On February 1st, Cailleach the Hag or Crone of Winter drinks from the fountain of youth and becomes Brighid, ushering in the Goddess of Spring. The Cailleach is portrayed as an old, wise, and powerful woman connected to the winter season. She is a goddess of winter, storms, and guardian of wild animals. The Cailleach represents death and rebirth and rules from Samhain to Beltane, the cycles and seasons of the earth, things die to be reborn. She is also known for controlling the weather and it is said that if it is sunny on Imbolc, you can expect more weeks of winter because the Cailleach need a sunny day to gather enough firewood to finish out the winter. This sounds like the more commonly known tradition of Groundhog Day, right?
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