Bless the Waters Weekend: An Event for Imbolc & World Wetlands Day

During February’s opening weekend, we have two noteworthy days to exercise our efforts as environmental witches. Imbolc falls on Saturday, February 1 (in the northern hemisphere*), and World Wetlands Day follows on Sunday, February 2. Imbolc begins at sunset on Saturday and flows through Sunday.

This event calls all witches to head to local wetlands to bless the waters and clean up litter. We have over 200 witches on 4 continents and in 14 countries, so that is a lot of waterways to consecrate! If you want to get really ambitious, invite your local friends to join you. Make sure to take pictures so we can share them on our Instagram and Facebook pages!

Those who follow the Wheel of the Year are familiar with the first turn of the Wheel in 2020. A sabbat sacred to Celtic Fire Goddess Brigid/Brigit, Imbolc symbolizes purification, renewal, and growth. There are many excellent resources on Imbolc both in print as well as online, so I won’t get into Imbolc 101 here. What I will say is that there is one Imbolc tradition that aligns nicely with World Wetlands Day, and that is the blessing of local waterways. Some choose to bless rivers with milk and honey. Still, out of respect for potentially delicate ecosystems, I would ask that you use plain water that has been charged and blessed at your altar for the purpose of purification and continued preservation of the land and waters you are blessing.

Your blessing ceremony may be as intricate or as simple as you’d like, so long as we all have the same intention: Purification and preservation of the waters and lands with which we are working. If you have several wetlands or rivers in your area, feel free to bless as many of them as you can. You may even like to bottle some of the water after you’ve blessed the wetlands to use in future workings throughout the year. Make sure to save some as your base water for next year’s blessing!

About World Wetlands Day

World Wetlands Day was established to raise awareness of the importance of wetlands on our overall ecosystem. It was first celebrated in 1997, but it marks the adoption date for the Convention on Wetlands (February 2, 1971, at the Ramsar Convention in Iran), an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands. Each year has a theme, and 2020’s theme is “Wetland Biodiversity Matters.”

All around the world, people go out to their local marshes, bogs, swamps, and fens and clean up litter and trash or host informative events on the importance of wetlands. You can visit the website here to learn more.

The Ritual

Again, you can make this as elaborate or frill-free as you’d like, but these are the things to keep in mind so we can synchronize our intentions.

Intention. Bless, purify, and preserve the waters and lands with which we are working.

Act. Bless and charge water at your altar and carry it with you to various waterways and wetlands. Sprinkle water with your besom, fingers, or by directly pouring into your chosen rivers, streams, marshes, bogs, swamps, etc. while stating your Words of Power. (If you’d like to share your planned ritual or Words of Power, head over to the WHE Forum to engage in discussion.)

Heal. Pick up litter and trash around your chosen areas and send energies of healing and renewal back to the land.

Give Thanks. Thank the wetlands and waterways for what they provide to us. Leave the space in gratitude.

Register for the event here.

*It’s important to note that our fellow witches in the southern hemisphere will be celebrating Lughnasadh or Lammas on this day. As of the time of publication, the overwhelming majority of Witches Healing the Earth members are in the northern hemisphere, populating the US and western European countries. Those of you in the southern hemisphere, please feel free to join us, but if you want to alter the work and bless the lands of marshes, bogs, and swamps in recognition of the harvest, please do so!

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Charlie Nichols is the founder of WHE and a staff contributor. Charlie studied Journalism & Mass Communication, Marketing, and Psychology at Madison College in Madison, Wisconsin. She has practiced witchcraft for over two decades and is a certified spiritual empowerment coach, a certified ethical psychic, and a certified crystal healer. Charlie lives on the shores of Lake Michigan in Wisconsin, USA with her partner, daughter, and animal companions.