The month of February was dedicated to Roman goddess Februa, purifier and protector of the home. Homes were cleaned and blessed, restorative offerings made and peace pledges vowed.
The Virgins Mary’s midwife, who tends the holy fire with19 nuns; make a bride’s cross from new rushes.
Feast of Brigit (Celtic)
Druid Earth Mother, goddess associated with the ritual fires of purification
and patroness of smiths, poets and healers, venerated later by Christians
as St. Brigid.
Imbolc Eve or Oimelc Eve (Celtic)
Begins the two-day spring fire festival to Brigit, which later became
Christian Candlemas. (See 2nd & 12th February).
Candlemas Eve
Avoid funerals on this day.
Festival of Dionysus, (Greek)
Vines are pruned and sprinkled with wine as ritual singing and dancing
take place, followed by ecstatic, orgiastic feasts, (some lasting up
to 14th), to this god of wine and drunkenness who created the vine and
invoked milk and honey. The festival is known as Trifon
Zarezan in Bulgaria.
Last day of Sementivae.
Candlemas;
Presentation of Christ in the Temple
The presentation of the infant Jesus to the Temple, where Simeon recognized
Him as The Christ, The Messiah; observed with a solemn, candle-lit procession.
The Festival of the Lights
Candle procession in honour of the Purification of the Virgin Mary. All
the candles for the forthcoming Catholic Church year, symbolizing Christ
‘the light of the world’, are consecrated.
Imbolc, Oimelc or
Brigantia (Celtic)
The spring-time Sabbat between Yule and the vernal equinox, in honour
of the goddess Brigit, and later to become Candlemas.
Disting or
Festival of the Idises (Norse/Teutonic)
The first large public gathering of the year, in preparation for the coming
of Spring. The Idises are the ghosts of the forebears.
Feast of Isis (Egyptian)
Four-day festival celebrating Isis the healing goddess, defeating Set,
the god of challenges and chaos, by healing her child-god Horus whom Set
had poisoned.
• Witches Sabbats
An ascendant time for witches to hold their Sabbats.
The feast of St. Blaise
Martyr, tortured and beheaded around 316 AD.
• The Making of a Golem
On the second day of the month of Adar in 1580, Rabbi Judah Loew spoke
to God to ask for advice on how to defend the Jews in the Ghetto of
Prague against the ‘Blood Libel’, the worst pogrom against
the Jews in history. He received instructions, using the Book
of Creation, to make a Golem, a giant made of Clay. Loew and
a priest made the giant then he scratched the word ‘emet’,
(‘truth’) on its forehead. The priest walked seven times,
chanting around the clay form and after more ceremony the Golem came
alive. It went off each night and seized many enemies of the Jews, but
eventually grew too strong and killed many people and Loew had to send
the giant back into the earth.
| Shrovetide |
| The Old English confessional season of the three days preceding Lent; from ‘shriving’, or ‘gaining absolution’. All remaining non-Lenten foods, fish, meat, eggs and dairy products are used up before Lent. |
Frost fairs held in fields and on frozen lakes, rivers and estuaries, weather permitting.
• Tiamat
In Enuma Elish, the Babylonian story of creation, Taimat was the wyrm
and Mother of the gods who lived in the primordial chaos that existed
before the world was created. She represented the sea and accompanied
Apsu, the fresh water god. Apsu was killed by the young god Enki and so
Taimat wanted revenge by destroying all the gods. She summoned an army
which included eleven dragons, but Marduk killed Taimat and turned her
into the universe.
Marduk Tiamat
Ia was the sacred maiden who sailed from Ireland to Cornwall on a giant leaf and founded a church at St. Ives. She then sailed to Armorica and Brittany with 777 disciples and was martyred there.
Deliverance Day
During the early Middle Ages in England, near Clearwell in the depths
of the Forest of Dean, a ferocious contest was fought between the last
known unicorn and the devil’s apprentice. The exhausted unicorn
was fettered for seven days by a mortal spell, and the legend tells
of its great struggle to break free and subvert the curse forever.
Bindrunes are carved onto house doorposts or personal amulets to enforce
the subjugation.
Festival
of Aphrodite (Greek)
Aphrodite, goddess of love, was honoured on this date with one of her
many sacred festivals.
| Lent |
| The Christian’s long period of fasting, (eating only one meal a day), before Palm Sunday, remembering Jesus’ forty days in the wilderness. From Anglo-Saxon’s ‘lenten-tide’ (spring), meaning the month of lengthening days. Marriages are forbidden during Lent. |
New Moon
Day of Selene
(Greek)
Goddess of the moon who drove a chariot with two horses, and deity to
sorcerers and magicians.
• The Omega Skull
Found in the fabric of a small Saxon church in Lancashire in 1836, was
said to be the unearthly skull of a mysterious medieval magi.
• Death of Thomas Aquinas
1274; scholar and saint known as the Angelic Doctor, one of the principal
saints of the Roman Catholic Church who outlawed heresy.
Collop Monday; Rose Monday; Shrove Monday
A traditional collop was a piece of bread, (the term now meaning thick
bacon), fried, with an egg on top.
Peasen Monday in Cornwall, where pea soup is served instead of collops.
Valdomorian Ritual
The day upon which it is said the tome of Valdomore is embued
with the power to transmute inanimate substance into living essence
for a period of one year and a day.
Festival of Alexis
Patron spirit of the Waits. Exchange gifts of
music (sheet music, wax cylinders, CD’s etc) on this day.
Feast of Apollo
(Greek)
A day in honour of Apollo, god of prophesy, healing, music and poetry
and a deity of the sun. The Feast celebrates the increasing light
of the New Year after the darkness of midwinter.
Festival of Teutates (Celtic)
God of fertility and of war, also known as King of the World and Lord
of the Battle.
• St. Leonard's Forrest Dragon
In 1614 in England, three villagers saw a nine foot long serpent-dragon
with red front scales, black back scales and a white ring about its
neck. Its shape was thick around the middle and thin at both ends, with
large feet and small wings. Although the dragon spat venom and at one
time killed two people, it did not pray upon the villagers and lived
on rabbits. DR
Quadragesima Sunday
The first Sunday in Lent, Quadragesima meaning
‘fortieth’, for the forty days of Lent, (see 10th Feb).
White Sunday in Medieval Germany. Making
a wish while dancing round the Lenten fires or jumping the embers should
bring good fortune. Seeing seven bonfires protects against witches.
Orthodoxy Sunday
Held on the first Sunday of Lent and
commemorating the restoration of the use of icons in the church in 842
AD, and the triumph over all heresies.
St. Kelin’s Day
Celtic patron spirit of equitation (horse riding). Wear a snowdrop when
on horseback to ensure good riding.
Lunar New Year (Old European)
The Celtic goddess, Brigit’s fire festival celebrating the awakening of spring, originally on the first day of February by the old calendar; Imbolc, or Oimelc meaning ‘ewe’s milk’. Brigit, or Brigid was converted to a Saint by the Christians and the feast became Candlemas, (see 1st February).
Festival of Diana (Roman)
The moon goddess and divine huntress, originally deity of the forests
and protectress of virginity.
Parentalia (Roman)
An ancient, nine-day homage to dead parents, being the first of three related festivals in February for appeasing the dead. Temples were closed, marriages forbidden and private, respectful feasts were held at the family tombs until Feralia on 21st.
Anthesterion Nourmenia (Greek)
Two-day festival honouring all of the Gods and Goddess's
On this day Valentine was beheaded after secretly performed marriages for Roman soldiers, forbidden by Emperor Claudius. He left a note, ‘Your Valentine’, and a yellow crocus to his love, Claudius’ daughter, before his execution. A yellow crocus should be worn to ensure luck in true love.
Introduced by the medieval church as the fest of love, to replace the prevalent, exotic festival of Lupercalia. Traditionally, women wrote their names on slips of paper, (valentines), and posted them into a pot from which the men randomly selected their lovers.
The Duke of Orleans writes the first true valentine, to his wife while imprisoned in the Tower of London after the Battle of Agincourt.
(Old)
St. Tryphon’s Day (Orthodox)
Vineyards and fields are sprinkled with holy water and blessed by the
priest, to prevent pests.
(Old) Feast of Júno Februa
(Roman)
Goddess of the passion of love, the month of February was named after
her. Decorate your pillow with 5 bay leaves and you will see your love
in your dreams.
Valisblot (Norse/Teutonic)
The festival to Vali, Odin's youngest son, and the birthday of Svenfjotli,
son of Sigimund.
Lupercalia (Roman)
Ancient spring festival of love and fertility, celebrated, especially
by naked youths, as a riotous and bestial, licentious, drunken revel,
in honour of Lupercus, or Faunus the horned and goat-legged fertility
god; from Lupus, the mythological suckling she-wolf mother of Romulus
& Remus, founders of Rome.
Meat Fare or Carnival
Sunday (Orthodox)
Carnival, from the Latin ‘carnis levamen’ meaning the cessation
of meat eating, the Orthodox pre-Lent fasting feast.
Siegfried's Day (Teutonic)
‘Nibelungs’ leader, hero and holder of the great dwarven treasure
who was slain by Brumhild.
Two-day festival to Aphrodite, the goddess of love, sex and beauty, and her son Eros, god of romantic and erotic love.
• Occulta Philosophia
In 1509 at the age of 23, Cornelius Agrippa sent his manuscript of De
Occulta Philosophia, the first of the three
great books of his Occult Philosophy, to his friend and teacher Johannes
Trithemius, Abbot of Spanheim, who was also Paracelsus' teacher of alchemy.
St Finan of Lindisfarne’s Day
The 7th century Bishop of Lindisfarne, and champion of the Celtic Church,
who lost the decision of the Synod of Whitby in 664, when the Roman Church
was adopted.
Last day of the Celtic Tree Month of Rowan.
Seventh century Irish monk who became diplomat and bishop of Lindisfarne.
Feast of Artemis (Greek)
Two-day feast and one of many, to the queen of the wild beasts, goddess
of the hunt and later the moon, to whom human sacrifice was made, and
of fertility and birth.
Celtic Tree Month of Ash (Nuin) begins.
FIRST DAY OF PISCES
Birthday of Minerva
(Roman)
Goddess and patron deity of craftsmen, teachers and doctors.
Sexagesima
The second Sunday before Lent
• Copernicus Day
1473-1543; the birthday of Nicolaus Copernicus, in Torun, Poland, the
great astronomer who discovered that the sun, not the earth was at the
centre of our solar system; accused of heresy by the Church.
The Mother of Creation; reverence and a vegetarian sacrifice is offered to the life-giver one hour after midday, when she gave birth to the hairy-backed child Carmelita, who later moulted.
Day of Tacita (Roman)
The silent goddess, who prevents hostile speech and unfriendly mouths.
• Rune-dragon Sighting
On the night of the new moon in February is the time when Svartnir,
the ancient Norse dragon of time and the runes, can be seen flying over
the mountains in its endless cycle of the world. DR
Second Sunday in Lent
United States: President's
Day
Full Moon
Feralia Terminilia
(Roman)
A dark rite with overtones of witchcraft and magic, at which sheep were
sacrificed to the spirits of the dead.
Smaragdie
The finding of The Emerald Tablet, the original alchemical texts of Hermes
Trismegistus, discovered by Sara in Hermes’ tomb at Hebron, albeit
previously found by Alexander the Great. The tablet, known as the Tabula
Smaragdina, was inscribed with thirteen most sapient lines in Phoenician,
including the famous ‘As above, so below …’.
• Gallows Reprieve
The 23rd February in 1885 was the execution
day of murderer, John ‘Babbacombe’ Lee from Devon. Following
the failure of the gallows trapdoor on three successive occasions at
Exeter gaol, the condemned man was reprieved.
The central day of the Anthesteria festival including a procession with Dionysus himself riding on a ‘ship’.
Feast of St. Ethelbert of Kent
Anglo-Saxon pagan king, converted to be the first Christian King of
England. Received St. Augustine at Thanet in 597 AD and installed him
as Archbishop of England, in Canterbury.
St Walpurgis’ Day
English saint who died this day in Germany 799, who was confused with
the pagan goddess Walburga.
Anthesteria (Greek)
Final day of the festival honouring Dionysus as Plouton, God of the
Dead. This was a sombre day with offerings on behalf of the dead to
placate hostile spirits.
Day of Mut (Egyptian)
Ancient goddess wearing a vultures crest, equated with the sky and with
snakes.
Day of Mihr (Armenian)
Mihr is the original form of the Greek and Roman Mithras. He is the
lord of ordeal by fire and presides over judgment of the soul at death.
Quinquagesima Sunday; Shrove
Sunday; Tippling Sunday
The first day of, and the Sunday before Lent, exactly fifty days before
Easter, when clergy and laity drank the last of their liquor.
Whispering Sunday in Ireland, from the matchmaking that took place on this day.
• Michael Sendivogius’ Transmutation
1556-circa 1636, a Polish alchemist who worked
at the Court of Emperor Rudolph II at Prague, where he successfully
demonstrated an apparent transmutation in 1604.
• Mirk Monday
On the afternoon of this day in 1652, a Monday, there was a great and
total eclipse of the sun throughout Britain, causing birds to fall from
the sky, astronomers and country folk alike to think it was a reliving
of the Lord’s Passion and the Welsh and the Irish were seen to
“run about beating”. In Scotland the day was remembered
as Mirk Monday.
Shrove Tuesday (also
Pancake Day, Carnival, Mardi Gras
and Violet Tuesday)
The last chance for feasting, drinking, sport and dance before the long
Lent fast.
The ‘pancake bells’ are rung at 11 am, signalling the start
of the day’s pancake feast, using up the last of the provisions
of eggs, milk and flour.
Apprentices ran wild and ‘Shrovetide football’, a huge-scale,
chaotic cross between Gaelic hurling, football and rugby, was played
all over Britain, now surviving in only six locations. Cock-squailing
(throwing), and cock-fighting’s biggest day of the year. Whipping
Toms thrashed revelers, (now ‘tops’), in commemoration of
driving-out the Vikings in 1002.
FEBRUARY 29th is also known as Sadie Hawkins Day.
Rules of courtship were more strict in years past. Women who were hoping to marry their beaus had to wait for a proposal; they were not allowed to pop the question themselves... except on one day, every four years. You guessed it, on Feb 29!
Sadie Hawkins Day, developed out of the popular cartoon strip "Li' Abner" by Al Capp. In her article in the Baltimore Sun on Feb 29, 1992, writer Sandra Crockett writes- "a female character named 'Sadie Hawkins' who lived in the fictional town Dogpatch was having a tough time getting a man to propose to her. Her father, the mayor of said fictional town, declared one day, 'Sadie Hawkin's' day. The unmarried women in Dogpatch ran -- literally -- after unmarried men to propose that day."
The tradition actually started with St. Patrick and St. Bridget (5th Century) in Ireland. St. Bridget complained to St. Patrick that the sisters in her nunnery were in despair because the prevailing tradition at the time -- that women had to wait for a proposal of marriage from a man. St.Patrick agreed to allow women to propose to men every four years, during Leap Year. Afterwards, Bridget proposed to Patrick only to be turned down!
So women, February 29th is you're day to ask that special someone. Just keep your eye out for St. Patricks.
