Brigid: Celtic Mother Goddess of Healing and Inspiration

Brigid the Celtic Mother Goddess figures prominently at this time of year. She is the Goddess of Fire and Forge, Home and Hearth, Poetry and Prose, Inspiration and Healing. Her Feast Day is on Imbolc, or February 1.

I love Brigid.

A long long time ago, when I was lost and desperately trying to hide from my depression, She gently took my hand and led me to this path.

I want to review her Myth and importance to the Celtic People before I talk about my own experience.

The Myths Surrounding Brigid

Celtic myths are kind of hard to follow along. That is because the Celts had an oral tradition. Their stories were not written down until after Christianity infiltrated their lands. Of course, the only ones that could write back then were the Christian Monks and as such I tend to take the origin stories with a grain of salt.

Anyway, Brigid is the Daughter of the earth God, Dagda, of the Tuatha de Dannan. Dagda is fondly called the Good God. The Tuatha de Dannan were the race of ancient people living in Ireland before it was invaded.

It is said that Brigid was born at the break of day with sunlight streaming from her head. Where ever she walked, flowers and shamrocks rose up in her steps. Isn’t that so poetically Irish?

She taught the people how to gather and use herbs for healing as well as how to take care of their livestock and how to forge tools from iron. Brigid is the Patroness of Childbirth.

Her sacred sight is a natural spring in Kildare, Ireland. At one time 19 priestesses took turns tending to her sacred flame. It is believed that Brigid tended it herself on the 20th day.

She is known as the Irish Muse and as such, has a special interest in poets, musicians, bards and writers.

She was absorbed into the dominating Christian theology of Ireland and dubbed St. Brigid. Of course, she was rumored to be the wet nurse of Jesus. History and time lines weren’t that important in Medieval Europe. Her sainthood was revoked in the 1960’s.

My personal experience with Brigid.

Brigid was my top Goddess when I started this path. She was the only Goddess I worked with. Some Goddesses are sharp and edgy. Some are aloof and mysterious. Brigid is gentle. She’s calm and peaceful. That was my only experience for a long time and in my opinion, it was Divinely orchestrated for my benefit. She chose me.

I believe she chose me because I was dealing with some serious mother wounds as well as fighting the Christian indoctrination that I was raised with. She became the Mother I always wanted and showed me how to be that person to myself and my children. She helped me heal those wounds and find myself.

Brigid of the Home & Hearth

As the Goddess of Home and Hearth, she ruled my domain. I am, by nature, a homebody and at the time I was a stay-at-home-mom with no idea how to manage a household. Brigid, took my hand and walked me through the steps. I would love to tell you that I’m an expert but our Spirit guides can only do so much. It’s up to us to take the knowledge and put it into practice. I am way better than I started though. Brigid has helped me tend to my home both physically and metaphorically.

Brigid of the Fire & Forge

As goddess of Fire and Forge, I called on Brigid to help me get out of my funk. I was tired and lost. I desperately wanted to be able to get excited about something – anything. Mostly, I wanted to feel happy and optimistic and I wanted to make beautiful artistic things.

It was a slow process. I found a route to happy, I found things to get excited about even if it was short lived. In the beginning, it was a constant search for the next exciting thing (which in my case was always new skills to learn). Eventually, I was able to hold onto those exciting things.

I learned to combine those skills and learned to create beautiful things. I also learned that passion and excitement needed to ebb and flow. Brigid taught me that its not healthy to always be burning brightly. We need down time, too.

Brigid of Poetry & Prose

As Goddess of Poetry and Prose she guided me to express myself through words. Words have always been my thing. Sometimes I wonder if she’s been with me longer than I’ve known. I started keeping diaries as child. I have a stack of personal journals that I cycle through. Clips and phrases are jotted down in my planners.

Before blogging became blogging there was a site called Open Diary… I was there, incognito. I could say things on paper (or digitally) that I couldn’t say out loud. Sometimes those words wove together a beautiful tapestry of my personal experience that left me in awe.

While I don’t always share that kind of writing publicly, I do write regularly. Sometimes while writing regular blog posts I see her influence. It shows in the rhythm of a sentence, alliteration and clever witty phrases. I believe it is Brigid’s influence that keeps dragging me back to blogging because I discovered the healing power of self-reflection through my obsessive writing.

New Age-y Self-Help criticism.

There’s a buzz lately about the toxicity of the New Age self-help craze that focuses on self with no obligation to be a part of the larger community. I see the point and I disagree with it to some extent. Yes the new witch/ new age self-help community is very self involved. It preaches self preservation/ self healing/ strong boundaries almost to a toxic level. Or at least it sounds toxic from an outsiders point of view.

BUT

and that’s a big but… New witches and/or people who stumble into this spiritual path have done so for a reason. Most are leaving a life that was extra toxic. They’re carrying guilt, shame, loss of self, blurred boundaries. They’re searching for something else. That something will only be found within themselves. They need to be self-absorbed, they need to build strong walls. They need that time to heal their wounds and evolve into a healthier, mentally stronger people.

I did that with Brigid… long before alternate spirituality became a popular past time. It took me a good 10 years. Everyone grows differently. I left my safe space when those wounds were mostly healed and the boundaries were pretty solid. That was when I could finally be part of the larger community.

I believe that as witches, we do have an obligation to work on behalf of those in need. We can’t do that from our protective bubble of self indulgence but we are completely useless until we heal those wounds.

When we do venture out, we should do so cautiously, with the understanding that we can go back in at anytime. We need that time to process those experiences and weigh them against our own truth..

Brigid supports this. In all my years of healing with her, the overall message was:

“Shhh….quiet, go inside, listen. Know your truth and feel loved.”

---

This post may contain affiliate links. This means if you follow a link I might make a small percentage from any purchases you make however, you won’t pay more. Thanks for supporting Green Witch Farm! See our full disclosure for details.

All Things Brigid

I don’t think its a random thing that this is her time of year. The dark time lends itself to introspection, healing and rest. In the next few weeks the days will get longer and our lives will get busier. Take this time to connect with Brigid.

Here’s a few books that can help
Tending Brigid’s Flame by Lunaea Weatherstone

Brigid: History, Mystery, and Magic of the Celtic Goddess by Courtney Weber

I have free download that outlines all the info you need to work with her. You can find that here.