Celebrating St. Patrick's Day as a Pagan ☘️

Witchy Wisdom
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Do Pagans celebrate St. Patrick’s Day?

St. Patrick can be a divisive figure among pagans. After all, he is the one credited with converting the pagan Irish into Christianity, practically eliminating Paganism from Ireland.

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But across the board, modern-day pagans love to feast and make merry on this holiday. One reason is that by celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, we can still honor the “hidden” meanings behind its symbols. For example:

Shamrock :shamrock:

The shamrock is one of the most recognizable symbols utilized by St. Patrick, which for Christians represents the Holy Trinity — the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. However, the number three was sacred to pagans before that, as in the Triquetra or the Triple Goddess.

Four-Leaf Clovers :four_leaf_clover:

The leaves of four-leaf clovers are said to stand for faith, hope, love, and luck. I made a video about Four Leaf Clovers as Magic Charms :crossed_fingers:

Leprechauns :tophat:

Leprechauns have long been a beloved part of Irish folklore – mischievous fairies who, when captured by a human, must grant three wishes to be freed.

The Color Green :green_heart:

This color is reminiscent of the verdant nature of Ireland itself: Nature and shamrocks. For pagans across the world, the Green Man is a symbol of fertility and rebirth, represented in the cycle of growth each spring.

How to Celebrate it? Snakes :snake:

While there are ongoing debates on whether St. Patricks’ Day can be considered a pagan holiday, I believe is a great day to celebrate folklore and ancient traditions. See Megan’s post on this topic: The Snakes 🐍 Of Saint Patrick

I found a great post on Exemplore on how to celebrate All Snakes Day instead, by making or wearing a snake symbol on St. Patrick’s Day.

Snakes were linked to heathen practices in Ireland. One of the most famous legends of St Patrick recounts how he banished all the snakes from the country, as a metaphor for his Christianizing influence.

While wearing green, carrying a four-leaf clover for good luck, or having a pint of beer :beers: might be more accessible options, I like the idea of making a spiral snake decoration with paper!

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What are your thoughts on St. Patrick’s Day? Do you celebrate it or simply wait until Ostara?

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Very good article… Thank you @Francisco I celebrate St Pattys day…because of all the hidden symbology…its interesting that others celebrate for other reasons and cannot see beyond their noses! We had corn beef and cabbage last night. We just couldn’t wait! As for Ostara, it is snowing here about 3" so far… lol can’t find a bit of pretty greenery.

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Wow! This is really interesting. I’m slowly learning the hidden meanings, symbols and histories of how the holidays came to be what they are today. Love learning all of this. Thank you for sharing and piquing my interest. I’m definitely going to wear some of these suggestions while having a smile on my face knowing now the historic meanings.

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I celebrate St Patrick’s day and Ostara. I cook corned beef and cabbage and sometimes green beer :beer: and, if there’s any, we’ll go to a parade.

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I guess I like the festivities but I wouldn’t say we celebrate it traditionally. My husband will have a Guineess & we wear green & shamrocks :shamrock:. Im mostly Irish so you would think I would celebrate :champagne: as most do, but we went for the more fun aspects than the actual meaning.

I think I am going to put more thought into how I function tomorrow & also celebrate Ostara. We had a makeshift parade in the neighborhood & we decorated ourselves & golf carts :rofl:

Thank you for giving me something to look into for tomorrow! I’m going to make the best if it minus the corned beef/boiled dinner.

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Thank you, @Francisco. @MeganB has been sharing information about St. Patrick’s day on her YouTube page, as well. I was going to share the links but I don’t want to steal a potential post from her in Witchy Wisdom. LOL

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A couple of years ago, I went to the dollar store and bought a bunch of rubber snakes and netting. Sitting with a group of friends the morning of the holiday, we created fascinators with and wore them out & about to celebrate. It was fun to relay the story of banishing snakes to anyone that asked about our headpieces. I wish I had pics…

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I’m Irish on my mom’s side, so while I won’t be celebrating the life of St. Patrick tomorrow, I’ll be celebrating my heritage. :shamrock:

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Wow, thank you for that info @Francisco. I’ll be making Cabbage and Noodles tomorrow, wearing green, and preparing for Ostara.
Then Sunday we leave for a mini getaway, 3 days at Myrtle.
Blessed Be,

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I celebrate my Irish heritage but not St. Patrick … so yeah, I’m torn. I don’t do that much really, either way but I haven’t felt really comfortable celebrating St. Patrick for years.

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Oh, there are some interesting comments here. It looks like I might have to do a post on St. Patrick after all! :shamrock:

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Looking forward to it! :shamrock:

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I will absolutely be wearing a snake tomorrow. What a wonderful and inclusive article!

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The first time I heard there was a drink called “Irish Car Bombs” I couldn’t believe it either…!

But the rest of it seems to be widely accepted in the US. What is it that you find most uncomfortable about it?

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This is a great piece showing a different side to St. Patrick’s Day- thanks Francisco! :grin:

My family is partially Irish, so St. Paddy’s Day was always a cause for celebrations with the whole family all together. I guess I think of this holiday much like I do with Christmas- I celebrate it not for the modern religious meanings, but as an occasion for coming together, having fun, and eating tasty treats with loved ones :partying_face: :beers:

I have to admit I love the idea of All Snakes Day! :snake: :star_struck: I won’t be celebrating with family this year due to distance and the pandemic, so perhaps a spiritual ritual and meditation on the deeper symbolism of the day will be perfect :blush:

To all those celebrating this holiday in any form- wishing you a very blessed and joyous time! :shamrock: :green_heart:

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Well, for one thing, I’m not that comfortable celebrating a Saint that persecuted pagans. For another, I hate public drunkenness and that seems to be how Americans celebrate the day, by getting blotted and going around kissing random people.

I enjoy celebrating my heritage, listening to music and things like that, but the getting drunk just bothers me.

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That’s the part that I don’t participate in really, we used to go to a concert every St. Patrick Day & I was the designated driver so I never really partook in the getting drunk part unless I wasn’t driving. I like wearing green though because I don’t normally wear a lot of green. In all honesty, I had never really looked into St. Patrick until later in life & then my celebrations got to be more of the fun nature. The impromptu parade in our neighborhood, wearing green, things like of that nature.

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I’m very uncomfortable around public drunkenness. So yeah, not my favorite holiday. Your little parade looked fun though! I saw the pics on Facebook. I don’t mind that sort of thing.

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We did that Sunday & it was a lot of fun. I rode in a golf cart because I wouldn’t have been able to walk as far as we went. I’m glad you enjoyed the pictures. We have a silly neighborhood :crazy_face:

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Sounds like a good neighborhood.

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