Reflections on Brigid -- Irish Goddess and Saint
Embracing the Sacred Feminine, its power and artistic inspiration.
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Before my tip to Ireland, I knew about the Irish goddess Brigid and her importance in Irish mythology. Although my father has strong ties to his Irish ancestry and ethnic roots, he does not address Irish mythology or have any books on it. When I think back about the final paper I wrote for my Honors Mythology class in high school, I wish I had been more aware of Irish mythology and Brigid specifically. Researching and writing this paper on Irish mythology instead of Egyptian mythology, which was still rewarding and illuminating, would have drawn me closer to not only my Irish ancestry at a critical age but women’s power.
I began reading more about Brigid before my trip and continued after I returned to the U.S. There is belief that the goddess was simply turned into Saint Brigid of Kildare once Christianity evangelized pagan Ireland. The Catholic saint is, of course, nowhere as fiery or feminist as Brigid to goddess. Instead her lore states she was a chieftan’s daughter who became a slave and later a consecrated virgin.
Also known as the Exalted One, Brigid is the goddess of poets, life, spring, and fertility. She also is the goddess of wisdom and domesticated animals. Because of my love of literature, poetry — whether that is poetry in books and journals or in songs — and dogs as well as cats (thank my daughter for this new love) and other furry and winged creatures, my connection to Brigid developed and has only become stronger. Her mythological story includes two sisters of the same name —Brigid the Healer and Brigid the Smith — which makes her a triple goddess. The Irish festival of Imbolic on February 1 that welcomed Spring is associated with her. Today February 1 is Saint Brigid of Kildare’s feast day and a public holiday in the Irish republic.
The debate continues if Saint Brigid was a real woman or a morphing of the goddess in order to convert Ireland from a pagan to a Christian nation. Unlike Saint Patrick, Saint Brigid has no written record. Saint Brigid is the patron of Ireland like her male counterpart Saint Patrick. Like Brigid the goddess, Saint Brigid’s patronage extends to healers, poets and blacksmiths while also being a patron to dairy workers and livestock.
There are several holy wells in Ireland dedicated to Saint Brigid. Below is a picture of one in Cullion, County Westmeath. Stations of the Cross border the path that leads to a holy well.
Luka Bloom references Brigid’s well in his song “Ciara.”
The most recognizable symbol of Saint Brigid is the Saint Brigid’s Cross woven from straw or rushes. It’s often hung in homes or buildings where prayers for Saint Brigid’s intersession are said for protection and blessings. Saint Brigid’s Cross can also be designed and worn as jewelry.
I will end my reflection with two poems about Brigid — saint, goddess and patron to this literary art.
“Saint Brigid’s Day” by Seamus Heaney
Last time I wrote I wrote from a rustic table
Under magnolias in South Carolina
As blossoms fell on me, and a white gable
As clean-lined as the prow of a white liner
Bisected sunlight in the sunlit yard.
I was glad of the early heat and the first quiet
I’d had for weeks. I heard the mocking bird
And a delicious, articulate
Flight of small plinkings from a dulcimer
Like feminine rhymes migrating to the north
Where you faced the music and the ache of summer
And earth’s foreknowledge gathered in the earth.
Now it’s St. Brigid’s Day and the first snowdrop
In County Wicklow, and this a Brigid’s Girdle
I’m plaiting for you, an airy fairy hoop
(Like one of those old crinolines they’d trindle),
Twisted straw that’s lifted in a circle
To handsel and to heal, a rite of spring
As strange and lightsome and traditional
As the motions you go through going through the thing.
“Imbolc: An Invocation” by Nidhi Zak/Aria Eipe
guardian of the fawn
brightest of the flame
awaken us at dawn o
exalted! hear your name
come glinting in the hearth
kohl lashes lined with soot
steel flint omega arches
fleet mare so light of foot
milk flecked o'er the mouth
skin tight sweet lipped foam
suckled at the reddening
ears, corners of your cloak
glistening by a winch above
the veiled amnion of well
hold us, head neath water,
that we might breathe again
stay winter: light the torch
in dark where life is forged
in the belly; draw breath —
draw rein
Share in the comments your thoughts on the following questions:
Did you know about the goddess Brigid before? What would you like to learn more about her?
Do you believe that Saint Brigid of Kildare was a real woman or that she is syncretized from the goddess Brigid? Why?
What do you believe about the sacred feminine?
Are you interested in creating a work of art inspired by Brigid? Why?
What else can we draw from ancient mythology?