Candlemas/Imbolc

Imagine my delight and surprise when I realized that February 2nd is Candlemas! What a wonderful time time to usher in my new-found path with light to guide my way!

Candlemas marks the midpoint of winter - halfway between the shortest day at the Winter Solstice (December 21st) and Spring Equinox (March 20th). Also on this day is celebrated Imbolc, a festival marking the Goddess' cyclical change from Crone to Maiden. It's a time to celebrate the increased strength of the sun as winter is giving way to spring. It's time to pull out the seed catalogs and gardening journals and start dreaming about bountiful gardens and blooming flowers.

Candlemas commemorates the presentation, by Mary, of Jesus in the Temple, forty days after giving birth to him. Jesus, quite literally was and is, the light guiding us out of the darkness. It's a time to buy your candles for the coming year and do a blessing over them (I buy black and orange Samhain candles in the fall for the following year as it's hard to find them now). Here's a simple candle blessing ritual . . .

Candlemas
Candle Blessing Ritual
Items Needed - candles, annointing oil (I like Frankincense, Myrhh, Sandalwood, Cypress, Elemi, and Lavender in a blend)

Hold the candle in the centre with the wick towards you and rub the anointing oil into the wax starting at the middle of the candle, turning the candle deosil (clockwise) and work your way up to the top as you say:

Lord Jesus,
You are the Light of the world.
I praise You and ask You to guide my steps each day.
Help me to love You and serve You faithfully,
and to carry my daily cross with You.
Now turn the candle so that the base is towards you, holding it in the centre, rub the anointing oil into the wax starting again in the middle, turn the candle deosil (clockwise) and work your way up to the top as you say:

Bless this candle,
and let it always remind me
that You are my Light in the darkness,
my protector in danger,
and my saving Lord at all times.
Hold the candle between your hands and say:

Lord Jesus,
I praise You and give You glory,
for You are Lord for ever and ever.
Amen.
And so this Candlemas I'm going to begin the day with pancakes (representing the sun), I'm going to a Vision Board Party (how serendipitous is that?), and I'm going to clean out the fireplace and enjoy a fire with my hubby contemplating our hopes for the year. And when I lay my head down to go to sleep, I'm going to offer a prayer to the God and Goddess, Jesus and Mary, thanking them for all the blessings in my life and for all the things I'm grateful for . . .

Living in the Light

As an Energy Worker I'm very aware that Universal Life-Force energy is available to anyone who asks for it and that it does not belong to one particular religion or tradition. And in this context, I became what I believed to be true - neutral. And well, honestly, I was afraid of people finding out that I was Wiccan. This left a big hole where my soul should have been. I've been walking around for months in what seems like a coma.

And then there's this person called Jesus. He's been part of my life ever since I can remember and he's been with me at several pivotal points in my life - sitting right there next to me - so real that I could reach out and touch him. So how can I, who feels his presence so profoundly, shut him out of my life? The answer is simply - I can't. I need him and I want him to be part of my life. Period.

And so how do I incorporate Jesus into what is essentially my Pagan life? I'm looking for those answers now and I believe it could be in the form of Christian Wicca. I know, I know, there can be no such thing. Or can there? I'm finding out . . .

I'm reading a book now called 'Jesus through Pagan Eyes' by Reverend Mark Townsend. Even though I'm in the beginning chapters, it's making so much sense! He's separating the historical Jesus from the Christ made up by the church. They're two different people you see. I want to know the historical Jesus. The real man. The man who laughed, cried and fell in love - who in fact taught love. Plain and simple. No dogma, no doctrine, no thou shall and shall not. Just love. To love and be loved. I believe Jesus's message was pure and to the point. That's the Jesus I want to know.

And I want to keep the Wicca I choose to follow - that of the Goddess (the Divine feminine), the Earth, and the spirituality of Wicca. This is what feels good in my heart. This is what brings me to that place of peace and calm. That connection with nature and the moon and the seasons.

And so on this path towards Christian Wicca I'm sure I'll fall, stumble, maybe even fall off a cliff or two, but I'll keep moving forward and listening to the one who guides me, who watches over me and who loves me . . . no matter what craziness I put him through!