Celtic, Pagan, Early Christian-Get it On.

February 1st through 2nd are a high holy gathering of ancient traditions and conquered cultures.

We start off with Brigid, or Bridhe, a strong Celtic beauty who has everything from fertility to weaving to bestow good luck upon. She’s an all around good one to ask anything from if you ask me. The Catholics, after many decades, finally got the upper hand in the area and were kind enough to keep Brigid but made her a Christian Saint.
As a saint, she is said to have set up many missions and lived to be a ripe old age. She is considered the Patroness of Ireland. One tradition says to leave some cake on your front door for Brigid and you will be lucky the rest of the year.

Imbolc is a pagan cross quarter holidays. Falling between winter and spring, you still have some praying to do to get through the winter. Astrologically, 15 degrees of Aquarius is official Imbolc but the 1st or 2nd will do.

Candlemas is the Purification of Mary. Mary brought Jesus to the temple for the first time (40 days after birth by tradition) and was purified of the birth blood. This is the time to purify and bless the candles you will use for the rest of year as it’s thought they will better protect you against the dark forces.

The Festival of Februlia is a Roman celebration of passionate love. The raring to go urges at the end of winter burst out into the warm spring. Probably without pants.
The Goddess Februa is patroness of this passion and as is usual, burn something in her honor and whisper filthy things in her astral ear.

Groundhog’s Day. Well, perhaps a li’l lackluster. Wait for varmint to come out of hole. But, it’s a tradition and perhaps while you are waiting for Groundhog to appear, you can scope the crowd for somebody to celebrate the rest of this stuff with.

There’s a lot of energy out there just waiting to be grabbed up. Knowing it’s out there, believing it, is the first, and biggest, step. How do you want to observe?
Candles are good. Flowers. Cake. Some for you, some for Brigid, some for the kindred spirit you picked up at the Groundhog hole. Enjoying yourself is always the best way to grab on to energy.

Dark, Voodoo Magic

Thankee, Uncka Jeemy! A box o’ Starbucks Decaf Espresso Pods. This will be just the thing for our remaining Cold Times. “Decaf”, you say? Yeah. Well, I can add some real stuff right underneath the pod and get just the right mix. A full brew of real caffeine would make this Holiday Hostess, and those around her, most unhappy. And we about the happy!

SkyTonight.com - This Week’s Sky at a Glance-Friday 19, Jan “”

Venus is crazy bright right after sunset. Look to the west and over to the left. It’s hard to miss. Venus has been mistakenly thought to be an UFO for centuries.

Mercury is visible right around sunset, but it’s so low on the western horizon it’s challenging for most city dwellers. Find a tall building for viewing? Some nice rooftop bar. Or just a roof where you can sneak up your own cooler. Improvise dedicated sky watchers!

Lello 45900 Ariete Espresso/Cappuccino Maker

Agent Ackme and I also treated ourselves to Licor 43 and new Espresso machines.
(Ackme’s counter is pictured)

Licor 43 is a Spanish liqueur with hundreds of years of lore behind it. They claim it came about at the same time as the founding of Carthage. 43 ingredients. I would imagine some of the ingredients have changed around since then.

The espresso machine is a beast. Sturdy, mostly metal construction. Agent Ackme says it works damn well. A Lello 45900 Ariete Espresso/Cappuccino Maker. 99 bucks on Amazon.

Caffeine and booze. That’ll keep the holiday feel.

Le Feline et Parfume

The Holiday Season was officially over Sunday. The day after Epiphany. A few houses around here kept the lights up until then. Sad to have to wait another year for it.

I got an after Holiday Treat of Jo Malone cologne. Very odd mixtures of scents that last for quite a while. Strong stuff, this. I got the Amber and Lavender and a Bulgarian Rose. They were out of the pomegranate. I will be going back.

Dirk might have liked the smell but he really enjoyed the bag.

So far, so good in the new year.