LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Imbolc
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Like the other cross-quarter days (the festivals that fall midway between the solstices and equinoxes), Imbolc was a fire festival and a major holyday in the Celtic calendar. It was the festival of the lactation of the ewes: the word Imbolc is Gaelic for “in the belly” and referred to the pregnant ewes. Sheep were crucial providers of both food and clothing and the arrival of lambs was a time for celebration. The specific areas of dedication at Imbolc, associated with Brigit, the Irish virgin goddess, were virgins, healing, and poets. Imbolc is a virginal time: everything is new, purified by winter and becoming ready for impregnation, the sowing of the seed. It’s not clear how the association with poetry fits in here, but one can surmise that it’s because poetry is the purest of the creative forms and needs no tools other than the voice.
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[One] traditional symbol of Imbolc is the plough. In some areas, this is the first day of ploughing in preparation of the first planting of crops. A decorated plough is dragged from door to door, with costumed children following asking for food, drinks, or money. Should they be refused, the household is paid back by having its front garden ploughed up. In other areas, the plough is decorated and then Whiskey, the "water of life" is poured over it. Pieces of cheese and bread are left by the plough and in the newly turned furrows as offerings to the nature spirits. It is considered taboo to cut or pick plants during this time.
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Like many Pagan holidays, Imbolc has a Celtic connection as well, although it wasn’t celebrated in non-Gaelic Celtic societies. The Irish goddess Brighid is the keeper of the sacred flame, the guardian of home and hearth. To honor her, purification and cleaning are a wonderful way to get ready for the coming of Spring. In addition to fire, she is a goddess connected to inspiration and creativity.
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Imbolc divides Winter in half; the Crone months of Winter are departing and the promise of the Spring Maiden is around the corner. This holiday eventually became modern day Candlemas with Saint Brigid's Day and the Feast of the Purification of Mary being celebrated during this period of time. This celebration was definitely a feminine festival. Women would gather to welcome the maiden aspect of the Goddess as embodied by Brighid. Corn cakes made from the first and last of the harvest were made and distributed and this practice remains a part of Her celebration. During these festivities, She was commonly represented by a doll, dressed in white, with a crystal upon Her chest.
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Imbolc this year is followed almost immediately by a New Moon, which is ... a Solar Eclipse. If you can, do all your clearing out and purifying before this New Moon, so you can really use the energy of the eclipse for a brand new start. This is a mega-new beginning, a doubled up New Year. At the eclipse both Sun and Moon are closely conjunct retrograde Mercury, and are moving towards the conjunction with Neptune, making this a strong period for spiritual work and healing. It’s also a great time to commune with the muse and write a song or poem. The New Moon is also exactly semi-sextile Venus, adding to the artistic nature of this period, and to possibilities for romance and romantic gestures.
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Evidence of how Imbolc was celebrated in Ireland derives from folklore collected during the 19th and early 20th century in rural Ireland and Scotland, compared with studies of similar customs in Scandinavia. Like other festivals of the Celtic calendar in Irish mythology, Imbolc was celebrated on the eve of 1 February, which marked the beginning of the day according to Celtic custom.
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Imbolc