Imbolc, Brigit Day, Cross-Quarter, Candlemas...

From my friend Kris' status update:

Have a blessed Imbolc. Today we honor (or think about) Brigit, the Gaelic goddess of poetry, healing and smithcraft. "Fire and purification are an important aspect of this festival. As both goddess and saint she is also associated with holy wells, sacred flames, and healing. The lighting of candles and fires represents the return of warmth and the increasing power of the Sun over the coming months."

From Wikipedia:

Imbolc is one of the four principal festivals of the Celtic calendar, celebrated among Gaelic peoples and some other Celtic cultures, either at the beginning of February or at the first local signs of Spring. Most commonly it is celebrated on February 1 (or February 12, according to the Old Calendar), which falls (three days before) midway between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox in the northern hemisphere. Perhaps originally dedicated to the goddess Brigid, in the Christian period it was adopted as St Brigid's Day. In Scotland the festival is also known as Là Fhèill Brìghde, in Ireland as Lá Fhéile Bríde, and in Wales as Gŵyl y Canhwyllau.

Imbolc is traditionally a time of weather prognostication, and the old tradition of watching to see if serpents or badgers came from their winter dens is perhaps a precursor to the Northern American Groundhog Day. A Scottish Gaelic proverb about the day is:

Thig an nathair as an toll
Là donn Brìde,
Ged robh trì troighean dhen t-sneachd
Air leac an làir.

"The serpent will come from the hole
On the brown Day of Bride,
Though there should be three feet of snow
On the flat surface of the ground."

Fire and purification are an important aspect of this festival. Brigid (also known as Brighid, Bríde, Brigit, Brìd) is the Gaelic goddess of poetry, healing and smithcraft. As both goddess and saint she is also associated with holy wells, sacred flames, and healing. The lighting of candles and fires represents the return of warmth and the increasing power of the Sun over the coming months.

Although I don't believe in the divinity of Brigit, mythology fascinates me. I'm also interested in using various gods, goddesses, etc as metaphors for what they embody or represent. I'm not the only one who does that, as apparently Einstein too with the Christian god. Today I'm going to focus on the return of warmth and spring (it will come back some day). I'll also keep my mind open to poetry and opportunities for healing--whether of my own soul or getting tissues for someone else's sniffles.