Kids Stuff, planting bulbs
Making candles
The History of this Celtic Holiday
The Goddess Bridget

Instead of making a traditional circle ritual with my kids, we celebrate
Imbolc in the kitchen. I feel its important that celebrating holidays
take place in different, but day to day locations. The sacredness of
everywhere is important. We start the day after breakfast and the
kitchen is clean. I burn incense on the stove and light many candles.

I call the children into the kitchen. "Today is a special holiday. This
is the day the people in the North called Imbolc or Candlemas. They
celebrate the coming of the sunshine and the coming of Spring." "Is
spring coming?" Dakota looks out the window at the feet of snow in the
backyard. "Well, it is quite aways away. But we are going to talk
about it today while we plant some bulbs and make some candles. First we
are going to plant some bulbs. Solomon, can you get the paper bag out
of the refrigerator? Dakota, can you get some newspaper to lay on the
table? Autumn can you get some large spoons out of the drawer?"

We assemble together:
4 planters and plates or bases for them
a bag of promix, or some very small rocks
a watering can
4 large spoons
4 bulbs per person of either Hyacinth, Narcissus, White Trumpets

We fill our planters with soil and water them down. Then we make some
small holes in the top of the soil and place our bulbs in the soil
almost to the top. We make sure they have enough water, and place them
in windows around the house. We do all this very slowly, chanting and
talking all the time.

"This was the time of year in the North, when the baby lambs were being
born. Then everyone knew that it would start warming up soon and the
whole ground would rebirth itself. As these bulbs grow, so will the sun.
And by the time they flower it will be almost spring. They will grow
very quickly. The name of this holiday is Imbolc which means, in the
belly of the Mother Earth. All the flowers and plants are asleep under
the snow, in her belly. The fire of the sun, which is getting brighter
day by day is going to awake the plants in the Mothers belly. This is a
holiday of fire"

"The Earth, the Air, the Fire, the Water, Return, Return, Return."

We chant this over and over.

"This is also the time of year they give blessings to the Goddess
Bridget. She is the fire Goddess that helps give birth to the plants in
the Mothers belly."

We all make a procession to the places to leave the planted bulbs in the
windows. At each place we pause and make a big deal out of leaving the
plant there.

"We give thanks to the Goddess Bridget and the Sunlight, for helping our
plants and all plants of the Mother Earth come to life again."

We repeat this at each stop.

*
Making candles

Candle making is really easy. You could go locate beeswax at a hobby or
craft store. I use paraffin. The paraffin acts as the fuel, burning
regulator and skeleton of your candle. You can find paraffin at just
about any supermarket. Paraffin is mainly used for canning produce. The
ones I buy come in a box that has 4 clear bars in it. that's usually
enough to make a decent candle. If you have some old or burn-out candles
lay'n around feel free to use those. This also brings up the topic of
recycling, that I always talk with the children about anyway. The next
item you need is the string. The only type of string you should use is
cotton. Thickness does matter too. If it's too thick, it will never burn
up. If it's too small, it won't be able to wick up the wax fast enough
for it to burn at a suitable rate. This might take some experimentation
till you find the best material for you.

You will
also need a double boiler. Or a saucepan with a metal bowl that sits
inside it (my double boiler) If you try to melting your wax right over
your heat source... you'll end up with a smoke filled kitchen. And, you
are never going to be able to use the bowl for anything else a gain so
this will become your candle making bowl. Bring the water in the bottom
pan to a boil, making sure the water isn't hitting the bowl. While
you're waiting for your water to boil... Spread out your news paper.
Tape it down if you want too. Might make it a little less hassle while
you're working.

After your water has a fairly good boil; add the inner pan with the wax
and turn down your heat source. While your wax is melting on low heat,
lets get your mold and wick ready. Set your mold out and make sure it's
clean inside. Anything left inside will most likely stick to your
candle. Take your string and dangle it inside the mold. Leave about 2-3
inches at the top and cut it.

By this time, (if you had the water boiling before you put the wax in)
the wax should be melted. We'll talk about different molds in a minute.
Now that the wax is melted, it is a good time to add color and scenting.
This is open for anything. Remember: a little goes a long way. In other
words... be conservative. For color, I use crayons. Start by putting in
a quarter of a piece of crayon. It gets dark fast, so start small and
add more if needed. For scenting, I use a few drops of vanilla or cherry
extract, anything I have in the house I enjoy the scent of. Patchouli
Oil, or a small chunk of Myrrh even.

Now we need to coat your wick with wax to stiffen it. Take your wick and
dip it inside your molten wax. You might need to poke it down in the wax
with something like a fork. after it has sat in the wax for a bit,
slowly take it out. Hold it above your pan and let the excess wax drain
off. Then slowly move it over your newspaper. After it has stiffened
up... Put your wick in your mold and immobilize it with your cloths pen.
Or have the kids hold the wick in place after you pour the wax. Pour the
wax slowly, using all necessary precautions. It is very important to NOT
USE ALL THE WAX. You will need some later.

You do need to watch it though. You want to do this next step before it
gets too hard. Heat up the leftover wax still in the double boiler. Go
grab something long and skinny, such as a toothpick, I use a hat pin,
and poke a series of holes into the candle around the wick where the wax
is sinking. (about half the way through to the bottom) Pour the
remaining wax on the top where the holes are. Be sure NOT to pour too
much in. if it runs over the sides it will cause problems when you burn
your candle and just make it look plain bad. You might need to do this
more than once. Sometimes with big candles, even the filler wax will
contract leaving a hole in the center also.

Molds
The most common candle mold is the bottom half of a milk carton, the wax
kind. For kids, using the smallest pint size milk cartons is fun. You
can also pour them into small jars that you can burn the candles right
in. Sand Casting Fill a bucket or dishpan with damp sand. Make a mold
shape (indentation). You can do this by pressing a bottle or your hand
into the sand. At the bottom of the indentation, press three fingers
further into the sand. This will give your candle legs. Pour wax and
when it starts to set, place your pre cut wick into the middle. Allow to
harden, and remove candle. Your candle will have sand imbedded on the
outside.

Foil Sand Casting
Try the above but line your sand indentation with aluminum foil. This
will prevent sand from adhering to the outside and provide some
interesting and unusual shapes. You can also put the aluminum foil in a
hole dug in a plant, or cupped inside a bowl.

Chunk Candles
If you melt down all the scrap wax you have, your candles will most
likely be brown. Try breaking some of the darker colors into small
chunks. Fill your mold with the chunks and pour lighter, melted wax over
it.

*


Incidentally, there is speculation among linguistic scholars that the
very name of 'Valentine' has Pagan origins. It seems that it was
customary for French peasants of the Middle Ages to pronounce a 'g' as a
'v'. Consequently, the original term may have been the French
'galantine', which yields the English word 'gallant'. The word
originally refers to a dashing young man known for his 'affaires
d'amour', a true galaunt. The usual associations of V(G)alantine's Day
make much more sense in this light than their vague connection to a
legendary 'St. Valentine' can produce. Indeed, the Church has always
found it rather difficult to explain this nebulous saint's connection to
the secular pleasures of flirtation and courtly love.

For modern Witches, Candlemas O.S. may then be seen as the Pagan version
of Valentine's Day, with a de-emphasis of 'hearts and flowers' and an
appropriate re-emphasis of Pagan carnal frivolity. This also re-aligns
the holiday with the ancient Roman Lupercalia, a fertility festival held
at this time, in which the priests of Pan ran through the streets of
Rome whacking young women with goatskin thongs to make them fertile. The
women seemed to enjoy the attention and often stripped in order to
afford better targets. Other customs of the holiday include weaving
'Brigit's crosses' from straw or wheat to hang around the house for
protection, performing rites of spiritual cleansing and purification,
making 'Brigit's beds' to ensure fertility of mind and spirit (and body,
if desired), and making Crowns of Light (i.e. of candles) for the High
Priestess to wear for the Candlemas Circle, similar to those worn on St.
Lucy's Day in Scandinavian countries. All in all, this Pagan Festival of
Lights, sacred to the young Maiden Goddess, is one of the most beautiful
and poetic of the year.

*

DIRECTIONS FOR MAKING BRIGID'S CROSS

I have seen some very elaborate and beautifully woven Brigid's Crosses.
Unfortunately I'm all thumbs and couldn't begin to construct one myself.
That's OK though, because I wanted a project easy enough for young
children. These directions require only pipe cleaners and string. You
can get pipe cleaners in any craft store and they come in a wonderful
assortment of colors so you can let your little artists be as creative
as they want!

Step 1 - Make a bundle with 6 pipe cleaners and bend them in half. Tie
the ends all together with a piece of string.

Step 2 - Lay the pipe cleaner bundle on the table in a vertical
position, with the tied end on the top.

Step 3- Make a second bundle, again using 6 pipe cleaners, and bend them
in half.

Step 4- Before you tie the ends this time though, slip it through the
middle of the other bundle so that they're linked.

Step 5 - Now tie the ends and lay this second bundle down in a
horizontal position with the tied ends pointing to the right. If you did
it right your shape should look like the letter "L".

Step 6 - Now you're going to repeat the procedure. Make a bundle with 6
pipe cleaners, bend them in half and, before you tie them, slip them
through the middle of the horizontal bundle, just to the right of the
first bundle. This batch should be in a vertical position, with the tied
ends on the bottom.

Step 7 - The last step is to make one last bundle, slipping it through
the middle of the batch you just laid down, only this one goes
horizontally to the left. Now tie the ends. You should now have an
upside down "L" linked through your right-side up one.

Now you've made Brigid's Cross!

Explain to the kids as they work that Brigid was the Maiden Goddess in
Ireland. Her name meant "The High or Exalted One." She was the Goddess
of Fire and was therefore called on by families to be their Hearth
Guardian and the protectress of their homes. Another fun activity to
celebrate Brigid's Day is to have the children draw a picture of what
they think Brigid might look like. Flaming red hair, a fiery dress,
whatever. Hang her pictures on the refrigerator as part of your Brigid's
Day celebration!

Excerpts from A Wiccan Primer: Rituals for Children Copyright 1996 by
Wind*Dancer