Category: Holy Feast Days

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Blessed day of the Holy Bride – Imbolc – 1/2 August

Picture taken during ceremony at the Chalice Garden
Glastonbury
Yesterday the first jasmine opened in my garden 
and I was reminded by its heavenly fragrance
that it is Imbolc
and today is Candlemas, the feast day
of Mary of the Candles.
That is in the Southern Hemisphere of course.
In the Northern Hemisphere it is the feast of Lammas.
It is all rather confusing for us here in the South
as Imbolc also coincides (in Europe) with the
feast day of St Brigid, the Christianised
version of the Goddess Brigid, also called
Mary of the Gael
and the traditional goddess of Imbolc.
Picture taken in Kildare during Lammas/Imbolc
A definition of Imbolc according to Wiki :


Irish imbolc derives from the Old Irish i mbolg “in the belly”. This refers to the pregnancy of ewes.[4] A medieval glossary etymologizes the term asoimelc “ewe’s milk”.[5] Some Neopagans use Oimelc as a name for the festival.

Since Imbolc is immediately followed (on 2 February) by Candlemas (Irish Lá Fhéile Muire na gCoinneal “feast day of Mary of the Candles”, WelshGŵyl Fair y Canhwyllau),[6] Irish imbolc is sometimes rendered as “Candlemas” in English translation; e.g. iar n-imbulc, ba garb a ngeilt translated as “after Candlemas, rough was their herding”.[7]

I took this photograph of the statue of Mary, in Kildare during
my pilgrimage to the shrine of St Bridgit
Imbolc or Imbolg (pronounced i-molk or i-molg ), also called (Saint) Brighid’s Day (Irish: Lá Fhéile Bríde, Scottish Gaelic: Là Fhèill Brìghde, Manx: Laa’l Breeshey), is a Gaelic festival marking the beginning of spring. Most commonly it is held on 31 January–1 February, or halfway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox.  It is one of the four Gaelic seasonal festivals, along with Beltane, Lugnasadh and Samhain.  It was observed in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man. Kindred festivals were held at the same time of year in other Celtic lands; for example the Welsh Gŵyl Fair y Canhwyllau.

Myself with statue of Saint Brighid, Kildare

Imbolc is mentioned in some of the earliest Irish literature and it is associated with important events in Irish mythology. It has been suggested that it was originally a festival associated with the goddess Brighid and that it was Christianised as a festival of Saint Brighid, who herself is thought to be a Christianisation of the goddess. At Imbolc, Brighid’s crosses were made and a doll-like figure of Brighid, called a Brídeóg, would be carried from house-to-house. Brighid was said to visit one’s home at Imbolc. To receive her blessings, people would make a bed for Brighid and leave her food and drink, while items of clothing would be left outside for her to bless. Brighid was also invoked to protect livestock. Holy wells were visited and it was also a time for divination.
The original fire hearth of the ancient Vestal Virgins tending
the fire of Brighid the goddess in Kildare – now on the site
of the Cathedral of St Bridgit

In Christianity, 1 February is observed as the feast day of Saint Brighid, especially in Ireland. There, some of the old customs have survived and it is celebrated as a cultural event by some. 
If you are interested in reading more about Imbolc, Brighid and how you can spend
this sacred day, please read the following links on my blogs :
A blessed day of the Holy Bride to you
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29 July 2013 – Christmas of the Era of Love

The numerological value of 29 July 2013 is 6. 
 Six represents The Lovers in the Tarot, the
sacred marriage,
 the Star of David,
 the integration of Spirit and Ego,
 both the Mother
and Father – the symbol of the Star of David.
The 29 equals the Master Number of 11.  
So it is an important date in any case.
But then the planetary alignments this year have been filled with exceptional
alignments of Saturn and Jupiter 
and seven planets in Capricorn (twice in June and July)
the triple moons with the Supermoon in July and
then the Star of David grand sextile on 29 July.
A year ago I had a vision of the Lion growing forth from
the Tree of Life planted in a rocky earth.  The lion
roared Serapis and Resurrection, whilst facing East
into the Light of a new dawn.
And the new dawn has arrived and is manifesting in
the triple moons, followed by the grand sextile.
It is interesting to note that 6 is divisible by 3.
3 in Tarot is The Empress or the Creator card.
The website where I extracted the information from below, is at the end of this post.

This Cosmic Moon, the last of the 7 Mystic Moons, contains an awesome set of planetary movements and aspects, which correlate very closely to the Dreamspell version of the Tzolkin. The outer planets move very slowly and are already in position as the inner planets move into aspects with them. Just after Galactic Synchronization, on the 4th day of the Magnetic Moon, July 29, 2013, the planets will form an almost exact Grand Sextile. The Grand Sextile also includes two Grand Trines. These are all very positive and harmonious aspects completely surrounding the planet in a Sacred Geometric configuration. This is an awesome alignment of the planets in the solar system emcompassing the Earth in the geometry of a Stargate.
Here is an image of the astrology chart for the grand sextile. I accentuated the Grand Trine & Grand Sextile aspects to highlight their geometry.
Notice the Star of David sacred geometry held by the planets of the solar system around the earth during this aspect.
Chart of the planetary alignment july 2013
Magnetic Moon 4, July 29, 2013, is the day of the Grand Sextile. It is encoded as Blue Spectral Hand, “I dissolve in order to know. Releasing healing. I seal the store of accomplishment with the spectral tone of liberation. I am guided by my own power doubled.” What an affirmation for planetary healing and upliftment. This aspect comes into play one week after the Full Moon of the Cosmic Moon, which is the last of 3 Super Moons in a row. The Super Moon is when the Full Moon falls on the day when the Moon is closest to the Earth. The Moon moves into position to create a Grand Trine with Venus and Pluto which also completes a Grand Sextile around the planet Earth. The Grand Trine with Venus, Pluto and the Moon signifies the possibility of transformation (Pluto) through the power of beauty (Venus) and love (Super Moon).
It is significant to note that the planet Venus holds the energies of the
goddess Venus, and the energy of the Love Goddesses, currently
held by Mother Mary as well as the principle of Beauty.
(The path of Beauty is a valuable and intrinsic part of The Temple of Mary
to be explored in depth)
Pluto is the god of transformation and the actions of this god is also known 
as ‘death’.  In Vedic astrology the Moon rules the mind and in western esoteric
wisdom, the Moon rules the subconscious and the watery emotions.
In my discussion on the blog http://www.shaman-shewhoknows.blogspot.com
about the vision of the lion, I discussed its symbolism and relevance
as pertaining to the goddess Asherah, and the pertinence of the Tree of Life.
In the work of Karen Armstrong, The History of God, through meticulous
and exhaustive research, she writes in detail about the Jewish goddess Asherah
and the usurpation of the idea of God by the Romans and the
subsequent creation of christianity.
She points out a much-ignored fact :  the goddess existed in the Jewish
faith, namely Asherah, and that both Mary and Mary Magdalene
were priestesses in the temple of Asherah.  The first genocide of the Jewish
people was perpetrated by the Romans and that time was called
the Destruction of the Temples.  Coincidentally, the Destruction of the
Temples was celebrated a fortnight ago in the Jewish tradition.
The Romans destroyed all statues and temples of Asherah the goddess
and all her people, men, women and children.  The destruction was so
great that the Jews killed themselves in order to avoid the horrible
fate.
She also presents factual historical research into the early images of ‘God”
as a lion in both the ancient Jewish and Hindu traditions.

From Wikipedia : The Lion of Judah (Rev 5:5) is the symbol of the Israelite tribe of Judah in the Book of Genesis. Judah was the fourth son of Jacob the Israelite and was the progenitor of King David. The Lion of Judah is also a phrase in the Book of Revelation representing Jesus, which originated from the tribe of Judah

Asherah, the Jewish goddess, was incorporated into the Tree of Life (the Jewish esoteric
mystical path) as the Shekinah.  She was known as the Lion Goddess.
Isis in ancient Egypt, was known as the Lion in her highest aspect.
Karen Armstrong makes the case that the creators of Christianity,
absorbed these symbols into their religion in order to
‘hi-jack’ the symbols buried in the unconscious of humanity,
a game of smoke and mirrors, so to speak. 
(We still see this at play in today’s media and in the parlance
of sales people and conmen – use the trigger words and symbols
and create a false reality.)
The cult of Asherah, the goddess, and her peoples
were obliterated in order for a patriarchal religion
based on masculine principles of the Logos alone,
to be created.
The holy Trinity now became, Father, Son and a masculine Holy
Spirit.  This meant that no feminine principle whatsoever was
present and as a result the feminine attributes of beauty,
love, compassion, charity, co-operation and so forth,
lost all value in the world.
In his book The Hebrew Goddess, Patel
points out the following :
And then there’s the matter of the Cherubim that sat atop the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies. Fashioned by Phoenician craftsmen for Solomon and Ahab, an ivory tablet shows two winged females facing each other. And one tablet shows male and female members of the Cherubim embracing in an explicitly sexual position that embarrassed later Jewish historians … and even the pagans were shocked when they saw it for the first time. [The Star of David, two triangles “embracing” became the coded symbol for God & Goddess locked in a “creating” posture….!]
Kabbalists, students of the esoteric Judaic tradition, does not view this world
as inherently evil, nor as separate from the divine.  To them the Star of David
symbolises the interlocking and eternal embrace of Lover and Beloved,
God and human, similarly to the Hindu view of the eternal embrace
of Shakty and Shiva.
The Gabriel Messages (channeled material received by Shanta Gabriel)
call this period of time the Lion’s Gate Initiation

And here we are, on a mystical Christmas Eve,
witnessing the Star of Bethlehem in the skies
announcing the birth, re-birth and resurrection
of the Lion, the Christ, the Holy Son and Daughter of the Most High

Through the symbolism of the Lion we are shown that
we are on the eve of a return to Innocence, to the unadulterated
symbolism embedded in the depths of the unconscious of humanity;
a return to a true sense and intuition of the God within, as opposed
to the mythical and masculine creature created by man and called God
in Heaven, separate and devoid of the feminine.

First the three moons appeared reminding us of the three wise men
who followed the first Star of Bethlehem.
(In the Judaic tradition Bethlehem is regarded as the City of David)
And tomorrow the Star of David will appear in the sky,
beckoning all to witness the birth of the consciousness
that will be able to grasp and understand that
the literal and mythical interpretation of God is no longer necessary.

Enlightenment is when you pass through the gateless gate.
When you realise that you are both the gate and they key
and that neither truly existed.

This is the birth of a new consciousness that will be available
to all of humanity.  This new era of Love will be accessible
to those who are willing to let go of the lower realms of the mythical
gods and goddesses and who are courageous enough to embrace
the dictum ‘you are the gate and you are the key’.
The Christed Son and Daughter of the Most High is the Self.

In The Temple of Mary we will immerse ourselves in these energies
during the Third Initiation and we will explore
the stone buried at the foot of the Tree of Life.

blessings
Hettienne BhaktyMa

Further reading  and resources :

http://divinespace.co.za/planetary-alignment-july-2013/

http://www.northernway.org

The Hebrew Goddess – Raphael Patai

All books by Karen Armstrong

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La Feile Bride

Bridgit, Mary of the Gael, Goddess and Saint of Poetry, Crafts, Healing and Fire :
  Inpiration of poets, artists and artisans.



Brighid, excellent woman,
Sudden flame,
May the fiery, bright sun
Take us to the lasting kingdom.

Song of the Virgins of Kildare
St. Brigid’s church in Kildare was built on a site sacred to Brigid. 
Where Her eternal flame had once been tended by 19 priestesses, 
19 nuns took it in turn to each tend the flame for a day and a night. 
On the 20th day, the Goddess (or the saint) tended the flame herself.


February 2 is one of the great cross-quarter days which make up
 the wheel of the year. 
In the Northern Hemisphere It falls midway between the
 winter solstice and the spring equinox and in many traditions is 
considered the beginning 
of spring and in the Southern Hemisphere it is the 
beginning of autumn.

In Western Europe, this was the time for preparing the 
fields for the first planting.
 This was an important day for grain growing communities who 
depended on the crops of the earth mother. This is the time of year, 
when the ground is first awakened and the seed placed in the 
belly of the earth. 
The fields were purified and offerings were made to the goddess.

This medieval Anglo-Saxon plowing prayer was said by the 
farmer while cutting the first furrow.

Whole be thou Earth 
Mother of men. 
In the lap of God, 
Be thous as-growing. 
Be filled with fodder 
For fare-need of men.
The farmer then took a loaf of bread, kneaded it 
with milk and holy water and 
laid it under the first furrow, saying:

Acre full fed, 
Bring forth fodder for men! 
Blossoming brightly, 
Blessed become; 
And the God who wrought the ground, 
Grant us the gifts of growing, 
That the corn, all the corn, 
may come unto our need.


 February 2 is also Imbolc, and Candlemas,
 the holy day of Brighid, 
Goddess and Saint, La Feile Bride. (pronounced Breede)  

The Sacred Well and Shrine at Kildare

Brighid is a Goddess of many names. 
In Ireland She is called Brigid, Brigit, Brighid, 
Brid. In Scotland She is called Bhrighde, 
Bride Breo-Saighit, Brede. 
The Welsh call Her Ffraid and the French call her
 Brigandu.
She is called Brigantia by the Northern English 
and Bridget in Sweden. 
Her name is pronounced Brighid or Bree-id.  
Some have said that Her name may have come 
from the word Brihati, 
which means “high” or “exalted one” in Sanskrit. 
Her name in Gaelic means “fire tipped, exalted one, high one.”



 Imbolc, also called Oimelc [‘ewe’s milk’] marked the first 
stirrings of spring when young sheep were born, and when 
ewes came into milk. 
On this day, the first of the Celtic spring, Brigid was said to 
use her white wand to “breathe life into the 
mouth of the dead winter”, 
meaning the white fire of the sun awakened the land. 
An old poem stated; “Today is the day of Bride, 
The Serpent shall come from the hole.” 
An effigy of the serpent was often honoured in the ceremonies 
of this day, making it clear that Brighid had aspects as a 
serpent goddess. As the serpent sloughed its old skin and was 
renewed, so the land shook off winter to emerge restored; 
the snake symbolised the cycle of life. 
When Brighid’s cult was suppressed, 
then St Patrick had indeed banished the snakes [Pagans] from 
Ireland. However, Brighid’s popularity was so great that the c
hurch transformed her into a saint, allegedly the midwife of 
Christ and the daughter of a Druid who was converted to Christianity
 by St. Patrick, and who went on to found the Abbey of Kildare. 
Her festival became Candlemas when church candles were blessed. 
Brighid was invited into the home by the woman of the house, 
in the form of a doll or corn dolly dressed in maiden white. 
Oracles were taken from the ashes of the hearth fire, 
which people examined for a sign that Brighid had visited, i.e.
 a mark that looked like a swan’s footprint. If found, it was
 considered a lucky omen. 
The swan was an ancient attribute of the goddess Brighid. 
Many Irish homes still have a Brighid’s cross hung up somewhere.
 This was originally a solar symbol.

A small community of Brigidine nuns are keeping the sacred light
 of Brigit burning at 
Solas Brihde in Kildare.  I spent a week in Kildare, 
walking the pilgrimage of Bridgit, visiting her sacred well


Her favourite oak tree


a candle blessing at one of the stations of the Brigid walk





prayed at the Abbey of Brede



Weaving the St Bridgit cross is traditional on this day.


I found this step be step instruction on the site of the Brigidine sisters :

1.     Take the first rush/reed and hold it vertically.
2.     Fold a second rush/reed in half 
at the mid point of the first.
3.     Take a third and fold it around the second parallel to the first. 
This will now form a T-shaped piece, with one arm having one strand, 
the second having two and the third having three.
4.     Fold the fourth around the third to form a cross.
5.     Fold a fifth around the fourth, parallel to the single strand. 
Make sure you hold the centre tight!
6.     Continue folding each reed around the previous reeds.
7.     Work in a circular way until you have created enough of a woven centre. 
When your centre is as large as you want, hold in the reeds tightly so 
that the centre is tight and will hold the cross without any difficulty.
8.     Tie the end of each arm carefully and trim ends.



If you would like to read more about my pilgrimage to Brigid, 
Mary of the Gael and her presence in Glastonbury, please go here :  http://pathofdivinelove.blogspot.com/2011/04/brigidbrigitbridebrede-mary-of-gael.html
Carving of Bridgit milking a cow – on Tower of Michael,
                                                                                  the Tor, Glastonbury                                                                                  



A blessed La Feile Bride to you!!
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La Feile Bride

Bridgit, Mary of the Gael, Goddess and Saint of Poetry, Crafts, Healing and Fire :  Inpiration of poets, artists and artisans.
Brighid, excellent woman,
Sudden flame,
May the fiery, bright sun
Take us to the lasting kingdom.

Song of the Virgins of Kildare

St. Brigid’s church in Kildare was built on a site sacred to Brigid. Where Her eternal flame had once been tended by 19 priestesses, 19 nuns took it in turn to each tend the flame for a day and a night. On the 20th day, the Goddess (or the saint) tended the flame herself.

February 2 is one of the great cross-quarter days which make up the wheel of the year. In the Northern Hemisphere It falls midway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox and in many traditions is considered the beginning of spring and in the Southern Hemisphere it is the beginning of autumn.

In Western Europe, this was the time for preparing the fields for the first planting. This was an important day for grain growing communities who depended on the crops of the earth mother. This is the time of year, when the ground is first awakened and the seed placed in the belly of the earth. The fields were purified and offerings were made to the goddess.

This medieval Anglo-Saxon plowing prayer was said by the farmer while cutting the first furrow.

Whole be thou Earth 
Mother of men. 
In the lap of God, 
Be thous as-growing. 
Be filled with fodder 
For fare-need of men.

The farmer then took a loaf of bread, kneaded it with milk and holy water and laid it under the first furrow, saying:

Acre full fed, 
Bring forth fodder for men! 
Blossoming brightly, 
Blessed become; 
And the God who wrought the ground, 
Grant us the gifts of growing, 
That the corn, all the corn, 
may come unto our need.

 February 2 is also Imbolc, and Candlemas, the holy day of Brighid, Goddess and Saint, La Feile Bride. (pronounced Breede)  

The Sacred Well and Shrine at Kildare

Brighid is a Goddess of many names. In Ireland She is called Brigid, Brigit, Brighid, Brid. In Scotland She is called Bhrighde, Bride Breo-Saighit, Brede. The Welsh call Her Ffraid and the French call her Brigandu.
She is called Brigantia by the Northern English and Bridget in Sweden. Her name is pronounced Brighid or Bree-id.  Some have said that Her name may have come from the word Brihati, which means “high” or “exalted one” in Sanskrit. Her name in Gaelic means “fire tipped, exalted one, high one.”


 Imbolc, also called Oimelc [‘ewe’s milk’] marked the first stirrings of spring when young sheep were born, and when ewes came into milk. On this day, the first of the Celtic spring, Brigid was said to use her white wand to “breathe life into the mouth of the dead winter”, meaning the white fire of the sun awakened the land. 


An old poem stated; “Today is the day of Bride, The Serpent shall come from the hole.” An effigy of the serpent was often honoured in the ceremonies of this day, making it clear that Brighid had aspects as a serpent goddess. As the serpent sloughed its old skin and was renewed, so the land shook off winter to emerge restored; the snake symbolised the cycle of life. When Brighid’s cult was suppressed, then St Patrick had indeed banished the snakes [Pagans] from Ireland. However, Brighid’s popularity was so great that the church transformed her into a saint, allegedly the midwife of Christ and the daughter of a Druid who was converted to Christianity by St. Patrick, and who went on to found the Abbey of Kildare. 

Her festival became Candlemas when church candles were blessed. 

My painting of Bridgit

Brighid was invited into the home by the woman of the house, in the form of a doll or corn dolly dressed in maiden white. Oracles were taken from the ashes of the hearth fire, which people examined for a sign that Brighid had visited, i.e. a mark that looked like a swan’s footprint. If found, it was considered a lucky omen. The swan was an ancient attribute of the goddess Brighid. Many Irish homes still have a Brighid’s cross hung up somewhere. This was originally a solar symbol.


A small community of Brigidine nuns are keeping the sacred light of Brigit burning at Solas Brihde in Kildare.  I spent a week in Kildare, walking the pilgrimage of Bridgit, visiting her sacred well


Her favourite oak tree
a candle blessing at one of the stations of the Brigid walk
prayed at the Abbey of Brede
Weaving the St Bridgit cross is traditional on this day.

I found this step be step instruction on the site of the Brigidine sisters :
1.     Take the first rush/reed and hold it vertically.
2.     Fold a second rush/reed in half at the mid point of the first.
3.     Take a third and fold it around the second parallel to the first. This will now form a T-shaped piece, with one arm having one strand, the second having two and the third having three.
4.     Fold the fourth around the third to form a cross.
5.     Fold a fifth around the fourth, parallel to the single strand. Make sure you hold the centre tight!
6.     Continue folding each reed around the previous reeds.
7.     Work in a circular way until you have created enough of a woven centre. When your centre is as large as you want, hold in the reeds tightly so that the centre is tight and will hold the cross without any difficulty.
8.     Tie the end of each arm carefully and trim ends.

If you would like to read more about my pilgrimage to Brigid, Mary of the Gael and her presence in Glastonbury, please go here :  http://pathofdivinelove.blogspot.com/2011/04/brigidbrigitbridebrede-mary-of-gael.html

Carving of Bridgit milking a cow – on Tower of Michael,
                                                                                  the Tor, Glastonbury                                                                                  

A blessed La Feile Bride to you!!