Imbolc Celebration: Illuminating the Inner Path

Sunday, February 1st, Arrival 10:30, Imbolc 11:00 a.m.

Center for Awakening Consciousness- Church of Truth

690 E. Orange Grove Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91104

Imbolc is the celebration of returning light, a sacred rite of purification and dedication. It is the day on which winter turns upward to the spring. Imbolc falls half-way between Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox. Winter and death are cleansed away, and as the days lengthen, hope grows for the warmth of new life. It is a time for nurtured beginnings, a sweeping away of the past and an affirmation of things to come in the new year. Imbolc is a time of dedication and initiation, a time to make a fresh start, embrace possibilities, and trust in the mystery of the unknown.

More information and a downloadable flyer can be found at Temple of the Goddess.

Our 2015 Imbolc celebration will be a journey into the inner self with a journey through the Temple Labyrinth.

Walking a Sacred Labyrinth is an incredible way to propel 2015 into motion. This ancient tool is an initiation of your sacred purpose. The journey inward is a purification and clearing and the return journey is one of dedication and commitment. As we move into spring and begin seeding the year with our goals and dreams, you can utilize this sacred technique to lay the groundwork, set your intention, for the year you want to create in 2015.

Please join with Temple of the Goddess and the Center for Awakening Consciousness for a journey into, and out of, our Chartres-style, 20-foot Temple of the Goddess labyrinth set in the beautiful garden at the Center for Awakening Consciousness. You will have the opportunity to quiet your mind, open your heart, and walk with intention, into the inner realm of the self. This powerful experience while done individually is connected to the community experience.

There will be a pot-luck luncheon afterward, with conversation, to satisfy your body and your brain.

At Imbolc, the Goddess Brigid, who later became St. Brigid, is honored and celebrated. She is a beloved Celtic Goddess known as "the Bright One" because of both her beauty and her fiery qualities. She is the protector of hearth and home. A fire Goddess, Brigid is often associated with poetry, inspiration, and matters of prophecy and divination.

From the fifth to the fifteenth century, the flame of Brigid was kept alive and maintained in the Brigidine convents in Ireland. In 1993 the sacred flame of Brigid was rekindled in Kildare. Since that time, Brigid's light has been passed down, candle to candle, keeping the flame of Brigid alive all over the world.

The candle used at our Imbolc has been lit from a Brigid candle. Come and light your candle at Imbolc so that Brigid's sacred flame will inspire you throughout 2015.

Artwork: Goddess Brigid by Lisa Iris

Awakening From Winter by Tracey Kessler

Solstice Hymn
by Charles "BeautySeer" Elliott

I rise out of darkness.

I am the child.

I come to return

light to the world.

You rise out of darkness.

You are the child.

You come to return

light to the world.

We rise out of darkness.

We are the child.

We come to return

light to the world.

They rise out of darkness.

They are the child.

They come to return

light to the world.

Together we can

care, share, be fair.

Illuminate the path

so none need stumble.

Come To The Labyrinth

Walk between the worlds, bravely down the candle road.

The light will lead you deep into your core.

Move into the center, add your sorrow to the coals

with incense rising, steady as a prayer.

Though the heart is heavy as the dance is burning down,

may you raise your eyes and never bow your head.

We are not alone.

It only takes the tiniest of fires sometimes

to light the way you knew was aways there.

In the heart of matters, it's the journey keeps us warm,

the lights that lead us where we are to go.

May you raise your eyes and know with every step:

we are not alone.

We are come to the labyrinth today,

walking one by one.

On this blessed day of Imbolc, a riddle burning bright,

and candles waving down.

It only takes the tiniest of fires sometimes

to light the way you knew was always waiting for you there.

In the heart of matters, it's the journey keeps us warm

and the incense rising steady as a prayer

May you raise your eyes and never bow your head.

We are come to the labyrinth today,

walking one by one.

On this blessed day of Imbolc, a riddle burning bright,

and candles waving down.

We are vessels of the highest love

in a lesson, burning bright, the lesson of our lives.

When all our sorrows cauldron into one,

be reborn, on this blessed day of Imbolc.

We are come to the labyrinth today,

candles waving down.

Labyrinth Artwork by Jaime Zollars, Lyrics by SJ Tucker (Adapted for Imbolc.)