C A N D L E M A S -by Gwydion Cinhil Kirontin

"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.