|
-
19th February 2015, 09:05
#16
my poor old thread ,well its a good job today is another day folks because , today is ...............
The end of the Goddess month of Bridhe 23rd jan -19th Feb
Brigid is one of the most enduring and beloved of the ancient Celtic goddesses. She was a matron goddess to healers and midwives, bards and poets: to the smithies who worked in gold and iron she was the very forge and flame of inspiration itself. As a goddess of compassion, hearth and home she was also considered a great protector of women, children and animals.
Patricia Monaghan wrote the following of Brigid in her book “The Goddess Path”:
Brigid’s primary symbol is fire, for her very name means “bright arrow” or simply “the bright one”. Almost into modern times, the ancient worship of the fire goddess Brigid was practiced at her sacred shrine in Kildare, where nineteen virgins tended the undying fire and where, on the twentieth day of each cycle, the fire was miraculously tended by Brigid herself. There, into the eighteenth century, the ancient song was sung to her: “Brigid, excellent woman, sudden flame, may the bright fiery sun take us to the lasting kingdom.”
But for more than ten centuries the Brigid invoked was a saint, rather than a goddess, and her attendants were nuns rather than priestesses. After the Christianization of Ireland in the fifth century, the shrine at Kildare became a convent where the ancient rites nevertheless continued undisturbed. Six hundred years later the ever-burning fire was doused by Henry de Londres, archbishop of Dublin, who saw the clearly pagan meaning of the flame.
For many centurie s the fire remained doused, but in 1993 the sisters of Saint Bridget, called the Brigantines, re-lit the sacred fire of Kildare and now keep it continually blazing as a symbol of healing and peace.
Water, too, is a symbol of the goddess. At Kildare, more than thirty sacred wells once gushed forth; the largest well is still in use as a healing shrine.
names of the Goddess
There are many variations, pronunciations, and spellings of Her name, including:
Scotland: Bhrìghde, Brighid, Bride
Ireland: Brigid, Brigit, Brighid, Brìd, Brígh
Manx: Breeshey
Wales: Ffraid
England: Brigantia, Brittania
France: Brigandu
The name Brigit itself means either ‘Fiery Arrow’, ‘Bright One’, or ‘High One’ in the ancient Celtic language, referring to her solar aspect. In the old Celtic language, she was Briganti, which is connected to the old Indo European word, Bhrghnti. In Sanskrit, bhrati, or brihati means ‘exalted one’.
Druid Goddess
Brigit is a ‘pan Celtic’ goddess, who was worshipped by both the Goidelic and Brythonic Celts in the British Isles and beyond. She is a solar deity, who once hung her mantle on a sunbeam. In Celtic mythology, Brigit is the daughter of the Morrighan and the Dagda, the Good God and Chief of the Tuatha de Danaan, the ancient fairy race of Ireland, and the sister of Ogma, who invented the Ogham alphabet. She was the wife of Bres, King of the Fomorians (who were at war with the Tuatha de Danaan). Brigit was said to have been the mediator of peace between the two ancient warring tribes. She was the mother of the Three Gods of Danu – Ruadan, Iuchar and Uar. These three Gods were said to have married the three princesses of Ireland – Eire, Fodhla and Banbha. In other sources, Brigid is the daughter of Boann, the Goddess of the River Boyne in Ireland. Boann (bo fhionn) means ‘white cow’, an association she shares with Brigid. Brigit is primarily the patron Goddess of poets, healers and smiths. She is also a patron of other womanly arts – midwifery, dyeing, weaving and brewing, and the guardian of children and farm animals – particularly cows. The island of Ireland itself is said to be the green mantle of Brigit. She is also said to be the patron of travellers, sailors, and fugitives. She is specifically a patroness to the Druids in her aspects of poetry (Bards), healing and prophecy (Ovates) and blacksmithing (Druids).
Brigit, the Healer
Brigit is the patroness of healers, using the elements of fire and water to heal. She taught the properties of herbs, and blessed many springs and wells across the land, that are still venerated today. Her girdle and mantle had healing properties, which she shared with others. A drop of water from her mantle created a healing lake.
As a solar deity, she also taught that sunlight and water could be used for healing, especially the eyes. She advised sufferers to find a clean, clear spring, or fast moving body of fresh water, sparkling with sunlight, and lathe it on sore eyes for a restorative cure. In Catholic tradition, they pray to Saint Brigit for eye maladies.
In folk tradition, a girdle (belt) is woven of straw at Imbolc, wide enough for people to step through three times in a healing ritual. Stips of cloth or ribbon are also left out to be blessed by the Saint on Imbolc, imparting the healing properties of her own cloak to them.
Goddess of the Healing Wells
Wells throughout the Celtic lands are named after Saint Brigit. There are many legends that the Saint had stopped by a well in her travels, and blessed and healed people at the site. ‘Clooties’ are often tied to the trees (often Hawthorne) overhanging the wells, with healing wishes. These wells were probably dedicated to the earlier Goddess, Brigit, with a presiding priestess or Druid.
Famous wells in Ireland dedicated to the Saint include: Kilbride parish, Co. Mayo; Chiffony, Co. Sligo; Faughart, Co. Louth; Ardagh, Co. Longford; Buttevant, Co. Cork; Castlemanger, Co. Cork; Dunteer, Co. Louth; Inismagrath parish, Co. Leitrim; Killinagh parish, Co. Cavin; Kilranelagh parish, Co. Carlow; Liscannor, Co. Clare; Marlerstown ,Co. Louth; Mullingar, Co. Westmeath; Tully, Co. Kildare; and Outeragh parish, Co. Leitrim
we celebrate the Month of this Goddess here where i live every year and have done for hundreds of years ....
Cornwall
In St. Ives, Cornwall, Saint Ea day is celebrated around the first of February with music and guising. Saint Ea (Bridhe) was said to have floated to Cornwall from Ireland on an ivy leaf. They dress the Saint’s well, which is famous for curing diseases, especially of the eyes. Heated pennies are thrown to children from the balcony of the town hall. A silver ball is passed around until noon, and whoever has it when the bell strikes, is rewarded. The pennies and the ball are solar symbols. Thus, the themes of fire and water are acknowledged in the ceremony.
Did anything of this nature manifest itself for you this month ?
Last edited by Tribe, 19th February 2015 at 10:10.
-
The Following 14 Users Say Thank You to Tribe For This Useful Post:
777 (19th February 2015), Altaira (19th February 2015), Calabash (19th February 2015), Cearna (19th February 2015), Curt (20th February 2015), dianna (19th February 2015), eaglespirit (19th February 2015), monk (19th February 2015), Ria (19th February 2015), sandancer (19th February 2015), Seikou-Kishi (19th February 2015), Sooz (19th February 2015), Spiritwind (20th February 2015), Woody (19th February 2015)
-
19th February 2015, 09:49
#17