Blessings Of The Waters

According to the book, 365 Goddess, January 19, is the day given to the Water Blessing Festival in Bulgaria. However, I think she must have been referring to the Anastenaria, a firewalking ritual performed primarily in May with a smaller one on an unspecified date in January, which culminates in a water blessing after the fire walking.

If you wish to celebrate today as a day of Water Blessings, here’s what you can do:

• Themes: Joy; Health; Cleansing
• Symbols: Water; Flowers; Fern; Birchwood
• Presiding Goddess: Kupala

About Kupala.

The Slavic goddess of springs and water, Kupala, whose name literally means “to bathe,” washes us with happiness and longevity. Oddly enough, she has a fire aspect too, which likely alludes to purification, protection, and transformation. Wildflowers, birch trees, and ferns are sacred to her.

To do today:

To bring a year filled with joy, contentment, and health, leave a natural-fiber cloth outside today to gather dew. Use it tomorrow to bathe in Kupala’s magic.

Take some flower petals to any moving water source (even a hose) and toss them on the stream. As you do, make a wish for something that will make you really happy. Let Kupala, in the form of the water, carry your wish toward manifestation.

To rid yourself of sickness, negativity, or a bad habit before the year gets really rolling, find a safe fire source (such as a candle that’s self-contained in glass). Put this on the floor and jump over it. As you do, say:

Old burns away; only the good, the good shall stay.
Old to new, old to new, Kupala, my heart renew.

This symbolically leaves the old behind and invokes Kupala’s aid in your efforts for positive change.

Source:  365 Goddess