Celtic mythology.

Celtic Mythology

IMBOLG was linked with serpentine creatures that may have embodied the combined inexorable forces of meltwaters and of heat. In Scotland, a charm was chanted that referred to a snake coming from a hole. Doubtless, this referred to some divinatory or fertility ritual whose origins and details have been lost. In the Highlands, the married women of the house created a Bridget figure from a sheaf of grain and decorated it with ribbons, flowers, or other objects. Then they made a sort of bed with rushes and grain next to the hearth. After ritually inviting Bridget to fill this bed, the women placed the figurine into it. Before carefully smoothing the ashes of the hearth, they put a straight, peeled stick of birch or similar wood beside the figure to serve as "Bridget's wand," a symbol of sovereignty or perhaps a phallic symbol. The next morning, the women examined the hearth for signs of Bridget's favour, such as the imprint of a foot or mark of the wand in the ashes. If there were no such marks, the family assumed that Bridget had been offended. Steps to appease her---such as burying a cockerel or pullet at the junction of three streams---were then taken.
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