#wheeloftheyear — Public Fediverse posts

The Wisdom of the Turnings

https://pagangrove.wordpress.com/2026/05/25/the-spirituality-of-seasonal-transitions/

The Spirituality of Seasonal Transitions

https://pagangrove.wordpress.com/2026/05/25/the-spirituality-of-seasonal-transitions/

The Spirituality of Seasonal Transitions

https://pagangrove.wordpress.com/2026/05/25/the-spirituality-of-seasonal-transitions/

The Spirituality of Seasonal Transitions

https://pagangrove.wordpress.com/2026/05/25/the-spirituality-of-seasonal-transitions/

https://youtu.be/Fs7j8daV8-s
#magick #witch #witchcraft #spell #spells #witchy #witchlife #witchtips #witchylife #christmas #candlemagick #yule #yuleball #wintersolstice #wintersolstice2025 #herbs #krampus #pagan #blessedyule #wheeloftheyear #solstice #yuledecorations #odin #christmas #jol #saturnalia

https://youtu.be/Fs7j8daV8-s
#magick #witch #witchcraft #spell #spells #witchy #witchlife #witchtips #witchylife #christmas #candlemagick #yule #yuleball #wintersolstice #wintersolstice2025 #herbs #krampus #pagan #blessedyule #wheeloftheyear #solstice #yuledecorations #odin #christmas #jol #saturnalia

The Dark Time

The title sounds so ominous!

As we in the United States once again complain about having to change the clocks, this time back an hour which is easier to adjust to than “springing forward” in March, here is a great article about time and work from an Indigenous perspective. Because changing the clocks twice a year is all about capitalism, of course.

James and I celebrate the Wheel of the Year and for the last few days we have been celebrating Samhain. Contrary to what some may think, this is not the same as Halloween, nor does it last for just one day. It is a season, from now until Winter Solstice, and the festival for celebrating is from October 31st through November 2nd. Though there is much lost to the murkiness of time and colonialism, so those who celebrate have the room to make of the holiday what they will.

For James and I, Samhain marks the beginning of the dark season. Even though the clocks were set back today, very soon I will be bike commuting to work both ways in the dark or near dark. The trees are dropping their leaves and soon will be bare bones. The color gradually leaves the world to become monochromatic. It used to be I could depend on brilliant blue skies, but increasingly with climate change, these months have become cloudier, denying relief from the monochrome.

The dark season is a time of rest and dreaming. Aside from a few more outdoor tasks I need to do like raking leaves off the sidewalk, my work in the garden is done. Now it is my turn to withdraw, bury myself as it were, in the dark like a seed. It is a time to plant intentions that I hope will sprout and grow strong when light and warmth return.

It is also a time for roots, for remembering ancestors—blood ancestors, spiritual ancestors, and more-than-human ancestors. So it was truly wonderful Thursday night at sangha that we did the Five Earth Touchings. Buddhism always honors ancestors, but Samhain is not the particular time of year for Buddhist ancestor ceremonies. So it was a happy coincidence. The prostrations that accompany the Five Earth Touchings were especially moving. I felt grounded, solid, full, and content at their completion. I will make sure this becomes part of Samhain every year.

In addition, James and I like to recall and honor family who have died by eating food in remembrance of them. Perhaps not so coincidentally, Lit Hub posted a lovely article about how food invokes memories of loved ones. Our celebration generally involves making a meal or dish that was a favorite of someone, or that reminds us of them. Last year we had cinnamon toast in remembrance of my Granny who always made it for me and my sister when she babysat us. It wasn’t quite the same since we didn’t slather it in butter, but the spirit of it was there.

This year James made a kugel. His family makes kugel with wide, flat egg noodles, a creamy custard-like “sauce,” and raisins. There has to be raisins. James had to turn out a vegan version. Sadly, there are no vegan-style “egg” noodles so we had to go with fettuccine noodles instead. For the creamy custard “sauce,” he made sunflower seed-based cream. For something like this cashews are the standard choice in vegan recipes, but we don’t buy cashews because the company our food co-op gets organic cashews from cannot confirm that all of their nuts are processed on machines and not by people who might be suffering from burns and skin rashes due to the toxic oils in cashew shells. Nor can they confirm that people were paid a fair wage. So we don’t buy cashews. We have used hazelnuts in the past as well as almonds, but the price of organic nuts these days has increased astronomically and we only buy them as a treat if they are on sale, which they were not when we went grocery shopping. So we use sunflower seeds, which are still inexpensive and do the job just fine.

It all came out great! When James took the first bite he said it tasted just like he remembered it should. His aunt always used to make kugel for holiday gatherings. Pre-vegan days I got to enjoy her kugel at a Passover dinner. So today we remembered Auntie Margo and a few other of James’s kin who have passed. It’s good to remember.

In bookish things, Rakesfall by Vajra Chandrasekera won the Ursula Le Guin Prize. He made a wonderful acceptance speech (skip to minute 7 to get to his speech) which made me like him even more. I have read both The Saint of Bright Doors and Rakesfall and liked them both. They are strange and different and all about power and subverting power, time, memory, and creating worlds. Rakesfall is not an easy book to read and I like that Chandrasekera makes no apologies for it. I like that he demands the reader do some work in the mutual creation that is fiction. And I like that his books are truly different from so much of what is published these days. I am so very tired of the usual sorts of fantasy and science fiction that treads the same plots with only slight shifts in things like gender.

Rakesfall is the only one of the Le Guin shortlist I have read, but I have several of them on my TBR, in particular Blackheart Man by Nalo Hopkinson and The Sapling Cage by Margaret Killjoy. Hopefully I will be able to at least get to these before the next prize list is up in 2026. If you are a reader, you know how it goes.

A large chunk of my day today was taken up by chores and the final Beloved Community Circle cohort training. The trainings have been great and I have learned quite a lot about creating a very specific kind of community. It’s been a joy taking what I have learned back to my own Circle and sharing it with them. We are working towards becoming more deliberate in getting to know one another well and also creating practices around decision making, communication, and conflict resolution. It is work, but it is rewarding work.

So that’s it for today. Rest, dream deeply, and plant the seeds of your aspirations.

Where There is Love, Playing for Change

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cABVKIPk_u0

#BelovedCommunityCircle #daylightSavings #kugel #Rakesfall #Samhain #UrsulaLeGuinPrize #VajraChandrasekera #WheelOfTheYear

A really wonderful piece for knitters to read as we head from Imbolc to Ostara, spring equinox. https://www.moderndailyknitting.com/community/knitting-the-wheel-of-the-year/

#WheelOfTheYear #knitting #Imbolc #Ostara #seasons #Cailleach #Samhain #yarn #sheep #wool #spinning #equinox #SpringEquinox

A really wonderful piece for knitters to read as we head from Imbolc to Ostara, spring equinox. https://www.moderndailyknitting.com/community/knitting-the-wheel-of-the-year/

#WheelOfTheYear #knitting #Imbolc #Ostara #seasons #Cailleach #Samhain #yarn #sheep #wool #spinning #equinox #SpringEquinox

BRIGHID AT IMBOLG by Veronica Smith

The main Festival of Goddess Brighid / Saint Brighid in the Celtic Solar Calendar is IMBOLG.  It takes place at the mid-point between Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox and is regarded (in Ireland at least!) as the beginning of Spring. 

In the Gregorian calendar, Imbolg takes place on the fixed date of 1st February.  It is known as “Saint Brighid’s Day” and has recently become a Bank Holiday in Ireland.  Saint Brighid and Saint Patrick are the two patron saints of Ireland, although only Saint Brighid is native Irish, Saint Patrick being a Romano-British missionary from Wales.

On 2nd February is the Christian festival of CANDLEMAS, when the church candles are blessed.  Is it coincidence that this should happen on the day following that of Saint Brighid, who was renowned for tending a perpetual Flame of Hope?!

That said, the Gregorian calendar is not in sync with our planet’s solar calendar.  In 2025, true astronomical Imbolg (the mid-point between Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox) does not take place until 3rd February. 

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

Brighid’s festival has several different spellings.  It can be “Imbolc” or “Imbolg” or even “Oimelc”.  The variations are due to language and cultural differences. 

“Bol” means “Belly” in Welsh; whereas “Bolg” means “Belly” in Irish Gaelic.  “Oimelc” means “Ewe’s Milk”.  All three versions refer to the lambing season.  The pregnant ewe (in the belly) gives birth to the spring lambs and provides milk for their young. 

Brighid, as both Celtic Goddess and Christian Saint, is the protectress of Sheep and Cattle, which were the main sources of wealth in the Celtic world. 

I recently came across another interpretation of the “in the belly” meaning.  It is a delightful one!  It suggests that  Imbolc means “in the belly of the Mother Goddess” because the seeds of Spring are beginning to stir in the womb of Mother Earth! 

IMBOLG ASSOCIATIONS WITH BRIGHID

Brighid is particularly associated with white-coloured animals, such as white sheep and white cows with red ears.  Milk and its dairy products, such as butter, are part of the Brighidine stories, as well as honey. 

The ancient Celtic diet did not include potatoes but was reliant on grain, such as oats.  So, if you want to create an Imbolg menu, think of dairy produce and oats, using honey as the sweetener!  I always make a festival loaf and any bread recipes (or cookies!) that include oats, are very appropriate.

The chief flower of Imbolg is SNOWDROP.  This tiny white flower is a sign of Brighid’s resilience.  It appears at a time when few other plants can survive the chill temperatures of a lingering winter. 

LEGENDS OF IMBOLG AND BRIGHID

There are many different stories surrounding Brighid as Bringer of Spring.  Like the festival name, these stories vary according to regional customs. 

One basic theme is that Winter, being represented by the Hag or Cailleach (the Crone aspect of the Triple Goddess) takes captive Brighid or Bride, who is the Spring Maiden. 

It is very similar to the ancient Greek story of Persephone, daughter of the Corn Goddess Demeter, being abducted by Hades, Lord of the Underworld.  Demeter is so distressed by the disappearance of her daughter that she neglects her duties as fertility goddess and the land becomes barren.  The other deities must intervene,  negotiating a compromise between Demeter and Hades.  For nine months of the year, Persephone can return to her mother, bringing fertility back to the land, but for the last three months, she must return to her husband in the Underworld, when the land becomes barren. 

In the Celtic version, it is the Crone of Winter, who abducts the Spring Maiden but the Maiden manages to escape, or is rescued, in time to bring back the Sun and Spring to the land.  In another variation, it is Brighid Herself, who changes from Crone to Spring Maiden to Earth Mother and then back to Crone, according to the seasons. 

Regardless of which version is followed, it is customary to make great ceremony of “inviting” Brighid into the home at Imbolg.  “Brighid has Come!  Brighid is welcome!  Failte!” 

CUSTOMS HONOURING BRIGHID AT IMBOLG

There are so many regional customs about honouring Brighid at Imbolg that it would fill a book – or probably several books!  I will only look at a few of them here. 

CLEANING THE HOUSE AND HEARTH:

As a Goddess of Fire and Water, Brighid needs to be welcomed into a clean home!

Water cleanses, particularly around doorways and thresholds.  Cleaning windows allows in more of that welcome Spring sunshine, to brighten up the house or apartment!  Alternatively, you could perform a ceremony to bless a local water-source, even if it is only your own bathroom! 

The fire-place (if you have one) should be swept clean.  In Ireland, where turf (peat-brickettes) is used on the fire, it is possible to “smoor” the embers; that is to bank down the fire over-night, when it can be revived the next morning.  Since coming to France, where wood is used instead of turf, I have not found that possible,  If you do not have a fire at all, then cleaning around your cooker is just as symbolic.   

MAKING THE SAINT BRIGHID’S CROSS

It is customary, on Imbolg Eve, for the family to gather and make new Saint Brighid’s Crosses, to replace last year’s ones.  Traditionally, these distinctive crosses were made from rushes or even straw from last year’s harvest, which is all well and good if you live in a rural place and have access to these materials. 

Myself, I use stiff paper to make my St Brighid’s Crosses.  The paper ones have the advantage that you can write prayers and intentions on them. 

If you don’t have the time (or skill) to make rush or paper crosses, then there are plenty of ready-made permanent versions, made from pottery or metal and also jewellery to wear.  Simply cleaning your “hard-copy” version is an act of reverence in itself!

Apart from jewellery, it is customary to hang your St Brighid’s Cross at the front door, to protect the home. 

BHRAT

Another popular tradition is to hang outside a piece of cloth on Imbolg Eve, the idea being that Brighid will bless the cloth as She passes by your home.  Once the cloth is blessed, then it can be used for healing headaches and injuries, by wrapping the cloth around the afflicted area. 

Some use a fresh piece of cloth each year.  Others use the same piece of cloth every year.  Some hang out shawls, to capture Brighid’s essence, so that the owner can wrap themselves (or the person they are healing) in Brighid’s “embrace”. 

The long and the short of it is that the cloth or shawl becomes a sacred object, like a prayer shawl, imbued with Brighid’s healing energy. 

DOLLS AND OTHER SYMBOLS

Some folk like to make Bride Dolls (effigies of Brighid), which they place in a toy bed at Imbolg, to signify Brighid’s custom of hospitality.  “Brighid is welcome to our house!”  

Another custom, which seems particularly popular among Irish emigrants to America, is the weaving of wreaths, made from seasonal foliage.  At each of the eight Celtic Solar Festivals, the wreath is changed. 

There are lots more customs associated with Brighid at Imbolg but it is not my intention to cover them all in this article.

CONCLUSION

Whatever way you chose to celebrate the festival, Brighid will be happy that you have taken time off from your busy schedules to remember Her.  Simply lighting a candle and saying a prayer to Her will be enough to connect with Blessed Brighid.  Beannachtai!

Author: Veronica Smith         first published on 31st January 2025

RECOMMENDED READING:

CELTIC DEVOTIONAL: Daily prayers and blessings; by Caitlin Matthews.  Published by Gill & Macmillan, Ireland, in 2004.  ISBN: 0-7171-3746-5

TENDING BRIGID’S FLAME; by Lunaea Weatherstone, published by Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd, USA in 2022.  ISBN: 978-0-7387-4089-8

BRIGID: History, Mystery and Magick of the Celtic Goddess; by Courtney Weber; published by Weiser Books USA in 2015. 
ISBN: 978-1-57863-567-2

VOICES FROM THE GROVE: Beltane 2021-2022: The Call of Brighid, Bright Inspiration; Volume Two of the Ogham Grove Year Wheel Journal & Diary, dedicated to Brighid of the Flame and the Rowan Tree.  Edited by Yuri Leitch; printed by Amazon.
ISBN: 9798732277517.

#CelticSolarFestivals #goddessBrighid #imbolc #Imbolg #Imelc #OghamGrove #SaintBrigid #StBrigidCross #wheelOfTheYear

BRIGHID AT IMBOLG by Veronica Smith

The main Festival of Goddess Brighid / Saint Brighid in the Celtic Solar Calendar is IMBOLG.  It takes place at the mid-point between Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox and is regarded (in Ireland at least!) as the beginning of Spring. 

In the Gregorian calendar, Imbolg takes place on the fixed date of 1st February.  It is known as “Saint Brighid’s Day” and has recently become a Bank Holiday in Ireland.  Saint Brighid and Saint Patrick are the two patron saints of Ireland, although only Saint Brighid is native Irish, Saint Patrick being a Romano-British missionary from Wales.

On 2nd February is the Christian festival of CANDLEMAS, when the church candles are blessed.  Is it coincidence that this should happen on the day following that of Saint Brighid, who was renowned for tending a perpetual Flame of Hope?!

That said, the Gregorian calendar is not in sync with our planet’s solar calendar.  In 2025, true astronomical Imbolg (the mid-point between Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox) does not take place until 3rd February. 

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

Brighid’s festival has several different spellings.  It can be “Imbolc” or “Imbolg” or even “Oimelc”.  The variations are due to language and cultural differences. 

“Bol” means “Belly” in Welsh; whereas “Bolg” means “Belly” in Irish Gaelic.  “Oimelc” means “Ewe’s Milk”.  All three versions refer to the lambing season.  The pregnant ewe (in the belly) gives birth to the spring lambs and provides milk for their young. 

Brighid, as both Celtic Goddess and Christian Saint, is the protectress of Sheep and Cattle, which were the main sources of wealth in the Celtic world. 

I recently came across another interpretation of the “in the belly” meaning.  It is a delightful one!  It suggests that  Imbolc means “in the belly of the Mother Goddess” because the seeds of Spring are beginning to stir in the womb of Mother Earth! 

IMBOLG ASSOCIATIONS WITH BRIGHID

Brighid is particularly associated with white-coloured animals, such as white sheep and white cows with red ears.  Milk and its dairy products, such as butter, are part of the Brighidine stories, as well as honey. 

The ancient Celtic diet did not include potatoes but was reliant on grain, such as oats.  So, if you want to create an Imbolg menu, think of dairy produce and oats, using honey as the sweetener!  I always make a festival loaf and any bread recipes (or cookies!) that include oats, are very appropriate.

The chief flower of Imbolg is SNOWDROP.  This tiny white flower is a sign of Brighid’s resilience.  It appears at a time when few other plants can survive the chill temperatures of a lingering winter. 

LEGENDS OF IMBOLG AND BRIGHID

There are many different stories surrounding Brighid as Bringer of Spring.  Like the festival name, these stories vary according to regional customs. 

One basic theme is that Winter, being represented by the Hag or Cailleach (the Crone aspect of the Triple Goddess) takes captive Brighid or Bride, who is the Spring Maiden. 

It is very similar to the ancient Greek story of Persephone, daughter of the Corn Goddess Demeter, being abducted by Hades, Lord of the Underworld.  Demeter is so distressed by the disappearance of her daughter that she neglects her duties as fertility goddess and the land becomes barren.  The other deities must intervene,  negotiating a compromise between Demeter and Hades.  For nine months of the year, Persephone can return to her mother, bringing fertility back to the land, but for the last three months, she must return to her husband in the Underworld, when the land becomes barren. 

In the Celtic version, it is the Crone of Winter, who abducts the Spring Maiden but the Maiden manages to escape, or is rescued, in time to bring back the Sun and Spring to the land.  In another variation, it is Brighid Herself, who changes from Crone to Spring Maiden to Earth Mother and then back to Crone, according to the seasons. 

Regardless of which version is followed, it is customary to make great ceremony of “inviting” Brighid into the home at Imbolg.  “Brighid has Come!  Brighid is welcome!  Failte!” 

CUSTOMS HONOURING BRIGHID AT IMBOLG

There are so many regional customs about honouring Brighid at Imbolg that it would fill a book – or probably several books!  I will only look at a few of them here. 

CLEANING THE HOUSE AND HEARTH:

As a Goddess of Fire and Water, Brighid needs to be welcomed into a clean home!

Water cleanses, particularly around doorways and thresholds.  Cleaning windows allows in more of that welcome Spring sunshine, to brighten up the house or apartment!  Alternatively, you could perform a ceremony to bless a local water-source, even if it is only your own bathroom! 

The fire-place (if you have one) should be swept clean.  In Ireland, where turf (peat-brickettes) is used on the fire, it is possible to “smoor” the embers; that is to bank down the fire over-night, when it can be revived the next morning.  Since coming to France, where wood is used instead of turf, I have not found that possible,  If you do not have a fire at all, then cleaning around your cooker is just as symbolic.   

MAKING THE SAINT BRIGHID’S CROSS

It is customary, on Imbolg Eve, for the family to gather and make new Saint Brighid’s Crosses, to replace last year’s ones.  Traditionally, these distinctive crosses were made from rushes or even straw from last year’s harvest, which is all well and good if you live in a rural place and have access to these materials. 

Myself, I use stiff paper to make my St Brighid’s Crosses.  The paper ones have the advantage that you can write prayers and intentions on them. 

If you don’t have the time (or skill) to make rush or paper crosses, then there are plenty of ready-made permanent versions, made from pottery or metal and also jewellery to wear.  Simply cleaning your “hard-copy” version is an act of reverence in itself!

Apart from jewellery, it is customary to hang your St Brighid’s Cross at the front door, to protect the home. 

BHRAT

Another popular tradition is to hang outside a piece of cloth on Imbolg Eve, the idea being that Brighid will bless the cloth as She passes by your home.  Once the cloth is blessed, then it can be used for healing headaches and injuries, by wrapping the cloth around the afflicted area. 

Some use a fresh piece of cloth each year.  Others use the same piece of cloth every year.  Some hang out shawls, to capture Brighid’s essence, so that the owner can wrap themselves (or the person they are healing) in Brighid’s “embrace”. 

The long and the short of it is that the cloth or shawl becomes a sacred object, like a prayer shawl, imbued with Brighid’s healing energy. 

DOLLS AND OTHER SYMBOLS

Some folk like to make Bride Dolls (effigies of Brighid), which they place in a toy bed at Imbolg, to signify Brighid’s custom of hospitality.  “Brighid is welcome to our house!”  

Another custom, which seems particularly popular among Irish emigrants to America, is the weaving of wreaths, made from seasonal foliage.  At each of the eight Celtic Solar Festivals, the wreath is changed. 

There are lots more customs associated with Brighid at Imbolg but it is not my intention to cover them all in this article.

CONCLUSION

Whatever way you chose to celebrate the festival, Brighid will be happy that you have taken time off from your busy schedules to remember Her.  Simply lighting a candle and saying a prayer to Her will be enough to connect with Blessed Brighid.  Beannachtai!

Author: Veronica Smith         first published on 31st January 2025

RECOMMENDED READING:

CELTIC DEVOTIONAL: Daily prayers and blessings; by Caitlin Matthews.  Published by Gill & Macmillan, Ireland, in 2004.  ISBN: 0-7171-3746-5

TENDING BRIGID’S FLAME; by Lunaea Weatherstone, published by Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd, USA in 2022.  ISBN: 978-0-7387-4089-8

BRIGID: History, Mystery and Magick of the Celtic Goddess; by Courtney Weber; published by Weiser Books USA in 2015. 
ISBN: 978-1-57863-567-2

VOICES FROM THE GROVE: Beltane 2021-2022: The Call of Brighid, Bright Inspiration; Volume Two of the Ogham Grove Year Wheel Journal & Diary, dedicated to Brighid of the Flame and the Rowan Tree.  Edited by Yuri Leitch; printed by Amazon.
ISBN: 9798732277517.

#CelticSolarFestivals #goddessBrighid #imbolc #Imbolg #Imelc #OghamGrove #SaintBrigid #StBrigidCross #wheelOfTheYear

#3GoodThings

1) Claimed back a bit more of my life. (This counts for 3, already.)
2) Managed to turn something somewhat daunting into fun.
3) Stayed creative.

Yours?

---
@3goodthings

---
#KBFPhotography #MobilePhonePhotography #Photography
#PhotoMonday #FotoMontag
#KBFWalk #UrbanNature #Snail
#GroveSnail #HainBänderschnecke
#KBFWotY #WheelOfTheYear #Summer #July

#3GoodThings

1) Claimed back a bit more of my life. (This counts for 3, already.)
2) Managed to turn something somewhat daunting into fun.
3) Stayed creative.

Yours?

---
@3goodthings

---
#KBFPhotography #MobilePhonePhotography #Photography
#PhotoMonday #FotoMontag
#KBFWalk #UrbanNature #Snail
#GroveSnail #HainBänderschnecke
#KBFWotY #WheelOfTheYear #Summer #July