Category Archives: Religion

Labyrinths

Posted on February 8, 2013 by Jane Bailey Bain LifeWorks

Labyrinths are often seen as a metaphor for confusion. Theseus chases the Minotaur through a labyrinth; Jung talks of the labyrinth of the unconscious mind. Actually these are examples of mazes, not labyrinths. A maze is a web of tracks … Continue reading →

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Christmas Customs

Posted on December 12, 2012 by Jane Bailey Bain LifeWorks

Have you written your Christmas cards? Made some mince pies? Put up the tree? On these cold winter days, we need a festival to feel good about life. Our midwinter customs go back a long way…. Christmas really began in … Continue reading →

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Lughnasa

Posted on August 10, 2012 by Jane Bailey Bain LifeWorks

Lughnasa (1st August) marks the beginning of harvest-time and the ripening of the first crops. In Irish mythology, the festival takes its name from Lugh, the god of light. According to the Book of Invasions, Lugh was a boy hero … Continue reading →

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Saint Valentine’s Day

Posted on February 14, 2012 by Jane Bailey Bain LifeWorks

Valentine was purportedly a priest who lived in Rome around 270AD. The Emperor Claudius II issued a decree forbidding military recruits to marry, in the belief that single men make better soldiers. As a Christian, Valentine believed marriage was a … Continue reading →

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Saint Brigid’s Fire

Posted on February 1, 2012 by Jane Bailey Bain LifeWorks

Brigid was a slip of a girl with a mass of red-gold curls. It drove the nuns wild, that hair, for however much they combed it sprang back into a cloud. The girl ran wild too, although she had such … Continue reading →

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Is Santa Claus Real?

Posted on December 6, 2011 by Jane Bailey Bain LifeWorks

St Nicholas is busy this month. In northern Europe, children put their shoes neatly by the door on 6th December. If they have been good this year, St Nicholas fills them with sweets and toys; if not, they will find … Continue reading →

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