Eowemeolc or Charming of the Plough
Eowemeolc a time of celebrating the first signs of spring. Our female ancestral spirits are communally honored around this time, to lend their efforts to the coming planting season as we celebrate the halfway point to Spring. The Eowemeolc rite falls on the first full mood of February for us, but traditionally would have varied by the location. For instance, today it is snowing here, and we are expected to get 16-inches! Doesn’t seem like the coming of spring. The Kindred Hall of Hammerhof celebrates Eowemeolc (Imbolc) known in many Asatru groups as The Charming of the Plough. Eowemeolc is a Celtic calibration, mentioned in early Irish literature. Indeed it is more commonly associated with Wiccan calibrations than that of Heathen, but the pagan Anglo-Saxon seemed to have adopted this calibration and the practiced continued on after they converted to Christianity. According to Bede’s De temporum ratione, the Anglo-Saxon month of February was known as Solmonad, and meant mont...