinth which I brought home. The flower is done already, but I’ll keep my eyes out for more.
If you have land, you can transplant the bulbs in a garden when the weather gets warmer. If not, let the leaves gather food as long as they are green and wait to see if the bulbs produce flowers next spring. Don’t dig up the bulbs or put them in a freezer if you want to keep them as houseplants, though.
Check with your local nursery to see if snowdrops are available as bulbs to plant in the fall. We ought to be getting into the season when jasmine plants are available in nursery stores. See what else you can find and be inspired by!
You have been given some great ideas already! We have a lot of information here in the forum and on the main site about Imbolg so I’ll link a few things that haven’t been linked yet.
Although they’re widely spread, snowdrops don’t grow everywhere. Usually, they don’t grow below USDA hardiness zone 7 because of the cold winters they require. In my research, they generally don’t start sprouting until mid-February or March unless the winter has been mild. You may not see snowdrops blooming yet if you live in the US. For those in Europe where most of the Sabbats originate, it is likely that you’ll see snowdrops blooming soon if they’re not already. Mhara Starling lives in Wales, I believe, and she posted on BlueSky that she saw her first snowdrops yesterday.
Anyway, that’s really long-winded when I just meant to say that you may not see them yet, and it’s okay to look for native flowers in your area instead.
I made a Brigid’s Cross today and I have enough supplies left over to have my oldest daughter make one as well. The best part, my daughter is a redhead like Brigid.
You’re welcome. It cost me less than 3 dollars including tax from the Dollar General for the supplies, if money is taken into account. The pipe cleaners were 1.25 and so was the hemp rope.
Wonderful job!