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Blogs > NottyNum50 > NottyNum's Naughty Corner

Imbolc  

NottyNum50 56M
0 posts
12/25/2018 12:36 am
Imbolc

it is now Feb 1...The earth is still in many areas lying asleep under a blanket of snow and the air is still cold. But in the back of your mind you can sense the earth beginning to almost quiver in anticipation of the coming Spring. The daylength is visibly longer and the sun visibly higher in the sky and the urge arises in many species of animal including us to start preparations for the coming Spring season.

in ancient and medieval times this day was called "Imbolc" (in the Celtic lands) and was the signal almost across Europe for the lady of the house to start what now is known as "Spring cleaning". In those times it was as much ritual as it was actual cleaning as the lady of the house would take a specially made broom called a "Besom" and ritually sweep negative energy, evil spirits and bad luck from every corner of the house and out so that in the coming year the house would be full of light, good luck and beneficial spirits.

it is six weeks almost exactly from the Winter Solstice now and in many cultures it was believed that the Earth Goddess has now recovered from birthing the young Sun God at Yule (Christmas). This belief that a lady wasn't recovered from childbirth until 6 weeks after the has been born spreads across many cultures. It is recorded most prominently in the Mosaic Law in the bible and practiced in the British colonies that formed the early America---the practice was even referred to here in the Americas as "Churching the woman". In the Hebrew culture this is known as "making the woman ritually clean after childbirth.

This was also the time of year that the household tended to make all its candle<b> supplies </font></b>for the year. The early Catholic Church recognized this and to convert the Pagans they co opted this holiday and renamed it Candlemas and you were to celebrate it only as a time to make candles ---not the deeper meaning of hastening Spring's bounty by preparing your house for Spring's energies

American culture renamed this holiday and moved it to Feb 2 its now known as "groundhog day" totally stripped of astronomical meanings its about using a small rodent to predict an early Spring---a dubious exercise at best

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