Candlemas / Imbolc
It seems quite impossible
that the holiday of Candlemas should be considered the beginning
of Spring. Here in the Heartland, February 2nd may see a blanket
of snow mantling the Mother. Or, if the snows have gone, you
may be sure the days are filled with drizzle, slush, and steel-grey
skies -- the dreariest weather of the year. In short, the
perfect time for a Pagan Festival of Lights. And as for Spring,
although this may seem a tenuous beginning, all the little
buds, flowers and leaves will have arrived on schedule before
Spring runs its course to Beltane.
'Candlemas' is the Christianized
name for the holiday, of course. The older Pagan names were
Imbolc and Oimelc. 'Imbolc' means, literally, 'in the belly'
(of the Mother). For in the womb of Mother Earth, hidden from
our mundane sight but sensed by a keener vision, there are
stirrings. The seed that was planted in her womb at the solstice
is quickening and the new year grows. 'Oimelc' means 'milk
of ewes', for it is also lambing season.
The holiday is also called
'Brigit's Day', in honor of the great Irish Goddess Brigit.
At her shrine, the ancient Irish capitol of Kildare, a group
of 19 priestesses (no men allowed) kept a perpetual flame
burning in her honor. She was considered a goddess of fire,
patroness of smithcraft, poetry and healing (especially the
healing touch of midwifery). This tripartite symbolism was
occasionally expressed by saying that Brigit had two sisters,
also named Brigit. (Incidentally, another form of the name
Brigit is Bride, and it is thus She bestows her special patronage
on any woman about to be married or handfasted, the woman
being called 'bride' in her honor.)
The Roman Catholic Church
could not very easily call the Great Goddess of Ireland a
demon, so they canonized her instead. Henceforth, she would
be 'Saint' Brigit, patron SAINT of smithcraft, poetry, and
healing. They 'explained' this by telling the Irish peasants
that Brigit was 'really' an early Christian missionary sent
to the Emerald Isle, and that the miracles she performed there
'misled' the common people into believing that she was a goddess.
For some reason, the Irish swallowed this. (There is no limit
to what the Irish imagination can convince itself of. For
example, they also came to believe that Brigit was the 'foster-mother'
of Jesus, giving no thought to the implausibility of Jesus
having spent his boyhood in Ireland!)
Brigit's holiday was chiefly
marked by the kindling of sacred fires, since she symbolized
the fire of birth and healing, the fire of the forge, and
the fire of poetic inspiration. Bonfires were lighted on the
beacon tors, and chandlers celebrated their special holiday.
The Roman Church was quick to confiscate this symbolism as
well, using 'Candlemas' as the day to bless all the church
candles that would be used for the coming liturgical year.
(Catholics will be reminded that the following day, St. Blaise's
Day, is remembered for using the newly-blessed candles to
bless the throats of parishioners, keeping them from colds,
flu, sore throats, etc.)
The Catholic Church, never
one to refrain from piling holiday upon holiday, also called
it the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
(It is surprising how many of the old Pagan holidays were
converted to Maryan Feasts.) The symbol of the Purification
may seem a little obscure to modern readers, but it has to
do with the old custom of 'churching women'. It was believed
that women were impure for six weeks after giving birth. And
since Mary gave birth at the winter solstice, she wouldn't
be purified until February 2nd. In Pagan symbolism, this might
be re-translated as when the Great Mother once again becomes
the Young Maiden Goddess.
Today, this holiday is chiefly
connected to weather lore. Even our American folk-calendar
keeps the tradition of 'Groundhog's Day', a day to predict
the coming weather, telling us that if the Groundhog sees
his shadow, there will be 'six more weeks' of bad weather
(i.e., until the next old holiday, Lady Day). This custom
is ancient. An old British rhyme tells us that 'If Candlemas
Day be bright and clear, there'll be two winters in the year.'
Actually, all of the cross-quarter days can be used as 'inverse'
weather predictors, whereas the quarter-days are used as 'direct'
weather predictors.
Like the other High Holidays
or Great Sabbats of the Witches' year, Candlemas is sometimes
celebrated on it's alternate date, astrologically determined
by the sun's reaching 15-degrees Aquarius, or Candlemas Old
Style (in 1988, February 3rd, at 9:03 am CST). Another holiday
that gets mixed up in this is Valentine's Day. Ozark folklorist
Vance Randolf makes this quite clear by noting that the old-timers
used to celebrate Groundhog's Day on February 14th. This same
displacement is evident in Eastern Orthodox Christianity as
well. Their habit of celebrating the birth of Jesus on January
6th, with a similar post-dated shift in the six-week period
that follows it, puts the Feast of the Purification of Mary
on February 14th. It is amazing to think that the same confusion
and lateral displacement of one of the old folk holidays can
be seen from the Russian steppes to the Ozark hills, but such
seems to be the case!
Incidentally, there is speculation
among linguistic scholars that the vary name of 'Valentine'
has Pagan origins. It seems that it was customary for French
peasants of the Middle Ages to pronounce a 'g' as a 'v'. Consequently,
the original term may have been the French 'galantine', which
yields the English word 'gallant'. The word originally refers
to a dashing young man known for his 'affaires d'amour', a
true galaunt. The usual associations of V(G)alantine's Day
make much more sense in this light than their vague connection
to a legendary 'St. Valentine' can produce. Indeed, the Church
has always found it rather difficult to explain this nebulous
saint's connection to the secular pleasures of flirtation
and courtly love.
For modern Witches, Candlemas
O.S. may then be seen as the Pagan version of Valentine's
Day, with a de-emphasis of 'hearts and flowers' and an appropriate
re-emphasis of Pagan carnal frivolity. This also re-aligns
the holiday with the ancient Roman Lupercalia, a fertility
festival held at this time, in which the priests of Pan ran
through the streets of Rome whacking young women with goatskin
thongs to make them fertile. The women seemed to enjoy the
attention and often stripped in order to afford better targets.
One of the nicest folk-customs
still practiced in many countries, and especially by Witches
in the British Isles and parts of the U.S., is to place a
lighted candle in each and every window of the house, beginning
at sundown on Candlemas Eve (February 1st), allowing them
to continue burning until sunrise. Make sure that such candles
are well seated against tipping and guarded from nearby curtains,
etc. What a cheery sight it is on this cold, bleak and dreary
night to see house after house with candle-lit windows! And,
of course, if you are your Coven's chandler, or if you just
happen to like making candles, Candlemas Day is THE day for
doing it. Some Covens hold candle-making parties and try to
make and bless all the candles they'll be using for the whole
year on this day. Other customs of the holiday include weaving
'Brigit's crosses' from straw or wheat to hang around the
house for protection, performing rites of spiritual cleansing
and purification, making 'Brigit's beds' to ensure fertility
of mind and spirit (and body, if desired), and making Crowns
of Light (i.e. of candles) for the High Priestess to wear
for the Candlemas Circle, similar to those worn on St. Lucy's
Day in Scandinavian countries. All in all, this Pagan Festival
of Lights, sacred to the young Maiden Goddess, is one of the
most beautiful and poetic of the year.
| Authors Details: Candlemas / Imbolc
- Mike Nichols - Unknown Web Site |
More Articles On The Wiccan Sabbats
(The Eight
Wiccan Sabbats)
(Winter Solstice - Yule)
(Imbolc)
(Ostara)
(Beltane)
(Summer
Solstice)
(Lammas)
(Mabon)
(Halloween
/ Samhain)
|
