Brigit Gwers (OBOD lesson) by Susa Morgan Black

Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids member Susa Morgan Black offers online her 38 page lesson on Brigit, looked at from many aspects and supported with lots of notes, images, and resources. Below is a brief sample.

Druid Goddess
Brigit is a “pan Celtic” goddess, who was worshipped by both the Goidelic4 and Brythonic5 Celts in the British Isles and beyond. She is a solar deity, who once hung her mantle on a sunbeam.

In Celtic mythology, Brigit is the daughter of the Morrighan and the Dagda6, the Good God and
Chief of the Tuatha de Danaan, the ancient fairy race of Ireland, and the sister of Ogma, who
invented the Ogham alphabet. She was the wife of Bres, King of the Fomorians (who were at
war with the Tuatha de Danaan). Brigit was said to have been the mediator of peace between
the two ancient warring tribes. She was the mother of the Three Gods of Danu – Ruadan7,
Iuchar and Uar8. These three Gods were said to have married the three princesses of Ireland –
Eire, Fodhla and Banbha.9

In other sources, Brigid is the daughter of Boann, the Goddess of the River Boyne in Ireland.
Boann (bo fhionn) means “white cow”, an association she shares with Brigid.

Brigit is primarily the patron Goddess of poets, healers and smiths. She is also a patron of other
womanly arts – midwifery, dyeing, weaving and brewing, and the guardian of children and farm
animals – particularly cows.10 The island of Ireland itself is said to be the green mantle of Brigit.

She is also said to be the patron of travelers, sailors, and fugitives.

She is specifically a patroness to the Druids in her aspects of poetry (Bards), healing and
prophecy (Ovates) and blacksmithing.11 (Druids).


Notes:

4. Goidelic – Gaels: Irish, Scots, and Manx Celts
5. Brythonic – British: Welsh, Cornish and Breton Celts
6. In other versions, Dagda is the son of Brigit; White Goddess, page 101. Dagda is the patron god of the Druids. In some
versions, he is the consort of Brigid.
7. In some sources, it’s Brian, Iuchar and Iuchurba (White Goddess, page 101)
8. Article on Brigit on the OBOD webpage, by Winter Cymres (http://www.druidry.org/obod/deities/brigid.html)
9. White Goddess, page 102
10. Kindling the Celtic Spirit, pg. 47
11. Blacksmithing is the art of transformation of metal, and they were considered great wizards and mages in ancient times,
which relates them directly to the transformative (alchemical) arts of the Druid.

Susa Morgan Black Resources List

Member of the Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids (OBOD) Susa Morgan Black has assembled an intriguing list of resources for lovers of Celtic and Brigidine lore, especially as travellers in Ireland. I paste a large portion of it here, but do visit her site and see all that she has to offer you--poetry, articles, and much more. (See especially her Brigit Gwers {lesson}.)

http://www.susa-morgan-black.net/travel/Resources.pdf

Bibliography

General Celtic:

• Kindling the Celtic Spirit, by Mara Freeman, Harper San Francisco, 2001
• Druidcraft, the Magic of Wicca and Druidry, by Philip Carr-Gomm, Thorsons, London, 2002
• Celtic Myth and Magic, by Edain McCoy, Llewellyn Publications, St. Paul, Minnesota, 1995
  

St. Brigid:

• Saint Gobnait of Ballyvourney, by Elís Uí Dháiligh, (some say Saint Gobnait is a version of Brigid in her patroness of Blacksmiths aspect)
• Irish Legends: St. Brigid’s Cloak, by Reg Keating, Tarantula Books, Dublin, 1997
• Rekindling the Flame, A Pilgrimage in the Footsteps of Brigid of Kildare, by Rita Minehan, CSB, Solas Bhride Community, 1999
• In Search of St. Brigid, Foundress of Kildare, by Mary E. Pollard, St. Brigid’s Cathedral, Kildare, 1988
• The Cathedral Church of Saint Brigid, Rev. John Paterson, Dean of Kildare, 1982
• Brigit of Kildare by Ann Egan, Kildare County Council Library and Arts Services, 2001

Ogham, Irish Herbs and Trees:

• Irish Trees, Myths, Legends and Folklore, by Nial Mac Coitir, The Collins Press, Cork, 2003
• Irish Trees and Shrubs, by Peter Wyse-Jackson, Appletree Guide, Belfast, 1994
• Healing Herbs in Ireland, by Paula O’Regan, Primrose Press, Dublin, 1997
• Brighid’s Healing, Ireland’s Celtic Medicine Traditions, by Gina McGarry, Green Magic, Sutton Mallet, England, 2005
• Ogham, Ancestors Remembered in Stone, by Susan Connolly and Anne-Marie Moroney, Flax Mill Productions, Drogheda, Ireland, 2000
  

Tour and Guide books:

• The Book of Tara, by Michael Slavin, Wolfhound Press, Dublin, 1996
• The Tara Walk by Michael Slavin, (self produced and available in his shop at the foot of Tara Hill)
• The Druids at Tara, by Michael Slavin (self produced and available in his shop at the foot of Tara Hill)
• Sheela-na-Gigs, Origins and Functions, by Eamonn P. Kelly, Country House, Dublin, 1996
• Illustrated Map of the Sheela na Gigs of Britain and Ireland, by Jack Roberts and Joanne McMahon, Bandia Publishing, Ireland, 1997
• Brú na Bóinne, Newgrange, Knowth, Dowth and the River Boyne, by Archeology, Ireland, 2003

• The Complete Road Atlas of Ireland, Ordnance Survey, Ireland
• Paddy Mac’s Gap of Dunloe Pictoral Guide
• Guide to the National Museum of Ireland. by Patrick F. Wallace, Town House, Dublin, 2000
• The Complete Road Atlas of Ireland, Ordnance Survey, Ireland
  
• My personal travel journal, kept diligently for the duration of this extraordinary trip
  

Video:

• The Story of Tara, produced by Michael Slavin, available at his shop at the bottom of Tara Hill

Museums, Tours, and Parks

• Musaem Cheílteach Agus Réstaore. Dingle, County Kerry: www.kerryweb.ie
• Arthur Young Nature Trail, Killarney National Park, begins near Muckross House. Many of the Druid trees grow here, including incredible giant Birches and Pines, as well as Oaks, Hawthorne, Alder, Hazel, Reed, Furze, Fern, and ancient Yews. Even found a Blackthorn bush near Dundag Bay!
• National Museum of Ireland, Dublin: http://www.museum.ie/
  

• Bram Stoker’s Dracula Experience, Dublin: http://www.thebramstokerdraculaexperience.com/
• The Zozimus Ghostly Experience, Dublin: www.zozimus.com
• Irish National Stud, Japanese Gardens, and Saint Fiachra’s Garden, Kildare
• Dublin Ghost Bus Tour: http://www.dublinbus.ie/your_journey/ghost_bus_tour.asp
• Dublinia, and the Viking World, Dublin: www.dublinia.ie
• Musaem Cheílteach Agus Réstaore. Dingle, County Kerry: www.kerryweb.ie
• Arthur Young Nature Trail, Killarney National Park, begins near Muckross House. Many of the Druid trees grow here, including incredible giant Birches and Pines, as well as Oaks, Hawthorne, Alder, Hazel, Reed, Furze, Fern, and ancient Yews. Even found a Blackthorn bush near Dundag Bay!
  

By Susa Morgan Black

Druid (OBOD), NROOGD, FSA Scot