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 Earth). A patroness of the hearth, poetry, inspiration, the forge, and midwifery. A healer and a keeper of the holy waters.
She is Brigid the exceptional.
Of the flame and of the well.
Brigid of the rising sun.
Blessed be our exalted one.
Her feast day is marked along our spiraling wheel of the year between the Winter Solstice and the Vernal Equinox and is the first fire festival of the Gregorian year1 known as Imbolc/Imbolg. In our ancestral Celtic lands the ewes would be stirring, their bellies full with lambs conceived in the autumn. The sheep and the cattle would now be let out of their winter shelters to wander now that the cold had started to recede, the Spring softly rising, the first snowdrops reaching upwards and greening the cold ground. The Earth stirs once more, responding to the returning light and its warming rays. This time and this Earth is pregnant with possibility, waking and turning now more fully towards the light, warm, masculine half of the year.
Her gifts and blessings are legendary. Endless prayers are offered from pregnant mothers seeking graceful and safe childbirth, children seeking the end of Winter, and families requesting her blessing and protection. The Áes Dána (the people of the arts, especially the fili, the poet seers) pray she lights their headfires, expanding their wise-sight, her emerald inspiration engulfing their words and their dreams.
Lore regarding Brigid and the Cailleach - our wise, loved, feared, eternal, primordial, creatrix, great hag of the North and winter ruler - well, they are endless. Last Imbolc I shared an embodied, poetic dance of transition between Brigid and The Cailleach, you are warmly invited to return to the passage here. This Imbolc, as I have sat with Brigid and asked for her blessing and guidance, she has called us to “rise as her flame rises” in the hearths and hearts of humankind.
In defense of the weak, in service of the elderly, in support of the mothers.
Rise.
In defense of the Earth, in service of the children, in support of the artists.
Rise.
In defense of health, in support for the broken, in service of the healers.
Rise.
As the Winter fades, as the waters thaw; tend the hearth flame, the heart flame, that lives within you, and,
Rise.
In the name of the Goddess, in the name of all things that are healing, restorative, sustainable, natural, kind, and compassionate,
Rise.
We, all of us, can heed Brigid’s iron call, rising just as the seeds rise and turn their faces toward the sun. We too can rise, thawing any icy fortresses that have encapsulated our voices, and commit ourselves towards grounded action.
The overculture and its roaring demands of brittle, self-serving individuation and destruction are no match for this divine daughter of the Dagda.
Sitting by Brigid we are warmed, inspired, and roused into presence.
Blessed by Brigid we are strengthened, fortified, and held; we birth forth love and resurrect the thinned quilts of community, spinning and weaving them into rich tapestries of ancestral wisdom and warmth.
Inspired by Brigid we would never dream of polluting our waters, of bringing synthetics into our homes, or of killing our bees and moths and bats and frogs with more and more towers and satellites and powerfully destructive electromagnetic fields. Ha! This is not the work of the Goddess, clearly she was not consulted. She would have us surrounded by wildflowers, basking in their beauty, whether urban or rural, planting all manner of trees and bushes for our winged kin, such that the soil and ourselves might all be made well by the herbs and plants and trees and flowers and wonders of the natural world. Some offerings of modern communication may likely be welcome though none that would tear us from ourselves, each other, the present moment, or nature; none that would harm or kill her winged children, none that would create addictions to black mirrors or render her children deficient of the nourishment that the sun’s light, fresh air, and green views provide.
The powers that be of our overculture have forgotten the old ways when High Kings married the Sovereign Goddess of the land and committed themselves to her safety and in return she offered abundance and plenty. When was the Goddess last consulted? When was the Earth considered, least of all, consulted?
The age is upon us. It is time for the Goddess to rise again, within, around, and through us.
Go forth and rise.
Rise sisters, brothers, daughters, and sons. Rise up in strength and love in defiance of all those who have forgotten the ways of our wise traditions, those who would poison our children’s, children’s, children. Deny the overculture of its addiction to cruelty, fear, and destruction by speaking nothing but words of resurrection inspired by Brigid, The Exalted One. Let her wisdom set our minds ablaze inspiring us towards the blessings of creation and connection.
With ease humanity destroys.
With toil humanity creates.
Let us toil in her name. Let us discard the expedient and claim the verdant, connected, beauty of building balanced, honorable communities. Let us put the frog and the bee first and then see what our homes, our cities, and our building codes might look like.
Ocelot, first. What then might we decide?
My love for Brighid and her infinite wisdom knows no bounds. She has been an incredible mentor, patroness, and guide for my own work and walk in this world. I warmly encourage you to spend a little time with her, in this her season. I was surprised by her powerful song of rise this Imbolc as my interactions with her have been quite different these past years. Given that she is such a magnificent being of inspiration and creation it feels as if she’s calling us to deepen into the mystery of our existence and to step forward and claim (with gusto!) our new future, together. A biodegradable future without fear, without regret, in sovereign strength, in service of all that is right and true, held by a Goddess supreme.
I’m heeding the call.
You are lovingly invited to join me, the monkey, the morel, and the minor.
Brigid’s Prayer
Danu Forest offers the following prayer that I have used many times. It is based upon a Gàidhlig (Scottish Gaelic) augury and is offered here, for your use.
Goddess of this sacred Earth be before me, goddess behind me,
Goddess of the budding green fields and the golden, be over me and beneath me,
Goddess of the dun Earth and the green shoots be within me and without me,
Goddess of the mothers and the children lead me,
Cast your protection over me, guide me, and bless me, grant me your tender care.
Dear Brigid, we thank you for your fierce protection, your loving protection, and your inspiration.
Thank you for supporting me in purification such that I may walk this Earth in honor, with honor, as honor.
Celebrate with Animisma
Join me at the gently swirling and gurgling well of my wee podcast, Animisma - All Things In-Spirted for some in-spirited inspiration, ritual, and honoring of our dear Brigid. True/astronomical Imbolc this year falls on February 4th, so the season of Brigid is just now dawning! There are two episodes devoted to this gorgeous time. You can find Animisma on your favorite podcast app, on Substack, and on my website here.
Season 2, Episode 2: The Emerging Light | Imbolc Blessings! Blessings of the emerging light be yours. Together, let's create an etheric altar requesting blessings from Brighid, the Goddess honored on this day while partnering with the sacred tree, Rowan (Witchwood), and sacred plant Heather (Fraoch), and beautiful Snowdrop, a messenger of hope.
Season 1, Episode 2: 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. I offer this episode as a way to explore the history and traditions of Imbolc and to connect with the fascinating, protective, loving, fierce, capable, and frankly incredible deity that is Brighid who is honored on this day. We will end with ritual, prayer and gentle meditation to honor this magical time of year.
Paid Subscriber Update
Thank you as ever for your offerings of funds to fuel this cauldron of creation, I am beyond grateful for your support and am truly humbled by your generosity. This Imbolc update is being sent from Western Australia, where I have gathered with the family of my dearly departed niece to celebrate what would have been her 30th birthday, this Imbolc. Brigid holds our family, though the season is the opposite here… My niece will remain forever young, her spirit free and shining. I will be sending an offering to paid subscribers once I’m back in the US in a couple of weeks, please accept this apology for the delays… my voice is tender at this time, tears have fallen freely, and finding time alone in the quiet to record has not been easeful. Soon though, soon. You are never forgotten.
May you and all you hold dear be invigorated, inspired, and blessed by the unyielding, steadfast magnificence of Brigid, The Exceptional.
May the waters within you stir and warm and gently rise, dancing as the snowdrops in this season of emerging light.
May you be held by kindness, shielded by softness, and rapt by the wonders of our ancient, etheric kin.
Ever with love and care, I wish you peace, eternal.
Yours,
h. x
Before the Gregorian calendar’s adoption, the English New Year began on March 25, or Lady Day - very close of course to the Vernal or Spring Equinox. Lady Day, which celebrates the Virgin Mary, marked the beginning of the year in Britain until January 1, 1752 (Germany adopted the calendar in 1700). Therefore, January 1st has only been marked as the ‘new year’ for the last 272 years in the Isles. Hogmanay was adopted in Scotland in response to the cancellation of Christmas which stayed canceled for just shy of 400 years (and secretly likely any solstice celebrations). Before 1560, Christmas (and perhaps the Winter Solstice?) in Scotland had a long history of being celebrated however with the arrival of the Reformation, which spread Presbyterianism and rejected Catholicism, Christmas was rejected. In 1640, celebrating the December 25 holiday was officially banned by an Act of Parliament and was not embraced again as a public holiday until 1958.
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