This song started with a simple observation: Despite all the trouble with Covid-19, my daffodils were still blooming right on schedule, trees were budding, birds were migrating back to the area, and the world was still warming up. This gave me a comfort that I badly needed, and I wanted to share that comfort in song form.
Today is Saint Patrick's Day. I know many pagan-y type people don't like this day, because they believe it celebrates an end of paganism in Ireland (something Saint Patrick did not in fact accomplished), but there's a reason it's important to many Irish-Americans, and I hope this song captures that reason well.
This song arose from my understanding of Brighid as a hearth goddess, and three of her more famous symbols and aspects (the harp of inspiration, the cup of healing, and the hammer of the forge) come out of that role as the creator and protector of homes. Throughout the Indo-European range, a fire was what made a building a home at least as much as having, say, a bed, which makes sense as something humans have been using for warmth and protection since before we were modern humans.
As yet another new season comes around, it's time for another new song, this one with a Norse cultural focus. This started from the idea that while modern winters might feel fun as we stay safe and warm inside well-insulated homes celebrating with friends and family, for our ancestors there was always a fear lurking in the back of their minds: What if the world doesn't warm up again? What if next year's crop fails? What if I get caught outside in -20C weather? What if the sun doesn't come back after the long night, as foretold in Vafþrúðnismál? That sense of mortal peril is built into the season just as surely as fir trees and holly berries.