"Nature never did betray the heart
that loved her!"
by W. Wordsworth ("apparently inspired by the Poet Goddess Brid")
as recounted by L. Cabot./Celebrate The Earth.........

Imbolc is also called The Festival of Lights.
Thus the promise of Spring is begun!

February 1-2/ Transition from Winter to Spring begins

"Tuatha de Danann"
translates:
"The Children of the Goddess Danu" !
Yet we also welcome those who know
Godde/Goddess/Creator/Creatress
by another name or names.
Those on any chosen path to reach
Eternal Love.
One would need to understand our faith in their heart of hearts,
to comprehend why we believe in love for all beings & nature.
To make this comprehension readily accessable, we will simply explain
one beautiful aspect of our faith.
We percieve what some call the "creator" or "creatrix",
"The Source", as unlimited by mortal restrictions!
Unlimited to a strictly human male or female form.
Unlimited by being "made into the image" of
whatever physical form/colour or gender
the ruling political/religious or social class happens to hold at the time.
Unlimited by time or space.
So for us, is most accurately described as a Loving Eternal Shapeshifter.
Meaning that being unlimited, the Creator/Creatress can appear in
whatever form he/she *(Yje) desires!
And Being merciful, will often appear at times of great need or crisis
or at the moment of your passing-
in whatever form you recognize as most comforting.
(Note:This has also been validated by millions of N.D.E.'s, O.B.E.'s; etc.
of people of various cultures.)
* "Yje"is a non-gender specific word for pronouns: he/she/him/her.

Only when one has opened one's spirit enough & looked beyond any cultural or social conditioning,does one realize the unlimited diverse potential & omnipotent loving nature of this Supreme Being of
Eternal Love & Life!

In keeping with our faith one would believe that both male & female
are created in the Image of the "Supreme Being"
("The Source" or "Supreme Love/Life Energy" )
& have every potential for spiritual equality.
(When you are finished here, you can learn more in our
Faery/Merfolk/Shamanic Faith Realm
if you are an Enchanted Vale Member.)

However, Here in this Imbolc Realm,
we include ideas from several compatible faiths & traditions.

Danu: "The Mother Goddess"
Also Known as: The Faery Queen Mother !
The Flower Faced Faery Queen
& The Faery Queen Giver of Life.

At Imbolc, The Faery Queen Mother, is envisioned
wearing a crown of eight 7-pointed Sidhe-Stars!
(& Irish Brighid, a radiant crown of eight candles,
with tiny 5-pointed stars at the bases of them.!)
You can make an Elven-7-Pointed Star Celtic Knotwork
or a Sidhe-9pointed Star knotwork
& put perfumed dried flowers in the middle.
Representing The Invisible
All Seeing Spiritual Third-Eye
of the Faery Queen Mother.
For Merfolk/Water-Fey one may also
place an aqua stone in the middle.

If you have been to our Yule Realm, you already know how to make a
Faery Branch Wand which can be used year `round.
You can also make a wand like this one below.

Both Danu & Brid (Breo-saighit of the Spirit.)
(also known as Brighid, Brigit, Bridgit, Bride, etc.)
are said to represent
Guardian of All Knowledge
& Keeper of All Memory !
Danu actually coming first & Brid being a later representation
of one possesssing these qualities.
This makes sense when one considers that Brid would
have been a descendent and
Daughter of of Danu-The Original Mother.
Some view them as more or less, one in the same.
Thus both or either could symbolically represent
The Goddess-Mother of Nature with the seed of spring
nurtured inside her protective womb to Celtic people at Imbolc.
Brid (or Brighid..) became a major mother goddess
central to Ireland & Celtic Europe. As a triple goddess she had
aspects appealing to both genders & various people.
While representing Midwifery, poetry, creativity,healing, protection-
she also represented fire, skill in metal-work & smith-craft,
as well as The Martial Arts.
Offering strength & protection- both in childbirth & in battle,
it is easy to see why she was loved by woman & man.
After the Christian conversions of many of the Irish peoples,
Brigid was the one Goddess they could never be forced to give up.
*To this day she is invoked for protection from poverty and arrest.*
They simply made her mother of all the new dieties & "saints"
of the new religion & she continued to reign as Queen of Heaven.

An Imbolc Chant For Brighid of The Free. A Sidhe Chant for you and me. Sweet Queen Brighid, Darling Daughter of Danu. Triple Queen of Souls, How dearly we adore You. For your festival women, may you keep all ladies free, And Also the Lads & Lasses, By The Will of The Shining Sidhe. Sweet Brighid, Beloved Faekith Queen. May we remain forever free, to live as life's glad testimony. And to honour You daily & on Imbolc Eve, so lovingly. Sweet Queen Brighid, Darling Daughter of Danu. Triple Queen of Souls, How dearly we adore You. Sweet Brighid, Beloved Faefolk Queen. In blessing one another, Blessed so are wee. In freeing one another, may we stay forever free And in loving one another, May we also honour Danu & Thee. Keep us free, Keep us Freeeeee! Dear Sweet Brighid, Beloved Faefolk Queen. By The Love of Mother Nature's Fae, We Wish It Be! So Mote It Be! Happy Imbolc, Forever Free, We Wish It Be! So Mote It Be! flwrfey (c)99

Ho'

Feast Celebrations & Reflections & Traditions.
Sunflowers are very healing this time of year.
Children can make them into faery dollies & put a little face on each.
They can also make dried corn-dollies of Faeries or Brid.

If you are Hawaaiian or Polynesian keep your eyes out for Menehunes,
who are very buzy this time of year with all the spring cleaning going on.
And the need to quickly build some outdoor storage sheds
for storing that extra clutter that shouldn't be in the house.
They are master craftspeople.
Watch out for them at night, since they feel that
if it can't be built in a night , it isn't worth building.
Some are very tiny & some grow up to a foot tall in height.
They run around naked, since their beautiful long hair
is enough to protect their modesty, in such a warm tropical climate !
They are very mischievious! Thus they are often blamed for other's mishaps,
even when they are innocent. A Butter-Fly Faery friend of ours,
told us they were already out & about at night- preparing for Faery-Imbolc
several days in advance, thus she spotted them. While often wearing
flower-wreath crowns, at imbolc they wear a crown of seven elven-stars!

Also, if you are Irish or part Irish,
now is a particularly good time for reflecton this part of your heritage.
Those honouring The Ancient Catti-Tribe of Ireland,
should begin making your spring cat-people costumes now.
Wishes should be woven into all you make, including any Celtic Knotwork.
Picture by S.S.Boulet-Thankyou

Now is a fun time for children to make stone circles, placing flowers within.
Place 8 large stones evenly spaced in a circle to reflect the year-wheel.
Reflect on Ancient stone circles that were the medicine wheels for
ancient pagan europeans, as they marked the seasons, sun, moon & stars.
Remember those deep within the collective consciousness & in your psyche.
Stonehenge ="the Giant's Dance" & the smaller circle near
Killarney = "The Dance of the Seven Maidens".
Stones are very powerful symbols now,
so now is a good time to make your own runes.
If you have plenty of snow, try making a labyrinth in the snow.
If it is warmer where you live, try making a more permanent labyrinth.

Rejoice in some Ancient Irish Traditions
& enjoy some Irish & Celtic Music & Recipes.

Brid's feast to symbolize life-affirmation & fertility
consists mainly of creamy milk & eggs.
This menu is also good for The Cat-People!
Many sauces & other treats can be made with cream & eggs.

The Feast of The Faery Queen Mother & The Fey is:
little shortbreads, breads or pastries dipped in Faery Wine
&/or Heather Honey.
Every Imbolc evening you must leave some of these
treats out for the Fey, birds & other animals.
The day after, you must take some of the Imbolc treats to friends
who are lonely, in trouble, or those sick in bed or in the hospital.
If you share-your goodness will come back three-fold.
If you are selfish- you willl likely have less next year!

(The Scots seem to have a Heather Honey recipe
that was a gift from Faery Queens! Magically delicious!)

Here is a recipe for Faery Wine !

Faery Wine Recipe:
2 tsp honey or Heather Honey
3 cups milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
cinnamon (to taste)
dash of brown-sugar (to taste)

In many Religions, Faiths & Traditions:
The Goddess is said to thrive in her Crone phase
in much of winter into February, except at Imbolc.
Here, Mother Nature
(in which-ever names/forms you recognize & honour her)
appears in her pregnant Maiden form:
wondrous Protector, Healer & Patron of Creative Inspiration!
(The Sun-Seed carressed safely with-in, untill the sun-child
may more fully imerge again at Beltane.)
At Imbolc many Irish & Celtic Wiccans & Pagans honour
The Celtic Triple Goddess Brid, in her pregnant maiden aspect.
Brigit (Brid) is the central Irish Goddess. Brigantia is her English name.
Bride is her Scottish name. Brid's star has 5 points.
You can make her a celtic-knotwork star & put perfumed dried flowers
in the middle. (called "The Eye of The Goddess" )
Brid is said to be "foster mother" to so many vital & treasured traditions,
that she also speacks to her devoted followers
of the Celtic Lady of the Lake.
The Celtic Lady of the Lake's main roles are as
magical instructor & teacher.
(She is one of the Flower-Women)
Brid, (as does the Fairy Queen Mother)
empowers her devotees & students with the wisdom & desire
to nurture the land, keeping it productive & safe for all creatures.


Venus ! Art-Picture by Susan Seddon Boulet

Imbolc-Reflecting on Romance !
This is a good time to reflect on what loving things
you can do.Also to project for wishes & goodwill
for others. It is fun to reflect on romantic heroes & heroines, such as Titania & Oberon of Faerie Lore-
The Love Goddesses Venus & Aphrodite
are very important . And who can forget Cupid ?
Valentine's Day is jusy around the corner.
(When done here,Try our Valentine & Cupid Realm too.)
So start making your dreams a reality now.
Begin getting the wheels in motion.
Start making your Love gifts, art, poems & plans
for celebration now.
Don't wait till the last minute. No-one likes being forgotten.
Also acts of kindness or cruelty are amplified at this time,
& also the "Karma" they create.
So please be nice !

This picture by S.S.Boulet !Thankyou!

Try our Valentine & Cupid Realm too.

Fae-Mer-Sha Folk FaithRealm
If you are an Enchanted Vale Member.

Back to Holiday House Index

Email

This Realm is New, More To Come !

A Magical Merfolk & Faekith Vale
Website Stories & Design by flwrfey™ © 99

Credits & Disclaimers:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*This is a non profit website*
This is *not* a free-graphics site.
*Please do not ever take unoffered images
from people's homepages,.*
Please use your search engines & your own time
to visit the free graphics sites,
or professional graphics, sites to find images &
negotiate terms for use for yourselves
(& follow their instructions for use for yourselves)*
-Read Disclaimer
flwrfey™ © 99-2000

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Copyrights of images remain with their respective owners
& our original image's copyrights remain with us too.
All images at our website are created by us
or their use was negotiated
with the kind permission of their creators,
owners or their representatives..
This page created by the noted help
of the artistic genius Susan Seddon Boulet.
Thankyou so much.
The Fae Friends image from Froud,
is from a graphic's site,
using the search words (Froud & Fairy)
Also many thanks for the gifted Froud.

All Our Website Realms-
copyright 1997 & 1998 & 1999- flwrfey™ © 99 & 2000
A Magical Merfolk & Faekith Vale
Tinkerbella & Kittie's Emerald Forest Isle
flwrfey ©97 & 98 & 99 & 2000
(The Flower-Fey Sisters)