Book of Kells on DVD!

What a lovely opportunity for those with the cash! The Book of Kells on DVD--beautiful!

This DVD-ROM is the first digitised version of The Book of Kells to have been authorised by Trinity College Library Dublin. It has been produced by a partnership of Trinity College Library and X Communications.

The DVD contains images of all 680 pages of the manuscript - allowing the display of detailed reproductions of each page. Featuring narrations by Olivia O'Leary and Stephen Rea, the history of the manuscript is told, and the decorative and symbolic themes are clearly explained.

Available for International Delivery

"My Tribe" Brigit Communities...

In addition to LiveJournal Brigit communities, there are "My Tribe" communities as well. (In both cases these communities or their members are often connected to the Daughters of the Flame, Ord Brighideach, the Ladies of the Flame and doubtless others I have never heard of.)

The Brighid's Hearth,
Brigid's Hearth
Brigidh, Our Lady of Fire


& many related groups! A Brigit-lover could spend all day just noodling on the net. (Not recommended at the expense of all else. But what the heck...)

Live Journal Brigit Community

Look on LiveJournal and you will find a LOT of talk about Brigit. Or at least, a lot of Brigidines talking!

Check this:

The following communities are interested in "Brigit".

brig_irreg - Brigid's Irregulars
brighiddevoted - Devoted to Brighid
brighidwomen - Daughters of Brighid - Flametenders
brigidshearth - A Celebration of Brigid
brigidswell - Brigid's Well: Exploring the Celtic Mysteries
flame_keepers - Brighid Flame Keepers

and many related communities.

Solas Bhride Pilgrimage

Solas Bhride is a small Christian community in Kildare, Ireland which is devoted to Celtic Christianity as exemplified by Saint Brigit of Ireland. The Catholic Sisters who live there are part of the Brigidine community, and a renewal of a long tradition of tending Brigit's flame.

Many places of contemplation and prayer bear Saint Brigit's name in Kildare and the surrounding countryside. The foundations of her ancient fire temple have been restored, the mother church of the Church of Ireland bears her name, wells and statues do as well.

If you cannot go to Ireland to visit Brigit's Kildare, go on a virtual pilgrimage online at the Solas Bhride site.

Brigit Shrine Online

Visit Roibn's Shrine of the Forgotten Goddesses and spend a few moments or a few hours in their company. Of special interest to us here is the Brigit Shrine, calming and beautiful and filled with quiet prayer. Several more pages of his site are devoted to Brigit, and can be located through the search menu at the bottom of the introductory page.

Thank you, Roibn, for your work.

Brigit in Glastonbury

Kathy Jones, a resident in Glastonbury for nearly thirty years, has issued an online version of her out-of-print 1990 booklet The Goddess in Glastonbury, illustrated by Diana Griffiths and with photos by Simant Bostock.





From her introduction:

From time immemorial, the Isle of Avalon, in the Summerland (Somerset, England), has been home to the Goddess. This ancient sacred place is the legendary Western Isle of the Dead. Dedicated to an awesome and powerful Goddess, this Island lay far to the west in a shining sea. People were called here to die, to be transformed and to be reborn.

By tradition, a group of nine, thirteen or nineteen Maidens or Faerie Queens live, some say even today, upon this mysterious Western Isle. Skilled in healing and the magical arts of creation and death, they are the Keepers of the Mysteries of the Goddess. Their names come to us as those of Goddesses Anu, Danu, Mab, Morrigu, Madron, Mary, Arianrhod, Cerridwen, Rhiannon, Epona, Rigantona, Bride, Brigit, Hecate, Magdalena, Morgana, Gwenhwyfar, Vivien, Nimue.

Brigit is much mentioned in this interesting booklet.

Kathy Jones - Priestess Initiator & Teacher
Kathy has spent the last 28 years living in Glastonbury, also known as the Isle of Avalon, learning of the ways of the Goddess in this ancient and sacred place. She is a Priestess of Avalon and has played a key role in bringing back awareness of the Goddess into Glastonbury. She is the author of several well-loved Goddess books, including In the Nature of Avalon, The Goddess in Glastonbury, The Ancient British Goddess, Spinning the Wheel of Ana, On Finding Treasure, Breast Cancer: Hanging on by a Red Thread and Chiron in Labrys (all Ariadne Publications). She is a teacher of priestesses, offering with Ren Chapman and Brian Charles a three-year training to become a Priestess of Avalon. She also teaches Esoteric Soul Healing. She is a co-founder of the Glastonbury Goddess Temple and co-organiser with Tyna Redpath of the fabulous Glastonbury Goddess Conference.

She is animateur of Ariadne Productions, a community-based theatre company dedicated to ritual drama. Kathy is committed to the Goddess in all her expressions and to the life of the Spirit manifest.

Art of Lisa Iris

The Brigit below was born at the hand of the artist, Lisa Iris. Please follow the links on her name and this image to reach her website and see more of her vibrant work. Many thanks to Amanda for the recommendation. (Amanda says: "This image is available printed on different stuff, and I plan to purchase a poster for my home.")

Institute of Feminism & Religion Annual Festival of Brigit

the Institute for Feminism and Religion has a yearly celebration of Brigit at Imbolc. Although the Festival of Brigit for 2006 has passed, there is much of interest to look at on this site, including:

• a guide for those planning to

celebrate Brigit in their own locales,

an essay on the 2006 theme of Brigit's Cloak: Unfolding and Reclaiming Women's Ground (this on the Festival homepage, near the bottom),

one woman's writings about her experiences at a past festival,

a small selection of Brigit images (including one, i am pleased to note, taken from the Daughters of the Flame website. it is of a woman smith, not originally intended as Brigit but when i saw it on a folksinging pamphlet many years ago i thought--say! i know who that looks like!),

chants and songs (though unfortunately, only the words),

a collection of works from 2005's theme, Brigit as Wounder,
and of course, information on the Institute itself, its board, and so on.

there is also a discussion list.

The Institute for Feminism and Religion aims to explore a prophetic approach to feminism and religion, inclusive of many traditions and emerging consciousness in Ireland.

They do this by providing opportunities for women to reclaim religion by engaging theoretically and experientially with the issues or feminist theology, ethics, spirituality and ritual.

New Christian Novel About Saint Brigid

Cindy Thomson posted a comment today letting us know about her new novel about Saint Brigid:

"Hi!

"Just wanted to let you know about my new book, Brigid of Ireland. It's releasing this month (March 2006) by Monarch Publications in the UK and will be available soon after in the US, distributed by Kregel Publications. Please visit www.brigidofireland.com for more information.

"I also just started a blog (not much there yet) at http://celticvoices.blogspot.com/ Thanks."


Here is a little about the book from her website:

"A luminous story of the young slave who became a national heroine.

"Brigid is born in 5th century pagan-dominated Ireland, the daughter of a slave woman, and a slave herself to her brutal father. Torn from her mother, desperately seeking love and acceptance, Brigid converts to the new religion popularized by the traveling preacher Patrick - and the miracles start.

"But so does the opposition, from rulers and sorcerers opposed to her faith and growing fame. The Irish people cling to superstitions and fears. Can she overcome them - and face her hatred for her father? Can she find the mother she misses so acutely? Has she truly been called by God?"

and a little about Cindy herself:

"Cindy Thomson writes fulltime from her home in Ohio despite the distractions of two young adult sons and another in high school, two dogs, a cat, and countless numbers of lizards. (Fortunately her sons take care of the zoo!) A former teacher and amateur genealogy buff, Cindy has always had an active imagination and a love of history. Preserving our spiritual and genealogical histories is her passion.

"Cindy and her husband Tom are active in their church and small group ministry.

"Brigid of Ireland is her first novel. She is at work on another novel set in ancient Ireland."


Those interested in Celtic Christianity will find many treasures in the wonderful books of Esther de Waal. A good place to start is Every Earthly Blessing.*

Esther also leads Celtic pilgrimages--each a "journey back into the days of the undivided Church"--through the Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica in Atchison, Kansas.

Best of luck with your writing, Cindy, and blessings on your spiritual path. Thanks for letting us know about your book.

"So the Celtic approach to God opens up a world in which nothing is too common to be exalted and nothing is so exalted that it cannot be made common."

Esther de Waal

*Editorial Reviews of Every Earthly Blessing:

Spiritual Book News

... excellent addition to your personal collection of works on spirituality, and is also a wonderful resource to prayer circles... inspires.

Timothy Joyce, OSB, author of Celtic Christianity, Spiritual Book Associates

Among the plethora of books on Celtic spirituality... this one remains a treasure... for beginners and Celtic students...

Blessed Imbolc!

sweet blessings of Brigit on you, your loved ones, and our world this Imbolc, 2006!

A Brief History of Brigit's Flame

from the community website of Kildare, Eire.

Lighting the Perpetual Flame of Brigid (A brief history of the flame)

A sacred fire burned in Kildare reaching back into pre-Christian times. Scholars suggest that priestesses used to gather on the hill of Kildare to tend their ritual fires while invoking a goddess named Brigid to protect their herds and to provide a fruitful harvest.

When St. Brigid built her monastery and church in Kildare she continued the custom of keeping the fire alight. For her and her nuns the fire represented the new light of Christianity, which reached our shores early in the fifth century.

for the complete article and a photograph of Brigit's Flame, please go to the Kildare Community website at: http://kildare.ie/community/notices/perpetual-flame.asp