Category Archives: Days and Seasons

St. Valentine’s Day 2019

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The skull and other relics of St. Valentine, a priest martyred in Rome during the early centuries of Christianity, now kept on a side altar in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Cosmedin in Rome.

The skull and other relics of St. Valentine, a priest martyred in Rome during the early centuries of Christianity, now kept on a side altar in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Cosmedin in Rome.

With the modern celebration of Valentine’s Day nearly upon us, can thoughts of love magic be far behind? A number of traditional ways to win another’s heart have been used over the years. One way a woman could win a man’s heart was by feeding him food into which she had mixed some of her own blood (menstrual blood was especially effective). Catching the reflection of mating birds in a mirror on Thursday was the first step in a more complicated love spell. After catching the reflection, a person would give the mirror to his or her chosen and once the receiver looked into the mirror, they would be irresistibly infatuated with the mirror-giver. (Both of these methods are employed by different women in Come Hell or High Water.) Or a woman might resort to the much more simple use of caraway seeds, cloves, or coriander to win the affection of the man she had chosen. One English love potion included the kidney of a rabbit, the womb of a swallow, and the heart of a dove while an ancient Greek love potion used a stallion’s semen or a mare’s vaginal discharge.

Garlic, saffron, ginger, or even vanilla(!) were more likely to be used in erotic magic, which was less concerned with affection, and more likely to be aimed by men at women. Wax images could be pierced by pins to incite lust. Striking the intended with hazel or willow branches was also thought to inspire lust. Or you could obtain a few hairs from your intended’s head, tie them in a knot with twine, and then keep the amulet on your thigh or around your genitals to draw your intended’s attentions.

Of course, there were ways to deflect this sort of magic as well. Lily or lettuce could break love spells or decrease lust and thwart unwanted attentions. Just be sure not to confuse which herbs you feed to which guest at your table!

There is also an interesting article about the development and history of Valentine’s Day by NPR.

It was a Norse custom to give a newlywed couple enough mead (i.e. honey wine) to last for a month. Hence, our term “honeymoon” ti describe the first weeks of marriage.

Presentation of Christ: The Encounter

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This 10th century Byzantine manuscript illumination depicts the Presentation of Christ when he was 40 days old, described inthe Gospel of St. Luke.

In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Presentation of Jesus–an early episode in the life of Jesus, describing his presentation at the Temple in Jerusalem is described in the Gospel of Luke and which combines the purification rite with the Jewish ceremony of the redemption of the firstborn (Luke 2:23–24)–is celebrated as one of the twelve Great Feasts, and is usually called Hypapante (“Meeting” or “Encounter” in Greek).

In this episode, Christ encounters the elderly Simeon and Anna, representatives of the Chosen People who anxiously await the coming of the Messiah. The emphasis is less on his presentation in the temple (which was to “buy back” the first-born son, a Jewish practice that looks back to the death of the first-born in Egypt) or the purification of his mother (women were considered impure because of the blood shed during childbirth) and more on this face-to-face meeting of Christ and those who look for him. This encounter becomes the model for the encounter between Christ and all those who pray, receive Holy Communion, or otherwise look to meet Christ in the circumstances of their own lives. Simeon and Anna become the model for all the faithful throughout history.

In Western Christianity, there is an additional name for this day: Candlemas. This feast day is also known as the Purification of the Blessed Virgin or the Presentation of the Lord. In the Roman Catholic Church, the Presentation is the fourth Joyful Mystery of the Rosary. Also, in the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion and the Lutheran Church, the episode was also reflected in the once-prevalent custom of “churching” new mothers–coming to church for the first time–forty days after the birth of a child.

Candlemas (February 2, 2019)=Beginning of Spring

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Marking the 40th day after Christmas, Candlemas celebrates the triumph of light/spring over darkness/winter. Candles blessed on this day were among the most powerful talismans available to ordinary folk in the Middle Ages.

Candlemas, the name taken from the custom of blessing the year’s supply of candles on this day, is the 40th day after Christmas and marks the day Jesus was brought into the Temple by the Mother of God and acclaimed by the elder Simeon as “the light of revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of … Israel.” He also told the Mother of God that a sword would pierce her own heart during the ministry of her Son.

Candlemas, attached to the older feast of Imbolc and the quarter-day between Winter Solstice and Vernal Equinox and thus marking the first day of spring, was even more popular than Christmas in many areas (such as those under the influence of Byzantium and Byzantine Christian culture). People would flock to the churches to obtain the candles blessed on this day as the power of these candles to dispel darkness, death, illness, demons, and nearly anything else that might be considered dangerous to humans was widely reputed to make them the most powerful weapons in the medieval arsenal against evil.

It was also common in western Europe for new archbishops or other leading churchmen to receive their pallium (the “stole,” a vestment similar to a scarf that drapes around the shoulders) on this day, woven from wool sheared from lambs on St. Agnes’ day (January 21).

10th century illumination of St. Gregory the Great wearing his pallium.

10th century illumination of St. Gregory the Great wearing his pallium.