Imbolc

The first time I heard the word Imbolc was from a sheep farmer. She told me that it meant 'lambing time.' I think that the translation of the Celtic word means 'in the womb' or something close to that. I have been told that this refers to the idea that the world is pregnant with spring which will arrive soon. I think that this is a pretty modern, urban way of looking at spring and the idea of 'lambing time' might be just as legitimate a description. Lambs are born in February. They arrive in what is still winter and are the four-legged proof that spring is coming.

Imbolc is a cross quarter celebration that continues over 3 days. February 1 is a day to honor Brigid, warrior goddess. She helps to banish the darkness of winter on this day. This is a good day to ask her for fertility or creativity. February 2 is Candlemass Day, also a day for banishing winter by lighting many candles to chase away the dark. February 3 is the actually cross quarter day, the mid point between Solstice and Equinox.

Enjoy this sign of spring. Look for early crocus or other flowers and plants bold enough to grow in the snow. Light a candle and pay honor to Brigid and seek what you want from her. Decorate your altar or your house with candles and spring flowers.

Politcal Rant!

The idjits who backed Prop 8 are at it again. They want their list of campaign contributors made exempt from federal law that requires this sort of donation to be public record. Of course, they are asking for this in a state court, which only plays to the concept that they just don't get it.

They put on their brass balls and waltzed into court demanding "protection" from people who were boycotting their businesses because of their support of Prop 8.
They did forget to mention that the 'Protect Marriage' folks had sent out harassing, threatening letters (on their letterhead, duh!) to businesses that supported the fight against Prop 8.

I have come to believe that there is nothing to be gained by talking to these morons who truly believe that they are morally superior to the rest of us.

In the spirit of the day....here is the list of businesses that supported Prop 8, please take a look and take your business away. Corporate Supporters of Prop 8

Southern Hemisphere

Cwm Goch Chronicles said...

Just wondering - being in the Southern Hemisphere, is the January Moon still a Wolf Moon for us (being summer?). What are your thoughts on this?
Some of the stuff I've been reading just associates the month, others the seasons/harvest cycle. Gets a little confusing for us Southern Hem people!

So I did a little research and came up with this on pagan.org

Celebration	Southern Hemisphere	Northern Hemisphere
Solstice	20-23 June	20-23 December
Candlemas	1st August	2nd February
Equinox	20-23 September	20-23 March
Beltaine	31st October	1st May
Solstice	20-23rd December	20-23rd June
Lammas	2nd February	1st August
Equinox	20-23 March	20-23rd September
Samhain	1st May	31st October

I am not going to go through the calendar and check every date....this stuff makes my head hurt, I will just assume this is right.

So based on this I would start with the winter solstice, uh...June. The month following the Winter Solstice would be the Wolf Moon, so July.
Carrying on with this....my eyes are crossing now...
July...Wolf Moon
August...Storm Moon
Sept...Chaste Moon
Oct...Seed Moon
Nov...Hare Moon
Dec...Lover's Moon
Jan...Mead Moon
Feb...Wyrt Moon
Mar...Harvest Moon
April...Blood Moon
May...Snow Moon
June...Oak Moon
Which puts you back in the Oak Moon in the month of the Winter Solstice.

Does that make sense? Anyone else in the Southern Hemisphere? Is this how you do this?

I think that the moons must be based on the seasons, not the name of the month. The Wolf Moon was a time that the wolf, among others, was emboldened by hunger and a threat to people trying to survive the winter. This is a winter moon, the name of the month doesn't matter.

I think what screws this up is that everything is based on the seasons, except Christmas which has an arbitrary date of December 25 in both hemispheres.
It's hard to get away from the confusion this causes. I know I associate Yule with Christmas. Just sticking with celebrating the Solstice might help.

January 20, Inauguration Day

Tuesday is the day of the inauguration of Barack Obama as the President of the United States.

I truly believe that this man is dedicated to finding things in common among people who disagree instead of focusing on the disagreement.

It is the only hope for this world to move forward. Bitter religious, political and tribal beliefs and prejudices have not diminished over the course of our blood stained history, on the contrary they are escalating.

Regardless of your views on this particular action that he has taken or will take, or that particular action or speech or word used that you can find fault with, send him your good wishes, your prayers and your magick for him to use to find some common ground for people of good will to stand on to combat the insanity in this world.

to be or not to be?

I think I am about to drop the term 'wiccan' from my self description.
I feel wiccan, I follow the sabbats and esbats, I'm polytheistic, the Rede makes sense to me and probably because of my upbringing I am more comfortable with some structure than without.

On the other hand, for a long time my path was a faint set of footsteps that I followed without much looking around but now it is getting wider and I am picking up things along the way.

I am definitely a witch. My practice is decidedly wiccan.
But some days I am a wiccan witch and some days I am a green witch and some days I am a druid witch and some days I am a shaman witch and some days I am a secular witch.

Do I have to have a name for it? I'm afraid that 'pagan' won't do. There are too many alien forms of pagan that I can't relate to at all. If I have to have a label it has to be more accurate than that.

Maybe I don't need a name for it. I can always use wiccan so that Homeland Security knows which file cabinet I go into....I'm sure that one's a mess anyway, they will never get it sorted out.

Do I have to have one name? Perhaps I could have little cards made up with a diagram on them. Like we were taught to diagram a sentence back in grade school, it could show all the descriptors.

I'm still thinking about this.