Candlemas: Feast of Flames (Holiday Series) [Paperback]

Amber K (Author), Azrael Arynn K (Author)

Book Description

Series: Holiday Series | Publication Date: December 8, 2001

Beyond the darkness of winter, there is an oasis of light and warmth on the journey from solstice to spring. Known as Candlemas, Imbolg, Brigantia, or Lupercus, it is a hope-filled celebration held in early February to welcome the returning light and the promise of spring.  Candlemas sheds light on the origins, lore, and customs of this ancient holy day with:

·Myths and stories: Brigit the Goddess, Brigid the Saint, and her meaning today
·Candlemas magick and divination: flame scrying, hearthside divination, candle magick, and protection magick
·Late winter goodies and feasts: Brede's Braid Bread, Guiness Stew, Bubble and Squeak, Mulled Cider or Wine
·February festivals and traditions: rituals for purification, blessings, and renewal, from the Irish, British, Scots, Welsh, Norwegian, Greek, Roman,  and Chinese cultures
·Seasonal crafts and games: Brigid's crosses or sun wheels, "Begging for Biddy," and a Brigit corn dolly

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Amber K is a third degree priestess of the Wiccan faith. She was initiated at the Temple of the Pagan Way in Chicago and served on the Council of Elders there. Her books on magick and the Craft have been widely circulated in the United States and Europe, and for nearly 25 years she has traveled across the U.S. teaching the Craft. She has worked with Circle and the Re-Formed Congregation of the Goddess, and served as National First Officer of the Covenant of the Goddess for three terms. She is a founder of Our Lady of the Woods and the Ladywood Tradition of Wicca, and currently is Executive Director of Ardantane, a Wiccan/Pagan seminary is northern New Mexico.



Azrael Arynn K is a third-degree Wiccan Priestess and High Priest of the Coven of Our Lady of the Woods, and has also held offices in the Covenant of the Goddess. She resides in New Mexico, where she is both Facilities Director and Dean of the School of Sacred  Living at Ardantane Pagan Learning Center. She co-authors books on the Craft with Amber K, and travels and teaches widely throughout the United States.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

1
The Festivals
of February
In the northern hemisphere, this festival comes while winter’s grip is still upon the land. Today we call it Candlemas, Imbolg, or by other names. Once this part of the year was called the Wolf-month, or Dead-month. For many of our ancestors, snow covered the sleeping earth, the nights were still long, and the gaiety of the solstice holidays had long since faded. Food supplies were beginning to look scanty and moldy, and the promise of spring seemed far away. And yet—they celebrated. In the cold darkness, they found reason for hope: a gust of wind less chill, a few minutes more of gray daylight, a solitary crocus pushing through the snow. They created a holy day, a festival, a feast; and under many different names it is with us today.

The festival has been called Imbolg and Oimelc, the Feast Day of Saint Brigid, Candlemas, Lá Fhéile Bríd, and by names spoken in the mists of prehistory, but lost today. There is an overlapping complex of holy days in Europe, clustered around the first to the third of February; and several other related festivals later in the month. We will explore several of these special events, beginning with the days when humanity’s hold on survival seemed tenuous at best.

The Ice Ages and
the End of Winter

If winter is an inconvenience for some people now, it was a serious challenge to our medieval ancestors. And to our still more distant ancestors, it was a gamble with death every single year.
Imagine the Paleolithic era—the Old Stone Age. Imagine not from our perspective, as a dim prequel to civilization with its abundant food, central heating, and vast transportation networks. Imagine being there, and there is . . . all there is.
Winter, on the vast steppes of Asia. For a thousand miles in any direction there is nothing to break the force of the frigid wind. Gray skies, glaciers far to the north, grass brown and sere where the endless breeze has stripped away the snow. There are seventeen in your clan, since your grandmother left the group. She was forty-one, an ancient crone, and could no longer keep up with the migration. Now the clan follows the tracks of a herd of musk oxen, hoping for food.
That night you camp in the lee of a low mound, and the people chew on the last dried strips of mammoth meat from a kill made weeks ago. The hunters ranging ahead have not caught sight of the musk oxen, and their tracks may be erased by morning. The wind howls like the spirits of the lonely dead, and there is a current of fear and hopelessness among the living. More than one clansman expects to join his ancestors soon.
The shaman stands. She is a little young for her position, but was the closest thing to an apprentice old Nev had, before he died last fall of the coughing sickness. She speaks: “The Moon has passed through Her cycle once and more, since we marked the Longest Night. You all know this. But the nights still seem long, and food is scarce. You wonder if the winter will ever end, if warmth will ever return to the land. Now I say this: I have measured the length of the nights, as Nev taught me, and they are shorter. The daylight grows. This is the message of the Great Mother, Her promise that spring will come! She sends another message; I have dreamed it. Within two days we shall find the herd, and as much meat as we can carry. So pass around what is left of the mammoth meat; eat what you wish, for more is coming. Trust the Mother!”
She speaks with authority for one of fourteen summers. The people believe, and soon the last of the food is shared out among the clan, and they dance around the hot, leaping flames of the bone-fire they have built.

The Bear Goddess of
Neolithic Europe

One of the oldest forms of the Goddess is that of the bear, and one of the earliest recorded holy days of February honors Her in that form, perhaps because the awakening of hibernating animals is one sure sign of spring’s approach. According to Marija Gimbutas, a scholar of Old European deities, “The concept of the goddess in bear shape was deeply ingrained in mythical thought through the millennia and survives in contemporary Crete as “Virgin Mary of the Bear.” In the cave of Acrotiri near ancient Kydonia, a festival in honour of Panagia (Mary) Arkoudiotissa (‘she of the bear’) is celebrated on the second day of February.”1
The bear was apparently a central figure in the Paleolithic religions of Old Europe and Asia. The hundreds of bear-headed clay figurines found at archaeological sites in Eastern Europe seem to represent the primal mother-goddess; some are seated on thrones and decorated with lunar crescents. Female bears are known for their fierce devotion to their young, and so the bear was a symbol of motherhood.2 As the bear protects her cubs, so the bear-goddess protects the tribes by bringing spring with her emergence from winter’s sleep.
Bears are also connected with water; bear-shaped vases of early European cultures are covered with zigzags, chevrons, and striated diamonds, all patterns symbolic of flowing water. The themes of water and fire appear again and again in connection with end-of winter celebrations; fire for warmth against the cold, water thawing from ice and snow as spring returns.

The Eleusinian Mysteries
of Greece

Let us move ahead thousands of years to another spring festival, in which the goddess has divided into a more human Mother and Her returning Daughter. In ancient Greece, the lesser Eleusinian Mysteries were celebrated at the end of January and beginning of February. This festival commemorated the return of Persephone from the Underworld to Her mother Demeter. Demeter, as you may recall, was a Mother Goddess Who brought life to the world, and made the crops grow and the bees give honey. When Her daughter Persephone was stolen away (or eloped, in some versions of the story) to the Land of the Dead with the god Hades, Demeter mourned, life slipped from the land, and the first winter came.
A compromise arranged by the gods allowed Persephone to reign as Queen of the Underworld for half of each year, and return to the world of the living for half. When She returns, bringing the spring, the goddess Hekate and the spirits of the dead chosen for rebirth accompany Her.
The Greeks held a great celebration to mark the occasion. First there was a torchlight procession, in which the participants combed the land and even waded into the sea, recreating the search for Demeter’s lost daughter. When word came that Persephone was found, the assemblage cheered and held a great feast to celebrate.

Lupercalia

The Romans regarded February as a time of cleansing and purification—Februarius mensis, “the month of ritual purification.” However, fertility and love were also popular themes. Several festivals were celebrated, but their biggest event was the Lupercalia on February 15. This holiday was named for the Lupercal, the grotto where the infants Romulus and Remus came ashore after floating down the Tiber River in a basket. There they were suckled and raised by a wolf, and later grew up to found the city and nation of Rome. Why was the sacred bear of ancient Europe largely replaced by the wolf in classical Rome? Edain McCoy believes that “Lupercalia celebrated the beginning of the wolves’ mating season. . . . Wolves mate for life and their union was seen not only as a sign of spring, but of the eternal union of the Goddess and her Sun God.”3
In part, the festival of Lupercalia honored Faunus (also called Lupercus), a goat-footed god of Nature, flocks, crops and gardens, music, animals, and much more. Goats were sacrificed to him, and then his priests took to the streets wearing goatskin loincloths. They were known as the Luperci (the priests, not their loincloths.) Each carried goatskin thongs and their role was to hit everyone they saw; presumably this token scourging was a symbolic ritual purification.
Married women received a bonus effect, however; the thongs supposedly encouraged fertility. Technically, the Luperci were supposed to strike them gently across the palms, but apparently some women were so serious about the fertility issue that they stripped naked to encourage the Luperci to go further.
The younger people celebrated by putting the names of willing girls into a jar; the boys would draw names and discover who were to be their partners for the festivities. This custom spread and was still popular in England and Scotland hundreds of years later.
Pope Gelasius I, who reigned over the Roman Church from 492–6 c.e., “banned this cheerfully scandalous festival and met with such an outcry that he had to apologize.”4 In 496 the feast of Lupercalia was changed to the feast of Saint Valentine, and instead of girls’ names, the names of various saints were put into a box for people to draw out. Prayers would be offered to the saint you drew.5 We can only guess how wildly popular this change was with young people. Oddly enough, the custom seems to have evaporated over the years.
The Roman Church was finally able to officially abolish Lupercalia, although its replacement was never quite as respectable as the Church fathers might have hoped.
The Lupercalia was definitely the social event of the season; however, the Greeks and Romans were not stingy with their festivals. A citizen who didn’t have to work for a living could spend the entire month preparing for holy days, celebrating them, or recovering from them. Here is a sampling of the Roman and Greek holidays for the month:
January 31 to February 2: Februalia dedicated to Vesta, “The Shining One,” goddess of fire and the hearth.
February 2: The day honoring Juno Februata as the virgin mother of Mars.
February 6: Festival of Aphrodite, Greek goddess of love, beauty, creation, ...

Product Details

• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: Llewellyn Publications (December 8, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0738700797
• ISBN-13: 978-0738700793
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #346,321 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #30 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Earth-Based Religions > Druidism
  • #72 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Earth-Based Religions > Celtic

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A comprehensive resource for observing the Imbolc Sabbat, January 25, 2002

By 

Tom L. Waters (Tesuque, NM USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Candlemas: Feast of Flames (Holiday Series) (Paperback)

Llewellyn publishes a series of books on the eight sabbats of the Pagan year. The books in the series vary quite a bit in quality. This one, devoted to Imbolc ("Candlemas" being the Christianized name) and written by Wiccan priestesses Amber K and Azrael Arynn K, is the best one in the series to date.

What sets this book apart is the substance of its content. There is very little padding here. February festivals from various cultures are reviewed, and the information given is well researched and accurate. Many of the customs and folkways described cry out for adoption into one's own seasonal routine.

There is an enormous amount of material of the Celtic goddess Brigid (pronounced Bree-id), later identified with a 5th-century Irish saint, a rough contemprorary of St. Patrick. After reading the material collected here, the goddess comes alive as something much more than a symbol of smithcraft, poetry, and healing. She emerges as a powerful personality, central to the land, its people, and their identity.

The cross-quarter days are all associated with divination magick, and this book offers some fine, original suggestions suited to the season. I particularly appreciated the instructions for scrying with fire. This is such a primal magickal operation, accessible to human beings thousands of generations before the first tarot card saw the light of day.

The ritual suggestions (for solitaries, families, and groups) are thorough and carefully thought out, and will carry significant personal meaning when performed. There is, naturally, a section on candle-making and candle magick, which gets into the details of traditional methods and materials, not often encountered in other books. The table of correspondences for candle magick also displays the authors' characteristic attention to detail and thoroughness.

The book winds down with a fascinating selection of recipes appropriate to the ancient and medieval Irish roots of the Imbolc festival. The practice in other books in this series has been to feature mostly "fun" recipes that somehow carry out the theme of the holiday, in color, decoration, or sometimes just name. There's a place for this, but it was a delight to open this book and find something more-an attempt to make some kind of connection with the original people for whom this festival was an important milestone in the passage through winter.

In fact, that seems to be what this whole book is about from cover to cover, a vigorous and lively attempt to forge a link-to the extent that it's possible for us-with Brigid and her people at this, her most sacred time of the year.

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Honoring Brigid with candles and love, February 7, 2002

By 

Kelly (Fantasy Literature) (Columbia, MO United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Candlemas: Feast of Flames (Holiday Series) (Paperback)

I've been interested in the goddess Brigid for a long time, and jumped out of my chair when I heard this book existed. I was even more ecstatic when it didn't disappoint me. I was afraid the book would be a skim-over-the-surface effort, touching only briefly on Brigid and then continuing on to subjects having nothing to do with her. Basically, I was afraid the book would try too hard to be eclectic.

Fortunately, the two Ladies K did a wonderful job with their subject. They briefly mentioned other holidays celebrated in other cultures at the same time, and then settled down quite comfortably to talk in-depth about Brigid in her several forms: as an ancient goddess, as a faery of the Sidhe, and as a human saint. I was especially impressed with the section on St. Brigid. Most pagan authors, when writing about Brigid, simply frown angrily at the end of the goddess's myth and rant, "And then the Christians stole her and made her into a saint!" Lol. Here, St. Brigid gets respect. There is an impressive collection of St. Brigid wonder tales, several of which were completely new to me. The authors even see a silver lining in the replacement of the goddess by the saint--by recasting Brigid as a human woman, the Irish may have felt closer to her, since she was more like an old friend than a distant deity.

Then the authors get into practical suggestions: rituals, crafts, and recipes. They include rituals for one, for a family, and for a coven. There is a thick chapter on making your own candles. And the recipes, which I didn't get to try yet since I got the book the day before Imbolc, look yummalicious! And for the authenticity police, there is a note by each recipe saying whether it's ancient, post-Crusades, or post-Columbus.

Overall, a warm and approachable guide to the Imbolc Sabbat, by two authors who seem like really great people. I have tons of ideas for next year now.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly well done, March 24, 2002

By 

Cynthia M. Caton "minion" (Ireland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Candlemas: Feast of Flames (Holiday Series) (Paperback)

Although disappointed that Llewellyn has chosen to name the books in this series mostly by their Christianized names rather than their pagan names (Imbolc), I was pleasantly surprised by this book. The introductory information seemed a stretch but the rituals are really outstanding. I was tremendously inspired by their sabbat and Brigit celebrations. It made me rethink my entire festival. They clearly know how to craft a ritual. Recommended!