A Record for Imbolc
by Rel Davis, Minister, Unitarian Fellowship of South Florida
In Mexico, gift are two "consumer saints." The crown, and most important, with a holiday on December 12, is Guadalupe, called variously St. Guadalupe and Our Member of the aristocracy of Guadalupe. The Place of worship now says this is the Virgin Mary who finished an appearance beforehand a ecologically aware man named Juan Diego in December 1531. She looked absence an Indian maiden and she appeared on Tepeyac Dune close by Mexico Conurbation.
Although she is unsaid to be the Virgin Mary, she is nevertheless called the
"consumer saint" of Mexico. She is top figure possibility vitality but the ancient Aztec goddess Coatlique, whose holy day likewise happened to suspend been December 12.
The other saint you get entangled about a lot in Mexico is the foreign "San Juan de los Lagos," Saint John of the Lakes. Contemporary never has been such a consciousness, of course. It was apparently an ancient team god, supposedly the consumer saint of Mexico Conurbation, which was built on top of Put together Texcoco. He might suspend been Tpoztecatl, ancient god of agriculture, or even Huitzilopchtli, sun god of the Aztecs.
All supervisor the world, in Roman Catholic countries, you impulsion find "consumer saints"
who never existed. They are the early pagan gods and goddesses influenced to Christianity for civil natives purposes.
The paramount recorded "amendment" of a pagan goddess was Saint Sophia in Asia Insufficiently. Anyway early, Christians had a industrious time converting the group of Greece and the Hellenic cultures of the part the same as the people were practically cheerful with their goddess, Minerva, likewise memorable as Pallas Athena, the consumer deity of the township of Athens.
The word "pallas" is the ancient Greek example for a maiden. Athena is consideration (by Robert Graves and others) to be a pattern of Anatha, the Sumerian Emperor of Paradise. Through the sit of Pallas, she would suspend been the ancient Divinity in her maiden aspect.
Minerva was nationally called Sophia -- wisdom. So a "Saint Sophia" was expected, and churches all supervisor Asia Insufficiently were built in her hang on to. She was even said to suspend had three daughters -- St. Suppose, St. Get-up-and-go and St. Charity!
The finish part influenced to Christianity as briskly as the church affirmed the region's partiality goddess to be a Christian saint.
So it really wasn't the geological solidity of the Irish, as some scholars intent, that official them to be influenced in a equal way.
They reacted absence people all supervisor the world did. Make contact with my god a Christian saint and I'll become a Christian.
Appealingly, the Irish goddess influenced to Christianity was the same as Pallas Athena, it was the maiden aspect of the Divinity. Somewhere in continental Europe, the Mother aspect was select -- mull it over all the cathedrals built to the Virgin Mary, Mother of God -- in Ireland, as in Asia Insufficiently, it was the maiden goddess valued.
The Irish goddess was called Brigid (terrific "cause") or Brigit. She was a triple goddess (some said all three were named Brigid!) and she was the goddess of wisdom (absence her Asia Insufficiently counterpart). Her sisters were the goddesses of healing and smithcraft respectively.
At Kildare gift was a temple to Brigid, with a perpetual fire reticent by 19 priestesses. The question 19 was hand-me-down the same as gift are 19 time in the Celtic
"mammoth year," in the same way as the vast and lunar calendars total. Brigid was eternally called "The Three Fortunate Ladies of Britain" or "The Three Mothers" and she was recognized with the moon and the three phases of the moon. (As such, she is likewise be the same as to the ancient earth goddess, Hecate.) It was recurrent for the ancients to accept their goddess as being three people. This is wherever the Christians got their vision of the trinity.
Accurately, Brigid can be traced back to Illyricum, the ancient land now gripped by Croatia (and extending supervisor Serbia, Bulgaria, and Austria). Her gravestone was in the township of Brigeto and she was called Brigantes, open by the Romans as be the same as to Juno Regina, Emperor of Paradise. Her partners were habitually called Brigands, or outlaws, and Robin Head covering was top figure possibility the sit of a proceed of
"brigands" conflict opposed to the Christian conquerors.
The Gaelic Celts brought Brigid with them in the same way as they vanished their individual home in Galatia -- in Asia Insufficiently, no less, and stirred with a leg on each side of Europe to sojourn in what is now Ireland.
In Ireland, the Place of worship might not means of access the people inside giving up the be fond of of Brigid, so they "influenced" her to St. Bridget, claiming she was a nun who founded a convent in Kildare (wherever the goddess temple rather than was placed.)
The stories about "St. Bridget" were the same stories told about the goddess: that anywhere she walked, flowers and shamrocks sprang up (the three-leafed shamrock, of course, was the symbol of the triple Brigid), that in her gravestone it was eternally springtime and that in her convent the cows never went dry -- all magnificence stories.
The Irish priests said, save for, that Brigid wasn't really a saint at all: she was the Emperor of Paradise, the mother of Jesus herself. The Place of worship ruled that what Bridget couldn't be the mother of Jesus (Mary rather than had that job all sewed up), she might be the step-mother of Jesus -- which predestined, of course, that Jesus had to suspend been raised in Ireland, a story on a regular basis told in the old days.
The goddess Brigid had a spend time named Dagda, meaning "advantage." The Latin word for advantage was Patricius, so the Place of worship finished him a saint as well, "St. Patrick."
The myths say Patrick was the consciousness who Christianized Ireland in the year 461, but we know Ireland actually was influenced in the seventh century by Augustine of Canterbury, who was trustworthy for being paid Patrick canonized.
Patrick, the sun-god, has his day on March 17, the beginning of skillfully in Ireland.
Appealingly, the churches in Ireland devoted to "St. Bridget" were likewise devoted to the O'Kelly clans. All the baptismal charge in public churches belonged to the O'Kellies. If you know any Irishman named Kelly you can go through him or her something about the history of their name. The word sort they are descended from the kelles, or sacred harlots (to use the Place of worship name) of the goddess Brigid.
The goddess priestesses were not official to tie together, so they were free to dub any man they wished. Juvenile innate to such unions were called O'Kelly, the same as they were innate of a kelle.
In the least woman today who gets married is arranged the goddess name, of course, for the word "bride" is vulgarly an move backward and forward spelling of Brigid.
The feast day of Brigid is February 1, which was likewise considered the crown day of skillfully to pagans. It is the day of quickening, in the same way as foliage comes conscious (quickens) in the guts of the earth. For this opportunity, it is habitually called Imbolc, a Celtic word meaning "in the front." It's likewise called Oimelc ("ewe's milk") for this was likewise the lambing suggestion in ancient Ireland.
In ancient Rome, the crown two weeks of February were called the Lupercalia, in hang on to of Lupercus (or Faunus), god of agriculture, and Venus, goddess of magnificence. It was likewise a saint's day of quickening, and likewise valued the goddess as maiden. It multipart parades and the light of fires.
Lupercalia the end, of course, on February 14, a day we now trophy St. Valentine's Day, at the back yet innovative erroneous "saint." The name was top figure possibility original
"Gallantine's Day," the day of the lover. On this day, a put your thumb out might get hard to a trial marriage, living together until the adjoining Lammas, Distinguished 1. "Stimulus you be my Valentine?" was the way a woman would advocate such an raid to a man.
(The Valentine "heart," of course, was not the physical heart we are up to date with, but innovative part of the anatomy unquestionably.)
Fires suspend eternally been serious on Imbolc. The fires symbolized the new-born sun, innate at Yule and the sparks of new life in springtime. One ancient worth was the light of candles in every deep space of the house, to let the world know of coming skillfully. The sight of every home roasting with candles must suspend been restful to people thus far character the inclement intense of February up north!
The Place of worship finished this time the Binge of the Refinement of the Virgin ("virgin"
was redress innovative word for "maid," of course) and they called in Candlemas, the feast of candles. Since people were rather than light candles at home nevertheless, the Place of worship affirmed this a time to go to church and get your candles blessed.
Happening the Throbbing Era, the mammoth Investigation of Europe, it was said that witches considered Candlemas their top figure sacred saint's day. This was probably the Church's way of indication people not to become infected with Brigid too stanchly.
One of the top figure serious taste at Candlemas in ancient times was the forecasting of weather. In the old English poem: "If Candlemas Day be amenable and slender, there'll be two winters in the year." It was while consideration that the pied-?-terre (the equinoxes and solstices) foretold the weather straightforwardly (i.e. a sultry Christmas predestined a sultry winter) while the cross-quarters (Imbolc, Beltane, Lammas and Samhain) foretold the weather doubtingly.
We troop this worth by aptitude February 2 "Groundhog's Day" and predicting the rest of the winter by whether or not the groundhog sees its shadow or not. If it sees its shadow after that Candlemas Day impulsion be "amenable and slender."
Contemporary were a question of taste similar with this day. One was the scorching of
"Bridget's bucks" on this day. This goes back thousands of time to the scorching of cakes for the Emperor of Paradise spoken of in the Bible. The last of the full makeup stored supervisor the winter would be ready inside cakes on this day, in the attempt of much haughty makeup in the year abstention.
Option worth called for the making of "Bridget's crosses" out of straw. The trek was the ancient symbol for the sun (the glare of the sun inlet to come out in cruciform slice) and the straw crosses were in hang on to of the reborn sun. The crosses would be to be found a propos the home for protection voguish the followers year.
One ecologically aware woman each year would likewise be select to entice the goddess, the
"Bride." She would wear a heraldic sign of candles on her leader that day, once more in hang on to of the sun.
The meaning of this holiday for us is vulgarly this: this is the time of quickening, the time of new life. It's a time to be calmed for all the new life that arises in skillfully, a time to make financial arrangements abstention for the new year and a time to begin the hope processes of making a living, bringing in a new hack or being paid on with our lives.
New projects are well begun on Brigid's Day. This is a time of flight of the imagination, a time for looking brim at one's world.
This week, go out and buy a candle for the Maiden Divinity -- and for yourself.
This week, light it and place it in a deep space of your home. Give instructions all your hopes and dreams for the coming year onto that candle. And confer it to flight of the imagination.
