On a cold and snowy day Hollow Hills Grove met to celebrate the festival of Imbolc, the feast day of the goddess Brighid.

This time of year is the time the sheep are giving birth and things are starting to stir within the earth. Ewes are lactating and this means that cheese and butter can be made and even though there are several weeks of winter left to survive, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. This is a time of increase.

Brighid is a Gaelic goddess of poetry, healing and smithcraft and she is associated with holy wells and sacred flames. She is also a goddess of childbirth. In Ireland there are many holy wells dedicated to her and her fire centre is located in Kildare Ireland where a flame is kept lit and is tended for her.
Her association with candles, warmth and fires reminds us that spring is on its way and the sun will gently warm the earth soon.

We have the ritual indoors at the hearth to honour Brighid.

Hollow Hills Grove celebrates Brighid with offerings of butter, cream, whiskey and Guiness, which are traditional offerings. Also handmade items, stories and songs are also appropriate offerings to this goddess of creativity.

One of the traditions that Hollow Hills grove follows is the ritual of the Brighid’s Mantle (or Brighid’s Cloak or Brat Bhride ). We believe that if you hang the mantle outside over the night on Imbolc Eve, Brighid will come and bless the mantle with healing and protective powers for the coming year. We use a white cotton cloth and tear strips from it to give to Grove attendees and friends to use for their healing needs. We burn the old strips of cloth from the previous year.

Our lightly snow covered Brighid's Mantle hanging on a tree branch

As you can see, we didn’t expect to have a snowy Brighid’s Mantle this year, but we had two inches of snow overnight.

The omen for this ritual from the Wildwood Tarot was particularly good:

From the Nature Spirits we drew the card HARE

The meaning of this card is a beginning of a new cycle as indicated by the egg and hare depicted on the card. It also means an early start (we had an early start to spring that quickly ended with the snow!) and new beginnings. It also represents new growth.

From the Ancestors we drew the card WOODPECKER

The meaning of this card is a mystery heard but not seen and things hidden which we will discover. This omen is indicated by the green woodpecker depicted on the card. The green woodpecker seems more rare than it is because of its ability to hide in the trees.

From the Deities the card we drew was STOAT

This card represents renewal of an alert determination and realignment with the sacred will of the land. It also means secrecy and magical sensitivity and playfulness.The stoat has an ability to slip out of situations. This bright yellow and sunny card really seemed to represent the spirit of Imbolc.

All the attendees agreed that this ritual felt like a new and fresh beginning and the shedding of an unsatisfying recent past.

After the ritual we feasted and sat in front of the warm fireplace thanking the Kindred for our blessings.

Every year as a part of our Imbolc celebrations, Hollow Hills Grove makes Brighid’s Crosses. These are made to honour the Irish Celtic Goddess Brigit, Brid or Brighid, the Goddess of poetry, smithcraft and healing. She is a hearth goddess and a goddess of the home. Brighid’s Holy Wells can be found in many places in the British Isles and Ireland, although her most famous is in Kildare. She is also the patroness of farm work and cattle, and protector of the household from fire and calamity. Brighid’s crosses are made to protect the house from fire and are a potent talisman.

The class starts with a practice session and we make our Brighid’s Crosses with straws. They are more pliable than the wheat we use, and it makes it easier to get a feel for how to form the crosses.

Practice Four Armed Cross Made of Straws

We get our materials from a local thatcher, which is a great way to use what remains of his inventory.

We soak the wheat in warm water until it becomes pliable and then we are taught how to weave three armed and four armed crosses. with and without wheat heads.

Three and Four Armed Brighid's Crosses

Christians consider Brighid’s crosses to be a Christian symbol, but it also resembles and possibly derives from the pagan sun wheel. Traditionally the cross is made from rushes or straw.

We hang our crosses in our homes after we bless them at our Imbolc ritual (this year Sunday February 5th – email us if you wish to attend!) to protect us until the next year.

Druids of Hollow Hills Grove got together and made suet and peanut butter treats for birds and other wildlife.

The Nature Spirits are very important to us as a Grove and many of us have gardens and/or live near woodland or parks. In this cold and dark time of the year, the birds, foxes and squirrels need high energy food to get them through the rest of the winter.

The Nature Spirits are those that swim, crawl, fly or walk on the earth. They are both seen an unseen. At every Hollow Hills Grove ritual we honour the nature spirits with offerings and other praise.

We combined melted suet with seeds, raisins, and mealworms to create a variety of treats that the animals could enjoy.

Once supplies are bought, the end result is a higher quality suet block than can be bought in the store and is it also cost effective – buying seeds in bulk as well as your own suet is cheaper than buying the ready made suet blocks at the garden centre. Plus, you have the satisfaction of having made them yourself.

Melting the suet and mixing in seeds is very easy and the end result sets quickly in the refrigerator and should be stored in a cool place.

We talked about the different birds and the kinds of food they like to eat. Some are seed eaters, some eat fruit, some eat dried and fresh worms. Some birds are not picky at all and will eat a little of each of those. Depending on the types of seeds you get will determine the kinds of birds you will attract.

Foxes have a sweet tooth and love raisins and peanuts.

Squirrels love monkey nuts, hazel nuts and other nuts you may have on hand.

In the end, we made 10 pine cones coated with peanut butter and nuts, 6 bread sticks covered with peanut butter and seeds and 13 suet and seed/insect/raisin blocks. They worked out well, and we all have enough food for the birds and other creatures for the rest of the winter.