The Wheel of the Year: Imbolc

  

My reenactment of the Goddess Brighid (IG)

 First of all, belated happy Imbolc to all those who celebrate this neopagan/neodruidic feast, or to those who simply feel interested about the Celtic calendar and the goddess Brighid! And for those in the Southern hemisphere, a happy (belated) Lughnasadh as well!

Imbolc blessing. Found on Pinterest.

  As a pure agnostic-atheist neodruidess, I celebrate this feast from a purely seasonal, spiritual (rather than religious) and culturally interested point of view, more than from a neopagan one - although I do like to delve into Neopaganism, as well as Celtic culture and general mythology, and Brighid is one of my favourite goddesses. What I sometimes do on these couple of days (1st-2nd February) is walk in the garden to welcome the first signs of Spring and tie a ribbon in one of the trees on the 31st January (or 1st February sometimes, it depends), following the Imbolc tradition of hanging a strip of cloth or ribbon in a tree to seek blessings and protection from the Goddess. I'm not much into rituals myself, but I quite like this particular tradition and have sometimes done it, it seems like a very druidic and drawn-to-nature thing to do, same as having a small altar of seasonal plants or decorating a Yule tree.

My 2014 Imbolc ribbon.

  So to celebrate one of my favourite festivals in the Wheel of the Year, I've thought about a couple of posts to talk about Imbolc and the goddess Brighid.

  A couple of years ago, on my final year of Irish in the Official Language School (EOI) in Madrid, we organized a couple of shows, and one of them was about the druids and the Celtic calendar This is what my teacher Emily Allen and I wrote about Imbolc (in Irish, English and Spanish), and the Power Point slides I created:

   -Sources include Wikipedia and some books. Irish translation is original. 

My slide. Images from Google.

Tosaíonn Imbolc ar an gcéad lá de mhí Feabhra agus baineann sé le teacht an t-Earraigh, go mbíonn na laethanta níos faide, níl sé chomh fuar, agus feictear na chéad bláthanna ag teacht anuas. Tagann an focal ‘Imbolc’ ón t-Sean-Ghaeilge, “i mbolg”, agus tagraíonn sé do na caoraigh a bheith ag iompar.

Imbolc begins on the 1st of February, and it's related to the coming of Spring, now that the days are becoming longer, it's not so cold and the first flowers begin to sprout forth. The word 'Imbolc' comes from the ancient Gaelic "i mbolg", and it refers to the pregnancy of ewes.

Imbolc comienza el día 1 de Febrero y está relacionado con la llegada de la primavera. Los días comienzan a ser más largos, no hace tanto frío y empiezan a aparecer las primeras flores. La palabra 'Imbolc' viene del Gaélico antiguo, “i mbolg”, y se refiere a la gestación de las ovejas.

My slide. Artwork on the left: Miranda Gray. Artwork on the right: Joanna Powell Colbert.

   Féasta pagánach ab ea é Imbolc ó thús, agus é ceangailte leis an bandia Brighid. Glaotar ‘Lá Fhéile Bríde’ ar an lá a thosaíonn Imbolc mar sin. Ba bhandia an-tábhachtach do na Ceiltigh í Brighid. Tá trí gnéithe aici: Gné na beatha, na torthúlachta agus an leighis; gné na filíochta agus na h-inspioráide; agus gné na ceardaíochta agus na gaibhneachta. Is amhlaidh go léiríonn a hainm cúpla rudaí, ciall amháin ná ‘Saighead lasánta’, agus mar sin, baineann an bandia seo le tine, siombail a thagraíonn don bheatha agus don inspiráid fhileata. Más mar sin a bhí, baineann Naomh Brighid le lasracha, le toirbhreatha beannaithe agus leis an leigheas chomh maith.  Nuair a tháinig an Chríostaíocht go h-Éirinn rinne sí naomh den bhandia Brighid.

 Imbolc was originally a pagan festival associated with the goddess Brighid. Brighid was a very important goddess among th Celtic peoples. She has three aspects: One of life, fertility and healing; one of poetry and inspiration; and one of crafts and smith-work. Her name has various possible meanings, and one of them is "a flaming arrow". This is a goddess linked with fire and the Sun, symbols of life and poetic inspiration. This goddess was later christianized as St. Brigid (or St. Bridget), and thus, the day Imbolc begins is known in Ireland as "Saint Bridget's Day" (Lá Fhéile Bríde in Irish). Like the original goddess, St. Bridget is associated with fire and healing springs.

   En sus inicios Imbolc era una celebración pagana relacionada con la diosa Brighid (o Brígida).  Brighid era una diosa muy especial para los celtas. Tiene tres aspectos principales: uno de vida, fertilidad y curación, otro de poesía e inspiración, y un tercero de artesanía y forja. El nombre de Brighid tiene varios posibles significados, uno de los cuales es "una flecha en llamas" - Esta es una diosa relacionada con el fuego y el Sol, símbolos de vida e inspiración poética. Cuando llegó el cristianismo a Irlanda, convirtió a la diosa Brighid en Santa Brígida y santificó sus ritos. Es por ello que actualmente el día en que empieza Imbolc se conoce en Irlanda como "Lá Fhéile Bríde", o el día de Santa Brígida. Al igual que la diosa original, a esta santa se la relaciona con el fuego y con fuentes curativas.

My slide. Images found on Google.

    Lasann na daoine tinte cnámha agus coinnle le linn Imbolc. Léiríonn sé seo an Ghrian a bheith níos teo agus na laethanta a bheith níos faide go húrnua. Tá traidisiúintí ann in Éirinn ar Lá Fhéile Bríde, agus leanann idir pagánaigh agus Críostaithe iad.  Deirtear go mbíonn Brighid inár gcomhluadar i rith oíche Imbolc. Mar sin, is iomaí duine a chuireann píosa éadaigh nó ribín taobh amuigh den teach os cionn an dorais ar an t-aonú lá is tríocha de mhí Éanair ionas go mbéannóidh Brighid é. Ar an oíche chéanna, déanann na mná ‘brideog’ nó ‘dealbh Bríde’, déanta d’arbhar agus de chruithneacht.

    During this festival, people used to lit bonfires and candles. These represent the waxing power of the Sun and the lengthening days. Other traditions that are celebrated in Ireland on this day, by pagans and christians alike, are the following: It is said that the goddess Brighid/Saint Bridget is among us on Imbolc's eve, and so, many people hang ribbons and strips of cloth so that the goddess/saint bless their homes. On that night, the women of the household make a 'brideog', a corn doll in the likeness of the goddess/saint. Brighid's crosses  (originally a Sun symbol) made out of corn are also traditional.

Durante el Imbolc la gente enciende hogueras y velas. Representan que el Sol calienta más y los días son más largos. En el día de Santa Brígida, en Irlanda, hay tradiciones que siguen tanto paganos como cristianos. Se dice que la diosa Brighid/Santa Brígida nos acompaña durante la noche del Imbolc. Así que mucha gente pone trozos de tela encima de las puertas el 31 de enero para que la diosa/santa bendiga los hogares. Esa misma noche, las mujeres hacen una “brideog” o muñeca de la diosa/santa  fabricadas con trigo. Las cruces de Brighid (en su origen un símbolo solar) son también tradicionales de estas fechas.

Found in Pinterest. Artist unknown by me.

And we finished with an staged druidic invocation to the goddess. We translated Patti Wigington's 'Brigantia, Keeper of the Forge' to Irish:

Brighid. Artist unknown by me.

"Hail, Brigantia! Keeper of the forge,
she who shapes the world itself with fire,
she who ignotes the spark of passion in the poets,
she who leads the clans with a warrior's cry,
she who is the bride of the irlands,
and who leads the fight of freedom.
Hail, Brigantia! Defender of kin and hearth,
she who inspires the bards to sing,
she who drives the smith to raise his hammer,
she who is a fire sweeping across the land."

(http://paganwiccan.about.com/od/imbolcprayers/qt/Brigantia.htm)

‘Sé do bheatha, a Bhríd!
   Í a choinníonn an chéarta,
Í a mhúnlaíonn an Domhain le tine,
Í a adhnann drithle an phaisean i bhfilí,
Í a stiúraíonn na clainne le glaoch laoich,
Is í brideog na n-oileáin,
Agus í a stiúraíonn troid na saoire.
‘Sé do bheatha, a Bhríd, cosantóir do chách,
Í a thugann inspioráid do na baird canadh,
Í a chabhraíonn leis an gabha a chasúr a úsáid,
Í cosúil le tine ag scapadh thar fud na tíre.

And in Spanish:

"¡Bendita seas, Brighid!
La que da forma al mundo con fuego,
La que enciende la llama de la pasión en los poetas,
La que lidera a los clanes con un grito de batalla,
La que es la novia de las islas,
Y la que lidera la lucha por la libertad.
¡Saludos a ti, Brighid! Protectora de todos,
La que inspira a los bardos a cantar,
La que hace que el herrero levante su martillo,
La que es como un fuego que se extiende por toda la tierra."