Make Imbolc a National Holiday!

"Brigid of Eire" has a campaign going on My Uplift to make Imbolc a bank holiday in Ireland. If you want to know more about the campaign, or if you are a resident of Ireland and want to put your name on the petition, follow the link below.

To: Minister for Business, Enterprise, Innovation, Heather Humphries TD

Make Brigid's Day a national holiday

New Monument in Offaly

From Offaly Heritage's Facebook page:

Offaly Heritage

30 August at 07:59 · 

Stonecarver Ciaran Byrne is working away on the new stone piece which will be erected where the old damaged trig station was on Croghan Hill summit. The same dimensions as the trig station, each side will reflect an aspect of the area's heritage, following community discussions this summer - St Patrick's well, St Bridget and her veil, the volcano and Croghan Man.

To see him at work:



Ciaran Byrne Stone Carver from newpark movies on Vimeo.

Thank You, Elan! (Brigit Icon)

A couple of months ago a note of great wonder appeared in my inbox.

Elan said she would stitch me one of Donna Amaral's Brigit icons! And so she has. She was wonderful to work with, getting me to think about colour and how I see Brigit, when I wouldn't have considered departing from Donna's original. The result, and the lovely way Elan presented it, is beautiful and moving to receive. Thank you so very much, Elan.

Brigit T-Shirts from Eel and Otter

If you are a T-shirt buff, Eel and Otter has just created some Brigit tees:

Drop the Hammer

Forged by Fire

Purified by Flame

“Conference review for Brighid: Her Flame Burns Brightly 27 Jan 2018” by Potia Pitchford

I am very late to the game in sharing this review with you. I just stumbled across it quite by accident, while looking something up on DuckDuckGo. [Edit: Ha ha! I actually posted about it at the time, but I just gave a link. Doh.]

Potia Pitchford, Scottish Hearth Druid, wrote an extensive review of Land, Sea, Sky Travel's first online conference, which happened eighteen months ago. With her permission, I am reposting the review here, but follow the link if you would like to read it in its natural habitat, Musings of a Scottish Hearth Druid.

Conference review for Brighid: Her Flame Burns Brightly 27 Jan 2018

by Potia Pitchford

Mother, hearth druid, polytheist

“Brighid: Her Flame Burns Brightly” was an online conference organized and hosted by Land Sea Sky Travel as the first in a series of conferences. The series is called “A Year With The Gods” and they have plans for online conferences spaced through the year close to the more commonly recognized Pagan festivals.

As I have had a devotional relationship with Brigantia for many years I decided that trying to attend this online conference should be a good experience for me with the added benefit of devoting time to Her that day.  I was however a bit nervous as I had not experienced this type of online conference before.  I needn’t have worried.

Gratitude Oblation: Brigit Classes for Friends

I am nearly finished my manuscript, Sun Among Stars - Poems and Prayers to Brigit of Ireland.

It's been a long, looong process, interrupted repeatedly by ill health and life challenges. I can barely believe I will soon be taking the next step toward offering it to the world.

In gratitude for this long and nourishing devotion, I'd like to foster our community in another way.

At present, I have three classes available through the Mystery School of the Goddess: Discovering Brigit and its sister course, Stepping Into Brigit, and the poetry intensive, Journey with Brigit, Goddess of Poetry.

To date people have taken the courses as individuals. I would like to offer them to you to take with friends, cill, or grove members. If you gather four people to take one or more class, one of you will not be charged. This way you can make a gift to one or settle amounts between yourselves in a way that supports your community. (Oh--and if anyone at all takes Discovering Brigit and then Stepping Into Brigit, there is a discount if you sign up through the first course.)

Blessings of Brigit on all. Thank you for your immense support. <3 span="">

Click here to find Mael Brigde's Classes.



Image: from Mother House of the Goddess, Journey Into Brigit, Goddess of Poetry.

News on Brigantia Comic Number Two

1. 𝕮𝖍𝖗𝖎𝖘 𝕸𝖔𝖑𝖊‏ @ChrisManji
   

   #Brigantia announcement time! I have some sad news and some happy news - the sad news is that @tarrigan is stepping away from the project and the happy news is that @hattersarts is taking over for issue #2 and beyond. More details attached! #makingcomics #indiecomics
2. 
3. 

Working with @tarrigan on this story has been an absolutely incredible experience, and I'm very grateful for everything she's done - she's pushed me to be a better writer and I think the positive reaction to issue #1 shows the strength of that collaboration.


𝕮𝖍𝖗𝖎𝖘 𝕸𝖔𝖑𝖊‏ @ChrisManji 8m8 minutes ago

That said, I'm very excited to see how @hattersarts tackles the story and makes #Brigantia her own - she's a fantastic artist, and both @tarrigan and I love her work. Our (7-foot, muscled, ginger) goddess is in very good hands! #makingcomics #comics #indiecomicsR
𝕮𝖍𝖗𝖎𝖘 𝕸𝖔𝖑𝖊‏ @ChrisManji 8m8 minutes ago

Issue #2 of #Brigantia (with @adityab on letters) unfortunately won't be ready in time for @ThoughtBubbleUK, but we should have a little 10-page preview to hand out to you guys there with the full issue coming early 2020. We'll have more details in the coming months!




𝕮𝖍𝖗𝖎𝖘 𝕸𝖔𝖑𝖊‏ @ChrisManji 8m8 minutes ago

Thank you all for your patience with us, it's been a hectic time but we thought we'd wait until everything was sorted before sharing the news. Please join me in welcoming @hattersarts to the team and showing your love and appreciation for @tarrigan :)
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Click HERE to link to this thread on Twitter.


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Brigit in Her Complexity and Beauty - Art by Valerie Herron

(Click on the image for a larger view)

Valerie Herron just released into the world an awe-inspiring image of Brigit, one which encompasses so much it makes my heart swell. It moves me in a way no other Brigit art, however wonderful, has ever done. It is huge, what Valerie has expressed here.

Here is what she says about it on her Instagram post:

Brigid: Goddess of the flame of inspiration. Patron Saint of Ireland, the blacksmiths and the poets. She is the resplendent fire in the head of writers, painters, and luminaries. The living embodiment of the creative flow. This piece is about my relationship with creativity and creation.

Valerie is a Seattle based illustrator of the "mythological, the macabre, and the absurd." I encourage you to plumb the depths of her offerings.

Where to find Valerie and her art:

Webpage: Mystic Media: The Art of Valerie Herron
Etsy: Mystic Media: The Art of Valerie Herron
Instagram: Valerie Herron Art
Facebook: Valerie Herron


Image: Brigit by Valerie Herron (2019).

Another Stunning Brigit Sculpture by Denisa Prochazka

The Red Maple Grove of Ár nDraíocht Féin (A Druid Fellowship) has installed a beautiful Brigit shrine at Raven's Knoll in Eganville, Ontario.

The bust was created by Denisa Prochazka, (see her plaque for Saint Brigid's Church, Ottawa, here) and Leo Lanoy Dit Watier built the stone base.

Brigit's shrine joins those of Lugh and Manannán mac Lir. A pilgrimage to this site (camping allowed!) is definitely something to consider.

Images (above): Courtesy of Red Maple Grove of ADF. (below): Photo by Lisa Wasilkowsky Malik.

Brigit - Bless and praise her.

I Knew Brigit Had a Lot of Character: Fadó - the video game merging Irish myths with modern tech

From top left: St Patrick, Fionn Mac Cumhaill, St Bridget and Cú Chulainn

How fun is this?

Fadó: The video game merging Irish myths with modern tech

Charlotte Ryan

As a video game hero, St Patrick is certainly an untapped resource. 

So, too, is St Bridget, a figure who can be interpreted from Irish mythology as either a "very ancient, pre-Christian or even pre-human person who came to Ireland thousands of years ago", or as "a young woman working in the first millennium". 

That's according to Fionn Keeley, the Irish creator of Fadó, an independent role-playing game (RPG) based on the figures and legends of Irish mythology, including Fionn Mac Cumhaill, Cú Chulainn and - yes - the Salmon of Knowledge...


Updated / Monday, 3 Jun 2019 12:04

So begins Ryan's RTÉ article. Follow the link here, or on the title above to read the whole article.




Image: RPG characters by  Fadó

Donna's Brigit: An Icon in Threads

One of the members of Orlagh Costello's Brigid's Forge group on Facebook, asked participants to share their favourite images of Brigit. My first contribution was of my brideóg, but today I felt the urge to share a piece made by the late Donna Amaral.

It used to be nearly impossible to get images of Brigit on this side of the pond. I love what a blossoming of Brigidine imagery there is now. Whether or not I like a particular image, I am so grateful for the inspiration artists receive to imagine her, and that we get to see so many of their results.

This pattern was designed by Donna Amaral, one of the early Daughters of the Flame, back in the 1990s. I only wish I did needlepoint, as I'd love to have it on my altar.

Thank you, Donna, for all you gave to Brigit, to me, and to your sisters in the Daughters of the Flame. I still miss you. 

                 

Below you will see that I enhanced the original scan she sent me--resolution was not awesome Back in the Day. But it isn't perfect. You may want to use a pen to touch it up. If you click on the pattern I've attached you will see the whole thing, though only part of it is visible in the post. If any of you stitch this up for yourself (or for me!), have fun! I'd love to see your work.

All Images: by Donna Amaral. Apologies for the poor quality of the pattern.

Travel Support for Abortion, USA: The Brigid Alliance

Erynn Rowan Laurie brought this alliance to my attention this week. In the midst of bad news around anti-choice legislation in the USA, the 
Brigid Alliance brings much needed assistance.

We make choice possible.

from their website: https://brigidalliance.org

Access to abortion is under attack in the United States.
The Brigid Alliance is dedicated to improving access to abortion by alleviating the logistical and financial constraints placed upon those who must travel for care.

The Brigid Alliance provides:

·         Transportation assistance: bus, plane, and train tickets or funds to cover gas,   tolls, and parking;

·         Housing assistance: hotel accommodations or referrals to local practical support   organizations;

·         Additional expenses: reimbursement for taxis, meals, and/or childcare;

·         Referrals to local practical support organizations for: clinic escort services,   emotional support, overnight hosting, and other support.


             Visit their site for more information.