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C A N D L E M A S -by Gwydion Cinhil Kirontin
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, litterally, "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
capital 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 parishoners, 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 (this year, February 6th).
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. Once again, this shows the resultant confusion of calendar
changes and "lost days" that have accumulated down the centuries.
For modern Witches, Candlemas O.S. may 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 1), allowing them to continue burning until sunrise.
Make sure that such candles are well seated against tipping and
gaurded 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 and all, this is certainly one of the
prettiest holidays celebrated in the Pagan seasonal calendar.