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Julian Cope presents Head Heritage

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Rock Art Mystery
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TomBo
TomBo
1629 posts

Re: 3 cheers for the big B
Oct 10, 2003, 16:22
"At her festival at Imbolc it was common (or so I have read) to drive cattle between two fires as an act of purification."

As far as I know that's a Beltane rite, not Imbolc. The idea was that the fire killed all the ticks etc. that had built up in the animals' fur over the winter before they were sent out onto the higher pastures for the summer (Beltane being the start of summer and all). Fire was involved with Imbolc rites, but these (symbolic rather than practical) practices were bound up with the coming of the milk - Imbolc means "lactation" because it is at this time of year that animals first start to produce milk:

"Usually milk is very scarce in January but the old people used to say during the month when they heard of anyone complaining of the scarcity of milk - 'it won’t be scarce very long now as Brid and her white cow will be coming round soon.' I heard that some of the older women of the Parish take a blessed candle to the cow’s stall on Bridget’s Eve and singe the long hair on the upper part of the cow’s udder so as to bring a blessing on her milk."
- From the manuscript collections of the Department of Irish Folklore, 899:258-9, 900:120
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