Reflections upon Lupercus

Festa di Lupercus (February 2)

The Festival of Lupercus marks the puberty of our Lord, Lupercus. The Grigori have set “twelve labours” before the young Wolf God that he must master to prove his worth as the new Sun God. Lupercus proves his worth by completing the tasks. Lupercus is invoked at this time of year to scatter the wolves of the dark winter night. Assisting us in releasing the atavistic power within us all. Through him, we are free of the constraints of our bodies, and of the winter season.

Clearly "Lupercus" stems from the root word "Lupus"... or wolf. The Stregherian legend may come from ancient Etruscan mythology, or possibly may be tied to pre-Etruscan pagan culture...or perhaps both. This festival is the equivalent of Imbolc. While I am on the subject, my position on Stregheria is that it is impossible to pacify everyone as to forming one tradition. Raven Grimassi has made this crystal clear, yet some people are still too dense to grasp the simple idea. His family tradition from the Naples area, could even be a bit different from a nearby part of Campania. What is so hard to understand about that!??

Groundhog Day (February 2)

The celebration, which began as a Pennsylvania German custom ("Grundsaudaag ") in southeastern and central Pennsylvania in the 18th and 19th centuries, has its origins in ancient European weather lore, wherein a badger or sacred bear is the prognosticator as opposed to a groundhog. It also bears similarities to the Pagan festival of Imbolc (the seasonal turning point of the Celtic calendar, which is celebrated on February 1 and also involves weather prognostication) and to St. Swithun's Day in July 15.

The annual "Punxsutawney Phil" Groundhog Day celebration, depicted in from the memorable 1993 Bill Murray movie 'Groundhog Day', is an actual event. Not to be left out, the holiday also has a Christian connection with "Candlemas"... also on February 2.

"Three blackbirds" 

In my family's old arms, one symbol which is very present is of "three blackbirds." That's curious enough in of itself, except that I experience a lot of synchronicity tied to this symbol. I frequently see three blackbirds, and it's difficult to express how this complex synchronicity occurs. However, for example, just looking this concept up online in search of a possible meaning.. I noticed very non-ambiguous symbols from "my own personal unrelated last twenty-four hours" merely in the search. A person cannot truly prove synchronicity to anyone, except to themselves. I can go many weeks without anything.. then suddenly a deep pattern unfolds.

Valentine's Day (February14)

Valentine's Day is of Christian origin; although the "heart of Freya" is frequently used to symbolize it. St. Valentine's Day began as a liturgical celebration one or more early Christian saints named Valentinus. 

Another symbol is the Roman god Cupid. In classical mythology, Cupid (Latin Cupido, meaning "desire") is the god of desire, erotic love, attraction and affection. He is often portrayed as the son of the love goddess Venus, and is known in Latin also as Amor ("Love"). His Greek counterpart is Eros.

Legend

Saint Valentine supposedly wore a purple amethyst ring, customarily worn on the hands of Christian bishops with an image of Cupid engraved in it, a recognizable symbol associated with love that was legal under the Roman Empire; Roman soldiers would recognize the ring and ask him to perform marriage for them. Probably because of the association with Saint Valentine, amethyst has become the birthstone of February, and it's thought to attract love.

Folk tradition

Another proverb says "Valentin – prvi spomladin" ("Valentine — the first spring saint"), as in some places (especially White Carniola), Saint Valentine marks the beginning of spring. Valentine's Day has only recently been celebrated as the day of love. The day of love was traditionally March 12, the Saint Gregory's day, or February 22, Saint Vincent's Day. The patron of love was Saint Anthony, whose day has been celebrated on June 13.

Lupercalia (February 13 to 15)

Lupercalia was a very ancient, possibly pre-Roman pastoral festival, observed on February 13 through 15 to avert evil spirits and purify the city, releasing health and fertility. Lupercalia subsumed Februa, an earlier-origin spring cleansing ritual held on the same date, which gives the month of February (Februarius) its name.

It's interesting to note that Lupercalia and the Festival of Lupercus both likely originated with the Etruscans, and both share the same root word ("Lupus").

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