We had all brought a besom/broom. I had made two little ones (I have four besoms now!), because Monique and I had to travel by boat and tram. Some had tied the broom to their bike. There was a nice collection of besoms. :-)
So close to Imbolc we couldn't forget about Brighid, goddess of poetry, inspiration, smithcraft, healing and prediction. Everyone had made a piece of paper with some words, drawings, poetry, etc. The envelopes were gathered in a cauldron and at the end of the evening we took another envelope out. I had used a poem made in honour of Imbolc by Nathalitanis and added a personal note. I got another great poem.
The altar was beautiful, mostly white. On the picture Sorcha discovered the unintentional symbolism: the branches with catkins form a womb with the light of the sun in the south. We each lit a tealight and with the candle of Brighid it looks like the light is about to be born...
The ritual was wonderful. We shared the way each of us call the quarters and chose the element we feel most connected to and the one we need most in our live. Even though I'm a virgo, I've always considered water to be my element. We passed an ice cube around until it melted to be aware of the individual cold sensations we experienced with our hands while transferring the positive energy to the group's collective goal.
We drank "slemp", an old Dutch custom. It is made of warm milk with tea and spices. Milk is a symbol of fertility and belongs to Imbolc. The spices have strengthening and protective qualities.
I'll give you the recipe:
Ingredients:
- 1.5 liter milk
- 3 teaspoons tea
- 1.5 cm cinnamon stick
- peel of 1 lemon
- 3 whole cloves
- a piece of mace
- 3 saffron threads
- 60 grams sugar
Bring the milk to a boil. Tie the spices and tea in a cotton cloth (or put them in a tea ball) and hang it in the milk. Put a lid on the pan and let it simmer for one hour to let the spices infuse in the milk. Add the sugar towards the end. You can thicken it with a few egg yolks or cornflour (Am. cornstarch). Filter the slemp before serving it hot. Enjoy!
Het ritueel klinkt echt heel erg mooi (je hebt me weer jaloers weten te maken hahaha), en ik ben heel trots op het feit dat je mijn gedichtje hebt gebruikt. :)
ReplyDeleteOf dat ik er nu, na Imbolc, meer op let weet ik niet, maar zodra ik buiten ben, ruik ik de lente gewoon, die frisse prikkeling, sneeuwklokjes die al opkomen, de zon die 's avonds langer boven de horizon zijn gloed afgeeft....heeeeeerlijk!!!!
omg i am like the 16 year old male version of the bike lady. we both did the EXACT same thing with the same obscure oriental broom!
ReplyDelete