Mara Freeman is "an author and teacher of Western Esoteric tradition, specifically the Celtic and British branches. She lives in a wooded valley in west Wales not far from the sea." She is the author of Kindling the Celtic Spirit, Harper San Francisco, 2001. In October of 2004 we linked to her Beliefnet guided meditation, Fire at the Forge.
Mara recently contacted me about two Brigit-related postings on her blog, which I would like now to share with you. I'll present here a snippet of each, and then provide a link to the full posting on her blog.
Freeing the Waters – Two Rediscovered Holy Wells of Wales
An age-old tradition links women with wells. In the ancient world
sacred springs were regarded as the entrance to the Underworld
where the spirits dwelled. Pilgrims visited them to receive oracular
utterances from the priestess who was guardian of the shrine – a
practice that was still alive not two hundred years ago in Cornwall.
A mediaeval Grail text tells us of the “Voices of the Wells,” which
were silenced when the Well Maidens were defiled by an evil king
and his followers. Because of this the Holy Grail was withdrawn
from the kingdom and its blessings no longer poured freely out
into our world. This last weekend I visited two wells in mid Wales
that were once lost but recently found again. Strangely enough, the
stories of their rediscovery all involve women....
Ffynnon Ffraid
Winding up through the Cambrian mountains in the hazy heat of early
July, I went in search of one of the few holy wells in Wales dedicated
to St Bridget. The Irish holy woman who was once the Celtic goddess
Brigit is known here as St. Ffraid (pronounced Fride), and a mediaeval
Ffynnon Ffraid had been rediscovered not long ago by a woman living
in a remote upland farm in these parts. According to tradition, when
Bridget was young her duties involved milking cows and making butter in
thehafod, the country people's summer home in the high pastures.
Brigit of the red kites,
Brigit of the moorland,
Brigit of the meadowsweet,
Brigit of the dragonflies . . .
The well was entirely unique in Wales, being covered by stones in the
shape of a beehive, but was in a bad state of repair. Annwen Davies
and her mother worked for years to get funding for its restoration,
but in the end had to use their own savings to get the job done...
To read the full text of this entry, please scoot over to the original posting on Mara's blog.