Kate Braun : Welcome the Light on Candlemas

Image from The Mystical Kingdom.
Candlemas 2013:
A season of renewal

By Kate Braun / The Rag Blog / January 29, 2013

“Keep on the sunny side, always on the sunny side,
Keep on the sunny side of life...”

Saturday, February 2, 2013, is Candlemas, aka Imbolc, Feast of Lights, Brigid’s Day. Lady Moon is in her 3rd quarter in Scorpio.

Waning moons are times to release and let go of unwanted or unnecessary things. Candlemas is a season of renewal. It is good to use this time to release winter’s gloom and welcome the light. One of the easiest ways to do this is by using light.

Candles, lanterns, flashlights, mirrors, all will serve the purpose: polish all shiny surfaces, window panes, mirrors, tile floors and countertops. Place candles on or in front of mirrors; this will increase the available light. Symbolically, we are encouraging Lord Sun’s continuing growth; symbolically we are assisting in our planet’s rebirth.

If you hang a silk scarf in an open window and let the breeze blow through it, this charges it with positive energy. Then wear the scarf for part of your attire. If it is white, yellow, pink, light green, or light blue, or has any of those colors in its print, it will bring more appropriate energy into your festivities. Use these colors in your decorations as well.

Serve your guests spicy dishes such as curries and chilis, foods which invoke warmth. Brigid is the patron saint of Candlemas. She is the patroness of poets and artists, blacksmiths and midwives. Shepherds and cattle herders honor her. She is a fire/sun goddess. Imbolc, another name for this festival, refers to new-born lambs suckling their dams. This is why milk dishes such as yogurt, quiche, and custards should also be featured in your menu.

At sundown, process through the house in a sunwise (clockwise) manner, sending light into all drawers, closets, corners, cabinets, under furniture, etc. You may invite your guests to join you in this activity. You may also bless seeds that will be planted but do not cut or pick plants today. All your activities should be pro-growth.

If you have a fireplace, be sure to put out and re-light your hearth fire. This represents the reemergence of Lord Sun from his wintry hibernation, symbolizes the rebirth of light and warmth, and stimulates generative energies within your home.

A rhyme associated with this date is:

If Candlemas Day be fair and bright,
Winter will have another flight;
If on Candlemas Day be shower and rain,
Winter is gone and will not come again.

If the rhyme has a sense of familiarity, remember that Candlemas and Groundhog Day are the same date.

[Kate Braun's website is www.tarotbykatebraun.com. She can be reached at kate_braun2000@yahoo.com. Read more of Kate Braun's writing on The Rag Blog.]

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Kate Braun : The Feast of Candlemas

Celebrating the feast of Candlemas. Image from The Cottage Wytch.
Strengthening of Lord Sun:
The feast of Candlemas

By Kate Braun / The Rag Blog / January 31, 2010

“You light up my life...”

Wednesday, February 2, 2011 is the feast of Candlemas. Also called Imbolc and Briget’s Day, it is a fire festival that encourages Lord Sun’s continuing strengthening. Wednesday is Odin’s Day: Odin, the highest-ranking Nordic deity who also personifies many sun qualities.

Choose from the colors white, yellow, red, pink, light green, light blue, and brown to adorn yourself and your festal area; incorporate candle wheels, sun wheels, corn dollies, and especially candles into your decorations.

Serve your guests seeds, dairy foods, spicy foods, breads, and meat. A menu including lamb curry; brown rice; and sauteed vegetables seasoned with onions, garlic, and chili peppers and topped with toasted pumpkin seeds would nicely invoke the fiery qualities of Lord Sun as well as tickle the taste buds.

A dessert of yogurt cheesecake in your favorite flavor would be an appropriate conclusion to the dinner. Including dairy foods in your menu reinforces the new life emerging on Mother Earth, as Imbolc means “in the belly” and February is when ewes bring forth their lambs and suckle them.

There is much activity associated with Candlemas that incorporates aspects of “Spring Cleaning," not the least of which is to clean all windows, mirrors, and other shiny surfaces. This cleaning and polishing helps to reflect the light of not only Lord Sun but also of the many candles you should light during the course of your celebration. The more candles lit, the greater the energy transmitted to Lord Sun and the stronger his energy will be in the first half of the year. Or so it is stated in Candlemas Lore.

Putting out and reigniting your hearth fire is symbolic of Lord Sun’s returning strength, as is shining a flashlight into every closet, cabinet, corner, and drawer. The more light brought into these areas, frequently forgotten in ritual work, the greater the positive Sun-influence will be able to interact with the home. This is the point of the celebrating done this day: to generate energy that promotes clarity, growth, strengthening, forward motion.

But do not cut or pick plants on this day; to do so would be to cut short the energy going into their growth.

[Kate Braun's website is www.tarotbykatebraun.com. She can be reached at kate_braun2000@yahoo.com.]

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