I came upon this picture and an article streamed by National Geographic and couldn’t resist.
The men in the top hats are Punxsutawney Phil’s Inner Circle. Every February 2nd, as soon as the sun is up far enough to cast a shadow, they proceed to Gobblers Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania and yank Phil out of his hollow stump. If he sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter.
I knew all this, but I didn’t know that, according to this article, these men speak with Phil and get his official prognostication, which they then deliver to the waiting multitude.
In case you missed it, this year they said that he said there would be an early spring.
2 thoughts on “The Groundhog and His Hierophants”
In Portland, Oregon, this year, a bunch of goddess worshippers gathered in the center of Pioneer Courthouse Square and sang this to Donovan Leitch’s “First there is a mountain, then there is no mountain, then there is. . .” We substituted: “First there is a shadow; then there is no shadow; then there is. O Brigid, O Brigid, O Brigid, we call your name.” Facing outward, in a circle we sang this three times at high noon, when shadows are their smallest. Brigid is the Gaelic name for a Celtic goddess of crafts-fire, healing wells, and the power of language. In pre-Christian times, she was honored on the first and second day of February.
In this time, the crowd was small, but focused and loud. Our words bounced off the white tiled buildings with the sunlight on a cloudless day. Acting as contemporary hierophants has its inherent rewards.
We’ll do it again next year, rain or shine.
Glad it want well.
Sorry I couldn’t make it!