| Brenda's Thoughts Candlemas/Imbolc/St. Brigid's Day/Groundhog Day - Feb 2 Candlemas, February 2, commemorates the ritual purification of Mary, 40 days after the birth of Christ on December 25. Candlemas is one of the four “cross-quarters” of the year, occurring halfway between the first day of Winter (Winter Solstice) and the first day of Spring (Spring Equinox). Traditionally, it was believe that if Candlemas is sunny, the remaining six weeks of Winter would be stormy and cold. But, if it rained or snowed on Candlemas, the rest of the Winter would be mild. In the US, this is known as Groundhog Day. This day is also called “Imbolc” (pronounced “im-olk”), the end of Winter, and the beginning of Springa day of newborn calves and lambs, and dormant seeds begin to wake-up within the Earth (Spring has sprung!). With the arrival of these newborns, milk and cheese are once again available for consumption. The promise of the return of light and renewal of life that was made at the Winter Solstice is now starting to show, to come forth and germinate. It is the start of the new planting year, a time for new beginnings. In the past, it was a custom to bring candles to church to be blessed by the priest on February 2. The candles were then taken home where they served as talismans and protection from all sorts of disasters. This custom was the origin for the name Candles-mass. Originally, this festival was associated with fires that were built in open places. These fires would be lit from the sacred flames (of the previous years’ celebration), in which they would be allowed to burn throughout the year. Then, eventually, the fires were built in church courtyards where people would dance around the flames or jump over them. The people would carry home some of the embers to kindle their own fires from the sacred flames. If the observance of Lent starts as early as February 4, this causes Candlemas customs to become associated with Shrove Tuesday, which is also Mardi GrasFat Tuesday, or Carnival. The fasting season of Lent, a time of purification, begins on Ash Wednesday, the day after Fat Tuesday. Celebration: The main element of your decorating scheme for this day is, obviously, candles. Beginning at sundown on Candlemas Eve (Feb 1), gather all the candles in your home into one room and light all of them from one central candle, or place a candle in each window of your home and allow them to continue burning until sunrise (but watch them carefully, don’t want any accidents). Or, if you have a fireplace, clean out your hearth, then light a new fire. Have your family and friends sit around the fire or candles to share their hopes for the New Year, like what you hope to accomplish, what your passions are, what you wish to plant in your new garden, etc. Write these ideas down in a journal and/or piece of paper, to make them concrete so that on August 2, the Festival of the First Harvest, Lammas, you can look back to see if, or what progress you have made. Crepes and pancakes are traditional foods for Candlemas because of their round shape and golden color, which are symbols of the sunthe return of light. Purification and Renewal: You may give up something frivolous or something serious for 40 days (Dec. 25 to Feb. 2), but it should be something that you will miss or notice. Folklore/wisdom says it takes six weeks to establish a new or better habit, so you may end up with a changed or whole new lifestyle. Spring-cleaning is another act of purification, and since Candlemas is sometimes considered the beginning of Spring, this is a great time to start. This is a good time to get rid of your old things, change your air-conditioner filters, open your windows to let in fresh air, and do a good house cleaning to banish the gloom of Winter and to create a shiny new setting for Spring. A smudge ceremony in your dwelling or workspace this time of year is also a good idea. Excerpt from Curiosity Expands Your Mind by Brenda Miller, available through http://www.trafford.com, http://www.amazon.com,or http: //www.designsbybrenda.net Brenda's Thoughts 2/13 - 2/14 -- Soul Portraits by Katherine Skaggs I did something really insightful and fun over the weekend. I attended a Shamanic Soul Art Playshop where I renewed my love of painting and got my creative juices flowing once again. Intuitive/Shamanic guide Katherine Skaggs www.katherineskaggs.com brought her workshop to Austin, Texas, which there were seven of us in attendance. She led the class on two shamanic drumming meditations. After each session, each of us participants would paint what we saw or felt during the drumming sessions. I’ve included one of my paintings. It was fun pushing the paint around seeing where it would go and where it would take me. The meditation sessions brought up emotions and opened up suppressed talents and ideas for each of us. We each benefited spiritually and creatively from the meditations. It was nice seeing all the wonderful energy portrayed on each canvas. Everyone there had his or her own unique creative experience. Katherine is a wonderful teacher; she makes you think outside the box that you have created around yourself, she gets you to let go. She made me see and/or fell what I haven’t seen or felt in a long time. Some of those feelings needed to be released, as they no longer serve a purpose in my life now. It was a nice gentle way to move those old thought processes out of my life. I can take what I’ve learned to work through or bring more into my life. So, let go and be free. Life is meant to be lived, so experience it. On Sunday, my partner Richard and I had Katherine do our Soul Portraits. As Katherine paints our Soul Portraits, she also intuitively tells us what she sees and feels as she is painting. She is spot on with all that she created in our Soul Portraits. (Note: our soul portrait sessions were one-on-one with Katherine they were not done as a couple.) Check out her website www.katherineskaggs.com to find out more, attend classes, etc. Her Mythical Goddess Tarot set is one of the best tarot sets I have played with in a long while. My goal is to travel to Fort Collins, Colorado to attend Katherine’s workshops, classes, shamanic guided meditations, and rituals. So far, 2010 has been a good year for me. |
Brenda's Thoughts--archived
| My Soul Portrait |
| Richard's Soul Portrait |
| My Intuitive Soul Painting titled "Howard" |