Imbolc as a Solitary Wiccan

Ever since I was little I can remember people talking about how the new year is a time for creating a goal or goals for yourself. I never really took my stock in creating them for myself since I almost always gave up on them. In recent years I’ve learned that I’m not the only one who feels this way. Most people seem to be agreed that this is due to the fact that usually our goals are too targeted, and when we don’t see the results we want we quit. I’m inclined to agree, which is why I have found that a more broad theme or area of focus works better for me. I can then create smaller more attainable goals through out the year. 

With the New Year passed and the spring on the horizon I have been thinking about what my theme for this year, 2019, should be. Last year it was simply taking steps to improve my health and eating habits. I still plan on working on this during 2019 as well because health and wellness is incredibly important. It won’t be that hard to work in simple changes here and there. 

Last year I really feel like I let my religion and spirituality slide, which makes me really upset. There was a lot of changes going on at my day job last year, so I’m pretty sure it was more stress than anything. Those changes have finally calmed down, so I think that religion and spirituality is a great theme for this year. Like many people around the world religion is important to me and key part of my life. I haven’t made as much progress as I would have liked being on this path since my senior year of high school. In case your wondering I graduated in 2010 so almost 10 years. 

If you have spent any about of time on my blog you will know that I consider myself to be Wiccan, and you should know that we have 8 Sabbats, or Holy Days throughout the year. The closest one to the time I am writing/posting this is Imbolc. This time is traditionally seen as the beginning of spring since in many places you can see budding new life spring up. I should note that I am speaking as someone who live in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Southern Hemisphere this would be the time of year when you start to see life fading away as you enter the darker half of the year. If your curious practitioners in the Southern Hemisphere are getting ready to celebrate Lughnasha or the first harvest.

Looking outside my window right now its hard to see how spring is approaching as we just got hit by a winter storm and there is snow on the ground. This weekend we are on target to get another blast of winter weather. Its not unusual for this time of year, but certainly amusing if your like me and your starting to think about starting seeds and planing out a garden. However; this weather will soon be over and we will be gearing up for summer. 

Usually for Imbolc I don’t do much other than plan out what I want out of the year ahead. This year however; I think I’m going to start a new tradition. One of the main focuses of this time of year is the hearth and home, and is traditionally used as a time to honor the Goddess Bridget. I do not have a connection with this particular Goddess, but I do have a connection to the Goddess Hestia. For those who don’t know Hestia is the Greek Goddess of the hearth. She is a Maiden Goddess who chooses to tend to the fires on Mount Olympus. I usually do little things all year round to honor this dedicated Goddess, but this year I think I’m going to do something bigger in her honor. 

We moved into our current apartment about 2 years ago, and while I did a small cleansing and blessing as I was cleaning and moving stuff from our last place to this place I haven’t really done one since. I’ve been feeling the desire to do one on our current apartment, and Imbolc is the prefect time to one. It’s also the prefect time of year to start a new yearly tradition of home blessings and cleansing. These blessings/ cleansing can be done using a variety of methods. The most popular would be probably be smoke since smudging is popular right now, but since there I the whole issue of cultural appropriation associated with this I will not be talking about it. I personally like to use sound, either chanting or using bells. However use of candles and water is also a way to go about blessing/cleansing, but I’m not well versed in those so I won’t be going into detail about them. 

When I do preform rituals of this nature I usually speak from the heart and never really plan them out. This is perfectly fine except I’m finding it is no longer serving me the way I want it to. It’s important for me that anything I say or do in a ritual of this type to be true to me, my family, and my practice it doesn’t have to be spur of them moment. I have found that in my own life I do better when I have a structure to work around. It keeps me focused and on track to accomplishing what I want. It also helps keeps my stress level down which allows me to feel more relaxed. When I’m relaxed I can process things I have learned and actually see the progress I have made. 

Cleaning is something you should do all year round and not just during the time you would be preforming a house blessing/cleansing. However you can take longer spans of time around deep cleaning since not all of us have time to deep clean every week or even ever month. I try to keep a clean house because its important to keep energy moving about, so nothing builds up more than it should. However; sometimes I get lazy which is ok because sometimes you need rest. I’ve recently been sick, and now that I’m feeling better I’ve kind of been on a cleaning spree. Keeping a clean house can also help keeps sick germs form sticking around and getting you and your family sick. A regular cleaning routine can also help keep pests out of your home which can help your family stay healthy.