Imbolc (February 2) marks the recovery of the Goddess after giving birth to the God.  The lengthening periods of light awaken Her. The God is a young, lusty boy, but His power is felt in the longer days.  The warmth fertilizes the Earth (the Goddess), and causes seeds to germinate and sprout.  And so the earliest beginnings of Spring occur.

This is a Sabbat of purification after the shut-in life of Winter, through the renewing power of the Sun.  It is also a festival of light and of fertility, once marked in Europe with huge blazes, torches and fire in every form.  Fire here represents our own illumination and ispiration as much as light and warmth.

Imbolc is also known as Feast of Torches, Oimelc, Lupercalia, Feast of Pan, Snowdrop Festival, Feast of the Waxing Light, Brighid’s Day, and probably by many other names.  Some female Witches follow the old Scandinavian custom of wearing crowns of lit candles, but many more carry tapers during their invocations.

This is one of the traditional times for initiations into covens, and so self-dedication rituals, such as the one outlined in this Book of Shadows, can be performed or renewed at this time.