How to Decorate an Imbolc Altar
Imbolc is a time to celebrate the coming of spring. Winter is halfway over and it’s time to begin preparations for a new harvest season.
Wheel of the Year
Welcome to our journey through the Wheel of the Year, a beautiful and cyclical guide to the seasonal festivals celebrated by many Wiccans, Pagans, and various nature-based spiritual paths. This wheel symbolizes the annual cycle of seasonal festivals, marking the natural rhythms of the Earth and the ebb and flow of life.
The Wheel of the Year consists of eight Sabbats, each celebrating a different aspect of the Earth’s journey around the sun. These festivals include four solar events — the solstices and equinoxes — and four seasonal festivals traditionally tied to agricultural cycles.
1. Samhain (October 31st-November 1st): Marking the end of the harvest and the beginning of winter, Samhain is a time of reflection, honoring ancestors, and the thinning veil between worlds.
2. Yule (Winter Solstice, around December 21st): Celebrating the rebirth of the sun, Yule is a festival of light, joy, and the promise of the returning warmth.
3. Imbolc (February 1st): A festival of purification and the first stirrings of spring, Imbolc is a time for setting intentions for the upcoming year.
4. Ostara (Spring Equinox, around March 20th): Marking the balance of day and night, Ostara celebrates new beginnings, fertility, and the vibrant awakening of the earth.
5. Beltane (May 1st): A joyful festival celebrating fertility, fire, and abundance, Beltane is a time of passion and growth.
6. Litha (Summer Solstice, around June 21st): The peak of summer, Litha is a celebration of light, power, and the fullness of life.
7. Lammas or Lughnasadh (August 1st): The first harvest festival, Lammas is a time to give thanks for abundance and to reap what has been sown.
8. Mabon (Autumn Equinox, around September 22nd): A time of balance and reflection, Mabon celebrates the second harvest and the winding down of the year.
Each Sabbat reflects a unique aspect of the Earth’s natural cycle and offers a moment to pause, reflect, and celebrate the ever-changing beauty of nature. As we journey through the Wheel of the Year, we connect with these natural rhythms and honor the legacy of our ancestors who lived by these seasonal cycles.
Brigid and Imbolc
Brigid, the Celtic Goddess of fertility and healing, is celebrated at this sabbat. She is the daughter of Dagda, a God of the Tuatha de Dannan. She is said to have had 2 other sisters, both named Brigid, which makes her a Triple Goddess. She is known for her green mantle or cloak.
Cloak Lore: Brigid was the daughter of a Pictish cheiftan who went to Ireland to learn from St. Patrick. While there, she petitioned the King of Leinster for land so that she could build her own abbey. The king agreed that he would give her as much land as her cloak could cover. Of course, her cloak grew and grew until is covered as much land as she needed for the abbey.
If you place a piece of cloth on your hearth at Imbolc, it is said that Brigid will come to bless it. If you continue to use the same cloth, it will grow stronger each year as Brigid blesses it again and again. You can then use this powerful cloth for healing and protection. Typically this cloth would be green to represent her cloak.
Items to place on your altar to decorate for Imbolc
Start out with a green cloth to represent Brigid’s cloak. Green is also a symbol of abundance. Not only financial abundance, but abundance of harvest.
Add some candles. I like to use spring-colored candles. When looking around for some new candles, I ran across these floral candles, which would be perfect for an Imbolc altar. Off course, with new candles, you need new candle holders, if you don’t have any spares lying around.
A statue of Brigid, or something to represent her, like Brigid’s Cross. You can also create your own cross with some sticks and string.
Flowers. As Imbolc is celebrating that spring is coming, nothing is more fitting than some flowers. If you have access to fresh flowers, add what ever you can find. If you don’t want to splurge on flowers, I love these garlands, which can last for years to come and even work for other sabbat altars.
The end result is an altar that symbolizes the fertility of the land to bring a new harvest to support the growth of the planet for another year.
