Sunday, March 2, 2014

Celebrating Imbolc and Welcoming Spring,

In early February my group, KOTH, celebrated the sabbat of Imbolc. In a lot of areas, this time of year is celebrated as the Return of Spring (and the decline of winter- at least in the Southern US).

This past winter has been very active, not only up North, but here in the South as well. I can't remember the last time we had a "real" winter.Normally here in Louisiana, we have a couple of weeks at most of temps 32 degrees or lower. The temps usually range from 40-60 degrees. So imagine our surprise when we have had "wintry" conditions here for a few weeks now. We even got snow, sleet and lots of ice on the roads. We Southerners are not used to these conditions to say the least. So of course if the temp goes below 32 degrees, the state pretty much shuts down.

On February 2nd, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow and "predicted" 6 more weeks of winter (at least for that part of the country). In Louisiana we have our own version of Phil, called Pierre Shadeaux, pronounced "Shadow".



(taken from: http://weirdsouth.blogspot.com/2014/01/will-pierre-see-his-shadeaux.html)

Pierre is not a groundhog, but actually a nutria rat, which are plentiful in this area. The weather here on February 2nd was cloudy and downcast with rain for most of the day. So Pierre did not see his shadow. I guess only time will tell which rodent is correct :) The past couple of weeks (late February) have been warmer temps in my local area, with temps reaching highs of 70 (nighttime lows in 40;s). So maybe Pierre is on to something. I am normally a winter person, but this year I am ready for spring.

At this time of year we celebrate Imbolc, a time of regeneration, purification and dedication. KOTH celebrated with a ritual and feasting afterwards. This year we honored Brigid in her many aspects as a triple goddess and asked for her blessings of healing, knowledge, transformation and creativity just to name a few.  We also rededicated ourselves to our gods and to following the ways of the ancient ones. Seeds were blessed and consecrated for future magical workings. And of course we ending with feasting. I don't ever remember having a celebration with out good food as a major part of the event. We Cajuns believe that we must live life to fullest, Laissez les bon temps roulet. (Let the good times roll).

I hope this season of Imbolc brings you health, prosperity and happiness. Be happy and make magic :)

May Brigid bless you always.

Autumn

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Merry Yule and Happy New Year!!!

Wow, I hadn't realized how long it has been since I wrote on this blog. This past year has certainly kept me busy. It seems like all I had time to do was work, go home, eat, sleep and start the cycle again :( One of my goals for 2014 is to really delve into my creativity and find ways of expressing myself. This blog is certainly on my list of priorities for the new year.

Merry Yule!
Keepers of the Hearth spent this sabbat on a weekend retreat to Poverty Point, LA which is in Northern Louisiana not far from Monroe. This was a 3-4 hour drive for us, but definitely worth the drive. This state park is beautiful, has great hiking trails and an awesome man made lake on which some of the smaller lodges sit. As you can see in the pic, the weather was not exactly an inducement for merry making :)
It actually rained all day Saturday, but we managed to find things to do to keep in the holiday spirit.



We arrived Friday evening, unpacked and set up the cabin. That evening we visited with other local pagans who were also at Poverty Point for the weekend. After a brief visit, we returned to the cabin, fixed supper and enjoyed the tv show It's A Wonderful Life. It had been years since many of us had seem this show, and we were very happy to have shared it together as a coven and family.

Saturday started with a big family breakfast followed by a session of making Yule Ornaments.

                            

Everyone took turns making their own set of ornaments, adults and children alike.

The rest of the afternoon was spent watching holiday shows, reading, meditating and walking the trails.

That evening we had our Yule Ritual in which we welcomed back the returning light. We honored the triple goddess by lighting candles in her honor as well as honoring the return of the light and the sun lord.



After ritual we indulged in feasting and adult beverages for those who were old enough :). We ended the night with a gift exchange. It was a long day, but a wonderful one. I am hoping this will be a KOTH tradition.

I hope you all had a wonderful and Merry Yule. May the love and light of the Lord and Lady bless you always.

BB,
Autumn