The Bear King and the Goddess

When I was first exploring the Waincraft’s Lord of Plenty, it took me a while to truly understand what was meant in their description of this Power. Waincraft specifically describes him as a bear god, but in the deity names listed, he seems to be a bear in name etymology only (Mathgen, Math ap Mathonwy, Matunos…), for in the Celtic myths, I couldn’t find anything that described him the way that Waincraft does. 

Waincraft says of the Lord of Plenty; “Across ancient Europe, he was the Bear-King, ruler of the most noble, sacred and mysterious creature in the cultural imagination of the time. He is the protecting and preserving force that ameliorates the harshness of his brother’s realm.”

The parallel concept in Correllian traditions is the King archetype; “The King is the God passed from warrior to leader, nurturing family and community rather than merely himself.”

I came to think of the Lord of Plenty as a strong, kind, and generous King archetype, much like the character of the ghost of Christmas present in the Dickens story A Christmas Carol– but in the 1970 movie adaptation titled “Scrooge”.

And then I came across another bear connection quite by accident. I was looking up American folktales and found the story Whitebear Whittington from the book Grandfather Tales by Richard Chase. I immediately fell in love with this tale that is a cross between Beauty and the Beast and East of the Sun, West of the Moon. I was overwhelmed by the feeling that this is a sacred story full of metaphor- a deeply meaningful mythology disguised as a fairytale, and it opened up a deeper level of understanding for me.

I especially love the story Whitebear Whittington, perhaps partly because the story is a traditional Ozarks and Appalachian tale, so it feels very homey and personal with the imagery and the way it’s told. But I’ve also come to realize that a lot of other bear fairytales have the same kind of archetypal symbolism. In these stories, the bear is always a wealthy prince or a king- a figure of abundance and power. However, in Whitebear Whittington, he seemed to simply be a well-off guy– a strong and gentle man who is also a good provider. 

I think a lot of the abundance and comfort feeling of the character comes from the physicality of his bear aspect. On one hand, bears are big, powerful, and scary- so to have a bear as a protector would be very comforting. But bears are also big (abundant) and soft. I’m reminded of the story Snow White and Rose Red, in which the sisters’ mother lets a bear into their home to warm up by the fire. 

“The bear said: ‘Here, children, knock the snow out of my coat a little’; so they brought the broom and swept the bear’s hide clean; and he stretched himself by the fire and growled contentedly and comfortably. It was not long before they grew quite at home, and played tricks with their clumsy guest. They tugged his hair with their hands, put their feet upon his back and rolled him about…” –-Grimm’s Fairy Tales

So this image we have of the bear is that of strength and power, but also softness, gentleness, comfort, and abundance. He is a hibernating animal, a very earthy god- he sleeps when nature sleeps. He wakens with the spring. In the tales, he has a dual man/bear nature, until at last the enchantment is broken. If we were to think of these stories as a tale of the seasons, perhaps the spell would be broken in the spring- a peek from the cave at the Winter Thermstice (Imbolc), and full emergence at the Spring Equinox. Then the Bear King becomes a Young God- Hero/Lover- Maponos once again. 

In Whitebear Whittington, he tells his bride, “Now I got a spell on me and I can’t be a man but part of the time. From now on I can be a man of a night and stay with you here and be a bear of a day, or I can be a bear of a night and sleep under your bed and be a man of a day. Which had you rather I be?”

This is another reason I like this particular version of the bear fairytale. Whitebear does not try to hide his enchantment, his dual nature, from his bride. She is given quite a bit of choice in the nature of it even. Neither is she held there in fear, for upon arriving at their home, he says, “This house and everything in it belongs to you now, and there’s nothing here to hurt you.”

The bride is never named in this particular tale, but we know her well. She is Youngest Daughter of three sisters. As the story begins, she is a Maiden. As the story progresses, she becomes a Mother. When the story takes a turn, she visits, and wins the favor of; the Crone.

At some point in many of the hero myths, the hero often sees the colors white, red, and black, (such as red blood on white snow, and a raven feather) and decides his future bride must have those colors. 

Now white is a symbol for purity, but also for light, and youthful deities of the light half of the year, such as the Maiden. Black symbolizes death and the Crone, but also the substance of decay which creates the fertile conditions for new life to grow, and the dark half of the year. Red symbolizes life blood and fertility and is often a symbol of deities of the ripening season, and the Mother. 

This ancient color symbolism is often repeated in fairy tales as well, but more so just red and white, and sometimes dark green is in the place of black. There’s three sisters and the color symbolism is frequently present in the dresses they choose. In Whitebear Whittington, those colors are attached to Whitebear himself. (An earlier telling included the color symbolism of black as well; it was a crow that dropped feathers to lead Youngest Daughter to Whitebear. Chase changed it in the book to a white bird with red speckled feathers.) Then there’s the three drops of blood that were shed on his white fur. These colors indicate that this is a story of the mysteries of light, darkness, and the life in-between. This is Youngest Daughter’s blood, and it marks Whitebear as her own. He is hers and she must reclaim him, awaken him from his enchantment. 

Returning again to imagining the story of Whitebear as a seasonal narrative; one could conclude that it could serve as a year-round story. (Though in the actual tale, as it’s told, the events happen one after another and the time of year is unspecified.) But imagine… you could say the white rose was picked on Spring Equitherm/May Day (a time when mates are chosen), then Youngest Daughter was taken as Whitebear’s wife at Summer Solstice (June- a traditional time to get married). Their three children symbolize the harvests of the year. Whitebear’s wife leaves to visit family sometime after Autumn Equitherm/Hallows Eve and soon realizes Whitebear is gone. It would be at Winter Solstice that she receives three golden magical nuts (perhaps symbolizing a Winter Solstice triple sunrise, or their three children & three harvests of the year) from the Crone (out of the darkness, light). At Winter Thermstice/Imbolc (the time of ritual cleansing) she spots him and washes the blood from his shirt, but does not yet have him back. Then finally she finds and wakes him from his slumber and enchantment at the Spring Equinox.

Naturalistic Terms for Pagan Holidays

Many of the most popular Neopagan terms for the holidays we commemorate are problematic. This is largely due to those specific names being popularized after being published in the Green Egg in the 1970’s. Don’t even get me started on why “Mabon” isn’t a good choice of naming for the Autumn Equinox. If you don’t already know, you can go see John Halstead’s article, the Worst Named Pagan Holiday. 

Many of these names have very cultural/mythological based themes. In the past, I am someone who has explored several of the cultures of my ancestors as inspiration for my Pagan practices. But in recent years, I’ve come to the realization that I need to turn my focus to my own here-and-now culture. No matter how much they inspire me, I will never be a part of those other cultures. I am separated from them by an ocean and by hundreds of years. 

My aim is to live the best aspects of my own culture, as much as possible. So I began using some of my culture’s names for holidays, but they’re incomplete, and sometimes Christianized. There are also instances in which there is no equivalent holiday in my culture, but I want there to be one to complete the seasonal narrative. (I mean, we have “Groundhog’s Day” but no equivalent of Lùnasa at the opposite end of the year? What’s that about?!)

Now I know there will be those who are quick to point out that there was never a single ancient culture that commemorated all eight holidays of the modern Neopagan “Wheel of the Year”. Yet, they are events in Nature. Having evenly placed commemorations in the cycle of seasons seems highly appropriate for a Nature-based spirituality (though I know not all Pagans are Nature-based). There is something in Nature to celebrate or commemorate at every turn of the cycle. If there are no outward signs of its marking in my culture, then that needs adjusting.

So my solution for the names I use for the holidays– for the solstices and equinoxes, it’s simple, as they have long established scientific names. But a little lesser known is that the Cross-Quarter days have similarly established naturalistic or scientific names. They are the thermstices and the equitherms.

So the solstices mark the extreme points of the daylight cycle for the year; Winter Solstice is the shortest day and longest night, and Summer Solstice is the longest day and shortest night. Then, the thermstices mark the extreme points of the thermal cycle for the year. This is because the thermal/heat cycle lags the daylight cycle- it takes a while to feel the effects of the solstices. So… Winter Therstice is the approximate coldest part of the year, and Summer Thermstice is the approximate hottest point of the year. 

It’s along similar lines for the equinoxes; the Spring and Autumn Equinoxes are times of equal day and night, but the Spring and Autumn Equitherms are when that equilibrium has caught up in terms of temperature, as days that are likely to feel truer to the season.

Just as the dates of the solstices and equinoxes change from year to year, so do the Cross-Quarter dates of the thermstices and equitherms, and they’re often on different dates from what cultural customs dictate. The scientific method of determining the date can be more complicated than just finding the exact middle between two dates as it also takes into account local terrain shifts. You can find accurate Cross Quarter dates for your region, as well as the solstice and equinox dates for any given year- on the archaeoastronomy website.

Countdown to Imbolc/ Winter Thermstice – Holiday Planner

January 16th – 19th

• Begin early Spring deep cleaning and organizing.

• Collect juniper branches to dry out for smoke purification.

• Collect materials for Imbolc crafts.

January 20th – 23rd

• Firm up ritual plans, if you haven’t already. Will you be attending a festival, local event, a family event, or doing something on your own? If you are planning the ritual, decide on location and script/liturgy.

• Take inventory of ritual and magical supplies.

• Make candles to replenish your supply for the year (if needed).

January 24th – 27th

• Make menu plans and a grocery list for your holiday feast.

• Make garden (or windowsill garden) plans for early sprouting.

• Shop for seeds and other supplies.

• Obtain blessed water (this can simply be water from a source you consider sacred).

January 28th – February 1st

• Shop for menu items.

• Clean and bless house.

• Make Imbolc crafts and set up Imbolc altar/shrine.

• Set out a Brat Bríde (a strip of fabric or ribbon for Bríde to bless when she stops by your house).

Three Sacred Colors

(This article has been updated. The previous title was “Imbolc Color Symbolism”.)

In the Carmina Gadelica, Alexander Carmichael writes, “Bríde with her white wand is said to breathe life into the mouth of the dead Winter and to bring him to open his eyes to the tears and the smiles, the sighs and the laughter of Spring.”

The legends and traditions of the goddess and the saint are so intertwined that there may be no way of knowing which elements are pre-Christian and which are not. There is no written record of what came before, and the traditions that carry the namesake of the saint are so rich in Pagan meaning, that I would think it safe to assume (as most Pagans do assume) that their origins are pre-Christian.

The symbolism of the color white is seen again and again- she has a white wand and a white cow (with red ears!)… in Scotland on Bríde’s Feast Day, young girls dressed all in white made a doll out of straw or grain stalks and paraded her through town. They, and the doll, were considered Bríde personified. Modern associations with the color white are with themes of purity and virginity. But did the ancients have these same associations? Some of my Pagan friends are of the opinion that the tradition of wearing white for Imbolc is a patriarchal overlay, that it sends a stifling message to women- that we must be pure and virginal to have spiritual worth.

However, something tells me that the symbolism of white, and especially white combined with red, is too powerful a symbolism to dismiss. I’ve heard it suggested that to the ancients, these colors symbolized male power (white semen) and female power (red menstrual blood), and so mingling these colors was uniting these powers.

Here’s what I think- red and white are both symbols of female/goddess power. Think of the white of mother’s milk, especially relevant at Imbolc- Bríde is the divine midwife. The red is the blood of childbirth and white the milk that nourishes life. Indeed, the older name for the holiday, Oímelc, means sheep’s milk.  At St. Brigit’s well in Kildare, water runs through two stone tubes that resemble breasts.

And if you were to go outside and look at the sun at mid-day (don’t- it’s bad for your eyes), you would see that the sun isn’t yellow or orange (the colors we usually think of as sun colors)- the sun is white. The sun is (mostly) personified as female in Celtic cultures. So white and red are also symbolic of the sun and fire.

(Here are some more interesting things about the combination of red and white that have nothing to do with Imbolc… Shaman in some parts of the world wear red and white. Some think that Woden wore these colors and that’s how they became associated with Yule. The fly agaric mushroom is red capped with white spots.)

A third color associated with Imbolc, or rather, with Bríde herself, is the green of her mantle or cloak. This represents the green of Ireland, emphasizing Bríde’s fertility/land goddess aspect. There are many sources, however, that proscribe the colors red, white, and black to Bríde. Alexei Kondratiev calls the triad of red, white and black, “primordial colors”. In his book “Celtic Rituals”, he mentions that the color black is often symbolically associated with the color dark green. This only makes sense if one considers both green and black to be symbolic of chthonic substances; rich earth of varying dark colors. For the other associations of black; darkness, death, etc., would seem to be the antithesis of the goddess Bríde- but not of her dark twin, the Cailleach.

So, this symbolism does run deep, and it’s magic, powerful… white for purification, light, and clarity, black for protection, and the rich depths of dark mysteries, and red the color of life in abundance… There is power and deep meaning any time these colors are invoked together. 

Plaid flannel, a lucky fabric in Ozark and Appalachian culture, is even more lucky if it comprises these three colors. There are other components in folk magic that have this combination as well.

We see these colors not only in Celtic mythology, but in the other ancient mythologies. The theme continues into the realm of fairy and folk tales, hinting to us across the centuries that these stories too, are a link to the sacred mysteries and symbolism.