St.
Brigid of Ireland
The story of St. Brigid is a good example of how the Celts and other indigenous
people found ways of keeping the Pagan beliefs of their ancestors alive,
despite their forced conversion to Christianity.
 |
Photographs
were taken at The Festival of Brigid 2002, in NYC.
|
|
Brigid was probably born at Faughart near Dundalk, Ireland. According to legend, her father was Dubhthach, an Irish chieftain of Lienster, and her mother, Brocca, was a slave at his court. Her parents were baptized by St. Patrick, with whom she later developed a close friendship. It is rumored that before her birth, a druid prophesied that she would be marvelous and serve the "True God" of the Christians. Even as a young girl, she evinced an interest for a religious life and took the veil in her youth from St. Macaille at Croghan and was professed by St. Mel of Armagh, who conferred abbatial authority on her. She settled with seven of her virgins at the foot of Croghan Hill. Around the year 470, she founded a double monastery at Cill-Dara (Kildare) and was Abbess of the convent, the first in Ireland. The foundation later developed into a center of learning and spirituality, and around it grew up the Cathedral city of Kildare. She founded a school of art at Kildare and its illuminated manuscripts became famous, most notably the Book of Kildare, which was praised as one of the finest of all illuminated Irish manuscripts before its disappearance three centuries ago. Brigid was regarded as one of the most remarkable women of her time, and despite the numerous legendary, extravagant, and even fantastic miracles attributed to her, there is no doubt that her extraordinary spirituality, boundless charity, and compassion for those in distress were real. It is said that she died at Kildare on February 1st. The people of Ireland called her "The Mary of the Gael" for her great devotion in seeking the intercession of the Mother of God. She is buried at Downpatrick with St. Columba and St. Patrick, with whom she is the patron of Ireland. The Sacred Flame of Brigid continues to burn brightly at Kildare, Ireland. For thousands of years prior, it had burned in honor of the Goddess Brigid, tended by nineteen priestesses dedicated to her. Each priestess tended the flame for a day, and on the twentieth day, the flame was tended by the Goddess Brigid herself. Many layers of separate traditions have intertwined, making her story and impact complicated, but allowing her to successfully move effortlessly down through the centuries. She has traveled intact through countless generations, fulfilling different roles. With the coming of Christianity, the church suppressed the worship of the Goddess Brigid, but in fine Irish fashion, the people simply worshiped her as St. Brigid and her sacred flames continued to burn in her honor. Today, nineteen nuns tend Brigid's sacred flame and on the twentieth day, Brigid herself still watches over her sacred fire. She was, and continues to be known by many names, including Bride, Bridey, Brighid, Brigit, Briggidda, and Brigantia. February 1st is Imbolc, the Pagan Fire Festival, dedicated to the Goddess Brigid. The worship of the Goddess has been preserved to this day in Christian Ireland, where February 1st is celebrated as the Feast Day of St. Brigid. Brigid's Cross is a woven wheel of the year that marks the cycles of Nature and is sacred to the Goddess. A Brigid's Cross can easily be made from grasses or other plant materials. Her evolution from Goddess to Saint linked Pagan Celtic and Christian traditions much the same way the Cauldron of Cerridwen and the Holy Grail were combined in Arthurian legend. She acts as a bridge between the two worlds and successfully made the transition back to Goddess again with most of her traditions retained. The worship of Saint Brigid has persisted up until the early 20th century with her Irish cult nearly supplanting that of Mary. She is commemorated in both Ireland and the highlands and islands of Scotland. In order to incorporate Brigid into Christian worship, and thus insure her survival, her involvement in the life of Jesus became the stuff of legend. Brigid was the midwife present at his birth, placing three drops of water on his forehead. This seems to be a Christianized version of an ancient Celtic myth concerning the Sun of Light upon whose head three drops of water were placed in order to confer wisdom. The Old Ways were still practiced, although not often openly and, in order to make certain that people would not stray from the new religion, many aspects of the old were incorporated into the new. In keeping with the Old Ways, men were not permitted to impregnate women against their will, against medical advice or the restrictions of her tribe. A man was not permitted to neglect the sexual needs of his wife. Irish law also provided extensively for the rights of women in marriage, for pregnancy out of wedlock and divorce. Brigid is the traditional patroness of healing, poetry and smithcraft, which are all practical and inspired skills. Brigid is also the goddess of physicians and healing, divination and prophecy. Her attributes are light, inspiration and all skills associated with fire. Although, she might not be identified with the physical sun, she is certainly the benefactress of inner healing and vital energy. Known also as The Mistress of the Mantle, she represents the sister or virgin aspect of the Great Goddess. The deities of the Celtic pantheon have never been abstraction or fictions, but remain inseparable from daily life. The fires of inspiration, as demonstrated in poetry, and the fires of the home and the forge are seen as identical. There is no separation between the inner and the outer worlds. The tenacity with which the traditions surrounding Brigid have survived, even the saint as the thinly-disguised Goddess, clearly indicates her importance. |
Goddess of Creativity, Flame of Bards Brigid of the mantles, Brigid
of the hearth flame, I am under the keeping of
my Mother Mary. I am under the shielding
of good Brigid each day. (Image and poem taken from Lunaea.com) |
 |
Brigid's
Cross A typical cross consists of a central square with four spokes, one protruding from each corner of the square in an opposing direction. Crosses of this type are found in Ireland to this day, although the feast day customs with which they were associated mostly died out in the 19th century. To learn how to make a St. Brigid's Cross, Please Visit this page at Irish Culture and Customs.
|