Candlemas

Candlemas
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-gray 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, literally, "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 honour 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 honour.  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 parishioners, 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 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 and all, this is certainly one 
of the prettiest holidays celebrated in the Pagan seasonal calendar.