Hi friends
I have a livestream concert coming up on February 1st (Feb 2nd in Australia) in celebration of the festivals of Imbolc in the Northern Hemisphere and Lammas in the Southern. Here's a link to the concert, and you'll find info about these magical Pagan festivals below:
CLICK HERE FOR LIVESTREAM CONCERT TICKETS - ONLY $6 USD!
ABOUT IMBOLC AND LAMMAS
The “Wheel of the Year” festivals are eight ancient Pagan festivals that mark the turning of the seasons. Four of these celebrate the solstices and equinoxes, and the other four - the Cross Quarter Festivals - celebrate the points midway between a solstice and an equinox. Imbolc and Lammas (also known as Lughnassagh) are Cross Quarter Festivals, and are opposite each other on the Wheel of the Year.
Imbolc is traditionally celebrated on February 2nd in the Northern Hemisphere and August 2nd in the Southern (though, unlike the solstices and equinoxes, there is no exact ‘event’ moment, so there's a bit of flexibility around the date). It is the first sign of a return to life after the depths of Winter. Maybe this will appear as the first swelling leaf buds on a deciduous tree, or the tenacious thrust of a bulb breaking through the frozen Winter soil. Or maybe we can think of it as the stirring of seeds underground, their new shoots activated, but as yet unseen. It's a feisty, fiery festival that reminds us of the potent tenacity of Life. In Celtic tradition, this time of year is alligned with the goddess Brigid.
Lammas occurs half a year away from Imbolc, and marks the first harvest of Autumn, where early grains have begun to ripen, but the entire crop is far from ready for harvest. It's a time to give thanks for the harvest to come, and to make an offering of these first grains back to the Earth. I like to contemplate the connection between the two opposite festivals by considering that the grain/seed that falls to the ground and is sacrificed at Lammas is the very same grain that becomes activated and reborn at Imbolc. It's the balance of Life and Death. I'll be discussing these themes, and singing appropriate songs to honour them, during the concert.