Even as Yule is a sabbat about hope and the return of light, so Imbolc or Candlemas is also a festival of fire and light.  Whereas Yule may be better associated with fire of the Sun, light, and life (often symbolized by a child), Imbolc is more properly a celebration of the fire of creativity, of enlightenment, even of revelation.  If Yule is birth, then Imbolc is rebirth, the awakening to inner knowledge and the forging of body, mind, and spirit required to hold the bright spark of the divine.  It is not so much the fire of the returning sun, but of home, hearth, and the fire within. 
 
Many pagans venerate Brigid or Breed at this time, Brigid being a Goddess of poetry, prophecy, the forge, and of healing, among other things.  Her association with fire can be seen in how She may be depicted as a pillar of fire or having fire on Her head, the same sort of "tongues of flame" that was said to have descended on the Christian apostles and meant they were imbued with the Holy Spirit, a spirit that some equate with the feminine and who is sometimes even called "The Lady."  She is the spirit of divine truth, which must then also be named enlightenment or gnosis. 
 
A sign of this is often shown as a "halo" or circle of light above or behind the head of someone who has been "sained," or made holy.  Oddly enough, another way that Brigid is depicted is with a serpent coiled around Her head, a creature long linked to eternity, rebirth, and knowledge.  Serpents have a long association with various ancient Goddesses and also represent fertility.  Brigid's serpent is no different, and if you make a  Breed's Basket for Her, you could just as well put a serpent in it as a wand or other phallic symbol. 
 
Serpents may also be depicted as dragons and both are traditional guardians of sacred treasure troves that contain the riches of mystery and knowledge.  Old stories relate how special dragons or great serpents have stones in their heads and, if you can slay the creature and take the stone, you will be granted immortality or divine wisdom.  This stone is most probably related to the great Emerald said to have fallen from the forehead (third eye) or crown of Lucifer.  Despite the negative press He has been given for many years, Lucifer's very name stems from light and He is still known to some as the Light-Bearer who brought divine fire to the Earth.  This Emerald may be also equated to the Emerald Tablet, from which the phrase we all know, "as above so also below" descends. 
 
These then are the tongues of flame, the sacred doves of The Lady, the serpents or dragons of fire that bestow knowledge at Imbolc, as well as fertility, creativity, and resurrection.  This is the forge of Brigid and of Tubal Cain on which we are remade for the light within.  This is the whirling flame into which we can descend and come to speak with the voice of the divine, whether as poetry or prophecy or in the form of charms and spells.  This is the treasure we seek, the gems of insight that can inspire not just ourselves but our community.   
 
To make an altar for Brigid or to celebrate Her in ritual at Imbolc, you can use not just lit candles then, but dragons, serpents, emeralds and other gleaming gems, white doves, whistles (used to call Her during rituals), water from a sacred well, eggs (symbolic of both new life, the birth of the sun, and of Logos itself), and beer or ale.  Writing a poem in Her honor would also be most appropriate.

© 2010, Veronica Cummer, all Rights Reserved.