Brigit's Sparkling Flame is maintained by the Daughters of the Flame, a group of women who tend Brigit's Flame every day of the year. From our introduction:
On Imbolc, 1993, the Daughters of the Flame lit a fire in honour of the Goddess Brigit and the saint Bridget, modelled after the perpetual fire which once burned in Kildare. We share the task of tending the flame, on a twenty day rotation; each woman tends the fire in her own way, so that it is a solitary devotion linked to the devotions of a larger group. On the twentieth day the Goddess Herself keeps the flame alive. Instead of burning in one grove, temple, or monastery, it burns on personal altars, desks, and picnic tables in countries east and west, south and north.
The reasons for rekindling are many. It is a celebration in our own lives of Her triple aspects of poet, healer, and smith. It is one effort to address the need for a global network of magical prayer, with special emphasis on some of the traditional concerns of Brigit. These include peace and reconciliation, sharing of wealth so that all will flourish rather than protecting wealth for a few, guarding the land and the creatures which nourishes us and share our lives, being tender with and caring for ourselves and each other. It touches on the need of individual women for a focus and a community through which to develop our personal spiritual practice, to reduce isolation and aid in developing our thought and learning while maintaining the autonomy of working as a solitary, if that is what we prefer or how we find ourselves due to life circumstances. It is, however, very much a self-motivated discipline, both in terms of tending the flame and in connecting with others in the group.
Although members have primarily been neo-pagans, Daughters of the Flame is open to any woman who is called to light her flame.
The Daughters of the Flame are happy to be tending Brigit's Flame alongside the hundreds of others who do so, including the Catholic order of Brigidine Sisters, and Ord Brighideach, which is open to both women and men. If others wish to start their own groups the Daughters of the Flame would be happy to assist with advice and moral support.
