Observing Midwinter

Brigid: Igniting the Inner Fire

We have arrived at the midpoint between winter solstice and the spring equinox. In the ancient times this was a time to acknowledge that spring was not so far away, despite the tight grip winter still had over the land.

The ancient Irish Celts called this time Imbolc (im’olc) and it was the time of the winter hag, the Cailleach. The Myths tell us that on this day, she wandered out to gather her firewood for the remaining days of winter. If she felt strong and wanted to make winter last longer, she will make sure Imbolc was a sunny, clear day, so that she could easily gather firewood. People would use Imbolc day as a predictor of the length of winter. If the day was dark and weather foul, then the Cailleach was sleeping and winter would soon be over.

Imbolc was traditionally celebrated on the full moon closest to the midpoint between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. In more contemporary times, the holiday is celebrated on February 2nd. Groundhog’s day, with its prediction of the coming of spring, is very likely a modern remnant of the ancient holiday of Imbolc. 

Many other cultures found this time of year to be important. The Greek myth of Persephone returning from the underworld was enacted at this time of year as part of the Eleusinian mysteries, to celebrate the coming of spring. The Romans celebrated Lupercalia, which honored the founding of the city of Rome by the twins Romulus and Remus. The ancient Egyptians celebrated the Feast of Nut, whose birthday was February 2nd (according to the Gregorian calendar). Nut was the mother goddess to the sun god Ra. The Catholics celebrate Candlemas, having usurped the holiday from the native European pagans.

For the ancient Gaels, this time of year was particularly harsh. It was considered the dead month. But, despite the harsh winds and icy rain that fell, signs of spring could be found. Ewes began to lactate, Cows gave birth, Ravens started to build nests, and green buds started to appear on branches and poking through the dirt.

The holiday was sacred to the goddess Brigid, who became Saint Brigit when the Catholics took on the holiday. Brigid was the patron goddess of Fire, Poetry and Healing and symbolized by a spiral. Imbolc was important because it fell on an in-between time, a very powerful and sacred time for the Celts. Brigid, if properly respected, brought the flame of spring, healed the dead-time, and brought words to the poets lips. Her miraculous powers could change water into ale and stone into salt. With boundless generosity she fed birds, animals, and the poor, and they all loved her in return.

Rabbits and Hares are also ancient symbols of spring. Hares sleep in nests or “forms” which look very similar to the nest of the lapwing bird. The lapwing builds its nests on the ground and in spring the nests are filled with eggs, which people took to be hare’s eggs. The hare was an emissary of the Otherworld and a symbol of the in-between time, which made Imbolc a such a sacred time. It is also the time of year that the footprints of rabbits and hares can be seen in the snow, as they search out the tender green shoots to eat and court their mates.

In modern practice, Imbolc can be seen as a time to look bravely into the darkness and bear witness to the growing light. It is a time of renewal, of re-affirming those resolutions we took at the beginning of the year to better ourselves. Now is the time to understand that no matter how difficult and dark things may appear to be, it will pass, for in order for darkness to exist light must exist as well.

On February 2nd, or perhaps before the next rise of the full moon, take a moment to sit in a darkened room. Meditate upon what you would like to see grow in health and strength this year: for yourself, your family, your community, the Earth. Meditate on the darkness in your life, look to what it can teach you, then light a candle, or many candles, fill the room with light and celebrate in the knowledge that the dark times will soon come to an end. With the lighting of the candle, you ignite the flame of your soul, offering strength to last through the remaining dark times.

DoAn
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The Morrigan: The Dark Mother

The Morrigan: the Dark Mother

After six months of work, the painting "The Morrigan: The Dark Mother" is complete. This painting was an exploration of the dark side of life. By dark, I do not mean evil, but simply the negative aspects that when combined with the positive, complete the whole. I chose the Irish goddess The Morrigan to represent this exploration and added both archetypal and personal symbols to further represent the dark aspect of life and spirit.
The Morrigan, ancient goddess of the land, of fertility and death, became associated in more "modern times" with war. In triple aspect she was accompanied by Nemain (Frenzy), Macha or Badbh (Battle Crow). In her war aspect she appeared over the battlefield, inciting the warriors to become crazy with war-lust, and thus, causing their own demise. The Morrigan was not death herself, she was the harbinger of death, and so the Ban-Shee or the Washer at the Ford, became associated with her. She is the Kali of the Irish pantheon, the Dark Mother to whom we must respect deeply.
The Morrigan, represents the dark aspect that we all experience and possess. Everything emerges from the dark, the child from the womb, the day from night, and The Morrigan’s power exists within this place of potentiality. We also end the cycle by returning to the dark, day gives way to night, our bodies return to the earth, and so The Morrigan blesses us by releasing us from her realm and calls us back when it is time.
The dark aspect is not something to be feared, for to fear the dark, is to be afraid of our own nature. It is to be understood as part of a natural cycle of rise and fall, expanding and contracting, reaching out and turning inward, etc. The Morrigan offers us a way to understand and navigate the dark paths throughout our life, if only we overcome our fears and reach out to accept the “fruit” of knowledge she offers us.
DoAn

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DoAn Art is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions for the purposes of DoAn Art must be made payable to Fractured Atlas and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. 


All artwork and text © Copyright 2005-2009 DoAn Art (Antony Galbraith) unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Antony Galbraith.

Looking Before Leaping Forward

detail of The Morrigan: the Dark Mother

I recently finished the painting "The Morrigan: the Dark Mother", which is a mediation on the roles that darkness, death, the end of things, etc. plays in our lives. (A detail of it is seen here. )
And as signals of Spring begin to make its appearance, I feel the need to pause and consider the dark of Winter as it begins to pass.

I think our society often shrugs off the dark times too quickly, thinking it is a bad thing. It can be uncomfortable, but the dark is not bad. I can think of many places in nature where the dark plays a regular, if not, important role: things such as sleep, night, the moon moving from dark to full and over again. If we look to the cosmos, we find that most of space is made of what is called "dark matter".

The dark times offer reflection of past action and future possibilities. So much of my creative progress leaps forward tremendously after a period immersed in darkness. But, this growth only comes when I allow myself to really be in the dark, no matter how uncomfortable it might be. I think when we leap forward to escape the discomfort of the dark, we increase our chances of landing in a worse situation. Sometimes the situation requires quick action, and we are lucky and land in a better place. But, I believe most of the time, hurrying out of the dark, only limits the awareness of our situation and delays the suffering that comes for not learning the important lessons.

So, as we turn our clocks forward, or prepare for the season's change from winter to spring. I am taking a moment to thank winter--the dark time--for the opportunity to work through life's challenges by giving me time to focus and reflect. Spring comes, bringing new energy and respite from the dark time, but it is only temporary, for soon enough, Winter takes us back into her arms for another season of rest and reflection.

DoAn
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DoAn Art is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions for the purposes of DoAn Art must be made payable to Fractured Atlas and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. 


All artwork and text © Copyright 2005-2008 DoAn Art (Antony Galbraith) unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Antony Galbraith.

What Midwinter Can Teach

Snowshoe Hare (graphite) by DoAn

We have arrived at the midpoint between winter solstice and the spring equinox. In the ancient times this was a time to acknowledge that spring was not so far away, despite the tight grip winter still had over the land.

The ancient Irish Celts called this time Imbolc (im’olc) and it was the time of the winter hag, the Cailleach. On this day, she wandered out to gather her firewood for the remaining days of winter. If she felt strong and wanted to make winter last longer, she will make sure Imbolc was a sunny, clear day, so that she could easily gather firewood. People would use Imbolc day as a predictor of the length of winter. If the day was dark and weather foul, then the Cailleach was sleeping and winter would soon be over.

Imbolc was traditionally celebrated on the full moon closest to the midpoint between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. In more contemporary times, the holiday is celebrated on February 2nd. Groundhog’s day, with its prediction of the coming of spring, is very likely a modern remnant of the ancient holiday of Imbolc.

Many other cultures found this time of year to be important. The Greek myth of Persephone returning from the underworld was enacted at this time of year as part of the Eleusinian mysteries, to celebrate the coming of spring. The Romans celebrated Lupercalia, which honored the founding of the city of Rome by the twins Romulus and Remus. The ancient Egyptians celebrated the Feast of Nut, whose birthday was February 2nd (according to the Gregorian calendar). Nut was the mother goddess to the sun god Ra. The Catholics celebrate Candlemas, having usurped the holiday from the native European pagans.

For the ancient gaels, this time of year was particularly harsh. It was considered the dead month. But, despite the harsh winds and icy rain that fell, signs of spring could be found. Ewes began to lactate, Cows gave birth, Ravens started to build nests, and green buds started to appear on branches and poking through the dirt.


The holiday was sacred to the goddess Brigid, who became Saint Brigit when the Catholics took on the holiday. Brigid was the patron goddess of Fire, Poetry and Healing and symbolized by a spiral. Imbolc was important because it fell on an in-between time, a very powerful and sacred time for the Celts. Brigid, if properly respected, brought the flame of spring, healed the dead-time, and brought words to the poets lips. Her miraculous powers could change water into ale and stone into salt. With boundless generosity she fed birds, animals, and the poor, and they all loved her in return.

Rabbits and Hares are also ancient symbols of spring. Hares sleep in nests or “forms” which look very similar to the nest of the lapwing bird. The lapwing builds its nests on the ground and in spring the nests are filled with eggs, which people took to be hare’s eggs. The hare was an emissary of the Otherworld and a symbol of the in-between time, which made Imbolc a such a sacred time. It is also the time of year that the footprints of rabbits and hares can be seen in the snow, as they search out the tender green shoots to eat and court their mates.

In modern practice, Imbolc can be seen as a time to look bravely into the darkness and bear witness to the growing light. It is a time of renewal, of re-affirming those resolutions we took at the beginning of the year to better ourselves. Now is the time to understand that no matter how difficult and dark things may appear to be, it will pass, for in order for darkness to exist light must exist as well.

On February 2nd, or perhaps before the next rise of the full moon, take a moment to sit in a darkened room. Meditate upon what you would like to see grow in health and strength this year: for yourself, your family, your community, the Earth. Meditate on the darkness in your life, look to what it can teach you, then light a candle, or many candles, fill the room with light and celebrate in the knowledge that the dark times will soon come to an end. With the lighting of the candle, you ignite the flame of your soul, offering strength to last through the remaining dark times.

DoAn
Subscribe in a reader


DoAn Art is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions for the purposes of DoAn Art must be made payable to Fractured Atlas and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. 


All artwork and text © Copyright 2005-2009 DoAn Art (Antony Galbraith) unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Antony Galbraith.