Mind of Fire, Mind of Flame
Brigid's come to bless, to reign
Mind of fire,
Mind of flame,
Brigid’s come to bless,
To reign.
To ignite our words, our thoughts,
Our pain.
Brigid’s come to bless,
To reign.
No hearth too small, no blade too vicious,
No tongue too sharp, no child too precious,
No bard too new, no mother too anxious,
Brigid our queen,
Supremely glorious.
Ruadán’s keen,
Her song harmonious.
She shines as sun,
Eternally luminous.
Feasts and fires, portents in wells,
Protections sent by chiming bells,
Inspiration’s call is what she tells,
The Celtic heart is where she dwells.
Mind of fire,
Mind of flame,
Brigid’s come to bless,
To reign.
To ignite our words, our thoughts,
Our pain.
Brigid’s come to bless,
To reign.
(Brigid’s Reign, by Heather Louise Porter)
Imbolc
Ceud mile fà ilte a chairdean agus fà ilte gu fèis Imbolc!
A hundred, thousand, welcomes friends, and welcome to the festival of Imbolc!
Awakening gently from our long winter’s sleep, Imbolc invites us to stretch and yawn, farewelling the dark delights of Samhain’s slumber. In the North, we find ourselves at the peak of winter’s embrace, and atop its icy crescendo, we witness the days lengthening as we welcome the season of Imbolc forward.
Last year, she called me to rise. This year, she fills my head with poem and my mouth with song. Offerings tumble in celebration and gratitude for her benevolence, the fire in my head ablaze, shining wild and bright in hues of rose, amethyst, and verdant greens.
What song is this? What hymn is sung?
The seasons pulse and breathe as one.
The cold is here, as is the light,
What dreams have come through Samhain’s sight?
What greets us at this dawning time?
Who stirs below the Earth divine?
As Creatrix beckons Mother rise,
We kneel, carefully holding the cries,
Of all who’ve lost and all who grieve,
For Brigid’s keen was first to leave.
She shows us how to live and love,
She shows us how to rise and move,
She protects the waters, for they are one.
From fire and light our Queen is spun.
Old customs abound. Dolls and crosses, songs and stories, feasts and fires, we are woven with serpents and dragons, journeying to holy wells and holy springs. As Samhain has waned and I have been turning towards the new season of Imbolc, I have been praying at my altar daily for death is dancing her way through so many lives of those I know, and those I love.
I pray for sisters, daughters, mothers, and grandmothers; I pray for brothers, sons, fathers, and grandfathers. I pray for kin, for familiars, for animal companions, and for each dying tree claimed by flame as it returns to the Earth. I keen their departure, my voice and spine and hands held by Brigid, held by her unfathomable capacity to hold love and pain, life and death as one.
If you are navigating loss or death and if you ever need a prayer, please reach out. You are always welcome to comment here on Substack or to connect with me here.
I truly wish we were culturally excellent at death. Death is life is death is life is… Perhaps I’m actually wishing that we were collectively excellent at life, for I cannot understand how one can be good at one and not the other for they are one and the same. Within the fields of hope and life, death is always planted. And within the fields of death, hope and life is always planted. We celebrate the return of light just as we mourn the ‘death’ of night; we pulse, we dance, we shift, we tumble.
We winter, we spring.
We laugh, we keen.
We rage, we wonder.
We human.
Brigid is such an exceptional guide within this wild walk of ‘human-ing.’ Her wisdom is beyond measure (I know I say that all the time, I just really mean it) and she surprises me, constantly, with how she can light the fires of our paths and our minds.
Once, when I was tending death for someone I love dearly, my own transition crossed my thoughts. Brigid presented, as she does, shining, wise, and eternal, and I asked her for a little more insight into my own transition from this world. She walked with me, within the wild forests, fields, oceans, and mountains of my inner landscapes, and we visited the places where I meet with my kin who have departed this Earthly realm. She then showed me the place where I will go when my time to cross comes. It is a quiet place with soft grass for bare feet (no shoes, please) with a broad view across the sea. I hope one or two of my well and wise ancestors will meet me there to take me onward with them. I visit this place from time to time, familiarizing myself with its edges, chatting with the roses and hawthorns that mark its territory. It is gorgeous in every season, I have been there on clear days with gentle breezes, and in torrential deluges where I feel soaked to the bone, fully one with the divine spirit of water. I am grateful to know that it is there, in that beautiful place, where I will wait for my kin to greet me and where I will cross from, when my time comes.
I wonder, what might your inner threshold out of this world look like? A liminal space? A beach? A door? A mossy nook, a mountain top? A deep valley, a dry mesa? An island in the middle of the Caribbean? The dark void itself? A simple room? A rowboat on a river? A bridge across a canyon? Perhaps the Féth fÃada itself will envelope you in its misty embrace.
As we enter Imbolc, perhaps you might lovingly request that Brigid support you in seeing and familiarizing yourself with your crossing place, just for a moment or two. Perhaps invite your well and wise ancestors to meet you there, so when the time comes for you to leave this human realm, you are familiar with your crossing and feel welcomed home, to your eternal soul-self. It’s worth visiting, from time to time, even tending, as you would tend to your own home.
May it be a beautiful and empowering experience for you.
A Blessing
Held by Brigid, may we gracefully surrender the darkness and welcome the emerging light, allowing ourselves to slowly release any ties we have to winter’s dark slumber, encouraging the sparks of inspiration born in winter’s dreaming to glow and shine and turn their tiny faces towards the warming sun.
At Brigid’s beckoning, may the mindfires of humanity be set alight, burning with clarity of sight, passion of heart, intensity of care, and the benevolent wisdom of wonder.
In her eternal name, may we never stop believing in the resilient heart of humanity to rise in solidarity, kindness, and humility. Together, in partnership with each other, the Earth, and the infinite wisdom of Brigid, perhaps we can resurrect our beautiful home planet, and rekindle love and communal friendship.
In honor of our exceptional, beloved, Queen of Heaven, I wish you peace.
With love and care,
She who fans the fires of the forges of your inner strength,
She who stands with you as your swords of justice are honed and shaped,
She who upholds the vision of a healthy, loving, compassionate world.
Your kin of fire and flame,
Heather Louise xo
In Celebration
Below please find additional offerings in celebration of Imbolc!
The Flame of Éire
Once known as the Flame of Éire, tales of her magnificence have morphed, blossomed, drenched, and effused through lands and time, her form changing from a goddess to a Saint to etheric royalty and back again. A Princess, a Queen of the Sky, and a Queen of Heaven. A daughter of the Dagda, one of the Kings of the Tuatha Dé Danann (The Tribe of Danu/The E…
Imbolc - The Emerging Light
Season 2 of Animisma is an offering of seasonal contemplation, offered with care, and offered in peace. It is a walk along the hidden paths, along forest floors covered in soft grass, sunlight peeking through ancient boughs, breezes quietly moving across our faces as we walk with permission through mist and shadow. It is a walk in the presence of giants…
Imbolc
May the blessings of Imbolc be upon you! I am utterly thrilled to be sharing this beautiful celebration with you. Imbolc is the beautiful festival and celebration of awakening, fertility, birthing, and beginning. It is the promise of renewal, of hidden potential, of the earth slowly awakening and of life-force stirring.
For The Druids
May you find peace, share peace, and radiate peace this Imbolc.
May the Earth, Sky, and Sea bless you, today, and all days.
May the white milk of nurturing offered by our Bright Lady of the Turning Earth, and the
Bringer of Light bless you and always be with you.
A Wee Animistic Chat on Substack
I had the wonderful pleasure of chatting with a dear soul sister and friend, Jennifer Murphy, of the sublime ‘The Celtic Creatives’ a short while ago. It was very early in the morning for me and Jen was so patient with my meanderings! We chatted about animistic practice, loneliness, shape-shifting, and even the wildest one of them all, Mis entered our field and joined the conversation.
You are warmly invited to click here to see our faces as we speak or click below to listen.
Like a glowing candle. Thank you, for this reflection, Heather, and for linking to your talk with Jennifer, I very much enjoyed listening in and shimmying. xo
Just beautiful. These words spoke to my soul. Gratitude!