I was thinking about the significance of 2 February today.It is of course a pagan festival marking the halfway point between midwinter solstice and the spring equinox. The christians adapted it into candlemas, to mark the occasion when Mary, Jesus' mum, went to the temple to be 'cleansed' after her son's birth. (A similar cermony of 'churching' still lingers I think to spiritually cleanse women after they've given birth).

Tradition has it that the weather on 2 Feb establishes the weather pattern for the rest of the year
"If Candlemas day be dry and fair
The half o' winters to come and mair
If Candlemas day be wet and foul
The half o' winter's gane at Yule."

This tradition was taken to the US to America by early German settlers that on St Bridget's Day hedgehogs emerge to judge the weather. As there were no hedgehogs in America they adapted it to groundhogs, hence Groundhog Day.
"If the sun shines on Groundhog Day
Half the fuel and half the hay."

But then you probably all knew that anyway.
J
x

I intend to head up there on Sunday. Hopefully it will be a good sunrise and not too cloudy this time.

May Imbolc bring you all that you need and lots that you'd like.

Rune

I was up at Tara this morning, there was a perfect sunrise and I got a good few photos, not sure how sharp they'll be because I couldn't use a tripod (would get in the way).

The alignment is still very spectacular nearly two weeks later as I had guessed, I arrived about 7 or 8 minutes after the sun cleared the horizon and almost the whole backstone of the chamber was lit up for around 3/4 hours before the light slid off down the right side of the passage.

Will post some pics!

Ken