by Susan Acevedo

The Heart of the Matter
or What Has Hallmark Done for You Lately?

I feel as though I am fast becoming the female version of a curmudgeon. What do they call that, a shrew? Immediately following the Christmas/New Year hoopla, we are hit with pink lacy hearts, cupids and more chocolate than Punxsutawney Phil can fit in his gopher hole. Since 40% of my friends are single, 50% are divorced and 80% are fed up with relationships in general, I must ask myself, who is all this crap for? This year I decided to seek out some alternatives.

Let's start with the roots of modern day Valentines. According to Christian beliefs, on February 14th AD 270, St. Valentine was executed for performing secret illegal wedding ceremonies. Hence the romantic part. Emperor Claudius II had banned weddings in order to make it easier to obtain soldiers for his various wars. On the eve of his execution, he sent a farewell note to his newfound love, the jailer's daughter, (some say he cured her of blindness) signed "From Your Valentine". Hence the exchange of cards. Some say this is also the day when birds start to mate. Hence the lovebird. An enterprising American sent the first modern Valentine card around 1870 or so (no, not Hallmark). Hence the postal exchange. Like most Christian beliefs, if you dig around long enough you are bound to find an older, more pagan belief.

In this case we have the Roman festival of Lupercalia, a festival of eroticism that honored Juno Februata, the goddess of "feverish" love. Now this is more like it. The event centered on priests (Luperci) who would sacrifice goats (capri). Feeling erotic? In a fertility and purification exercise, the priests would smear goats blood on young men who would then make whips from the goat hides and run through the village thrashing all who stood in their way. Women intentionally begged to be whipped, for it was believed that this would make them fertile. Some say in their frenzy they also tore off their clothes. Sounds like the beginnings of another modern ritual,-- spring break.The climax of this celebration was a lottery drawing of all the eligible men and women, who would then pair up as couples for the remainder of the year. It's unlikely that you will find many Luperci priests around, although lottery drawings to choose your mate seem to be making a comeback. But there are still plenty of other pagan festivals that are gaining in popularity. The modern Pagan Calendar celebrates eight major festivals: Yule (December 22); Imbolc (February 2); Ostara (March 21); Beltaine (May 1); Midsummer (June 21); Lughnasadh (August 1); Mabon (September 21); and Samhain (October 31).

Imbolc is known as the festival of the Maiden, and it is a time to prepare for growth and renewal. This Festival has also been linked to the goddess Brighid. It is seen as an initiatory period, a time to plant the seeds of our hopes and dreams. There are many rituals associated with this festival, including lighting candles to honor the rebirth of the sun, weaving "Brigit's crosses" from straw to hang in the house for protection and prosperity and "Brigit's beds" for fertility of mind and spirit. Brigid is the goddess of inspiration, of vitality and about the hope for renewal. There a many spellings of Brigid's name. Her roots lie in Celtic Ireland, but she has been adapted by other faiths, including Christianity, as a Saint. There is debate whether or not it is the same Brigid.

If this type of celebration is more up your alley, or if you just want to get a glimpse of a naked goddess, check out the plethora of websites currently out there. As in researching most subjects these days, you never have to leave the comfort of your home in order to get started on the road to paganism.

Start with www.about.com, use the keyword pagan, and you will find enough links to squander a whole afternoon. A few helpful links are wicca.com, www.witchvox.com & wiccanweb.net. But there are many, many more. Nothing on love potions, however. You can even find listings for events which may be coming to a town near you.

Once you have all the basics down, it might be time to go out and celebrate. Lose the lacy pink hearts; bring on the goat whips and candles. Oh, and it's okay to save a little of that chocolate.