Friday 1 February 2013

Imbolc - Spring is Coming


Hello again blog friends - hope you hadn't forgotten me :-) Leigh has not been well so no-one has been around to put up my posts but things should be back to normal again now. As you can see from this photo the snow has gone and the sun is shining and today is the Celtic festival of Imbolc - the beginning of Spring.


The bulbs are pushing their way up to the sun and the garden is all coming to life again. Imbolc is a Gaelic word and it means 'in the belly' - not as in scrummy snacks but more like 'pregnant'  as this is the time of year when animals are having their young....and maybe I will be one of them (but that's supposed to be a secret :-))


Quickly moving on....some more interesting titbits about Imbolc - it was the ancient festival of Brigid who was a pagan goddess of the Sun, fire and the hearth and among her symbols are the snowdrop - bringing the hope of Spring coming even while winter is still here.


Another of her symbols is the swan which mates for life and represents loyalty and faithfulness (I think it could have been a dog myself as we are pretty loyal too :-) And her colours are white, silver and green.



It is so warm today that Lace thought she would come out to enjoy some sun too.


And here I am gathering up some seeds that the birds have dropped as another tradition of this festival is seed cake :-) I just knew there couldn't be a festival without some food there somewhere!

9 comments:

  1. We haven't forgotten you Magic!
    Sorry to read that Leigh hasn't been well, there's been a lot of illness about this winter. We're glad it's Spring, it's definitely a bit warmer now.
    Are you going to be a Mum again? That's wonderful news, so happy for you :-)

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  2. Hello my fellow mini schnauzer! Welcome back. We just found your blog today, cute! We will be back :) Nice photos!

    - Kia & Simba

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  3. That swan picture looks so peaceful. And we love the snowdrops. Thanks for telling us all about Imbolc...we wonder if you'll be in the belly, too.

    Hope your mum feels better soon.

    XXXOOO Daisy, Bella & Roxy

    Happy to hear from you, too.

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  4. Nope, didn't furget you!
    Hope your mom gets weller soon :)
    Cotton

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  5. Hi Magic, I'm Pippa! Nice to meet you!
    I noticed your Gaelic words. Does this mean you live in Scotland, like me?
    Look forward to reading your posts,
    Pippa :)

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    1. Hi Pippa - thanks for dropping by. We live in North Yorkshire although my affenpinscher brother Crybbe was born in Renfrewshire Scotland. My peeps have Irish parents so they are quite interested in Gaelic names & customs. They used to visit Scotland for holidays too when they lived in Newcastle. - Magic xx

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  6. Chooey was Imbolc because of me :(. I still feel guilty and paranoid. I don't want any accidents to happen anymore.

    Thank you for dropping by. We miss you guys.

    Huggies and Cheese,

    Haopee

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  7. Hey, exciting news hidden there in the post, spring babies, did we read that right?
    W've also been hit by illness and out of sorts. We have lots of catching up to do now and started with your lovely post here, glad we did xx

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  8. Well I didn't know that so thanks for sharing. Hope Leigh is on the mend. Some sunshine would help.
    Have a Good Week
    See Yea George xxx

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