Lunaea Weatherstone

One of my favourite writers about Goddess spirituality is Lunaea Weatherstone, a long-serving Priestess dedicated to the Goddess Brigid. She was the original editor and publisher of SageWoman magazine, for which she still writes a regular column. She has a wonderful website called Full Moon Dreams that features some of her writings, her gorgeous collage tarot deck and other creative outpourings. Her blog is called At Brigid's Forge and is always worth reading. She is wise in the ways of Goddess spirituality and her writings have been a source of inspiration to me for many years.

Nom Nom Nom in The Peg: Salisbury House

Winnipeg has a chain of restaurants found nowhere else in the country, called Salisbury House or "The Sals" for short. The Sals originated as post-war highway restaurants throughout Manitoba ("Look for the Little Red Roof" used to be their advertising slogan) but now Sals are restricted to a few restaurants located in Winnipeg. Another distinctive thing about The Sals is that they call their hamburgers "nips." Apparently the original owner came up with this term. So Manitobans (especially older Manitobans) sometimes call all hamburgers "nips" whether they come from The Sals or not. Thirty years ago when I was a university student, my favourite order at The Sals was a cheese nip and onion rings. A couple of years ago when I was back visiting in Winnipeg, I went to The Sals and ordered my old favourite. I found it unbearably greasy. So what they say is true -- you can never go home again.

Nom Nom Nom in The Peg: The Happy Penny

The food and decor were unremarkable at The Happy Penny, but it was cheap so it was one of my haunts when I was a penniless student. I have no idea how The Happy Penny got its name, but it was at odds with the restaurant's sorry history. The Happy Penny had the distinction of being put out of business twice by the City of Winnipeg's efforts to rejuvenate the downtown. The City first expropriated The Happy Penny's original location on Portage Avenue and then, after a decent interval to let The Happy Penny get re-established at its second location, expropriated that building too. This was too much for the beleaguered owners so they never opened in a third spot. Farewell, Sad Penny!

Nom Nom Nom in The Peg: Northern Pearl

My favourite place for Chinese food in Winnipeg was the Northern Pearl. Their chicken balls had a delicious hoisin-based sauce that I have never encountered at any other restaurant before or since. They had a wee bit of a cockroach problem at their original location, but the food was so good we ignored it. Also, there was a whorehouse upstairs but we ignored that too. (Apart from sharing the same building, it was unrelated to the Northern Pearl, of course).

The Northern Pearl was forced to move to another spot when their original location burned down or was expropriated (I can't remember which, now). However, their magnificent chicken balls continued in all their glory at the new restaurant. The Northern Pearl was always busy but it inexplicably went out of business over a decade ago, which was a great loss as far as I'm concerned.

Moo-ving right along . . .

I'm off to the City of Cows* for a couple of days, so will resume blogging later this week. See you then!

*i.e. the place formerly known as Cowtown until Calgary got too large to be credibly called a "town" anymore. The "cow" part still applies though.

Groundhog Day

Groundhog Day is the North American equivalent of Imbolc. It too celebrates the promise of Spring, not Spring itself. While not overtly pagan, it does centre on a magic animal who has the power to predict the future. And what a totemic animal for Canadians in particular! A large hibernating rodent who sticks his nose out of his cozy burrow in the middle of winter for the sole purpose of making a weather forecast! You can't get more Canadian than that. So, our lovely albino Wiarton Willie, do your best! Whether you see your shadow or not, we know damn well that winter is nowhere near over. But we love to play along anyway, because everyone wants to believe in the promise of Spring, eh?

Brigid's Cloak

Imbolc is sacred to the Celtic Goddess Brigid (who does undercover work these days as the Irish Catholic Saint Brigid). She is the Goddess of many things, including healing. There is a charming ritual associated with Brigid and the Eve of Imbolc (which is today, February 1st). As recounted by Sara Jane Kingston on her website:

Traditionally, the brat bhride, or Brigid's Cloak, was laid outside before sunset on the eve of Brigid's Feastday, 1st February, and brought back in before sunrise. Blessed by Brigid, ancient Spring goddess and saint, the dew which fell that night imbued the cloth with powers of healing and protection which lasted throughout the year.

It would then be kept in a special place in the house and brought out as needed when illness occurred. It could be wrapped around the head to cure a headache; it was widely used by midwives to help women in childbirth, for Brigid was especially known as being the patron of healers and midwives. It was used on sick animals also, especially cows and sheep for which Brigid had a special affinity.

This is why Imbolc is difficult in Canada. There is not a single drop of dew to be had anywhere in this country at this particular time of year. If we put out a Brigid's Cloak on Imbolc Eve, the next morning it will be frozen stiff under a few inches of snow, assuming that it has not blown away in the wazoo-seeking Arctic breeze referred to yesterday.

This concludes my bitching about Imbolc. Tomorrow I will blog about our home-grown substitute Imbolc ritual.