Happy Imbolc / Saint Brigid’s Day

Beautiful sunny day today, breezy and fresh. Great day to go for a walk.

Today I felt like Spring was in the air.

Then I realised it is IMBOLC, also Saint Brigid’s Day, marking the first day of Spring in the Ancient Irish Calendar.

The Meteorogical first day of Spring is March 1st. Astronomical Spring usually mid March.

While it doesn’t exactly feel like Spring, it feels like the first Spark of Spring.

Brigid – Goddess and Saint

This was a big turning point in the Ancient Irish Calendar with many celebrations, marking the beginning of Spring and new growth. As well as celebrating the life of Brigid, a well known Irish Goddess and Saint.

Brigid was a Triple Goddess and Saint. She is associated with Spring, fertiliy, fire, new growth, blacksmithing, ewes milk, swans, snowdrops, sacred wells, healing and poetry.

From 2023, Saint Brigid’s Day will be a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland, with a renewal of interest in the Goddess and Saint. This may also be extended to the North of the Island.

Sighted this lovely swan today hanging with the ducks.

It saw me and swam over

I haven’t seen a Swan in a long time.

Interesting that I saw one today and that it swam right over to me when it saw me.

Just a shame I had no food to give it as I think it was hungry.

I was reminded that Saint Brigid is associated with Swans, along with other things.

So it’s really nice that I sighted this today. Although it is a white swan I think she is normally associated with.

This Swan looked white from a distance but when it swam over it had other colours in it’s feathers. It was white and grey or brown.

Id say most of my life when I see swans I see pure white ones. Sometimes you see other colours of swans such as this white and brown and grey one.

The English poet Robert Graves wrote about Brigid and she is also a Goddess of Poetry, Poets are said to be under her protection.

It is said that The Druids saw the swan as representing the soul it was a bird that was believed to assist with travels to the Otherworld. The swan was also sacred to the Bards, whose cloaks were often made of swan feathers.

Brigid is also known as The Goddess of The Swan. This is because Swans return from their winter habitats around the time of Imbolc. Robert Graves referred to her as a White Goddess.

When I think of Swans in the context of Celtic Mythology I always think of the Children of Lir. They are also associated with the Goddess Aine.

Swans were once considered a sacred bird and thought to accompany souls in the afterlife. The Swan Song, the sound of the dying swan is thought to symbolise the final act of the soul before it departs this world. They have also been associated with celestial worlds.

The 1st of February is always a day I feel instinctively called to Nature and to Water and cannot sit in.

Most years the weather has been breezy and fresh and sunny on this day.

One thing I always associate with this day is a joyous “FRESHNESS” that seems to lift us out of January.

Spring is in the Air…

Above is a more Arty, Magical version of the photo.

Swan Celtic Mythology Video

The beautiful Swan in Celtic Cultures / Sacred Animals video is from a Youtube Channel called The Celtic Cauldron. In this – SWAN in Celtic Culture – video you will learn about the swan’s sacred significance to the ancient Celts and find out how they were represented in some of the mythology.

This post and photos are by Anne-Marie at http://www.supernaturalhippie.com

No unauthorised reproduction without prior consent.

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