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Almanac of the Ancients:
February 2008
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by Triple Moon Goddess |
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Our ancient ancestors didn’t have a leap year, yet that is what we have this year for 2008.
This month we make up for that extra 24 hours that comes around every four years. Mathematically it comes out that 97 out of every 400 years is a intercalary year (leap year), rather than a common year. It keeps the equinoxes and solstices where they need to be, otherwise they would slowly move through the calendar and we would have spring in January....which doesn’t seem like a bad idea.
This all occurred with the introduction of the Gregorian calendar. This calendar is “new” in the age of the world and of man. There are still Hebrew years, Chinese years, Hindu years, Islamic years, all running on calendars valued by the moon (lunisolar). The Islamic calendar forbids leap years. You can celebrate New Years’ Day many times during the year, just use someone else’s calendar!
I know that as a child, I loved summer and didn’t like the cold weather, I looked at February as a short month. This way I could get this “winter stuff” over with quickly, and move on to the “spring month”. I am sure that the ancients in the Northern Hemisphere felt the same way. There was no run to the supermarket with a 4 wheel drive when food supplies were low. Those far north didn’t get much daylight, and happily welcomed the sun’s return.
So now we are in the last full month of winter, or “Februa”, named for a part of the Roman ritual of purification held every February 15. This ritual was Lupercalia. The Romans were big on “ides” or mid-month dates. The last days and first days were always symbolic to them. They would clarify dates by saying things such as 3 days from the Ides of February , instead of February 12. If any of you speak a “Romance language” you know that even telling the time of day is based on the same theory. The ancient Romans pop up again and again in our everyday lives, and that is part of the purpose of the almanac. To recognize, honor, and maybe even celebrate the way they did hundreds and thousands of years ago. Sometimes the old way really is better !
The traditional flowers of February are the shy violet and the primrose. Maybe a trip to the local florist, and use these wonderful flowers to help you to “THINK SPRING” and bring some sunshine into your home. Those born this month are Aquarius (air sign),or Pisces (a water sign), and have the healing stone amethyst for their birth stone. Anyone who is a healer should have a piece of amethyst in their bag of tricks. It is the most powerful healing stone. Small tumbled pieces are easily available, and large geodes can be found in mineral and metaphysical shops. The large geodes exert a powerful healing energy, but cost a bit of cash. The small pieces will always help however, as the stone is so powerful.
So now it is time to check in with the ancients and to see what they have in store for us this month. We will start with Candlemas. Those of you who are slow to take down your Christmas decorations, well this is the final day to do so. Any greens that were introduced into the home during the holidays needed to be removed by Candlemas Eve. Candlemas marked the end of the Christmas and Epiphany celebrations. Candlemas Eve was February first, and Candlemas of course, the next day. The name came from the tradition of the ancient Roman priests blessing candles on that date.
The Candlemas date corresponds with Christmas and is believed to have come from the ritual cleansing that Jewish law would have required the Virgin Mary to go through after the birth of Jesus. Jewish Law considers the new mothers to be “unclean” for 40 days after the birth, and they would need to go through a ritual purification, much like a baptism. There was a ritual bath at the temple, and a blessing ritual with the Rabbi.
Getting back to the Romans, the candles that were blessed were required to be made of beeswax, and would be blessed with an aspergillum (a ritual device for sprinkling holy water). These candles were now to be used over the next year. Candlemas is still celebrated today and some churches still distribute blessed candles to the congregation. This ritual was originally celebrated on February 14, but was moved due to another celebration, Lupercalia, on the same date (which was an older celebration). Candlemas was first celebrated around 350 AD, and Lupercalia went back before the biblical birth of Jesus.
This all ties in also with the ancient goddess of fire, Brigid (the Bright One). Her day was February first also. The date the church picked for Candlemas may have been to lure the Pagans into the church with their own “fire ritual”. Brigid was also the “Earth Mother” to the Celts. She was said to use fire to purify the earth for the new spring season that was about to begin. She would watch over the transition and make sure that it happened smoothly. She then made the transition from Pagan goddess to Christian saint ! The Pagan goddess Brigid was also said to have brought “keening” into the world as she mourned her son Ruadan. I don’t recommend keening today, but maybe bless and light your own candles. The other interesting link is that Brigid is also associated with water, and the Roman church blessed the candles with water. February first is Saint Brigid’s feast day in the Roman Catholic Church. It is always interesting to watch and see how everything ties together !
During the same time, (Feb 1) we have the great solar wheel turn to Imbolc ( pronounced im’olk). This was a Celtic festival to celebrate the birthing of the lambs. This is one of the four major festivals of the Irish calendar . The word Imbolc comes from a Celtic word for lactation, as the ewes were lactating to feed the lambs. There were now fresh dairy products, more light in the day (thanks to Brigid), and baby lambs to show renewal. The Pagans would pour fresh milk onto the earth to thank the Earth Mother for the milk and ask for a fertile season. The Irish call the festival La Fheile Bride. This date is still considered by many to be the start of spring. Fire and purification were an important part of the festival. Fires and candles would be lit to welcome Brigid back. Every house was filled with burning candles, there were bonfires if it wasn’t raining. It was also a big day for divination and weather prognostication. Brigid is also a goddess of poetry, and poems were written and read. Neopagans and Wiccans still celebrate this festival today!
The Shinto temples in Japan would also celebrate the coming spring, but on the third. This is called Setsubun-sai. There were cries of “The Devil out, good fortune in”. So open up that back door (we don’t want to scare passers-by), and shout out the words. For those who are really feeling ritualistic, the head of the household needs to toss out a pan of heated soybeans while shouting. The Japanese use the front door in their ritual, but I am still going to recommend the back one. You can also shout in Japanese if you are a purist, the words are : “Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!” This tradition goes back to the Buddhist temples. This tradition is similar to the Feast of the Lemures, or Lupercalia that I mentioned earlier.
So we blessed and lit our candles, had some hot chocolate perhaps to get the milk symbolism in there, and tossed some hot beans out the door while shouting in Japanese. We are starting to get all the bases covered, but there is more !We need to dance, drink some wine , and thank the goddess. I don’t recommend running around naked with just a goatskin as the ancient Romans did however.
I have mentioned Lupercalia a few times, so let’s take a look at that ancient Roman festival. The ritual is said to precede the Ancient Romans, and to have developed in pastoral Europe where the Pagans worshiped the fertility god Faunus. The Romans turned Faunus into Juno and continued the tradition. Today the legend of Romulus is attached to Lupercalia, but the tradition actually went back prior to Romulus. Lupercalia comes from the name of the cave in the Seven Hills of Rome where the festival was held, which was Lupercal. There are records of the festival back to 44BC when senators began to protest the ritual that apparently been around for hundreds of years prior to that date.
Priests called Luperci (brothers of the wolf), would dress in goat skins, and nothing else, in order to officiate the rituals. A dog and two male goats were sacrificed. The blood was then rubbed on the forehead of young luperci, and the knife was wiped clean on wool that was soaked in milk. The luperci then cut thongs from the skins of the animals that were sacrificed. These thongs were called Februa. They would then run around the walls of the city in their goatskins, where women and children lined up to be hit with the thongs as the priests ran by them. This would cleanse them of evil and insure fertility. The ritual was also said to ease the pain of childbirth (“whip me so the childbirth doesn’t hurt”...sometimes I have to wonder about how much wine the Romans were drinking!).
There was feasting and dancing during the festival which welcomed spring and fertility. The city was ritually cleansed, and evil spirits chased away. Pan was also welcomed in at this time, being the god of flocks and shepherds.
Lupercalia originally was on February 15. The Church again wanted to welcome in the Pagans, so they combined Lupercalia in 496 with the Feast of the Valentine saints. We still celebrate Valentine’s Day on the 14th of the month. Lupercalia has disappeared from the calendar. The Valentine’s Day as a “romantic” celebration began around 1392 during the Middle Ages You can still celebrate. Maybe have some goat’s cheese and do a little dance with your favorite pet. The ancient gods will get the message I am sure, and may be better for you than chocolates !
There were more fire rituals throughout the world. The Hindus honored Kali this month, the goddess of fire. It was said to be her birthday on the 17th. Kali is a goddess of fire and destruction. She has a blackened face and four arms. The ancients made human sacrifices to her. Hindus today still honor Kali. She is loved and feared at the same time.
The Pagans in Norway held a fire festival to honor the sun. All goddesses of the sun were honored during a festival called Narvik Sun Pageant. The festival lasted during all the daylight hours. There were sun goddesses, most notably Amaterasu in Japan, however most sun deities were male (Sol for example), and lunar deities were female. The Egyptians had female sun goddesses along with males, and the Germanic tribes had females exclusively.
The Romans, always up for a ritual celebration, also honored the dead at this time. A way to honor renewal, as we still do at Easter. There was the festival of Paternalia which lasted from the 13th to the 21st. I am always amazed at how they overlap celebrations and one will end with another beginning right after it. It is a wonder they got anything done! This festival was to honor passed loved ones. Ancestral tombs were decorated with flowers and wine was left for the dead. There were no weddings performed at this time.
At the close of the Parentalia festival was Feralia, now All Soul’s Day. Family reunions were held and Lares, the guardian of ancestral spirits was honored with prayers and offerings.
The Romans then had the festival of Terminalia on the 23rd. This was a day that the Romans honored Terminus, the god of boundaries and limits. Neighbors would meet at their property lines for a little ritual and picnic. The women held a burning torch, the children held baskets of produce, the daughters held honey cakes. The neighboring families slaughtered a pig, and let the blood drip on the boundary stones. They then feasted and drank wine together. This is a good day to celebrate with a neighbor or to set a boundary that is more personal that you will honor ! Remember that a huge part of being spiritual is setting boundaries. Make sure they are appropriate and honored. Today would be a good day to see where yu may be taken advantage of, or where you go over your limit (with a bottle of Roman wine or on a credit card maybe), and set those limits firmly.
Now I shall terminate this edition of the Almanac of The Ancients. I hope that you enjoyed our journey for February, even though it did not include chocolate hearts or jewelry. Welcome the sun and spring, even though it may not feel that either is ever coming back. Manifest a wonderful spring for yourself. Do your spring cleaning early on one of the festival dates such as Lupercalia. Enjoy some early fresh food, even if it is goat cheese, with a bottle of Italian wine. Light many candles to warm your home and welcome the sun. Maybe have a bonfire for friends and neighbors! Dance in the sun , throw soybeans, and above all laugh. Spring is coming back, welcome it with open arms!
Enjoy the short month of February!
Namaste!
Gina
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Triple Moon Goddess,
Psychic Tarot Consultant
& Author
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Triple Moon Goddess has been psychic all her life, receiving her first deck of cards, 36 years ago, at age ten.
As a Psychic, she is currently reading on Keen, Kasamba, and in person, most recently, in Evansville, IN.
In addition to a BA in psychology from Montclair State in NJ., She has studied Mediumship with Denise Ilwaine, and currently studing Reiki.
She is a student who "plays Tai Chi", and enjoys playing with energy.
Triple Moon Goddess also teaches monthly metaphysical classes at the Bead Angel, in Evansville, covering different topics each month. She has also taught Tarot classes and psychic development classes; led "ghost hunts", and "seances".
She has attended many metaphysical classes, both in person and correspondance (before the internet!). She also teaches quilting!
As an avid reader, she loves to pass on everything she can to others.
She was the editor on "C.R.U.M.B.S.," a New Age self help book., and currently writing a book on tarotand readings.
She is the mother of two children, one of which is autistic, and teaches her a great deal about viewing the world through different eyes.
Email:
triplemoongoddessgina
@hotmail.com
Web:
www.Keen.com/
Triplemoongoddess
URL
www.myspace.com
/triplemoongoddessgina
Blog URL
http://blog.myspace.
com/
triplemoongoddessgina
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