Yesterday was Imbolc but it is celebrated some years on February 2nd. Today is Candlemas. Imbolc is a Celtic holiday dedicated to the goddess Brigit or Brigid, also known as 'The Bride' or simply Bride. "The holiday was, and for many still is, a festival of the hearth and home, and a celebration of the lengthening days and the early signs of spring. Celebrations often involved hearthfires, special foods (butter, milk, and bannocks, for example), divination or watching for omens, candles or a bonfire if the weather permits. 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 North American Groundhog Day." As for Brigid herself: Brigid is a Celtic goddess, the daughter of Dagda and one of the Tuatha de Danaan. She is "a woman of poetry, and poets worshipped her, for her sway was very great and very noble. And she was a woman of healing along with that, and a woman of smith's work, and it was she first made the whistle for calling one to another through the night." (Lady Augusta Gregory). Her name means 'exalted one'. She is the goddess of all things perceived to be of relatively high dimensions such as high-rising flames, highlands, hill-forts and upland areas; and of activities and states conceived as psychologically lofty and elevated, such as wisdom, excellence, perfection, high intelligence, poetic eloquence, craftsmanship (especially blacksmithing), healing ability, druidic knowledge and skill in warfare. She is equivalent to Minerva (Roman) and Athene (Greek), and probably the Gaulish goddess Bellisena. She is also similar in many ways to the goddess Saraswati of India, as well as Neith of Libya. Thank you for looking and your comments dear friends. Light a candle for the return of Spring and the goddess Eostre! Cheers, Rayvn Credits: 'Tatiana Hair' by Mairy-3Dream (DAZ) DMR's 'Totem Cloth' outfit (DAZ) Figure is 'Nyx' by Vozart (was here but seems to be gone now)