Interview with Mael Brigde (from A Legacy of Druids by Ellen Evert Hopman)

A snippet from an old interview I did with Ellen Evert Hopman for her book ‘A Legacy of Druids’ has appeared on the Pagan Collective blog.

I was happy when the book came out in 2016. The interview had taken place in 1997, so it was interesting to see where my thinking was at the time. It was also great to read the entire book. So many interesting people tell their stories there.

Image: Mael Brigde around the time of the interview, wearing a pink t-shirt that reads: Priestly People, showing in silhouette a woman raising a chalice and host. A gift from my sister, who got it at a Roman Catholic Women Priests gathering.

Mael Brigde Interview on Forest Spirituality with Julie Brett

 

I really enjoyed talking with Julie Brett last year, and I am almost finished listening to the interview. I find I am not completely embarrassed by anything I said. So that's good!

We talked about Brigit and keening and so on. Julie made some interesting points and it was great to think about things with her. You might want to check out some of her other interviews. I've listened to several and they're all interesting.

I should say that if you are interested in taking any of the classes I talk about, I am trying to figure out how to set up PayPal. So if that is the way you want to pay you might need to get a hold of me and I can help you get in.

You can find this interview on various podcast sites, as well as on Julie's website, here:

https://forestspirituality.podbean.com/e/mael-brigde-and-brigid-of-ireland/

Image: is a screenshot of Julie’s podcast page for this interview.

Interview with Mael Brigde by Moon Books

I have been busy busy busy organising a trip to Ireland and Scotland, and then enjoying that trip for a couple of months. In all that busyness I didn’t even realise that I hadn’t posted here for ages. I have several drafts just sitting there waiting to be published! So here is an easy one that I can put out while I am still on the road. This video was published three months ago on YouTube.

Image: Screenshot of Mael Brigde (white woman with grey hair tied back) speaking in Moon Books interview.

The Coracle Live Talks with Erin Aurelia

 

"Join [the Sisters of Avalon] for Books, Bards, and Ballads as we chat with Erin Aurelia, author, poet, editor, book coach, and creator of Daughters of Brighid Flametending Order.

"Erin Aurelia is the author of The Torch of Brighid: Flametending for Transformation, to be published in 2023 by Moon Books, in which she shares how flametending for the Irish goddess Brighid, when combined with ogham work, becomes a transformative daily practice that facilitates creativity, emotional healing, and spiritual growth. She has been flametending for Brighid for 20 years, and created and managed the Daughters of Brighid flametending order for eight of them. She is also known in the community of Brighidine flametenders and devotees for her annual Imbolc Advent and Celebration blog series, which is now featured in her upcoming book. She can be found and followed on Facebook at www.facebook.com/authorerinaurelia."

Click here top for more information.

Image of a blue background with a small woven boat, superimposed with the smiling face of a white woman.  Courtesy of The Coracle Live Facebook event page.

Mael Brigde Interview, Oracle of Luna with Bridget Engels

 

After the flurry of activity last year around this time, with interviews and talks and so on ahead of my book's release, I decided I needed a quieter Imbolc this year, and didn’t organise anything beyond sharing my daily devotional with folk and having a gentle ritual and supper with fellow Daughter of the Flame, Seba.

Into this scene enter the lovely Bridget Engels, who invited me for an interview, to be conducted once the dust had settled. We had our conversation on Sunday and two days later it is ready for interested ears. See below for links to where you can find it.

I enjoyed talking with Bridget, although afterwards of course I found myself thinking, "oh! I didn’t explain that very well. I completely forgot to say the other thing. Etc., etc." As when I said I wanted to bring (describing me in the 1980s) not just the flame but a devotion to Brigit back into the world. Well, despite the fact that I live an ocean away from Ireland, I knew even then that the saint still had her fans. I meant the goddess, who I wanted to see become as known to goddess worshippers as Inanna and Aphrodite.

Earlier in the conversation, I talked about whether or not Brigit’s perpetual flame was an ancient pagan practice or a mediaeval Christian one. I completely forgot to say, as I got carried away with I what I was trying to explain, that whatever my opinions or anyone else’s about that question, tending Brigit’s flame remains a meaningful and precious practice which I have no intention of ever giving up.

So! Enough of my dithering and bum coverage. I invite you to listen to the Oracle of Luna with Bridget Engels and Mael Brigde.

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/18K4q6zxaHiWSX28cXKxyT

 

Apple:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-oracle-of-luna-with-bridget-engels-presents/id1537504464?i=1000550275300

 

Amazon Music:

https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/dfdcd50b-35f7-485d-86c1-7b06979ae749/episodes/73d0d065-0cfd-4371-a8d2-0bc5a4607ef8/the-oracle-of-luna-with-bridget-engels--conversations-with-goddesses-the-oracle-of-luna-with-bridget-engels-presents-mael-brigde---devotee-of-the-goddess-brigit-author-poet-founder-of-the-daughters-of-the-flame

 

Pandora:

https://www.pandora.com/podcast/the-oracle-of-luna-with-bridget-engels-conversations-with-goddesses/the-oracle-of-luna-with-bridget-engels-presents-mael-brigde-devotee-of-the-goddess-brigit-author-poet-founder-of-the-daughters-of-the-flame/PE:8809601

Image: by Bridget Engels.

Mael Brigde Interview - The Oracle of Luna With Bridget Engels

 

I am so looking forward to this! Bridget Engels will be interviewing me on The Oracle of Luna With Bridget Engels podcast next week, airing on 8 February. I've been listening to her interviews and she talks with some very interesting people. She writes:

"Next podcast episode on 2/6 I chat with the amazing: Mael Brigde

"☘️🔥Mael is a devotee of the Celtic Goddess and saint, Brigit, and the founder of the Daughters of the Flame, and the author of A Brigit of Ireland Devotional – Sun Among Stars, a collection of essays, contemplative poetry, and resources for those seeking to deepen their understanding of and connection to Brigit. Her aim in founding Daughters of the Flame was to rekindle the perpetual flame burned by Saint Brigit’s order in Kildare, Ireland until the 1600s. She also publishes a general interest Brigit blog, Brigit’s Sparkling Flame, and a Brigit poetry blog, Stone on the Belly.

Mael has created three online classes for those wishing to learn more about Brigit and grow closer to her. The first, Discovering Brigit, introduces Brigit and many of the ideas associated with her. The second, Stepping into Brigit, guides the seeker into a deepening connection with her. The third, Journey with Brigit, Goddess of Poetry, is a longer, intensive class that explores reading and writing poetry as a sacred act, offering meditations, historical information, and the model of both ancient and modern Irish poets.

"This episode will air on 2/8 on Spotify, Apple Podcast, Amazon Music, Pandora, etc."

 

 

 

Image: by Bridget Engels 

 

Mael Brigde Interview with Round the Cauldron

 When I first contemplated this whole interview idea -- talking off the cuff?! -- I was a little nervous. Well, fairly nervous. Well, freaked.

But it is such fun and so interesting to get to speak with other people about Brigit, people who really want to know something about her or who already know her and have their own ideas and experiences to share. It really gets the old mental juices flowing.

This is my most recent experience, with Megan Black of Round the Cauldron. Megan began her YouTube channel as a Wiccan, and has slowly become a committed Irish Pagan with a special devotion to Brigit. I really enjoyed talking with her.

Here is our conversation.

Image: From Round the Cauldron.

Interview with Druid Fiction Writer M. A. Phillips

 

I was just listening to a conversation between two lovely humans. I wanted to share this interview with you because the writer is a devotee of Brigit, as is the main character in her story.

M.A. Phillips is a modern (A.D.F.) druid from the United States. River Magic is her first novel and is also the first in her series, The Rituals of Rock Bay. Megan Black is proprietor of Round the Cauldron, which began as a podcast and has evolved from there. Megan, too, is a devotee of Brigit. So you can imagine my pleasure in listening to the two of them talk.

You can hear their conversation in a variety of places. This link will take you to the trunk from which those links branch off.

Happy listening. Happy reading.

Oops -- Irish Radio Canada Interview of Mael Brigde

 

I've just noticed that I never did post about my interview on Irish Radio Canada after the fact. It was an enjoyable chat I had with Austin Comerton, who was "stuck" in Ireland because of pandemic travel restrictions, while I was "stuck" at my friends' house with slipped disc mobility restrictions. The wonders of the internet allowed us to speak face to face, although of course the interview is just audio. Downloadable, at that.

Enjoy!

Video: "St Brigid: Patroness and Prophetess"

 

It’s up! The video of my conversation with Sister Mary Teresa Cullen and and Anne Cassidy Carew Of the United Irish Cultural Centre of San Francisco. I don’t think she mentions it here, but it was Sister Mary T who lit Brigit's flame in Kildare in 1993.

UNITED IRISH CULTURAL CENTER

St. Brigid: Patroness & Prophetess. Live chat celebrating St. Brigid's Day 2021.

Image: Anne Cassidy Carew 

"Brigid and the Cailleach" by Caitlin Brehm and Dr. Karen Ward

Caitlin Brehm of Roots of Lore podcast has done a wonderful job of not simply interviewing Moon Mná's Karen Ward (celebrant of Women's Celtic Circles in Ireland). She weaves poetry, background info, and her own thoughts beautifully into Karen's words, painting with her subject these evocative pictures of the Cailleach and Brigid. 

Podcast Mael Brigde, Founder of the "Brigit's Sparkling Flame" Blog and "Daughters of the Flame" Flametending Group, Discusses Her Work

Ah! Last spring I had a lovely visit with Amy Panetta when she came to Vancouver for the Celtic Studies of North America annual conference. Somewhere in there she managed to do this interview of me, and now it is up on her Celtic Feminine Podcast. You can listen now or download it for later.

Play Podcast in New Window

In this podcast, Amy has a conversation with Mael Brigde, about her work and connection with Brigid.  Since 2004, Mael has maintained the longest-running, most prolific blog about Brigid entitled, "Brigit's Sparkling Flame" where she collects a variety of different resources about Brigid, such as in links, books, music, and events. She also has her poetry dedicated to Brigid on her "Stone on the Belly" blog.  She founded "Daughters of the Flame," which is the first non-church-based flame tending group dedicated to Brigid, which interestingly enough lit their first flame on Brigid's Eve, January 31st 1993, the same year that the Brigidine sisters in Kildare Ireland relit Brigid's flame.  

Currently, Mael teaches online courses dedicated to Brigid.

Links:

Brigit's Sparkling Flame Blog

Stone on the Belly Blog

Daughters of the Flame

Mael's Brigid Courses:

Journey with Brigit - Goddess of Poetry

Stepping into Brigit – Goddess Activation Course

Discovering Brigit – Goddess and Saint with Mael Brigde

Intro and Outro Music from the album, "A Year In Ireland" by New Time Ensemble, Used with Permission

To support the many hours that will go into this podcast, please consider donating.  You may send a donation by clicking HERE.  Also, be sure to send me an email at apanettamusic@yahoo.com notifying me of this donation.  Thank you!

Amy Interviews Mael Brigde: Brigit Music, Daughters of the Flame, & More!

Well, that was lovely.

I just had a long conversation with Amy Panetta, who found me through this blog a few years ago (although I wasn't really aware of it until she approached me recently on Facebook). Amy is an energetic and very curious young woman—curious about things, that is, not curious in herself—and has combined her musical skills and love of Brigit in a number of projects.

Her main focus is Brigidine music, especially that composed in the last decades, and we got together today to talk about it, and about my love of writing songs to and about Brigit. Somewhere between the time we made the plan to talk and the talk itself, Amy asked me if we could do it as an interview, thinking she might use it in her podcast-to-be. I agreed and off we went.

I have been interviewed on paper, or asked to write some reflections on my connection to Brigit, but I have never been interviewed aloud on these matters and some of things she asked about I had never spoken discussed with another. So it was an interesting and fun experience for me, where I got to let my thoughts stretch and my chin wag. (I'm usually more the listener—believe it or not, those who know me.)

Amy is an excellent interviewer, with clear questions, a relaxed style, and adding enough of her own thoughts to make it a conversation instead of a monologue. I didn't feel like I was alone and honking, but at ease and chatting with a friend.

Who knows if this will ever be used as a podcast, but it was a good experience, helping me to think in new ways about a subject that is dear to my heart.

I look forward to meeting Amy in the flesh when she comes to Vancouver in a couple of weeks for the CSANA 2017 Conference, (27–30 April 2017, the Celtic Studies Association of North America), where she will be presenting her topic "The Feminine Face of God: Vocal Music Dedicated to Bridget, the Pre-Christian Celtic Goddess and Saint".

This is not an expensive conference, and it runs for several days, so there will be much to bend your minds with if you are able to get to Vancouver, Canada for it.




Image: Croghan Hill (Bog of Allen County Offaly Ireland) by Sarah777. This is the image I looked at throughout our conversation, since we were talking on the computer without video, and it was weird staring at my desktop and all those annoying reminders of things to do.

The Anam Cara Experience & A Brigit Breviary: An Interview

Bee Smith, author of the soon-to-be-released poetry collection A Brigit Breviary is interviewed online with her husband Tony Cuckson of The Anamcara Experience. The show is Tell Me Your Story, with interviewer Richard Dugan, and the interview can be found right here:

http://www.richarddugan.com/AUDIO/tmys/100130.mp3

Tony Cuckson is a storyteller and Anam cara, born one of twins in Milford, County Armagh not far from where Macha ran her legendary race at Navan Fort before giving birth herself to twins. In Ireland the mythic and one's own personal story never seem far from one to the other, with frequent overlaps and meaningful coincidences.

He weaves Irish mythology into his updated wonder tales and peoples them with those known as the Tuatha de Dannan. These are the people who were once the Shining Ones and who were driven underground by the invading Milesians. The Tuatha de Dannan are the people who then became the fairie folk known as the little people.

As a storyteller Tony takes this metaphor and turns it into stories for modern minds and hearts. Using storytelling, songs and poetry from Ireland and beyond you are invited to reclaim the beauty that you are. Tony invites this return to beauty and power through writing and in live performance using storytelling, song and poetry.

This storyteller met his anam cara in 1980 when he returned from a spiritual pilgrimage to India. He was staying with a friend in London and saw that the local library had a Poetry Circle on every Thursday evening.

When he walked through the door of the Dalston Junction Public Library on a rainy November evening he clapped his eyes on a young blonde haired woman seated at the conference table of local poets. The thought sprang into his head, "That woman is going to be my wife." The next thought was, "What an odd thing to think!"

Surprising thoughts not withstanding, nearly three decades later, poetry continues to be a strong soul link in their relationship. Sometimes soul friends also become soul mates.

Bee Smith writes many of the articles on Practices and includes some of her own Soul Friends in the Radiant Soul Friend section of the website.

Bee has had her poetry, fiction and non-fiction published in magazines, pamphlets and small presses in England, Ireland and the USA. Her special interest is haiku as a spiritual practice. A Brigit Breviary will be available soon from Wattle and Daub Books.

Brigit, Harbinger of Spring: Audio Interview of Mary Condren

March 15, 2009

Brigit, Harbinger of Spring (click here for link to CBC archive of this interview)

Mary Hynes of Tapestry, CBC Radio One, interviews Mary Condren, Irish Brigit scholar and author of The Serpent and the Goddess.

Tapestry is a thoughtful and often inspiring weekly program on spirituality and religion.

Listen:

[runs: 54:12]

Statue of Brigit, near Kildare, Ireland (Photo by: Kim Young-Milani)

The spring equinox arrives in a few days. On the pagan calendar, it is already here. The Celtic season of Imbolc began back in February. Its patroness is Brigit; part saint, part myth, ancient symbol of the Divine Feminine, and of a frozen world coming back to life. Mary Hynes speaks with Irish scholar Mary Condren about the renewed interest around the world in Brigit, fifth century saint from Kildare. Mary Condren teaches at the Centre for Gender and Women’s studies, at Trinity College, Dublin. She is also the author of The Serpent and the Goddess: Women, Religion and Power in Celtic Ireland.

A poem by Anne O'Reilly, read by Mary Condren:

Brigid

These words will never carve your image out of bog oak
But that is what they want to do:
To dig down into the moist wetness,
To touch the layers of centuries that have made you,
Woman, Goddess, Saint
To see your shape emerge in tact from the ancient earth.
The fine coat of resin will preserve your beautiful shape
In tact, and I will call on you, Great Woman
To grace me with a golden branch and tinkling bells.
And I will polish you then with images of
Sun and moon and cows,
Sheep, serpent, vultures,
Bags, bells, bats,
And sacred fires.
So that you become a fiery arrow,
And breath life into the mouth of dead Winter.
As it is in these days in the lives of women, whose
Spirits have ceased to quicken.
Nurture them with your milk,
Be midwife to their birthing,
Release them from all that hinders them.
O! beautiful vessel still in tact, where we have unearthed you,
Remind us of your many manifestations,
And let us smile again in memory.
Your cloak spread in the green field of Kildare;
You who turned back the streams of war;
Whose name invoked stilled monsters in the seas
Whose cross remains a resplendent, golden, sparkling flame.
Come again from the dark bog, and
Forge us anew!