Celtic Wheel of the Year: Saint Brigid Goddess of Fire, Feb. 1, Imbolic, Candlemas

 

Feb. 1 is Imbolic, also known as Candlemas and most importantly for all Gaelic and Celtic people it is St Brigid’s Feast Day!

Imbolc divides winter in half; the Crone months of winter are departing and the promise of the Spring Maiden is around the corner. This holiday eventually became modern day Candlemas with Saint Brigid’s Day and the Feast of the Purification of Mary being celebrated during this period of time. Brigid’s role as Mother Goddess was never completely eradicated and reappears throughout Her entire career as a Catholic saint. As Saint Brigid, there are rays of sunlight coming from Her head, as portrayed as a Goddess. Themes of milk, fire, Sun and serpents followed Her on this path, adding to Her ever-growing popularity. Compassion, generosity, hospitality, spinning and weaving, smithwork, healing and agriculture ran throughout Her various lives and evolution.

The site for the monastery at Kildare was chosen for its elevation and also for the ancient Oak found there, so sacred. The word, Kildare, comes from ‘Cill Dara’, the Church of the Oak. 

 

Brigid Goddess of physicians and healing, divination and prophecy

Her feast day at the start of spring (feast of Imbolc), blessed the work of the farmers, brought fertility to the land and animals; protected the water and fishermen; and she guaranteed the fertility of women. 

In addition to Her totemic animals of the cow and the ewe, She is also associated with the cockerel, the herald of the new day and the snake, symbol of regeneration. She was commonly represented by a doll, dressed in white, with a crystal upon Her chest. In addition to Her totemic animals of the cow and the ewe, She is also associated with the cockerel, the herald of the new day and the snake, symbol of regeneration. 

 

Brigid the Goddess of Fire 

To this day that the St. Brigid’s cross protects a house from fire and evil. Her monetary nuns kept tending her bonfire consistently from 470 AD to the Reformation in the 1100’s!

The preservation of the sacred fire became the focus of this convent. The convent was occupied continuously until 1132 C. E., with each abbess having a mystical connection to the saint and retaining Her name. Kildare lost much of its power and the fires were finally put out by King Henry VIII during the Reformation. 

 

Legend of St. Brigid’s Cloak

The legend of Brigid’s cloak is often told. It’s the story about the manner in which she came to acquire the land to build her monastery at Kildare. It is often regarded as one of the first miracles associated with her.

They realised that this woman was truly blessed by God. The King became a patron of Brigid’s monastery, assisting her with money, food and gifts. Later he converted to Christianity. It was on this land in Kildare that she built her dual monastery c.470.

 

Bath Water into Beer

On another extraordinary occasion, this venerable Brigid was asked by some lepers for beer, but had none. She noticed water that had been prepared for baths. She blessed it, in the goodness of her abiding faith, and transformed it into the best beer, which she drew copiously for the thirsty. It was indeed He Who turned water into wine in Cana of Galilee Who turned water into beer here, through this most blessed woman’s faith. From The Life of St Brigid the Virgin, written by a Kildare monk, Cogitosus Ua hAedha, around AD650.

 

St Brigid’s Wells

There are 15 holy wells throughout Ireland documented as being connected to St. Brigid, although there are sure to be many more undocumented.  These holy wells were established by St. Brigid to baptise pagans. It is also believed that the water of these holy wells have curative powers,

 

 

St. Brigid’s Cross

Brigid was requested to sit with a pagan chieftain in Kildare, who was delirious and raging on his death-bed. The Chieftain was so delirious it was impossible for Brigid to talk to him, so she just sat with and comforted him. Brigid began to weave rushes from the floor into the shape of a cross.  The Chieftain quietened as he began to notice Brigid and he asked what she was doing.

With the help of the cross Brigid explained the story of Christ and the cross.  The Chieftain was impressed with what Brigid had to say and he converted and was baptised just before he died.  From then on this cross became known as the St. Brigid’s Cross and St. Brigid used it to explain Christ to other pagans.

 

Prayer to St. Brigid

Brigid,

You were a woman of peace.

You brought harmony where there was conflict.

You brought light to the darkness.

You brought hope to the downcast.

May the mantle of your peace cover those who are troubled and anxious,

and may peace be firmly rooted in our hearts and in our world.

Inspire us to act justly and to reverence all God has made.

Brigid you were a voice for the wounded and the weary.

Strengthen what is weak within us.

Calm us into a quietness that heals and listens.

May we grow each day into greater wholeness in mind, body and spirit.

Amen.

 

Patron Sainthood

Brigid is one of Ireland’s three patron saints. The other two are St Colmcille and St Patrick.

She was patroness of scholars, poets, healers, fertility, and smiths and metalwork. Her primary affiliations were with the element of fire, providing illumination, life and health, and creativity. 

To the Christians she became Saint Brigit of Kildare, founding the first female religious community after Christianity had been established in Ireland. The nunnery of Kildare kept a perpetual fire which was not extinguished until the Reformation. 

The saint is also known as the ‘Mary of the Gael,’ credited with being the midwife to the Virgin. A folk-story tells how she played the fool by lighting a crown of candles and wearing it on her head to distract Herod’s soldiers from the Holy Infant.

 

Brigid the Bishop

Reputedly the only female bishop there’s ever been, this would not have been uncommon or raised any eyebrows back in the 5th century. The tenacity with which the traditions surrounding Brigid have survived, even the saint as the thinly-disguised Goddess, clearly indicates Her importance.

As the patroness of poetry, filidhecht, the equivalent of bardic lore, are the primal retainers of culture and learning. 

Brigid is also the Goddess of physicians and healing, divination and prophecy.

Her important association with the cow, coupled with its critical necessity in Celtic culture and history, relates to the festival of Imbolc. This celebration, involves itself with the lighting of fires, purification with well water and the ushering in of the new year (Spring) by a maiden known as the Queen of the Heavens. 

 

Brigid the Sun Goddess

A Catholic saint, Saint Brigid,is portrayed with rays of sunlight coming from Her head, Themes of milk, fire, Sun and serpents followed Her on this path, Compassion, generosity, hospitality, spinning and weaving, smithwork, healing and agriculture ran throughout Her various lives and evolution. Her symbolism as a Sun Goddess remains, also, in the form of Brigid’s crosses.

A poem:

Brigit, ever excellent woman,

golden sparkling flame,

lead us to the eternal Kingdom,

the dazzling resplendent sun.

 

The site for the monastery at Kildare was chosen for its elevation and also for the ancient Oak found there, so sacred. The word, Kildare, comes from ‘Cill Dara’, the Church of the Oak. 

 

Brigid for Women’s Rights

When the laws were written down and codified by Christianity, Brigid figured largely to insure that the rights of women were remembered. These laws had been committed to memory by the brehons as a part of the extensive oral tradition.

Irish law also provided extensively for the rights of women in marriage, for pregnancy out of wedlock‚ and for divorce. When the laws were written down and codified by Christianity, Brigid figured largely to insure that the rights of women were remembered. Irish law also provided extensively for the rights of women in marriage, for pregnancy out of wedlock‚ and for divorce.

 

The Mystery of Brigid

Her involvement in the life of Jesus became the stuff of legend. According to the stories in The Lives of the Saints, Brigid was the midwife present at the birth, placing three drops of water on His forehead.

Further, as a Christianized saint, Brigid was said to be the foster-mother of Jesus, fostering being a common practice among the Celts. She took the Child to save Him from the slaughter of male infants supposedly instigated by Herod. She wore a headdress of candles to light their way to safety.

 

Seeing Brigid as the unbroken vessel. Beyond the grip of any one tribe or nation, She can mediate to ensure unity for the good of all. She protects us as we walk through the labyrinth but also makes us face the reality of ourselves. Her Fire is the spark or life force alive in every one of us. 

 

 

 

 

 

Sources:

http://brigidine.org.au/about-us/our-patroness/legend-of-st-brigids-cloak/

http://zythophile.co.uk/2008/01/22/st-brigid-and-the-bathwater/

https://thewildgeese.irish/m/blogpost?id=6442157%3ABlogPost%3A140810

https://www.irishpost.com/life-style/eleven-facts-about-st-brigid-irelands-only-female-patron-saint-who-legend-has-it-turned-bathwater-into-beer-112268

http://www.angelfire.com/de/poetry/Whoswho/Brigit.html

https://www.druidry.org/library/gods-goddesses/brigid-survival-goddess