Ideas for Imbolg

[Lunacie]

Woo Hoo, Imbolg is only a couple of weeks away. I love looking forward to the spring, that is my favorite season. I found a good meditation for our Imbolg ritual, but wouldn't mind having some other ideas, or new recipes, to add flavor to the celebration.

So... what are you doing for Imbolg this year?

[Crystal Willowtree]

i usually go for a nice walk outside where the bulbs are just starting to come up... i then go back home to meditate or something. i agree with you Lunacie, spring is amazing :)

[shuvanilu]

My public circle is doing a Brigid's Day ritual that incorporates 3 of us acting as Priestesses: One as Poetess, one as Healer, and one as Smithy. We will have some group divination as part of the ritual, and afterward we are eating b-day cake because this circle is celebrating facillitating public ritual for one year.

My private coven is having a trance dance where we are putting energy toward things we are birthing, new beginnings, fresh starts...I am *really* looking forward to the trance dance. I had the opportunity to trance dance at a camp last year and it was really profound.

With my kids I will be using some ritual ideas from Circle Round...which I love. Great book:)--shuvanilu

[Lunacie]

Ooh, that's a cool idea, honoring Brigid as patroness of smithcraft, poetry, and healing.

Trance Dance is a new thing for me, I haven't heard anything about it. Can you tell us a little bit about it pretty please?

[shuvanilu]

Well, I was introduced to trance dancing this past May, and the experience really blew my mind. Basically, it's using your body in a very primal, shamanic way...A fellow Preistess and I are selecting specific songs that the coven will dance to to welcome the direction/elements, using our bodies and energy to cast the Circle. Then, with specific intent we dance oursleves into a frenzy and raise energy toward our goal...We will have our directional altars set up, including center, and some hand drums, and comfy clothes and water...and we will dancedancedance until the energy is raised to a peak and then release it out into the universe, and then slow down thanking/releasing the direction/elements with specific music that honors those directions. It's actually quite simple but quite moving. It helps to have a guardian priestess who is not dancing to the point of mind-altering so she can keep the focus specific and help people out if they dance to the point of extreme exhaustion, emotional melt-down, etc...What I have experienced can only be described as Maenads minus the booze and animal tearing...lol.---shuvanilu

[SilverClaw]

Well aside from doing a cleansing of the house, the kids and I usually got and take bells and ring them in each room to get the energies moving. Also if it is not to bad out this year we are going across the street to check on the ducks and just enjoy being outside.

[Lunacie]

Well, I was introduced to trance dancing this past May, and the experience really blew my mind. Basically, it's using your body in a very primal, shamanic way...A fellow Preistess and I are selecting specific songs that the coven will dance to to welcome the direction/elements, using our bodies and energy to cast the Circle. Then, with specific intent we dance oursleves into a frenzy and raise energy toward our goal...We will have our directional altars set up, including center, and some hand drums, and comfy clothes and water...and we will dancedancedance until the energy is raised to a peak and then release it out into the universe, and then slow down thanking/releasing the direction/elements with specific music that honors those directions. It's actually quite simple but quite moving. It helps to have a guardian priestess who is not dancing to the point of mind-altering so she can keep the focus specific and help people out if they dance to the point of extreme exhaustion, emotional melt-down, etc...What I have experienced can only be described as Maenads minus the booze and animal tearing...lol.---shuvanilu

Sounds cool. I don't think the folks in my Grove could do that though. All of the women in the group suffer from FibroMyalgia - I know, what are the odds? If the weather is cold we have trouble just standing through a ritual.

You didn't say, but the energy is generally released with a purpose in mind. I just wanted to let any lurkers know that we don't gather all that energy and then waste it. Lately we've been sending the energy to everyone in the circle for healing and grounding anything that's left for healing of Mother Earth. We've had some other health issues besides the FM.

[Lunacie]

Well aside from doing a cleansing of the house, the kids and I usually got and take bells and ring them in each room to get the energies moving. Also if it is not to bad out this year we are going across the street to check on the ducks and just enjoy being outside.

Sounds lovely. Are you going to light any candles? I thought about having a class on candle making this weekend, but just don't have the energy to get it organized. Definately something to think about for next year. I hope you and the kids will celebrate by having some milk or cheese and maybe some oatmeal cookies. And I love the idea of sharing the bounty with the ducks. We have a couple of dogs who usually help themselves to whatever we share with the gods and the fairies.

[SilverClaw]

Sounds lovely. Are you going to light any candles? I thought about having a class on candle making this weekend, but just don't have the energy to get it organized. Yes as apart of my ritual I will be and this year I may just make my own beeswax candles to since I got beeswax for a birthday/ christmas present.



I hope you and the kids will celebrate by having some milk or cheese and maybe some oatmeal cookies. And I love the idea of sharing the bounty with the ducks. . We if my son has anything to do with it we will have some type of baked goods :D And as for the ducks i am not so sure about sharing the bounty but if they are still around go and visit them. The one last summer followed us through the ball park and then walked right past us .. they have personality I tell ya :hehehehe:

[Lunacie]

I've always enjoyed feeding the ducks, especially the little guys. But some of those geese are a little scary. :lol:


Wish I knew someone who raises sheep to take my granddaughters out to see some baby lambs.

[shuvanilu]

You didn't say, but the energy is generally released with a purpose in mind. I just wanted to let any lurkers know that we don't gather all that energy and then waste it. Lately we've been sending the energy to everyone in the circle for healing and grounding anything that's left for healing of Mother Earth. We've had some other health issues besides the FM.

Oh yes---definitely. We always release the energy with specific intent. For Imbolc we're dancing to raise energy toward what we are "birthing"---new projects, new love, new goals and also honoring our Coven's 1st b-day (yeah...our Circle too...lol. We started them both at the same time---talk about busy!!)--shuvanilu

[Lunacie]

Ah, energy for birthing new things is very appropriate for this time of year.

I'm also more curious than usual to see what the weather is like on Imbolg as a prediction. We got Winter here early this year, and I hope we'll be all done with it by March. We had snow and ice pellets here at Ostara last year, rather unusual. :damncold:

[Ben Gruagach]

My coven has celebrated Imbolc by doing a small, simple candlelight ritual at a local freshwater spring. Basically we'll light our little candles, recite or read some poems each of us have chosen as inspirational, and then we'll tie some little "wish ribbons" around the spring area. We'll also collect some of the springwater to use in our rituals through the rest of the year.

We're really lucky to have a historically significant freshwater spring nearby that is not only well tended by the local authorities, but is set up as a small park with a plaque to mark the history of the spring. It's on a rather rural road with lots of trees around so it really suits things like this -- you don't feel like you're being watched except perhaps by the occasional car that goes by on the road.

A couple of years ago when we were doing this Imbolc ritual a pair of curious teenage boys pulled over and came over to ask what we were doing. We told them we were celebrating Imbolc, and that it was part of our Wiccan religion.

One of the boys promptly asked, "So, are you Catholics?" We told him we were not Catholics.

I wonder if he ever figured out what we were!

Edited to add: I forgot to mention that we're going to do the same ritual this year. I wonder if we'll have any teenagers dropping by to check us out this year.

[Lunacie]

Oh sweet. I wish there was a natural spring in my area. I'd love to have some spring water to use in rituals.

[princeether]

There is a freshwater spring in the Forest opposite my cottage! It is quite deep into the Forest but im going to walk there on Imbolc, I will also look for wild herbs and bits of wood, and take nuts to leave for the squirrels and meat for the foxes. Then when I get home I will plant some seeds and light some candles and spring clean my house. I am going to have a nice dinner, then make an offering to Bride and the Green man...

[shuvanilu]

That sounds really lovely---the natural spring:) We have some water from Brigid's Well, and we bless eachother and our families with it each Imbolc. --shuvanilu

[Lunacie]

There is a freshwater spring in the Forest opposite my cottage! It is quite deep into the Forest but im going to walk there on Imbolc, I will also look for wild herbs and bits of wood, and take nuts to leave for the squirrels and meat for the foxes. Then when I get home I will plant some seeds and light some candles and spring clean my house. I am going to have a nice dinner, then make an offering to Bride and the Green man...

I'm not planning to plant anything, but I am going to take an offering for the birds and such out into my yard. Gosh, I haven't seen a fox in over 20 years. We were living in a really small town and it was a really cold winter, lots of snow, we had a pair of foxes move into a culvert next to the cemetary just outside of town. Occasionally they would wander into town. Now, possums, well had quite a few of those around. One would come up onto our porch and take the cat food.

What kind of offering do you plan to make to Bridget and the Green Man, if you don't mind sharing?

[princeether]

Well im hoping to find some Acorns with which I want to make a Priapic Wand for the Green Man....
I have made a special Insence for Bride and I also have a white Hyacinth which is just flowering, So come Imbolc it will be in full bloom! 2 special Beeswax candles, one white for the Godess and one Green for the Green man, I will put everything on my Altar along with some seeds in peat jiffy's to symbolise the fertility of spring:)
I love Foxes so much, there are lots near here and they are so beautiful, I cook Lamb Shanks and really Rare Sirloin Steaks for them! I was so glad when Fox hunting was banned here!:)

Hope you have a great Imbolc! :)

[princeether]

That sounds really lovely---the natural spring:) We have some water from Brigid's Well, and we bless eachother and our families with it each Imbolc. --shuvanilu

As in St. Bridgets Well in the grounds of Kildare Cathedral? :)

[Lunacie]

Oooh, love the idea of using a white or silver candle for the goddess and a green candle for the green man, thankies.

I noticed one of our trees budding last week, just before we got hit with another round of ice and snow and below-freezing temps. I'll have to check on it again just before Imbolg and maybe put a sprig on the altar with the candles and cauldron.

We will pass around small bundles of straw or wheat to be charged with whatever negative energies such as thoughts, habits or shortcomings we want to divest ourselves of. They will be tied into a larger "straw man" that will be burned in the cauldron. Then we'll pass around little packets of seeds that will be charged with the positive energies we want to nurture in ourselves this season, such as creativity, inspiration, or an emotion. Those will also be tossed into the cauldron and after the ritual ends we will plant those in the East as we build our future on the ashes of our past.

[RainInanna]

Not sure - usually Imbolc comes at the coldest part of the year for us. Usually winter really blows in and takes hold around January and February, although the first snow comes in November. Never really connected with Imbolc in terms of the season of spring coming, but maybe I just need to relate it to earlier winter celebrations and make it a holiday filled with winter, as it is for us.

This is definitely one of those spots where my practice leans away from Wicca "proper".

ETA - just re-read the thread and like some of the candle-burning ideas and wish ideas. It might make more sense for me to make wishes that can continue incubating within as nature around us continues to rest and grow underground, hidden away, waiting for spring to come.

[Élistariel]

I don't even know when it is. :bigredblu I wanna say Feb 2nd?
If I remember I'll just refill my birdfeeders.
It'll depend on if I'm at my townhouse home (with my friend/roomie) or at my house-home (my grandparents').
If I'm at my house-home I'll probably just spend time outside with my cat and dog and go feed our ducks. - Basically a normal day at my grandparents.'

[Shanti]

Hopefully not shoveling snow!! LOL
Winter is strong here till late March.

But I dont have a definite plan yet, but I would like to do some stuff with my kids.
I know we will do some singing and dancing, ask the spirits for a gentle spring ( it was a rough summer and fall and winter here. :)

[RainInanna]

Hopefully not shoveling snow!! LOL

Yes that's more along the lines of what it's like here :lol: Seriously first signs of spring may come in April here. If we're lucky it doesn't snow in May.

If we stretch the seasons out I'd say spring from about April through to the beginning of June, summer from June through August, fall from September through to the beginning of November. Then winter from November through to April again.

[Lunacie]

Ah yes, Canada, where there are only two seasons... winter and July. :lol:

[RainInanna]

you mean winter and construction ;)

[Lunacie]

I think that's what I said. :lol:

We are so lucky to have spring and fall here in Kansas. If we're lucky they each last a whole month. ;)

[Avalonia]

This will be my first year celebrating Imbolc with a group. The Pagan Society here is planning out the ritual (actually, we have another meeting about it on Wednesday, weather permitting, I suppose). If we have it on campus, we can't have anything like candles or anything (I think someone mentioned something about laterns or battery powered candles or something instead).

It really seemed like we were leaning towards a Bardic circle and possibly a plant exchange of some sort, but we're not definite on anything yet. I'm going to do a little bit of research to see if I can find some other stuff to present for ideas on Wednesday. :3

[Lunacie]

This will be my first year celebrating Imbolc with a group. The Pagan Society here is planning out the ritual (actually, we have another meeting about it on Wednesday, weather permitting, I suppose). If we have it on campus, we can't have anything like candles or anything (I think someone mentioned something about laterns or battery powered candles or something instead).

It really seemed like we were leaning towards a Bardic circle and possibly a plant exchange of some sort, but we're not definite on anything yet. I'm going to do a little bit of research to see if I can find some other stuff to present for ideas on Wednesday. :3

Oooh! Our group is finally going to try something that I've always wanted to do and use symbolic items instead of candles. They often blow out when we work outdoors, we get some strong winds here in Kansas. :lol: Even with them in jars or hurricane lanterns they sometimes blow out.

So the person who calls East/Air is going to blow on or wave a pinwheel.
The person who calls South/Fire is going to throw a smidgen of gunpowder into the fire pit.
The person who calls West/Water is going to pour out the rest of the water from blessing the circle.
The person who calls North/Earth is going to pour out the rest of the salt from blessing the circle.
The person who calls Center/Spirit is going to throw a sprinkle of gold and silver glitter into the air.
The priest is going to raise his sword in a salute when he invites the god.
The priestess is going to raise the chalice in a salute when she invites the goddess.

I'm lovin' it!

The former leader never tried anything different like this. Heck, she never even bothered to sweep the circle before starting, and she never called Spirit/Center. The energies and the connections in the circle are just so much more awesome lately. :)

[lightdragon]

Not sure - usually Imbolc comes at the coldest part of the year for us. Usually winter really blows in and takes hold around January and February, although the first snow comes in November. Never really connected with Imbolc in terms of the season of spring coming, but maybe I just need to relate it to earlier winter celebrations and make it a holiday filled with winter, as it is for us.
.
Well in terms of farming, it is the time when Ewes are first producing milk. So some aspects of spring are already forming. also it is the time of midwinter when winter is starting to recline. I think one of the reasons there were orginally two seasons(summer and winter) is that snow usually never falls after Bealtane. so since you are not living on a farm, you wouldn`t notice the former part.

Here in NYC this is when it really starts. although it sometimes starts in november.

[Ben Gruagach]

Oooh! Our group is finally going to try something that I've always wanted to do and use symbolic items instead of candles. They often blow out when we work outdoors, we get some strong winds here in Kansas. :lol: Even with them in jars or hurricane lanterns they sometimes blow out.

So the person who calls East/Air is going to blow on or wave a pinwheel.
The person who calls South/Fire is going to throw a smidgen of gunpowder into the fire pit.
The person who calls West/Water is going to pour out the rest of the water from blessing the circle.
The person who calls North/Earth is going to pour out the rest of the salt from blessing the circle.
The person who calls Center/Spirit is going to throw a sprinkle of gold and silver glitter into the air.
The priest is going to raise his sword in a salute when he invites the god.
The priestess is going to raise the chalice in a salute when she invites the goddess.

I'm lovin' it!

The former leader never tried anything different like this. Heck, she never even bothered to sweep the circle before starting, and she never called Spirit/Center. The energies and the connections in the circle are just so much more awesome lately. :)

Just a couple of friendly suggestions:

- another good symbolic item to use for Air is a feather. (You can get all sorts of feathers at craft stores like Michael's. They have big turkey feathers that have been dyed to look like eagle feathers which work well.)

- you might want to be careful where salt is poured outside as it can kill off the plant life (or in this case, stop any plant life from growing there in the coming year.) Perhaps a good alternative to salt for representing Earth would be some potting soil, or small stones, or ground up herbs and bits of tree bark.

Another Imbolc tradition that I always enjoyed is making up a Bride's bed. We do it with a little basket that we line with nice cloth, and then during our Imbolc ritual we put a little corn dolly we've made to represent Bride/Brigit into it like it's going to bed. And we tuck a wand (phallic if possible) into bed with Her to represent the God as consort. We usually adorn the wand with ribbons for the occasion as well.

Perhaps alternate items to use to salute the deities could be the wand (suitably beribboned) for the God, and the corn dolly for the Goddess? Or the items could be put in a place of honour and then the sword and chalice could be used to salute the deity symbols.

Oh, and once the Bride and her Groom are tucked into their little bed it's customary to put it somewhere cozy like by a fire, or in a warm corner of a bedroom or kitchen (somewhere you consider to be the heart of your home and a cozy place where They can have a little privacy that night.)

[RainInanna]

Yeah I miss living on a farm. I wasn't even working on it, just living on it, but it was enough to be surrounded by the animals and crops.

[Lunacie]

Just a couple of friendly suggestions:

- another good symbolic item to use for Air is a feather. (You can get all sorts of feathers at craft stores like Michael's. They have big turkey feathers that have been dyed to look like eagle feathers which work well.)
Yeah, my suggestion was to use a feather wand, one of the others wanted to make a bull-roarer, but we left it up to the person who will be calling Air this time and she thought a pinwheel sounded like fun. ;)



- you might want to be careful where salt is poured outside as it can kill off the plant life (or in this case, stop any plant life from growing there in the coming year.) Perhaps a good alternative to salt for representing Earth would be some potting soil, or small stones, or ground up herbs and bits of tree bark.
I was worried about that a little bit, but thought since we would already have some salt ready from doing the self-cleansing... But I like the idea of some wood chips - I have a huge bag of those since I use them for kitty litter. Thanks for the idea. :)



Another Imbolc tradition that I always enjoyed is making up a Bride's bed. We do it with a little basket that we line with nice cloth, and then during our Imbolc ritual we put a little corn dolly we've made to represent Bride/Brigit into it like it's going to bed. And we tuck a wand (phallic if possible) into bed with Her to represent the God as consort. We usually adorn the wand with ribbons for the occasion as well.

Oh, and once the Bride and her Groom are tucked into their little bed it's customary to put it somewhere cozy like by a fire, or in a warm corner of a bedroom or kitchen (somewhere you consider to be the heart of your home and a cozy place where They can have a little privacy that night.)[/

Yeah the business with putting the god image into the bed with Bride is in almost every book and online ritual you can find, but I really didn't want to do that this year as we already have quite a bit of stuff to do and it's going to be doggone cold outside here, even with a blazing fire in the fire pit. Don't want the ritual to be so long we get frostbite. 8O

I figured we'd do some classes on various gods and goddesses during this year and then we can do more of that stuff in ritual and it will actually mean something to the participants. Most of the folks in this group are still pretty new to all this. And see if I can get the Shamanist guy to teach us something about honoring the ancestors, stuff like that.



Perhaps alternate items to use to salute the deities could be the wand (suitably beribboned) for the God, and the corn dolly for the Goddess? Or the items could be put in a place of honour and then the sword and chalice could be used to salute the deity symbols.
The first copy of the ritual had the priest using the athame to salute the god, but when it was suggested he carry a sword for the challenge at the very beginning we decided he could also use that to salute the god. I think he will get a kick out of using a sword (we may even make a Rennie out of him). :lol:

[Whitewolf]

I'm still not sure what I'm doing for Imbolg. I usually go to my friend's house for a ritual. I don't know if she's doing that this year. I plan to light candles and incense.

[SilverClaw]

I've always enjoyed feeding the ducks, especially the little guys. But some of those geese are a little scary. Hehehe yes that is true :D


My coven has celebrated Imbolc by doing a small, simple candlelight ritual at a local freshwater spring. Basically we'll light our little candles, recite or read some poems each of us have chosen as inspirational, and then we'll tie some little "wish ribbons" around the spring area. We'll also collect some of the springwater to use in our rituals through the rest of the year.

Wow that sounds lovley. I have creek like thing nearby where the ducks usually are but not sure if I would do a ritual there....


Oooh, love the idea of using a white or silver candle for the goddess and a green candle for the green man, thankies. Come to think of it I have not used those colour correspondences in a long while.


Not sure - usually Imbolc comes at the coldest part of the year for us. Usually winter really blows in and takes hold around January and February, although the first snow comes in November That is the same for us over on my end of the country but this past winter we have had to deal with alot of flooding. It is the one thing I do not look forward to this spring.

Anyways I was just thinking before I caught up reading this thread. That now I have wicks to make candles I will do that as well as Take the seeds I have and use them in my ritual.

As for now though I am off to go cleanse the down stairs ah and do an emergency sewing job ......

[RainInanna]

Erf, I haven't lit candles since we moved. Darn smoke alarms are sensitive. Tempted to temporarily toss them outside ;)

[lightdragon]

as we speak I`m attempting to make a Bridghid Cross.I`m soaking the straw as I`m writing this.

already made some scented candles using mainly blackberry scent.

[Lunacie]

as we speak I`m attempting to make a Bridghid Cross.I`m soaking the straw as I`m writing this.

already made some scented candles using mainly blackberry scent.

Cool. Can you post a piccy when you're finished with the cross?

Wish you could post the smell of the candles. I'm generally okay with fruit scents, yum. I haven't made any candles in about 10 years. I thought about setting up some candle making for the class last week - oh well, there's always next year. I loved making the dip candles, although they take so much more work than just pouring candles.

[lightdragon]

Cool. Can you post a piccy when you're finished with the cross?

Wish you could post the smell of the candles. I'm generally okay with fruit scents, yum. I haven't made any candles in about 10 years. I thought about setting up some candle making for the class last week - oh well, there's always next year. I loved making the dip candles, although they take so much more work than just pouring candles.
probably tomorrow i`ll post a piccy of it.

This is the first time i made candles. i think the hardest part was hacking at the 5 lb. slabs to make it melt easier. i didn`t use no dye and the melted wax looked like water. Adding the scent was easy. I used blackberry as it was supposed to be sacred to Bridghid. i also poured them in glass jars. as that was easier to do. also a word of advice, break the slabs before you start the melter. It makes everything more neater.

[Lunacie]

When I bought the big slabs of wax I seem to remember scoring them with an ice pick then they would break along that line - or close to it.

[princeether]

Is there a thread on MW where you can post photos that correspond to each Sabbat? (i.e The Snowdrops in my garden that are blooming at Imbolc? or A fruiting Holly tree at Yule?)

[jetpiston]

Is there a thread on MW where you can post photos that correspond to each Sabbat? (i.e The Snowdrops in my garden that are blooming at Imbolc? or A fruiting Holly tree at Yule?)
Maybe you could start a thread just for that, assuming that it's not against the forum rules or anything. People could display their pics by uploading them to a photo-hosting site like tinypic (http://tinypic.com (http://tinypic.com/)) and using the "Insert Image" button to post them here.

[Ben Gruagach]

Maybe you could start a thread just for that, assuming that it's not against the forum rules or anything. People could display their pics by uploading them to a photo-hosting site like tinypic (http://tinypic.com (http://tinypic.com/)) and using the "Insert Image" button to post them here.

Another good host to use is Flickr if you want a nice way to share pictures. But Jetpiston is quite right -- there's no reason why you can't start a picture-sharing thread if you want one! (I've seen threads like that with pictures of altars, books of shadows, etc.)

You can also add pictures directly to posts here at MysticWicks but to save on server space here it would probably help to host the photos elsewhere and then link them in your post.

[lightdragon]

Cool. Can you post a piccy when you're finished with the cross?


ok finished. and was able to finally take a pic and upload it.

http://a408.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/90/l_4b43ac0a86b51be9e6496e3a3a793067.jpg

[Lunacie]

Oooh, that's much cooler than the very simple one we made a couple of years ago. I may have to find a source for wheat and look for the directions for making one like that.

[lightdragon]

Try a local florist that is where I got mine. As for directions check out a book called Candlemas by Amber K

[Ben Gruagach]

Here are some webpages that explain how to make various different "corn dollies"

http://groups.msn.com/PaganHearthRecipes/corndollies.msnw

http://www.fisheaters.com/stbrigidscross.html

http://www.iol.ie/~scphadr/makecross.html

http://www.geocities.com/rainforest/vines/5863/cmethod1.html

http://www.earthwitchery.com/makeacross.html

Happy Imbolc everyone!

[Lunacie]

Try a local florist that is where I got mine. As for directions check out a book called Candlemas by Amber K

Ha, I wouldn't have thought of checking there.


Ben, thanks for the links.

[David19]

I'm not Wiccan, and have no idea if today is Imbolc, but have a happy and great Imbolc, hope you are all doing something fun and enjoy the holiday.

[Lunacie]

Thank you David. Some people celebrate on the traditional date (today), some celebrate on the astrological date (around the 7th this year I think).

Happy Anticipation-of-Spring Day (Imbolc) to everyone! :abanana:

[lightdragon]

Here are some webpages that explain how to make various different "corn dollies"

http://www.fisheaters.com/stbrigidscross.html


Happy Imbolc everyone!
This is the closest to the instructions I used for my Brigid Cross

BTW ,Happy Imbolc