St. Brigid

Good morning y'all,

It's... whoa, been since October that I've written? What's up with that? Hmm... I continue to blame Facebook, plus I've been doing some freelance work at Guru.com, so there you have it.

A couple of years ago I wrote a fun note on celebrating St. Brigid's Day (today) and you can check it out here, if you like. St. Brigid's Day is on old Celtic celebration, called "Imbolc", and somehow has survived even in our modern world. Weird! Yet cool ;-)

Life has been going along not too badly. We somehow made it through January; a month plagued by deep-freeze temperatures, big, hulking piles of snow, and an extraordinarily inconvenient bus strike that, after 51 **ckin days, finally curled up its toes last week and died. The buses won't all be functioning for long unexplained weeks to come, so it means, I'll still be driving the Boy to work and picking him up again. One link in the bus chain is all it would've taken to set our world back in some kind've motioned order (the #116), but no, no order for us.

But, with the dawn of a new month, fresh, bright and crisp, and my wee car functioning ok (thanks to a $250 trip to Midas *sigh*), we sally forth. Possibilities seem to open like so many lotos blooms at the beginning of anything... it's like, after about the 3rd week of a month, you figure "what the hell" and throw your arms in the air with defeat and impatience. At the start of the month, everything seems new and actually do-able. I know, days are days, and there really isn't any discernable difference. (Why should everyone hate Monday, and love Friday for instance? Purely psychological.. yes, I am a Monday-hater, and truly cherish my weekends.. *grin*) But ultimately, each day has the same 24 hours in it, sliced up neatly into apportioned minutes and seconds, each of which holds the pure potential of the doing, or the not-doing, or the simply lounging (depending on whether or not you are a procrastinator par extraordinaire...)

This month, I aim to finish up my outstanding projects and get paid (finally).. which'll be nice. Then I can link to all the fun freelanced stuff I've been semi-labouring over. It'll be exciting starting a couple of new illustration projects as well. Once I get that ball rolling, I am going to wrap up the bits and pieces left dangling around my upcoming book, and finally send the bulk of files off to a P.O.D. place, so you can all get your excited mitts on "96 Hours", my 4 successful 24 hour comics, all in one brand-spanking new format. Hurray!

Whew...
Ok, I think I'm pretty much done.
Cheerio, and good luck to you as you try and thrust your way through the chaos and organize life, the universe and your sock drawers.

Suz.

PS Here is one of the illustrations for the upcoming book from Swordfish Toys called Alphabet Madness by Simon Fish, illustrated by Suzanne Marsden. Hurray!

Another turn of the Wheel

Hope you don't mind me jumping in here Robbie with info on the winter festival of Imbolc. I know you like to explore myth and legend.. but somehow I've always felt connected to this particular holiday. And any Goddess/ Saint who can turn water into ale, encourage her sheep to make lakes of milk, helps to stoke the fires of creativity AND is the patron of a tidy house needs to be celebrated and prayed to [by ME] for sure ;-)

Merrie Imbolc!

It is the Feast of St. Brigid, (otherwise knows as Bride, Bridey, Brighid, Brigit, Briggidda and Brigantia (referring to the Celtic Brigantii tribe) Apparently pronounced "Breet", --gotta watch those "d's, "dh's" and other crazy consonents in Irish Gaelic! She is a pagan Solar/ Fire Goddess, completely intertwined with an identity as a Christian Saint.

To find out all about Imbolc, the Celtic Goddess and later Christian Saint, check out this great link: The Wheel of the Celtic Year: Imbolc

"...Early writers believed Brigid's name stemmed from breo-aigit: "fiery arrow," a false but somehow very fitting etymology for a goddess of smithcraft, and one who kindles the fires of creativity and regeneration."

Her influence is so strong, that she is still revered and celebrated to this day, especially in Ireland, where it is traditional to make St. Brigid's Crosses (counter-clockwise Swastika traditionally of wheat or oats) and light candles within the house. Old crosses are burned today & new ones made, symbolising renewal, birth and the coming of Spring.

TO CELEBRATE IMBOLC TODAY . . .

This is traditionally a time of purification; clean your house!
If you have any Christmas greenery lingering, burn it now.

Make your own Brighid's crosses and hang them up,
especially in the kitchen where her influence can bless your food.

Put out food; cake, buttered bread and milk will do, outside your door:
Brighid and her cow walk through the neighborhood tonight, and will appreciate your offering.

Leave a silk ribbon on your doorstep for Brighid to bless:
It can then be used for healing purposes.

Meditate upon what you would like to see grow in health and strength this year:
for yourself, your family, your community, the Earth,
and ask for Bride's blessing upon your prayers.

Here's an interesting link to the Wiccan side of celebrating Imbolc, written by Akasha. For the Druidic take on the Irish Goddess, this link is particularly interesting: "Brigit: The Survival of a Goddess", by Winter Cymres, 1995. For information and stories on the Christian interpretation of St. Brigit, check out: All Saint's Parish as well as the Catholic Encyclopedia (and Wikipedia has lots of good bits too.)

Happy Imbolc, may the light and blessing of the Goddess/Saint inspire another year of abundance, health and creativity.