The 1st of February is upon us! Here's a bit about a lovely festival called Imbolc and the references to a lovely goddess called Brigid Imbolc (pronounced IM-bolg or IM-bolk) is Old Irish for “in the belly.” It’s also known as Oimelc, Lady Day, and, in Christianity, Candlemas or St. Brigid’s Day. Traditionally, Imbolc represents the beginning of spring and the time when the first lambs are born. It’s the time of the year associated with pregnancy, and is the time to honor the fertility goddess Brigid. As the days lengthen bit by bit. Imbolc is around the time this change really starts to show. The end of the day has noticeably more light, even though the trees and grass are still in winter’s grip.The divine spark that was born in midwinter is growing, and nature is beginning to wake up.
The goddess Brigid (pronounced Breed or Breej) was the daughter of Dagda, the oldest god in the Tuatha dé Danann or Celtic pantheon. Brigid is a fertility goddess. She rules the fire of the hearth as well as the fire of imagination through poetry. She also blessed other skills that required the use of fire, like blacksmithing.When Christianity came to Ireland, Brigid became Saint Brigid, complete with a human history beginning around 450 A.D. in Kildare, Ireland. As a saint, she was known for feeding the poor and healing the sick. A perpetual flame that was tended for centuries by pagan priestesses, and later, by Brigidine nuns, burns in the town square of Kildare. I'm posting a picture of a lamb. Too many of the Brigid depictions show a sexy red head with tight clothes and lots of cleavage. Not there's anything wrong with cleavage, it's just that realistically, Brigid was probably covered up with some handspun cloth from head to toe and looking more like she could plant a garden and milk a cow. Light a candle tonight and call upon Brigid to use her fire to burn away that which no longer serves you and to create light around any new ideas and projects you may be planning for this new year.