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When a new member of the tribe is on the way, it is cause for true jubilation among the family and community. I recommend waiting until the second or third trimester and then having a tribal stomp. This is a whole different take on baby showers. While it provides for the baby’s needs, it also addresses the real, practical needs of the expectant mother and father.

Begin by asking the new mother her preferred day for a time of feasting. Ask her also to provide a blank book for guests to write in so that the parents can look back in the years to come and remember who attended this special gathering.

To prepare the way for letting new friends enter your life or to focus your attention on existing friendships, set up an altar where you can concentrate your energy and clarify your intentions. If you already have an altar in place, incorporate some of the following elements to enhance your relationships with others as well with yourself. The more you use your altar, the more powerful your spells will be.

Your altar can be a low table, the top of a shelf, or even a shelf. First, purify the space with the smoke of a lit sage bundle. This is called “smudging” and is an essential part of witchcraft. You can dry wild sage to use or purchase it in any herb store. Once you have smudged the space, cover your friendship altar with a pink-colored scarf or cloth and place pink and white candles in each of the four corners. (Pink is the color of affection and white represents purity.) Place rose quartz and calming fluorite stones around a vase of fresh flowers, often with poppies, daisies, or whatever connotes fun and friendship to you.

Candlemas, also known as Imbolc, is the highest point between the winter solstice and spring equinox. This festival anticipates the coming of spring with banquets and blessings. Tradition holds that milk must be served, and modern pagans have expanded that to butter cookies, ice cream, cheeses and any related foods. It is an important time to welcome new members of your spiritual circle and new witches into a coven. Candlemas is a heartwarming occasion, but it is still a wintry time, so kindling for the hearth or bonfire should include cedar, pine, juniper and holly along with wreaths of the same to mark the four directions alongside white candles in glass votives. Strong incense such as cedar, nag champa or frankincense will bless the space. The circle leader shall begin the ritual by lighting incense from the fire and begin by facing each direction, saying:

Welcome Guardians of the East, bringing your fresh winds and breath of life. Come to the circle of Imbolc.