Imbolc Oimelc Bride and Biddy

So, to February and to kick things off there is the 'old' Celtic festival of Imbolc, or Oimelc, or whichever of the many spellings you wish to go for, which falls on the 1st of the month (although in times past the date would most probably have been flexible). Imbolc is also known as Bride's Day, or St Brigit's Day and marks the time when ewes began to lactate, which may also link it to Bride's role as a fertility goddess. Imbolc was/is one of the set festivals of the Celtic year, the celebrations of which would mark different stages in the lives of a people inherently closer to the natual rhythms and cycles of the land they lived in and depended upon. This cycle of festivals gave the year and lives of the people a rhythm that is hard to understand in these modern times - especially when many farms have two lambing seasons in a year!

There are many customs and traditions associated with Bride - also known as Brigid and Biddy, among other variations. In the Hebrides there was a tradition that any lost sheep, or those not brought down from the hills before bad weather hit, would be saved by Old Biddy. Indeed both Bride and Biddy were seen as protectors of flocks and herds. And in her association with the Cailleach and Anu, we can see her as part of the great triple goddess cycle. She is, therefore, perfectly placed for her role as goddess of livestock and fertility. Indeed, in many parts of the country she is associated with corn dollies, kern baby's and in some places sheafs of oats dressed up as women, welcomed into the home as the emodiment of the fertility goddess.

Whole volumes could be dedicated to the goddess Bride and her many personifications - including the Christian adaptation St Brigit (or Brigid), and also to the customs and traditions of Imbolc, but for now, being pushed for time, I will have to leave you with links to follow:

Find out more here:

• Twilight of the Celtic Gods by David Clarke and Andy Roberts. Blandford Press (ISBN-13: 978-0713725223
• http://www.chalicecentre.net/imbolc.htm
• http://www.mysteriousbritain.co.uk/pantheons/brigid.html