imbolc2002

Spirits of Nature
The Newsletter of the University of Bristol Earth Religions Society

Imbolc/Candlemas

The eight festivals or Sabbats of the Pagan year include four Solar Sabbats (the solstices and equinoxes) and four harvest Sabbats. Imbolc is the first harvest Sabbat after Yule, the winter solstice, when the sun God is reborn.
Imbolc falls on the 2nd of Feb, and by this time the return of the sun would have been obvious to our ancestors (through the increasing day length). Imbolc also marks the start of the natural calving season, and thus the harvest of milk.
It is traditional at this time to light white candles in honour of the infant sun, often standing one in the window to welcome the new light into our homes. At Imbolc we feast upon dairy produce, and more recently, spicy food to represent the sun. Milk or cream is left out as an offering to land spirits. The colour of this festival is white, so we dress our altars in white flowers and may wear white. It is a time of purification in preparation for the spring. This is reflected in the Christian festival of Candlemas the time of purification for Mary and Jesus’ presentation at the temple.
It was traditionally believed that if the dawn of Imbolc was bright and sunny we were in for another six weeks of winter, yet if it was dull, spring was just around the corner. This belief remains in the form of the American festival of Groundhog Day.
The Celtic festival, Saint Brighid’s day, takes place on this day too. Brighid was a Celtic sun goddess, turned saint in the advent of Christianity. The festival involves candlelit processions and the purification of the fields and seeds in preparation for planting in the spring.
Next: Ostara, Spring Equinox March 20th

Events
Tues. 12th Feb 7pm, union
Speaker: Natural magick. Followed by Social in the Epi.
Sat. 16th Feb, Trip to Glastonbury. Have your own transport or arrange a space in someone else’s car. Activities will include shopping, and visiting a variety of interesting places!
Tues. 19th Feb 7pm,union.
Speaker- Chaos magick. Followed by social in the Epi.
Beltane Camp: Provisional date; Sat 4th May. Much feasting and merriment around the campfire. In celebration of our spring festival.
Stonehenge, 19th April. A rare chance to get up close to the stones, in a special after hours opening. Ł18 members Ł20 non-members, includes travel and entry to the site.

Pagan Pathways

Here is a space where our members can talk about their own path and practices. There is no central dogma in Paganism and we are free to follow any path we choose, even to combine several. Today we tackle a controversial topic, the dark side.

There’s no such thing as a white witch; coming to terms with your shadow self.

People are often surprised when I tell them I am not a white witch, it is assumed that this must make me an evil old hag, cursing everyone I see.
This fortunately is not the case, when I say I am not truly good and pure of heart, I am purely acknowledging my true nature. I can be evil, I get angry, I yell at my partner, I get stressed, I have the capacity for hate, selfishness and sloth; I’m no angel. Neither is anyone else.
When I say these things I am merely acknowledging my shadow self, my inner demons, the socially unacceptable part that we all try to hide from polite society.
Sometimes we try too hard to be good. We spend all our time helping out others and leave no time or energy for ourselves, then one day we snap, those repressed demons will find a way out. Allowing your shadow self out for air every now and again is healthy. It stops the day-to-day struggle to be helpful and hard working from driving you crazy.
I am generally a fairly nice person, I can be helpful and kind, I get my essays in on time (at least most of the time), I am nice to animals and love my partner and family very much. It’s all about balance you see.
If you are having a busy week and seem to be rushed off your feet, accept that part of you wants to be a bit lazy; take time to indulge it by spending an hour or so sitting on your arse being totally unproductive, and don’t feel guilty about it; when you’re done you will find it much easier to get on with behaving yourself.
Better that we tame and train our inner demons than ignore them and leave them to run riot when we least expect it.
When you stand in the light you will always cast a shadow.

The Pentagram

There is much symbolism in the Pagan world, many signs and sigils, a variety of symbols to wear around our necks; yet none has ever caused as much confusion, or fear, as the pentagram.
It is a common misconception that the pentagram is the symbol of anti-Christianity; indeed the inverted pentagram is frequently used for this purpose (as is the inverted crucifix.) However Paganism has little or nothing to do with Christianity or its archetypes (ie the devil).
The roots of the pentagram run much deeper than this: Pythagoras used it as a symbol of health (possibly because it resembles a spread-eagled human); Christian crusaders painted the symbol on their shields for protection.
To many Pagans today the pentagram represents the five elements of Earth, Air, Fire, Water and Spirit in perfect balance and harmony. Turn the pentagram into a force vector diagram and it is in perfect equilibrium. The destructive powers of nature equalled by creation. The universe made stable, with all the forces of nature in harmony, now that doesn’t seem so bad, does it?

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