The period of January 22nd - February 18th is covered by the Rowan (Mountain Ash) and is known by Caorthann in Irish. The Rowan was very revered by the ancient Irish. It was believed that the first woman was created from a Rowan and it was said that fairies would dance around this tree on moonlit nights.
The ancient feast of Imbolc or Imbolg falls in this period. Imbolc comes from the old Irish, I mbolg which means “in the belly”. This referred to the impending birth of animals such as lambs. It was a festival which revolved around the family where fires or candles would be lit in homes to welcome the promise of the coming Spring and a time of renewal.
The feast fell on what’s now known as the Christian festival of St. Brigid’s day. St. Brigid has both pre-Christian and Christian relevance as Brigid or Brig, was a Goddess of the Tuatha Dé Danann (an ancient mythical Irish race) but Brigid was also a powerful female figure in the early Christian and as we see in this illustration, the echo of a famous Irish tradition, the St. Brigid’s Cross, beneath the roots of the Rowan.
The Ogham, (ancient Irish writing), is two horizontal lines to the right side of a stone.
Illustration from an original by Margaret McKenna
Greetings Cards |
Dimension (L x W x H) | 148 x 105 x 2 Millimetre |
Weight | 25 Gram |