Poetry Reading: Mael Brigde (Through Writers in Our Midst)

I had the opportunity today to read and talk a little about Brigit today, thanks to Erik D'Souza of Writers in Our Midst.

Erik hosted a special event in celebration of my book, A Brigit of Ireland Devotional - Sun Among Stars, which he helped shape as one of my fellow writers in the Port Moody Writing Group in days of yore. It was his idea to do a reading especially for our literary friends and my personal friends and family, many of whom are either unaware, or only vaguely aware, of the large part of my life that is dedicated to Brigit. It was a little unnerving at first, to consider it, as in a small minority of cases I have specifically not mentioned it because I worried about the reaction I would face. But it seemed like the best time and way to let even those folk know about this very important place in me.

I felt very relaxed reading and talking to people I know well, and on the other hand, enjoyed this big, quiet coming out as a Pagan. It was a lovely, brief event. And surprise, surprise, narry a negative reaction.

There is, unfortunately, glitching in the sound, but it is still listenable to.

You can watch the video here.

Megan Black: Growing as a Spiritual Person

 

I just listened to Megan Black's 103rd episode of her podcast, Round the Cauldron: Growing as a Spiritual Person. She talks about what the terms mean, then gives a very thoughtful, sometimes personal, inspiring talk on what this has meant in her life and how it touches the larger community.

I began to follow Megan because I thought she was a Wiccan (she was) and I wanted to see Neo-Paganism outside of my own community. How amusing to discover that over time she has moved from Wicca to something very like my own spirituality. Did I just hear the name #Brigit?

One thing that especially struck me was her discussion of how she has worked with Brigit in understanding her own spiritual needs, and these include finding the courage to look at her self and her behaviours honestly.

I just love this woman!

MoonCon 21 "Brigit Panel"

 

So this just happened! I really enjoyed our #Brigit Panel. And that swirling white streak beneath Erin Aurelia and I is actually Morgan Daimler, manifesting in our shared realm.

If you want to watch the rest of the Con, you can find the sessions on Facebook and YouTube :

https://www.facebook.com/MoonBooks

Our Brigit panel (available on video):

https://fb.watch/5XBxGpw-fs/

OR

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WZ2_r1CUgx8&list=PLuNR40Q7BCOkgs3wPiTw1GfJbOeLbovoL&index=9

Image: Screenshot, 5 June 2021, MoonCon 21 by Mael Brigde.

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.

Gathering with My Sisters

 

Today, Bealtaine, was the second online gathering of Daughters of the Flame. Not the whole bunch of us, just six this time. Roughly the same number as the first time we met, at Imbolc. I’ve been tending Brigit’s flame with the Daughters for going on three decades, and yet we'd never had a face-to-face gathering until this year. It was something I always wished for — I even had a dream twenty or so years ago that several of us had met together in Vancouver, and it was amazing — but the Daughters are in fact spread very far afield. In the first year or so there were four or five of us living in Vancouver, but it didn’t take long before I was the only one here.

Then as now, some were in other parts of Canada, some were in Australia, the USA, and Europe — Ireland, England, Wales and Switzerland — and one was as far off as Indonesia . So I’ve always had the comfort of knowing that I was not tending Brigit’s flame alone, and on a very few occasions I got to meet one of the Daughters of the Flame live and in person when I journeyed to their home turf. Once, the very lovely Terri travelled here.

So, after many years of being connected, first by letters and newsletters, then by emails, then listserves, and finally by the dreaded Facebook, it was amazing to gather with a handful of my sisters and just get to know each other a little, get grounded in our bodies, clear our minds of any need to get up and do something else, and just be together. On both occasions, we shared poetry and songs and prayers. We laughed a lot, and got very serious, speaking from the heart about that so important connection with Brigit and the changes she’s wrought in our lives.

Today, in the hours after we said goodbye, just as after our previous gathering, I am left with a feeling of deep and joyful gratitude. I am so happy to have other people in my life to whom Brigit is important, and through her we have such a strong bond.

I am profoundly lucky.

Brigit, Daughters of the Flame, and the many Brigit loving people I know now — thank you. So very, very much.

Image: Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

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!

Email Subscriptions Ending

 

I am sorry to say that Blogger will no longer be supporting email subscriptions as of July 2021. I do announce new posts on Facebook as they come along, so if you are on that platform, you could follow me there. If you have another idea of how I can continue to offer email alerts, do let me know.

Meanwhile, thank you for your support. It's been good to know that someone out there may actually be reading this blog.

Brigit's blessings.

Mael Brigde

Image: by Sigmund on Unsplash

Féile Bríde 2021 Saint Brigid Musical Celebration (Video)

 

As the webpage says, "Féile Bríde - Brigid's Festival is a week-long series of events commencing on the eve of St. Brigid's Day, the first day of February." The festival is hosted by the Brigidine Sisters at Solas Bhride.

This concert in Kildare was a part of that festival this year. There is some lovely music in here:

Saint Brigid Musical Celebration

Image: Earth Day poster, Solas Bhride.

Mael Brigde Book Video

Surprise greeted me on my Facebook feed today.

Rachel Patterson (The Kitchen Witch) made a little book trailer for me. And here she be:

Mael Brigde Book Video

As I keep repeating, the sound track is a bit thin, but the film itself has great punch.

Thanks, Rachel!

DEADLINE LOOMING - Sanctuary of Brigid - Brigid Anthology

  

I apologise for forgetting to publish this sooner -- I only just learned of it myself last week. But there are a couple of days left to submit to Sanctuary of Brigid's anthology.

It's focus is on the writing of the diaspora, on how Brigit is received and expressed by those who are removed from her birthplace. "In compiling these individual works, we hope to give voice to those traveling ancestors by showcasing a rich and beautiful heritage manifested through embodiments of devotion by their descendants, as well as others touched by Brigid."

Something that fills me with joy is the spirit of abundance and generosity with which the editors are approaching the monetary side of the anthology. 100% of any profits made from the book will go to three registered (U.S.) charities, one which supports women, one immigration, and one First Nations. 

They explain it all much better than I can. Please, send them your heart's work, and don't be held back by lack of fame or great experience in writing and art. They want to see what you have to say.

Sanctuary of Brigid - Brigid Anthology

Submission Deadline: April 9th, 2021 (This is a hard deadline!)

Images: from Sanctuary of Brigid website.

Brigit: Calming Troubled Waters

 

My second-ever guest blog! Thank you to

Rachel Patterson

, Kitchen Witch extraordinaire, for letting me take up a little space on her blog. The post is called Brigit: Calming Troubled Waters, and it looks at how working with Brigit and one of her poems helped me deal with work anxiety one day.

Image: "Wild cow" by Lightmatter.

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 

Me and My Mouth — A Time for Reflection on Its Use

 

Introduction

I have had two occasions recently to reflect on things I have said — or not said — and how I’ve said them — that may be of use to other followers of Brigit as well. So I am setting them down here for your perusal.

Part The First

I seem to have gotten a couple of peoples' knickers in a twist the other day, quite inadvertently, although I knew it could happen.

It was a matter of not guarding my words. I read someone’s innocent post in a Facebook group, wherein she referred to Brigit as a goddess of spring. Now, I have had my editing cap on in matters Brigidine for several years now, partly for working on my book, partly for teaching, partly just for my own understanding, and it’s become second nature to me. So when I read this post I immediately thought, but she isn’t a goddess of the spring. Saint Brigit has connections to the spring, but the goddess doesn’t. So I commented to that effect. I don’t think I put in a whole lot more explanation than that.

A couple of guys came back at me with different explanations of how I was wrong (heaven knows how the original poster took my helpful contribution) and I replied to each of them, trying to explain a little better what I meant, but not engaging too much otherwise. I don’t like squabbles and I also don’t think everyone has to see things the way I do. But I know these anonymous dialogues can get a little rowdy, so I try to keep them short.

I realise that I had left out things that might have helped people hear what I was saying a little better. That doesn’t mean anyone would agree with me, of course. But it might’ve put us on a more stable footing to begin with.  If I had said the written materials from the middle ages that refer to Brigit the goddess don’t mention the spring in any way, whereas the mediaeval writings about Saint Brigit and the folk traditions surrounding her have much to do with the spring, that might have helped.

Now we still could’ve gotten into trouble. Because of certain Victorian writers, we have all gotten the impression that the saint is modelled on the goddess, so we don’t think we need any proof of these sorts of details. If it’s connected to the Saint, it’s connected to the goddess. Equally, we often think that, as one of these gentlemen said, all of the Irish saints are built from pagan precedents, so we can directly extrapolate Pagan rites and stories from Christian — again, without need of evidence. This thinking is not our fault. Nor is it a bad thing. It’s just that I, and many like me, like to know what is old material and what is modern material so that we can make our own decisions about what we believe and how we understand the goddess, the saint, and the culture that gave rise to them. 

Pre-ordering Available for A Brigit of Ireland Devotional - Sun Among Stars by Mael Brigde

I made this wacky 9 second video to celebrate fact that pre-ordering is available for my book. Exciting!

Pre-order here.

St. Brigid Festival Vancouver Day 3: Legends & Mythology of Brigid (Video)

 

As I've mentioned in previous posts, Vancouver was host to a wonderful week long Brigit festival for the second time this year. Because it was online it was possible to have speakers from far afield, and one rewarding session was held on Day 3: Legends & Mythology of Brigid. 

The speakers were storyteller and songster Philomena Jordan, Anthony Murphy of Mythical Ireland, and Dolores Whelan, co-founder of Brigid’s Way Celtic Pilgrimage, author and speaker. Their host was Cynthia Wallentine. The session is now available on YouTube. Check the out the Festival page for other sessions. They aren’t all up yet, but hopefully in time they will be. 

St. Brigid Festival Vancouver Day 3: Legends & Mythology of Brigid

"The Evening of the Nineteenth Day" - Guest Posting on A Bad Witch's Blog

 

I've just done my first guest blog post. It's interesting to explore another person's blog in this way.

The post is a reflection on landing on the nineteenth of February after a particularly unusual Imbolc season: The Evening of the Nineteenth Day.

Thank you to Lucya Starza for inviting me to A Bad Witch's Blog - A Blog about Paganism, Witchcraft and the Day-to-Day Experiences of a London Witch.

Image: Photo by Luis Morera on Unsplash; Post design by Mael Brigde.

Brigit's Basket Food Drive & Community Care in the Name of Our Deities

 Thanks to Paulie Rainbow for doing this work, and for sending me the details so I can share them with you:

We are raising $500 for Food Bank of the Rockies in our annual Brigit's Basket Food Drive! Every $1 provides 4 meals for our neighbors. This year the need is so much greater and we are so happy to be a part of the solution to hunger for so many. Please donate, and share this link forward to help us help each other. Spiritways Metaphysical is again helping us out by collecting canned and dried foods at the shop, and, during their festival weekend Feb 13 & 14, they will donate 5% of their profits to our drive!

Note: They have reached their goal of $500, but donations are still open and more would definitely help.

I love it when our community pulls together in honour of our deities and works to better the lives of those around us, whether they be human or nonhuman. Many of us do this work every day, invisibly, and for that I have great gratitude. Now and then I also see collective efforts like this bearing the name of a deity. Why is this so important to me?

I think it is partly because it acknowledges to the world that our faiths are not simply about ourselves; it shows how deeply we as Neo-Pagans care about each other. But it is also because of the reinforcement and purification of intent that working in the name of my deity gives to my efforts.

When I act as a devotee of Brigit I am mindful of what in her I want to represent and manifest not only in my actions, but in the way that I execute them, the way I treat myself and the others around me, in my thoughts and emotions, as well as in my deeds. I know how this narrowing of focus has assisted me in growing past some of my less helpful habits of mind.

That's me. However we approach it, I can't help thinking that remembering our deities in our community work has got to have a positive effect.

Image: Care of Brigit's Basket Food Drive.

Pandemic Saint

 

I am blown away by this updating of Deirdriu's Saint Bridgit painting. She is the perfect symbol, the perfect saint, for our COVID-19 time.

If you would like to see the painting without the mask, click here.

Image: "My new St. Bridgit!" by Deirdriu Ní Cheocháin (Deirdre Keohane)

A Winner! of A Brigit of Ireland Devotional - Sun Among Stars by Mael Brigde

 Congratulations to Kahlann Gealach for winning an advance copy of A Brigit of Ireland Devotional - Sun Among Stars.

Happy Imbolc - Blessings of Brigit

 May all be well.

Image: by Mael Brigde, using a photo by Egor Vikhrev through Unsplash.