Blessed Beltane ~ Blessed Samhain

Beltane Incense

Beltane is a great opportunity to cleanse your home. Energetically cleansing your home and yourself removes heavy or negative energy that clings to you. This provides relief and makes room for new experiences. The energetic cleansing is often done at the New Moon, Full Moon and Wheel of the Year Celebrations. And how lovely it is to cleanse your home and yourself with Beltane with a diy incense that suits Beltane and its fertility, passion and fire.

You can make this incense from:

• Dried Rosemary
• Dried Catnip
• Dried Lavender Flowers
• Granular Benzoin Resin

You can see how to make this incense on YouTube via this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4t_o48BYHe4

If you don’t have benzoin resin, mix the herbs with Juniper Berry. Place this in a heatproof bowl, light and blow out again in such a way that it continues to smolder. You can then use the smoke to energetically cleanse your house by fanning the smoke through your house with your hands or a feather. Always cleanse yourself first and then all areas in your house. After energetic cleansing, open windows and doors so that all the smoke can disappear and you have a wonderfully cleansed house.

Other herbs that go well with Beltane:

• Clover
• Frankincense
• Hawthorn
• Ivy
• Calendula
• Rose
• Rowan
• Sweet woodruff
• Meadowsweet
• Sorrel

I wish you a passionate and fruitful Beltane ♥

Loving regards,
Elke )O( The Alder Tree /|\

Beltane, Celebration of Fertility

Our ancestors celebrated Beltane by making love on the Earth to support Mother Earth. Of course you are free to do it this way. But this is actually not longer the choice made by many, for several reasons.

What if you still want to celebrate Beltane today?

The energy of Beltane represents passion, fertility, reproduction and sexuality. You can translate this symbolically into your inner passion and motivation, the fertility of your plans, wishes, dreams or actions and your zest for life.

For lovers and married couples it is still special to come together with Beltane. And if you want to have children, you can make love with Beltane and ask Mother Nature for fertility and her Blessing.

In addition, Beltane is also all about (re)discovering your own zest for life, motivation or passion:

• What would you like most?
• What gets you out of bed in the morning?
• What makes your heart sing and brings a smile to your face?
• What motivates you?

You can make time and space for this during Beltane. Find out for yourself what makes you happy and how often you actually do that per day. Then see if you can do more of that in your day. That’s a great start to returning to your passion or zest for life.

I wish you a passionate and fruitful Beltane

With love,
Elke )O( The Alder Scrolls /|\

A nice Imbolc Ritual

A very beautiful Thursday morning, evening or somewhere in between dear dear you out there,

A nice ritual to do with Imbolc is the following. It is a tradition to light all the lamps and candles in the house after sunset with Imbolc. Of course, it is not necessary to leave them all on overnight. A short moment is enough. Another option is to light a candle and circle each room of your home and honor the return of the Sun’s power. Stand still for a moment in each room, visualizing that the Sun’s power illuminates the room extra strong and all shadows melt away.

With Alban Arthan ~ Midwinter ~ Yule you celebrated the return of the Sun and with Imbolc you celebrated the return of the Sun’s power. When you return to your living room, place your candle on the table and, as you look at the flame, think about your own inner flame or fire. How that fire warms you internally, grows your passion and nourishes your creativity and imagination. Then thank Brigid for her blessings. End your ceremony with a nice mug of hot chocolate or Slemp.

Make sure you never leave a candle unattended!

Wishing you a wonderful Imbolc time♥

With love,
Elke )O( The Alder Scrolls /|\

Imbolc ~ Divination

A good morning, evening or somewhere in between my dear dear out there,

During the turnings of the Wheel of the Year, a lot of Divination is done. Insights are gained about what the Imbolc period brings. Through the reading below you can also gain insights into how you can best use the beautiful energy of Imbolc for yourself. So grab your cards, your Runes or your Ogham and see what Imbolc has in store for you.

I am wishing you great insights♥

With love,
Elke )O( The Alder Scrolls /|\

Imbolc ~ Incense

Each turning of the Wheel of the Year is a good time to energetically cleanse yourself, your home and your workplace. This way you release the old energy of Alban Arthan ~ Midwinter ~ Yule and make room for the new energy of Imbolc. You can do this using a Mugwort stick or Florida Spray, but you can also make your own Imbolc Incense.

Imbolc Incense is made using equal parts of: Thyme, Mint, Sage or Mugwort, Juniper Berries, Sandalwood and Cedarwood. You can then add: Rosemary, Basil and Myrrh, if you like.

Other herbs that suit Imbolc are: Birch, Dandelion, Yarrow, Nettle, Narrow Plantain, Laurel, Blackberry, Celandine, Coltsfoot, Heather, Tansy, Sweet Violet, Angelica, Clover, Willow. You can also make Imbolc Tea from these herbs. But before you start drinking herbal tea, first find out whether it is safe for you to drink herbal tea from all these herbs. If you cannot find it out or if you’re not sure, an Herbal Practitioner or your GP or Homeopath.

I wish you a happy and cheerful Imbol♥

With love,
Elke )O( The Alder Scrolls /|\

Imbolc is coming!

A very good day from under De Elzenboom,

Imbolc is also a Fire and Fertility Festival with bonfires and lots of candles and everything creative in nature. The fires symbolize the increase in Sun power in the coming months.

To give shape to this tradition in our modern times, you can light candles and place spring bloomers, such as hyacinths, crocuses, blue grapes or snowdrops, on your altar, a coffee table or, if the temperature permits, your garden table.

Imbolc is the first of 2 Spring Festivals. After Imbolc comes Ostara. During the Winter you thought about last year, what went well and what could be improved. What you would like to achieve in the new year; projects, plans, ideas, spiritual growth. During Yule you gave it your full attention and these seeds started to grow deep within you. They are still deep within you, you have given them attention and cherished and nourished and prepared them for the moment of bringing them into the open. Imbolc is the moment when you start actively paying attention to all your plans. Still within yourself, but you go from thinking to preparing to taking action.

We all know the Big Spring Cleaning and it is still a tradition for some to do this in February. All Midwinter decorations really need to be removed from the house now, as we say goodbye to Winter and welcome Spring into our homes and our hearts. February is also the Latin word for purification. With Imbolc you can clean your house and furniture with Mugwort or Sage water or energetically clean your house with Mugwort or Sage. Don’t forget to wash your windows and curtains too. And let the fresh air blow away any ‘cobwebs’ by opening doors and windows for a completely refreshed home.

With Imbolc you not only clean your house, but also yourself physically and energetically from Winter Dust to make room for new intentions in a positive way and with a clear mind. From Imbolc onwards you will actively pay attention to everything you want to achieve this year.

Through your Spring cleaning you make room for new things. Out with the old, in with the New. By cleaning, literally and figuratively, you make room for your new seeds to plant and grow. Give your seeds attention and love, listen to your bubbling inspiration and act accordingly. Enjoy the growing of your inspiration, your plans and projects, your ‘seeds’ deep within you. Now the time has come when you can finally give your full attention to everything you want to achieve this year. You can show it to the outside world, just like a Snowdrop sticking its head above the snow.

This is also the moment when you decide which seeds you will plant. What do you want to grow this year? Where do you want to grow, develop and flourish? Are you ready for the active part of the year? Try to visualize that as clearly as possible or write it down for yourself. Think about your heart’s desire every day and do something for it every day.

Have a wonderful and happy Imbolc♥

With love,
Elke )O( The Alder Scrolls /|\

Wheel of the Year Celebration ~ Imbolc

A very good morning, evening or somewhere in between,

Imbolc stands for ‘oimelc’ and that means ‘ewe’s milk’. This refers to the lactation of the ewes that have given birth to lambs. Imbolc also refers to ‘in the belly’ and refers to the pregnancy of ewes, which are pregnant this time of year.

Mother Nature is pregnant and she is letting us know that. She has awakened from her Winter Rest. You can see this in the buds in the trees and the first spring bloomers such as snowdrops, crocuses and daffodils. Everything around you is being prepared for the active part of the year.

Imbolc is originally a Celtic festival, dedicated to Brigid, the Goddess of Forge, Healing, Fertility and Art. This day is also known as Brigid’s Day.

Imbolc is the celebration of the return of Spring and thus the return of Earth’s fertility. The first signs of life in Nature were celebrated exuberantly by our ancestors. Winter had been conquered and people had survived again. The sheep’s milk could be used to make cheese, butter and cream. And that was a welcome addition to the scarce food from the storage cellar and sheds.

Imbolc is an exuberant and cheerful celebration. And I hope your Imbolc time is a time of happiness and cheerfulness♥

With love,
Elke )O( The Alder Scrolls /|\

Alban Arthan ~ Midwinter ~ Yule Blessing

Lughnasadh and Imbolc Blessings