When the dark days of winter seem to have gone on forever, the first sign of spring refreshes our souls. It is a promise that winter will not last forever and that warm and fertile days will come again soon. Even through snow, the daffodils will push their heads up with a startling flash of green and yellow against the otherwise unbroken glare of winter’s white. While you can still see your breath like steam in the chilled air, the first taste of fresh milk means that new life will soon be born. Weary from winter’s dark, it also means that the soul will soon be reborn in the growing warmth of the sun. There yet may be snow on the ground but there are new plants sprouting just beneath that protective layer. As bears awaken from their winter slumber, so too does the earth, and life everywhere reawakens.
Also known as “Imbolg,” “Oimelc,” and the “Feast of St. Brigid,” Imbolc is the sabbat midway between the winter solstice and the vernal equinox. Imbolc is celebrated on February 1 and precedes the more recent Christian reinterpretation of Imbolc called “Candlemas” which is celebrated on February 2. Although you might often see the terms Imbolc and Candlemas used interchangeably, they are actually different holidays. Imbolc is the time when life begins to awaken from its winter sleep and prepare for the warmer and longer days that are soon to start. During the depths of winter, it can feel as though the warm sun and soft breezes of spring will never return and the cold might go on forever. Imbolc marks the turning point when life eagerly begins to look forward to the increasingly warmer days.
Imbolc is a time when new plans are made and new ideas are “planted.” It is also traditionally a time to examine the people, objects, and philosophies in our lives. It is an opportunity to discard the things we don’t need or that are holding us back. It is when we make new plans and improve old ones. In a sense, the Imbolc part of the Wheel of the Year is a winter cocoon. Upon emerging, we may be greatly changed indeed from the beings who celebrated Yule only weeks before.
Winter to the Ancients
Although we all experience winter to some extent regardless of where we live, the way modern civilizations deal with winter makes it a bit more difficult to understand just how important a milestone Imbolc was to many of our ancestors. Although it is true that Imbolc as a sabbat grew from the celebration of the first milk from the pregnant ewes in the hinterlands of Ireland, Scotland, and other parts of Europe, this sabbat is surprisingly relevant to us today as we stay in our safe, warm, climate-
controlled homes and automobiles regardless of how savagely the winter rages outside our doors.
To truly understand the roots of Imbolc and why it has been incorporated as a sabbat for modern Wiccans and Neopagans, you have to imagine what life was like in Europe (and many other parts of the world) in antiquity. Even as recently as two hundred years ago, winter was a much different experience than it is today. Now imagine what it was like five thousand years before that. Consider that the things we take for granted were completely absent at that time. Food preservation was much more limited and laborious than it is today; canning wasn’t developed until the reign of Napoleon in nineteenth-century France. There were no freezers, refrigerators, or vacuum sealers. Forget about plastic containers to store food. There weren’t any grocery stores for times when supplies ran low. Our ancestors dealt with challenges that are difficult for us to imagine in the twenty-first century.
The ancients were very clever and intelligent folk who took advantage of snow and cold waters for refrigeration, and they made use of the sun, fire, salt, and fermentation to preserve food for long winters. Challenges were constant, and the hardships they endured are hard to grasp for the modern, convenience-oriented mind. Please note that when you see the term “ancestors” in this book, it doesn’t necessarily refer to people with whom you might share a lineage and genetic material. Instead, “ancestors” in this book refers to any ancient peoples, as they are all the ancestors of humankind. Many Neopagans walk spiritual paths with deities who come from a heritage different from their own. While “ancestor worship” generally means worshiping of one’s progenitors, you personally might choose to venerate the deities from a completely different culture than the one(s) of your forebears. Indeed, there is some debate in the Neopagan community about the practice of ancestor worship, and those who choose to honor ancestors who are not their own genetic progenitors may have very valid reasons for doing so.
In many parts of the ancient world, staying warm in winter required keeping a large supply of fuel for the fireplace. There were no quick drying clothes made of synthetic fibers or sleeping bags rated for -40°F. The only lighting available came from a flame. How frightening is it to think about living in a wooden building with a thatch roof while using fire as the only source of light and heat? It certainly gave people of the age a healthy respect for fire and its life-changing properties (both positive and negative)! Living so closely with nature in her many forms taught our ancestors to have deep reverence for the animals and plants that surrounded them.
Winter can be dangerous for modern people, but the dangers cannot be compared to what our ancestors faced. You could not call 911 if someone was sick or injured, not to mention there was no fire brigade should one of your flames get out of control. If heavy snows caused your roof to collapse, your entire family could potentially perish from a lack of shelter.
Useful hours of daylight in winter are very limited, and simply completing all the daily chores to maintain life was challenging in the winter for our ancestors. The abundant harvest faded away as winter grew. Certainly dried and salted foods kept people alive during the winter, but often even the best preserved foods would mold, rot, or be eaten by vermin (whose supplies also ran low during the winter). Hunting and/or fishing could provide inconsistent supplemental nourishment, but these practices were never dependable during the dark days of winter.
In agricultural societies, people had to feed their livestock through the winter. Samhain (late October) was usually when the last animals were slaughtered before the cold set in. Animals that were not slaughtered at Samhain had to be cared for throughout the winter along with the people. Without those animals in the spring, the food chain would be broken and starvation could easily follow. Food had to be carefully stored for the animals as well as the humans.
It is difficult for people who live in modern cities to understand the relationship our agrarian ancestors had with their animals. In agricultural societies, people love their animals as much as we care for our pets but in a very different way than we would understand it. They care for their animals as if they were members of the family because they are so integral to life. It was very common in agricultural societies in colder climes for families to bring their animals into the home to live until warmer days arrive.
While I doubt that many modern ranchers in North America or Europe sleep in the same room as their cattle or sheep, historically this was considered prudent and frugal. When you think about how very critical livestock was to survival and add the difficulty of trudging through snow or ice to reach an external barn, sleeping with the animals makes sense. The animals will contribute to the warmth of the home, and having them so close would make feeding and caring for them much easier as well, although this convenience came at the cost of very cramped and uncomfortable living conditions. Needless to say, sanitation was a significant concern as well.
Although spring planting represents an important step in survival, those seeds won’t yield food immediately. On the other hand, if you take care of your animals through the winter, they can start producing food for you long before the first plants. Imbolc marked that point in the year for ancient Celtic peoples. Sheep will naturally tend to mate in the autumn as the days begin to grow shorter; they are called “short-day breeders” for this reason.1 Their gestation period tends to be around five months, so the result is that ewes tend to breed in September to October and begin to give birth around Imbolc.2 As soon as the ewe gives birth, she is stimulated to begin lactation. In the modern world of sheep production, humans have been able to stimulate
breeding whenever it is most convenient for the rancher. In the ancient world, however, the cycle was much more under nature’s control. In those old times, the birth of lambs meant the first fresh milk in months. Fresh milk and the resulting cheese were among the first signs that spring was about to arrive. On the Celtic Wheel of the Year, Imbolc represents the beginning of spring.
Can you imagine living such a life? You’re trapped inside your single-room home with your spouse, children, and likely your parents, cousins, and in-laws too, plus most of your food and your animals all winter. Is it any wonder that as soon as the first signs of spring appeared that the people would celebrate? After carefully rationing wine or beer for months and drinking melted snow sometimes mixed with a few precious leaves to make an herbal tea, just think how good that first taste of milk would be.
Winters in the Western world can be dangerous no matter how advanced technology might become. The dangers we face are real enough, but our (obviously quite durable) ancestors dealt with risks we don’t even have to consider. Even now when severe winter storms hit or there are power failures, we seldom see deaths in our modern cities. Our ancestors had no public transportation, “warming centers,” or National Guard to rescue them from the depths of a terrible winter; they survived by their own skills and wits along with a strong connection to their communities, nature, and the deities who steered them through their daily lives.
Even with ample fuel for the hearth, temperatures often dropped miserably low, just as they do now. Remember that not only was infant mortality quite high in the ancient world, Imbolc was a time of childbirth. Babies conceived at Beltane (a frequent occurrence) are born around Imbolc. If disease and lack of food were not enough to make winters risky, the cold itself claimed many infants. How difficult it must have been to keep the family and livestock safe and then have to give birth and care for a newborn child. Is it any wonder our ancestors treated the element of fire with such deep reverence and respect? When we think about all the hardships and challenges our ancestors faced in the winter months, it makes even the thought of the coming spring much brighter and more important.
Ancient Cultures and Nature
In our age of telecommunication and air travel, it can be difficult to see the world as our ancestors did. Many people in the modern world are very isolated from nature and rarely encounter it on its own terms. Our forebears were more attuned to nature because they lived in it. “Nature” as a separate concept would be difficult for them to grasp; they were part of nature’s fabric. It’s a far cry from the many people today who only encounter nature on certain cable television channels.
As discussed on the previous pages, winter’s difficulties in earlier times often led to death. While many like to think that we have bested nature or have command over it in the twenty-first century, humans in earlier times had no illusions about their place in nature. It may be hard for us to imagine, but not so long ago a harsh winter could quite literally bring wolves to your door. Humans were not at the top of the food chain, and winter was the most dangerous time of all. Knowing when winter would pass and when to expect the first new plants and melting snow meant more than knowing when to plant. It meant knowing a brighter future lay ahead if the hard winter could be endured. Then, as now, knowledge is power … and power brings the mind comfort.
Every spring celebration could be seen as a celebration of surviving winter more than anything else. Our ancestors observed animals and animal behavior as closely as we might watch a modern weather forecast. In many ancient cultures, animals figured into predicting weather and seasonal phenomena.
Celtic
The modern calendar recognizes the vernal equinox, or Ostara, as the beginning of spring. In the Celtic calendar, Imbolc represents the start of spring. Animals could be put out to pasture and were no longer dependent on stored hay. Barns and homes that had been shuttered throughout the long winter could be cleaned or at the very least aired out. There were newly born animals in the pens which also meant a fresh flow of milk. In many ways, this point on the calendar represented a time of cleansing, renewal, and rebirth.
Brigid
It is simply impossible to talk about Imbolc without talking about the very powerful Celtic goddess Brigid. She is also called “Brighid,” “Brigit,” “Bride,” and “Brigantia,” among other names, but is mostly widely known among Wiccans and Neopagans as Brigid. She is a goddess of many forms and has presented herself as all three aspects (maiden, mother, and crone) of the Earth Goddess. Over many generations, she has proven to be not only powerful, but also a very durable goddess. Although most closely associated with Ireland (she is often called the Goddess of Ireland), Brigid was also an important goddess in Scotland, Wales, and many parts of Western Europe.
Brigid is a goddess of fire and flame, change, poetry and inspiration, transformation, wisdom, metalworking and the fire of the forge, healing, creativity, water, prophecy, education, and learning. She is credited with giving the written word to humanity. Brigid is also a goddess of childbirth, and she can be called upon for help during delivery to keep mother and child safe. In many places it was a tradition on Imbolc to open all of the doors and windows in the home and for the women of the house to stand at the threshold in order to receive Brigid’s blessings.
Called the Goddess of the Eternal Flame, Brigid is charged with its protection; her shrine in Kildare, Ireland, held the Eternal Flame, where it was guarded night and day. It is said that for its safety, the sacred flame was surrounded by a hedge that no man could penetrate; only Brigid and her priestesses could pass through it. As a goddess of fire, Brigid is often called upon to protect homes from its destructive power. Brigid’s Crosses and corn dollies are often hung in kitchens to entice her protection over hearth and home. She is also called the “Great Teacher,” and might have been one of the earliest advocates for womens’ education.
Brigid is also called the Goddess of the Sacred Well; in this capacity, she protects its healing waters. While some say the well was also hers to protect within the shrine at Kildare, others point to her sacred well at Liscannor in County Clare, Ireland, instead. In fact, the utter domination of Brigid and her shrines and legions of followers resulted in the area around Kildare often being called the “City of Brigid.”
She is credited with creation of the whistle as a defensive weapon against attacks on women.3 A powerful shapeshifter, Brigid can appear in almost any form: she may appear as a woman of any age in her aspects as maiden, mother, and crone; a bird; smoke or a pillar of fire; or even a woman with a flaming head. She has also been said to transform into a snake and is sometimes represented in that guise in various works of art.4 She is simultaneously a mother, wife, and daughter to the Celtic gods, displaying another sacred triple aspect.
Given that Brigid is a goddess of fire, it is not surprising that she is also a goddess of change and transformation, ideas the Celts considered to be represented by fire. Just as a forest is transformed after a wildfire, so too are we transformed after being touched by Brigid’s transforming fire. Relatedly, as the Goddess of the Forge her fire is used to reshape and refine the rocks of the earth into forms that serve humanity. Simple ores are combined and catalyzed within her flame, the result of which are materials totally new and different, such as steel or bronze.
Brigid is a central figure in Celtic mythology and the embodiment of the triple goddess. According to the mythos, there are actually three sisters all named Brigid. One is Goddess of the Hearth Fire, one is Goddess of the Forge Fire, and the third is Goddess of the Creative/Transforming Fire. The three Brigids were forged together into one triple-aspected goddess (notice again the trinity, as three is a sacred number).
The common theme throughout the stories and poems of the Celts—and seen in this short overview of this goddess—is that Brigid is all about transformation and new beginnings, just like Imbolc. This is a sabbat that is about preparing for what is to come, getting rid of old things that no longer serve us, and introspection. Imbolc is about beginnings and the transformation from winter to spring.
Saint Brigid
If you have any doubt about Brigid’s ability to transform herself, you need only look at her fate after the Christian suppression of the Celts’ native religions. Even after Christianity’s arrival in Ireland, the cult of Brigid was simply too strong for proselytizing Christians to dismiss. If Christianity was to take hold in Ireland, the goddess Brigid had to be included. In so many instances when Christianity displaced local deities, the latter were often relegated to being characters in fairy tales, completely forgotten, or even transformed into demons or monsters. No such fate would befall the Goddess of the Eternal Flame, however. Instead, we find the sudden (and virtually inexplicable) appearance of Saint Brigid. Although no longer described as a “goddess,” her credentials as a saint were undeniable.
St. Brigid was put forth as the midwife to Mary when Jesus was born. That reconstructed history provided a clever way for the Church to let her keep her deep connections with childbirth. In other stories, Saint Brigid healed lepers using the water from her well, and she blessed the baby Jesus with three (there’s that trinity again) drops of water on his head. This part of the saint’s history redefines Brigid’s connection with water in a Christian context. She was also said to bring “bright weather” with her, thus maintaining her connection to spring and the end of winter.
Finally, it was said that St. Brigid was born on February 1 (sometimes called Candlemas Eve). Some stories say that she was born at dawn in a pillar of fire. Others say that her mother gave birth to her at dawn as her mother crossed the threshold into her home. All of these stories put a strong emphasis on symbols of change. Places and times of transition were sacred to Celtic peoples, representing the mystical places that exist only within margins. Dawn, fire, and thresholds are all symbols of change, so St. Brigid was also given a birth that had no deep meaning within Christian tradition but would clearly speak to the Celts the Church wanted to convert. Each of these Christianizations of established Pagan belief made it a little easier to get people to convert. Think about it: if all of your deities and celebrations were part of this new religion but with different names, becoming Christian would be an easier choice.
The shrine at Kildare became a Christian shrine dedicated to St. Brigid. It was said that dead birds were brought back to life at the shrine as one of St. Brigid’s miracles. (It would indeed be miraculous to see birds that had not only been killed, but actually cooked and eaten, brought back to life by the healing powers of St. Brigid!) Her “Daughters of the Flame” maintained the perpetual flame in Kildare from the fifth century BCE to the sixteenth century CE under the reign of Henry VIII, when the site was declared Pagan and dismantled.5
The creation of St. Brigid wasn’t enough to stop the goddess Brigid either. There has been a resurgence of interest in Brigid’s pre-Christian form as you will see in the next chapter. St. Brigid also made the journey to the Caribbean with indentured Irish and Scottish servants. There she transformed yet again to become Madame Brigitte in Voodoo belief.
Although the sabbat of Imbolc is based primarily on Celtic practices throughout the British Isles and Europe, this time of year was a time of celebration for many ancient cultures, not only the Celts. Fertility and change are at the heart of many such festivities.
One practice among the ancient Celts was the creation of corn dollies. Now in the US, “corn” refers to maize. In Europe, however, the word “corn” describes any kind of silage fed to livestock. If you’re American, to get what you call “corn” in a London restaurant you should order “sweet corn.” Otherwise your server will be very confused—but entertained. So when we talk about corn dollies, you should not think of dolls only made of maize (although you certainly could make a corn dolly from maize) but rather a figure made from reeds, grass, or other plant material. In fact, wheat is a very common material used in making corn dollies.
Corn dollies are used to represent the Crone aspect of Brigid when made during harvest (most traditionally at Lugnasadh) but the same type of corn dolly made at Imbolc represent Brigid’s Maiden form. Sometimes corn dollies made at Lugnasadh are stored through the winter and brought out again at Imbolc as a symbol of the transformation from Crone to Maiden.5 At Imbolc the corn dolly (called “the biddy”) was placed in a specially made small-scale bed (“Brid’s bed”) along with a symbol of male fertility such as a wand or stick. The bed was placed in the ashes of the home’s hearth fire, sometimes accompanied by burning candles. If the ashes were disturbed in the morning, it was seen as a very positive omen for the coming year.
Roman
Imbolc is certainly not the only ritual holiday during this time of year, nor is it the only one focused on welcoming spring or celebrating renewal and purification as the new season of growth begins. One of the most ancient known celebrations during February was the Roman festival “Februalia” (from which the month takes its name). Februalia was a ritual of purification that took place at the end of the Roman year. This festival offered a chance to honor the gods and the dead, and for people to purify themselves in preparation for the coming year. As you can see, purification is a common theme for rituals and celebrations at this time of the year.
Februalia celebrated the goddess Juno, who shares many qualities with Brigid. The similarities between this Roman celebration and Imbolc made it easy to blur the lines between them. Just as Candlemas replaced Imbolc, so did the Feast of the Purification of the Virgin Mary replace Februalia.
A much better known Roman celebration is “Lupercalia,” variously cited as beginning on February 13 or on the last full moon of the Roman year. Lupercalia is generally believed to have supplanted Februalia (which is older), but Lupercalia’s focus is distinct despite having inherited traditions from its predecessor. While purification and cleansing remain part of the focus, powerful sexual energies are part of Lupercalia. The central ritual took place at the foot of the hill where Romulus and Remus, the legendary founders of Rome, were suckled by a she-wolf in a cave called Lupercal.
This fertility ritual is believed to predate the rise of the Roman Empire, so it is really more correct to label this as an Etruscan ritual. Of course, the Romans were experts at appropriating and incorporating many diverse beliefs into the empire’s rituals and beliefs. They certainly embraced the celebration and worked to make it part of their culture for generations. In fact, the ritual continued to be celebrated in Rome until 494 CE, when a Christian feast was declared on that day.
Lupercalia celebrates the god Faunus and goddess Juno. The worship of both of these deities significantly predates the Roman Empire and some of that ancient energy can be felt in the primal nature of this holiday. Faunus is a wild spirit who embodies primitive sexual drive. A horned god, he bestows the ability to see the future or psychic abilities. He does so in ways that often seem frightening, such as nightmares. Faunus is sometimes confused with Pan because their physical appearances can be very similar.
Juno is an ancient goddess of time. She is the protector of women, making her a good counterbalance to the unchecked sexual energy of Faunus. Being a protector of women at all ages, Juno is also the goddess of fertility and birth. She is a healer, but her work is focused on women’s health issues only. Juno has existed in different aspects in different times. As Juno Februa, she was directly tied to the Februalia ritual.
The ritual celebration of Lupercalia included sacrifices to the deities. Afterwards, strips of the hides of the sacrificed were cut and given to naked or loincloth-bearing young men. They then ran throughout the ritual area using the strips of hide as whips to strike people. This was a rite performed as a fertility blessing, and many young ladies beckoned and even lined up so they’d be sure to be found and hit with the whip. The belief was that if they received lashes, doing so would increase fertility and ease the pain of childbirth.
Native American
Many Native American tribes traditionally celebrated the Imbolc season, although similar to Chinese New Year, celebrations were more often based on the lunar calendar rather than the solar. Many Native traditions hold that the winter is a mystical time of year. It is when most ceremonies were held, along with feasts, and was seen as a time of transitions and change. Names were given, initiations held, alliances renewed, marriages blessed, and more.
Living in close harmony with nature means that winter is usually seen as part of life and its challenges are simply part of life’s beauty. From the Seneca in New York to the Kwakiutl on the Pacific coast and the many tribes in between, numerous Native American peoples have shown a greater embrace of winter’s hard facts than some Europeans, who tend to see winter as something to be endured with no merit of its own.
Egypt
An ancient Egyptian goddess similar in many ways to Brigid is also celebrated during the transition from winter to spring. Renenutet is a goddess of protection and childbirth. She is often depicted as a horned or fire-breathing cobra or a woman with a snake’s head. She is called upon during labor, and afterward she offers protection to the child. She especially favors premature or sick infants. It is also said that she helps nursing mothers by making their infants want to feed. That in turn helps them to grow and remain healthy.
Renenutet is also a goddess of grain and is celebrated with offerings of milk, bread, and wine, like Brigid.6 She was celebrated during the transition periods of ancient Egypt’s three seasons, all of which revolved around the Nile and its flooding cycle: Akhet, the Inundation (when the Nile’s water level began to rise); Peret, the Growth period; and Shemu, the Harvest. The festivals dedicated to Renenutet’s celebration at these times of seasonal change might seem very familiar to those who followed Brigid.
Asia
Although we call it “Chinese New Year,” this is actually an ancient celebration welcoming spring, marking the start of a new year, very much like Imbolc. The date of Chinese New Year is based on the very old Chinese lunar calendar, so the date can vary anywhere from January 21 to February 19, as it is the second new moon after the winter solstice.7 Chun jie (literally “spring festival”), as it is called in Mandarin Chinese, is actually a two-week-long festival to usher in the New Year, beginning with New Year’s Eve—the last night of the last month in the Chinese lunar year—and ending with the the Lantern Festival, which occurs on the fifteenth day of the first month. Imbolc almost always falls on one of those celebration days.8
Modern Chinese New Year celebrations are not very different from ancient ones. A dragon or lion marches and dances in celebration, as it was once believed that the loud music accompanying the dance as well as the beast’s fearsome gaze would frighten away evil spirits. The dragon a symbol of good fortune (fortune everyone hopes will be bestowed upon them as well) and is also the creature in more than one Asian mythos who turns the wheel of the year. When the wheel completes a full cycle, the dragon returns to start another year for everyone.9 Firecrackers are used to drive away unwanted spirits, and offerings are made to ancestors and gods for a successful year ahead. Incense is often burned in large quantities to ward off bad energies and encourage good ones. This is also a time of divination and ritual healing, and it is common for people to visit fortune tellers to see what the new year will bring. Although many Asian countries are undergoing rapid growth and modernization, it is comforting to see that this ancient tradition is still being handed down to new generations who continue to practice the tradition with glee.