~ Brigit ~
(Information provided by Janine)
(Information provided by Janine)
Other names: Brigid, Briget, Brigandu, Brigantia, Bridget, Bride.
The Brigid first worshipped in ancient times was the daughter of the great Irish god Dagda, the 'Good Father'. She had two sisters who were also named Brigid. Taken together, they were called the 'Three Mothers', 'Three Sisters', or simply the Goddess Brigid.
Unlike in Greek mythology where the Triple Goddess represented the three chronological stages of a woman's life (Maiden, Matron, and Crone), the Bridgets were all of the same generation and the distinctions between them were based on their domains of responsibility.
Brigid, the 'Fire of the Hearth', was the goddess of fertility, family, childbirth and healing.
Brigid, the '"Fire of the Forge', was like the Greek goddess Athena, a patroness of the crafts (especially weaving, embroidery, and metalsmithing), and a goddess who was concerned with justice and law and order.
Brigid, the 'Fire of Inspiration', was the muse of poetry, song history and the protector of all cultural learning.
In the myth of the Battle of Magh Tuiredh, which chronicles the great conflict between the Tuatha De/ Danann and their demon-enemies the Fomorains for the prossession of Ireland, Brigit appeared as mediator between the two. Although the daughter of the Dagdha, she was also married to the Fomorian king, Bres. Here Brigit is presented as an ancestor-deity, a mother-goddess whose main concern was the future well-being of Ireland. Eventually the love and respect for the goddess Brigid brought unity to the Celts who were spread throughout Europe. Regardless of their differences, they all agreed upon her goodness and compassion.
Ireland is full of springs and wells named after the goddess Brigid. Symbolically, water is seen as a portal to the Otherworld and as a source of wisdom and healing. There is a saying that Brigid rewards any offering to her, so offerings of coins were often tossed into her wells...the forerunner of the modern custom of throwing a penny into a fountain while you make a wish.
At her most famous shrine Brigid taught humans how to gather and use herbs for their healing properties, how to care for their livestock, and how to forge iron into tools. As a goddess of childbirth and protector of all children, she is the patroness of midwifery. This shrine, near Kildare, was located near an ancient Oak that was considered to be sacred by the Druids, so sacred in fact that no one was allowed to bring a weapon there. The shrine is believed to have been an ancient college of priestesses who were committed to thirty years of service, after which they were free to leave and marry. During their first ten years they received training, the next ten were spent tending the sacred wells, groves and hills of the goddess Brigid, and the last decade was spent in teaching others.
Nineteen priestesses were assigned to tend the perpetual flame of the sacred fire of Brigid. Each was assigned to keep the flames alive for one day. On the twentieth day, the goddess Brigid herself kept the fire burning brightly.
The Christian monastery eventually built upon the site of her sacred shrine continued this tradition and became known as a great European center of learning and culture. Indeed, it was instrumental in preserving much ancient learning and literature during the Dark Ages.
The Feast Day of Brigid, known as Imbolc, is midway through the winter and is celebrated at the start of February in the northern hemisphere and August in the Southern Hemisphere. Like the goddess herself, it is meant to give us hope, to remind us that spring is on its way.
The lessons of this complex and widely beloved goddess are many.
The Celtic goddess Brigid lends us her creativity and inspiration, but also reminds us to keep our traditions alive and whole. These are gifts that can sustain us through any circumstance.
Her fire is the spark of life.
May I walk with your fire ignited
May it burn in the depth of my soul
May the cycles of life be my rhythm
May I dance with the ebb & the flow
~ Janine Donnellan ~
by Janine Donnellan
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I am She |
Wells, springs and water in general were important to the Celts. Water was seen as boundaries or gateways to the otherworld and were all places to communicate with deity. Since the water came from the otherworld deep from within the earth it was especially blessed. At certain special places offerings have been made to wells and springs from time immemorial by those in search of healing or favours from the water gods or goddesses.
In pagan Ireland, the wells were visited at special times of the year: Imbolc, Beltane, Lughnasa and Samhain. These were all special turning-points of the Celtic year when the gates of the Otherworld were opened. This is especially true for Samhain, where the veil between the living and the dead was at its thinnest point, and often visions of the good people were seen in sacred places.
Throughout the centuries people visited the wells for their qualities of healing and divination. The well was viewed as a shrine dedicated to the miraculous emergence of living water, in all cultures a symbol of generation, purification, and the matrix of life itself.
At Imbolc, Brigid gives us the promise of spring, and of new life returning to the Earth. Because of this, she is also referred to as 'Brighid of the Green Mantle'. She is also known as goddess of healing and has many sacred wells, including the one at Kildare in Ireland, not far from where her fire temple used to be located. She is the Mother of Inspiration, Healing, Poetry and Smith craft. Known as a powerful Fire Goddess, Brigid is also a Water Goddess. She presides over fertility and childbirth as well as all forms of creation. She has countless sacred wells dedicated in her name, devoted to granting wishes and healing.
One legend which connects Brigid with water, tells how a crystal drop from the mantle of Brigid touched the earth and became a deep and clear lake. This was said to be a lake from Tir-Na-Moe 'Land of the Living Heart' and there was healing in it for all weariness and battle wounds.
