Imbolc

English 2019 February 2 Etymology thumb|An altar set up to mark Imbolc at an event in Reading, Berkshire, England en ine-pro *h₂melǵ- en sga Imbolc, the pre-Christian name of a festival celebrated on the first day of Spring, later a name for Candlemas. The etymology of the Old Irish word is uncertain; common explanations include the following: From en sga i mbolg in the belly, referring to pregnant ewes.Nora [Kershaw] Chadwick Nora K. Chadwick The Celts Harmondsworth, London Penguin Books 1970 181 978-0-14-021211-2. From en sga imb-fholc to cleanse or wash oneself, referring to a ritual cleansing.Brian Wright Brigid: Goddess, Druidess and Saint New York, N.Y. The History Press 2011 83 978-0-7524-7202-7. Perhaps from en ine-pro *h₂melǵ- to milk; milk, though the connection between the milking of animals and the festival is not clear. Some descendants of this root have meanings related to cleansing (for example, fa مالیدن mâlidan to rub, smear, sa मर्जति to clean, wipe), so the root could also have the sense of purification.Eric P[ratt] Hamp Eric P. Hamp Imbolc, Óimelc Studia Celtica: Bulletin of the Board of Celtic Studies Cardiff University of Wales Press 1979–1980 14–15 106–113 0081-6353 230708448, cited in Séamas Ó Catháin The Festival of Brigit the Holy Woman https://www.dias.ie/wp-content/uploads/webstore/celt/pubs/celtica/c23/c23-231.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20171115044058/https://www.dias.ie/wp-content/uploads/webstore/celt/pubs/celtica/c23/c23-231.pdf 15 November 2017 Celtica: Journal of the School of Celtic Studies Dublin Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies 1999 23 part V 242–243 https://www.dias.ie/wp-content/uploads/webstore/celt/pubs/celtica/c23/c23-231.pdf#page=12 0069-1399 923172545. Pronunciation en /ˈɪmbɒlk/ /ɪˈmɒlɡ/ RP en LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-Imbolc.wav Southern England en /ˈɪmbɑlk/ /ɪˈmɑlɡ/ GA en Im bolc Proper noun en Britain Ireland A Gaelic and Wiccan festival celebrated on 1 or 2 February which marks the beginning of spring. en Brigid's Day Saint Brigid's Day en Eugene O’Curry Lecture XXX. [Of Music and Musical Instruments in Ancient Erinn.] W. K. Sullivan On the Manners and Customs of the Ancient Irish. A Series of Lectures London; Edinburgh w:Williams and Norgate; Dublin: W. B. Kelly; New York, N.Y.: Scribner, Welford, & Co. 10 June 1862 1873 III (Lectures, Vol. II) 217 https://books.google.com/books?id=AKgMAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA217 605972674 [T]hat the ancient Irish, at some remote period, did divide the year into the three seasons of Samh, summer, Gamh, winter, and Imbolc, spring (omitting the Foghmhar, or autumn), is quite evident from the fact, that Cormac Mac Cuileannain and the other old glossarists, explain Samhain, or November eve, by Samh, summer, and fuin, the end; that is, the end of Samh, or summer. en Edain McCoy Appendix Three: Outline for Ritual Construction A Witch’s Guide to Faery Folk: How to Work with the Elemental World:Includes a Complete Dictionary of Faeries St. Paul, Minn. Llewellyn Publishers 1994 2004 (13th printing) 354 https://books.google.com/books?id=_P5fcbMQMKEC&pg=PA354 978-0-87542-733-1 Invite, but never command, friendly spirits, faeries, or elementals to join you as you wish. In some traditons it is common to invite ancestors to join you, especially during the dark days from Samhain to Imbolg when it is believed that the portal between our dimensions is at its thinnest. en Liam Lawton How Can I Repay the Lord Song of My People Dublin Veritas Publications 2002 28 https://books.google.com/books?id=mTk-yXJ6Io4C&pg=PA28 978-1-85390-600-8 In the Celtic world many celebrations were built around the ancient calendar of events or great feasts. The four great feasts of the year were Samhain (1st November), Imbolg (1st February), Bealtaine (1st May) and Lughnasa (1st August). Notice that each of the feasts begins each of the four seasons of the year – winter, spring, summer and autumn. en Judy Ann Nock Season Three: Imbolc: First Light in the Dark of Winter https://books.google.com/books?id=zHTsDQAAQBAJ&pg=PT62 The Provenance Press Guide to the Wiccan Year: Spells, Rituals, Holiday Celebrations Avon, Mass. Provenance Press, Adams Media, Simon & Schuster 2007 978-1-59869-125-2 The Festival of Imbolc commences on February eve, or January 31, and usually concludes on February 2. Imbolc has three major associations: the veneration of fire and water, the quickening of new life in the womb, and the lactation of ewes. The association of Imbolc with fire comes from its place as the midpoint between the winter solstice and the vernal equinox. en Carl F. Neal Imbolc: Rituals, Recipes & Lore for Brigid’s Day https://books.google.com/books?id=op3pCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT100 Llewellyn’s Sabbat Essentials Woodbury, Minn. Llewellyn Publishers 2015 978-0-7387-4541-1 Never leave incense, candles, or anything else burning when you are not in the room to ensure you will be around for many more Imbolcs to come. en Courtney Weber Imbolc: Brigid the Springtime Goddess, the Mother, and the Midwife Brigid: History, Mystery, and Magick of the Celtic Goddess San Francisco, Calif. Weiser Books, Red Wheel/Weiser 2015 149 https://books.google.com/books?id=gpAeBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA149 978-1-57863-567-2 Brigid has also been described in relation to the different cycles as the Earth Mother. In another version of the Threshold Rites, a sheaf of wheat from the Samhain harvest was placed outside doors of homes on the eve of January 31. Some believed that the Goddess was present in the sheaf in her winter Cailleach form. Upon Imbolc, the sheaf becomes the infant Goddess Brigid once again, marking the fragile beginnings of the new agricultural cycle. Alternative forms en Imbolg Coordinate terms en Yule • en Imbolc • en Ostara • en Beltane • en Litha • en Lammas/en Lughnasadh • en Mabon • en Samhain Translations Gaelic and Wiccan festival which marks the beginning of spring Chinese: Mandarin: cmn 聖布里吉德節 Shèng Bùlǐjídé Jié Wu: wuu 圣布里吉德节 Esperanto: eo Imbolko German: de Imbolg Greek: el Ίμπολκ Irish: ga Imbolg, ga Lá Fhéile Bríde Japanese: ja インボルク Korean: ko 이몰륵 Mazanderani: mzn ایمبولک Polish: pl Imbolc m Russian: ru Имболк Ukrainian: uk Імболк References Further reading en Holidays Wicca