Wishing you all a blessed passing through Brighid’s Day and Imbolc 2024. Those of you not in Ireland may be aware this is now a public holiday here. The Holiday Monday is the first Monday after 1st February. So Brighid honouring and celebrations will be stretching from putting the Brat Brid cloths out tonight, 31st January, and wringing out the dew the following morning, to use as ‘holy water’, will last well onto next Monday.
This year Brighid’s time in Ireland is more engaging as the celebration is focused on Brighid 1500, assuming this is 1500 years since the most popular date of Brighid’s death.
So here is a review of where I am with Nature Folklore as we transition from this month.
As I am still working to complete my 2023 goal of completing ‘Ogham Prompts’ course modules series that I am still behind with, partially due to viruses that seem to not go away, but I believe I am repairing now.
I have four more modules to share with you to complete the cycle. Three of them have three parts, and the completion will have 4 parts. My goal is, at present, to get one part to you every day from Monday 5th February until the entire 20 module cycle is within your reference well before February is done.
‘Ogham Prompts’ is sustaining as a supporting paid patron subscription package to attempt to cover my expenses with producing and running this. Some free material on this series will come out from time to time, but to make it work, the cost is very low compared to what is charged for similar elsewhere, even as books.
Once the full cycle of ‘Ogham Prompts’ is with you it does not mean you are committed to reading them as soon as they arrive. :-). This is an ongoing reference collection.
What I want to work on, once I have these first modules with you, is work on the modules through the seasons again. But this time add video clips, interviews and more interactive opportunities with you, including offline meet-ups, to make this more useful and enjoy good craic with this subject too.
As for my ‘Nature Folklore’ series of series, this is generally wrapped up for support subscribers soon after publishing, but I will be opening up a lot more quality free items for you to ponder and maybe follow though as I go along too.
Free subscribers will not be ignored :-) I love having you read and comment on what I publish.
Coming up very soon are expansions of the ‘Discovering The Sidhe’ and ‘Us And Trees’ series.
So as we move into Brighid’s Day here is the link to my overall Brighid almanac and resources.
You are still in time, if you open this newsletter right away, to get your Brat Brid cloth out.
Conditions are perfect here in Ireland tonight as many places around Ireland may have a frosty morning tomorrow morning. Tradition is to wring out the cloth dampened by the night and frost, and then use that collected water in a similar way holy water may be used from a Holy Well, or collected from rain water collected in a sacred bullaun stone. People usually use the same cloth year after year. I wash mine in a clean holy well each summer, but everyone has different ways with this. I do not know anyone who burns their Brat Brid after use?
So here’s to a blessed Imbolc and February everyone, and I am deeply grateful to you for supporting ‘Nature Folklore’ …
You are going to be a very busy man with all this, John... thank you! I hope Brigid sends you some healing so you dont get any more viruses, and I wish you all the blessings for the season! Happy Imbolc to you! 💕
Whew! I hate to sound like a nagging mother or wife, but I do worry about how hard you push yourself, John. Getting well should be, in my unasked for opinion, the number one goal for you. I am excited about Brighid's Day, John, and will celebrate online on February 6th with my local group. I'll be making bannocks for myself and Brighid.