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C A N D L E M A S: The Light Returns
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by Mike Nichols
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 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 follwing
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 (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.