Online Brighid Course with Orlagh Costello

Irish Pagan School

 21 April 2019 

 

Introduction to the Goddess Brighid

€40  / $45  US

Online Course on the beliefs, Irish mythology, folklore and magic of the Irish Goddess Brighid and Saint Brigid - with native devotee and Pagan Catholic Practioner, Orlagh Costello.

Talking about her devotions to Brighid, Orlagh says:

"As a solitary practitioner and a lot of what I do has developed over time rather than being told to me or taken from a ritual book etc. I don’t tend to take part in group rituals or do things in public, my practice is centred around my home, my work, my own head rather than anything else. A lot of it might appear to be things that I do anyway, but it’s not. It’s very different to me to be cleaning the house and cleaning the house in preparation for a visit from herself. The intent is different. The attention to detail is different. The feel of the room afterwards is very different."

Learn the history and heritage of this fascinating Irish Goddess and Saint, from the perspective of someone who has grown up immersed in the vibrant culture of knowing and honouring her, and developed that into a personal practice firmly grounded in the authentic Irish traditions.

Your Course access enrollment includes:
-- Class Presentation Slides
-- Class Video
-- Class Audio
-- Class Chat Log/Resources

- Course Photo - Brigid's Crosses in Kildare Town, Courtesy of Alanna Butler Gallagher

Get It HERE: http://ed.gr/bdmon

Orlagh currently describes herself as a Pagan Catholic. Her main relationship in the Irish Pantheon is with Brighid, in whatever form She chooses to present Herself. Orlagh runs a group on Facebook dedicated to Brighid - called Brigid's Forge at https://www.facebook.com/groups/318562765289760/ and women's circles in the Clonmel Red Tent. She is a moon mother with www.wombblessing.com and practices reiki & reflexology for fun. By day, she masquerades as an engineer.

French Language Edition of Brigid by Morgan Daimler

Wonderful to see that Morgan Daimler's excellent book on Brigid is now available in a French language edition! Click here to order.

"Cet ouvrage est une introduction élémentaire au culte de la déesse Brigid, qui se concentre sur son histoire et son mythe, ainsi que sur sa dévotion et son culte modernes. Se focalisant principalement sur la déesse irlandaise, le livre inclue également une discussion sur ses apparitions dans le reste du monde celte, en particulier en Écosse. Ses différentes apparitions dans la mythologie sont mises en relation avec la transformation de la déesse païenne en une sainte catholique. Les méthodes modernes permettant aux néopaïens de se connecter et d'honorer cette déesse populaire incluent des méditations et des offrandes, ainsi que des anecdotes personnelles tirées des expériences de l'auteure.

"Qui était Brigid chez les païens préchrétiens ? Qui est-elle et que représente-t-elle aujourd'hui pour les païens modernes ? Comment tisser les liens entre l'ancienne et la nouvelle déesse païenne ? Pour trouver la réponse à ces questions, découvrez les mythes de Brigid chez les païens irlandais, les histoires de Bride en Écosse et la façon dont les gens honorent aujourd'hui cette divinité puissante et si importante..."

12,00 € 

Bride of Iona, by artist Greg Tricker

Follow this link to watch the lovely short film in which Greg Tricker shows his handmade book, Bride of Iona.

Review: Saint Brigid of Kildare: Life, Legend and Cult by Noel Kissane

Kissane, Noel. Saint Brigid of Kildare: Life, Legend and Cult (2017).

Noel Kissane’s book on Saint Brigit is unlike any I have previously read. Readable, immense in scope, it places her within the context of medieval Irish and Continental Christianity while also examining the minutiae of her cult.

Kissane traces the early development of Christianity in Ireland, such as the process of conversion, and sets Saint Brigit in the context of bishops like Palladius and Patrick. Important texts about or mentioning her are discussed, their dates estimated and implications considered. Various older images of Saint Brigit which we encounter on the internet are identified with their original sources. The lives and intentions of authors of early poems and Lives dedicated to her are delved into. Artistic depictions are listed. Her folklore, the history of Brigidine nuns, cultural movements that drew inspiration from her are examined—and so on and on.

If you were to attempt a pilgrimage through Europe dedicated to Saint Brigit, this would be an essential reference book. Irish placenames linked to her, monastic communities and churches connected to Kildare (ca. 1000 C.E.), and current dedications from churches to Gaelic Athletic Associations are listed and their history briefly recounted. The origin and movement of her various relics (including more heads than most people can boast) is investigated, and he details her cult across Europe, distinguishing between churches named for St. Brigitta of Sweden versus those named for St. Brigit of Kildare, where to the untrained eye these wouldn’t be easily teased apart.

I especially enjoyed reading Kissane’s depiction of life in Ireland during her era—setting her tales against that essential background is not done enough.[1] He goes deeply into the role her supposed tribe, the Fothairt, played in that society (working as mercenaries for other tribes) and what this implies for her, and compares the claims of different locales for her birth, growing up, or veiling ceremony. (I am now convinced it was Mac Caille, not Mél, who gave her the veil, but you may come to a different conclusion.) Amply sourced and footnoted, with an index that includes a breakdown by Irish county and town, it has a bibliography to bring joy to the researcher’s heart. Such are the delights of this book for Brigit scholars.

It is delightful, as well, to have so many oddities of the lore explained. For instance, why do we sometimes encounter the suggestion that Cogitosus (author of her earliest Life) was Brigit’s nephew? (Because of a misreading of a garbled manuscript.) Could Patrick actually have converted Brigit? (Nope.) Why did the Scottish claim her as their own? Was she ever in Glastonbury? Etc. Some of these are explained elsewhere, of course, but no other text tackles so many of these questions as this one.

Little space is set aside for the goddess, naturally, as she is not the subject of this book. However, I am disappointed that Kissane accepts without really questioning, and offers as a statement of high probability if not fact, the hypothesis, generally discounted by modern scholars (for utter lack of evidence), that Kildare was a pagan community dedicated to the goddess Brigit.[2] He even adds to the usual story his own details, such as that the saint may have converted separately from the community (pg. 90), and that she probably inherited a “countrywide network of established holy sites” (pg. 118). I fear that his elaboration of these and related ideas will just add to the rampant confusion around this. I am not opposed to him speculating. I simply wished he had made it clearer that this scenario was unweighted by evidence, and had offered the contradictory view as well. He has such a richness of factual matter here, and many of his speculations throughout the book seem more carefully reasoned. In this area he seems to lose sight of the boundary between conjecture and supportable theory. He goes so far as to say, “It is almost certain that to some degree the early Irish converts to Christianity conflated the saint with the goddess and regarded the saint as retaining and manifesting certain of the qualities and functions of the goddess” (pg. 93). But it is not almost certain. Now, if he had said that it was almost certain that they saw elements of a goddess in the saint, I would be much happier. But to presume the existence of this Brigit goddess sanctuary is venturing too far into conjecture to be certain of anything.

Another instance of unsupported speculation, much less worrying, is when he states that the story of Brigit’s mother’s status is much more likely to be correct in Vita Prima (slave) than in Cogitosus’s Life (noble woman) because there would be no reason to invent her illegitimacy. I can think of one good reason: Christ was born to a woman who was unmarried at the time of his conception. As in other saints’ Lives, many of the elements of Saint Brigit’s hagiography are meant to reflect moments in Jesus’s life as a way of showing her holiness. They reflect but do not exactly copy them. Could this be an instance of the same? I give this example only to say that speculation is just that, and we should never take it, when unsupported by excellent evidence, as any more likely than any other explanation to be true.

There is another good reason for making her illegitimate. Cogitosus was apparently a monk at Brigit’s monastery at Kildare (though a good while after her death); the author of Vita Prima was loyal to Armagh, St. Patrick’s seat of power. Kildare and Armagh were in the throes of a struggle for ecclesiastical supremacy. As Lisa Bitel writes in Landscape with Two Saints, unlike in Cogitosus’s Life, in Vita Prima and other later Lives Brigit “submitted to male religious officials, never competing directly for territory or space” (pg. 176). In this way she is subtly shown to be Patrick’s inferior, making Armagh the legitimate religious centre of Ireland. Would it not benefit such an agenda to have her the daughter of a slave, where Patrick was the son of nobles?

But such matters hardly mar my pleasure in the book as a whole. There is a goldmine of information here, including facts that, for all my scrutiny, I have never come across before, and which put into a much clearer order the normally shifting sea of matters Brigidine.

Highly recommended.

---

[1] See Christina Harrington’s Women in a Celtic Church and Lisa Bitel’s Landscape with Two Saints for very fine exceptions to this rule, as well as Alice Curtayne’s much earlier St. Brigid of Ireland for a less academic and slightly more fanciful but nevertheless excellent example.

[2] See Christina Harrington’s Women in a Celtic Church for a detailed explanation of how this hypothesis came about and the changes in scholarship that have led to its general rejection today.

Review: Pagan Portals—Gods and Goddesses of Ireland by Morgan Daimler

Daimler, Morgan. Pagan Portals—Gods and Goddesses of Ireland: A Guide to Irish Deities (2016).

Once again I come away from reading one of Morgan Daimler’s books with a sense of excitement and the urge to wave it in front of all sorts of people saying, “You want this book!” Why, in this case?

If you have ever plunged into Irish mythological texts, or even modern writings about the Irish deities, you will have quickly discovered that there are a LOT of names in there, all baffling if you are unused to Irish spellings, or are unaware that there are multiple forms and spellings for every name, not to mention the plethora of different persons associated with each god or goddess. In one story he is married to so-and-so, in another he is cavorting with someone else; here she is a sympathetic character, there she is a trickster or a dupe. How do you keep them all straight? And how begin to build a sense of each deity in his or her own right and complexity? How winnow through opinion and fact, misinformation and changing perceptions over time? How, on top of all of this, do you honour those you are drawn to?

There are a number of excellent tomes that cover Irish deities and myths in depth. Their worth is undeniable. But if you want to narrow down your focus you would be hard pressed to find a source that maps things out as clearly and beautifully as Pagan Portals—Gods and Goddesses of Ireland.

The Pagan Portals series is a brilliant idea. Each book is short—in this case less than ninety pages—and serves as an introduction to its subject that offers enough information to set you clearly on your path without overwhelming you with detail. It is possible to read one quickly enough to retain a good sense of the general scope of the book, to leave you feeling less rather than more confused.

In this case, Daimler’s purpose is to offer sound scholarly information about the deities in an easily accessible style to assist those interested in following an Irish Pagan path. This book could be of use both to newcomers to Irish Neo-Paganism and to those who have been immersed for some while.

She tackles her topic by dividing the book into three main sections covering the gods of the Tuatha Dé Danann, the goddesses of the Tuatha Dé Danann, and Irish deities of different or uncertain origins. Instead of limiting herself to the handful of deities we encounter again and again, Daimler includes a number who are much more obscure. She somehow strikes a balance between giving a satisfying survey of their names, relationships, attributes, associations, and elements of their stories, and holding back enough detail that the reader doesn’t end up becoming lost in the thickets.[1] (It must be very hard to stop herself at times—she is well versed in her topic and has many fascinating gems at her disposal.) She is concise and clear without oversimplifying, frequently giving conflicting points of view and allowing the reader to follow up on them if desired rather than simply offering her own favourite theory and omitting all controversy. As well as those of Celtic scholars, she offers perspectives of Irish Neo-Pagan practitioners, and ends each entry with suggestions for how we might honour a given deity in our own lives.

In addition to the individual entries, which range from less than half a page for a deity like Neit, about whom little is known, to over four pages for Macha, Daimler offers excellent advice on how to build a relationship with the deities—not a prescription of rituals and offerings, but an approach to learning and relating that is as wise as it is clear (and again, succinct). A bibliography and recommended reading list are given at the end of the book.

I had not originally thought to include this review in Brigit’s Sparkling Flame. I changed my mind for the simple reason that Brigit is not an isolated goddess, but a part of a rich tapestry of deities from a complex culture, and having a clearer sense, even just a beginning sense, of some of the other gods and goddesses can only strengthen our understanding of and relationship to her. I can think of no better book to wave before Brigidines for this purpose than Pagan Portals—Gods and Goddesses of Ireland.

---

[1] One detail I find especially interesting which is not often included is the particular geographic area a deity is linked to, where that is known.

Review – Poems for the season of Imbolc by Kris Hughes

Poems for the Season of Imbolc by Kris Hughes

US$8.00

I recently received a very short, self-published chapbook by an author whose writing I was not familiar with. I get nervous about reviewing people’s work—I don’t like to hurt feelings but I also don’t like to say I love something when I really don’t. Somehow the stakes seem even higher when it is self-published, I suppose because they don’t obviously have anyone else promoting the work for them, so more depends on one review, but equally they may well be depending entirely on their own eyeball when it comes to editing, layout, and so on, which as many writers have shown is not always a great idea. So it was with some trepidation that I awaited delivery of this booklet.

It arrived shortly before Imbolc. To my relief, it looked pretty darn good. The layout is done with an artist’s eye, though there is little decoration; it is printed on nice paper; there were no wild claims on the back cover: all promising signs.

Because of its subject matter, I wanted to review it right away so people could know about it before the feast day, but it is my busiest time of year and it just wasn’t possible. At last today I had a clear enough mental space to sit down and read the whole thing at once and pay it the attention it (and the author) deserved. I have to say—I love it.

Twenty pages all told, including front and back matter, Poems for the season of Imbolc focusses on the Scottish tales of Bride, Angus, and the Cailleach. There is a short and useful introduction and then four poems, “If Angus Would Come,” “The Cailleach Becomes Bride,” “Cailleach Rant,” and “Woman of the White Sky.”

Apart from “Cailleach Rant,” which is a prose poem of gathering power, the poems are free verse, telling their stories pithily and beautifully. Their tone ranges from lilting and passionate to wild and world-shaping, climaxing in a defiant call to giant selfhood.  I will give two small tastes, but far better that you read the book all at once. Often this is not the case with poetry. It’s best to take deep sips of one or two poems and then sit with them before going back. But Poems for the season of Imbolc is strongest when taken all together, from the longing of Bride for Angus to the transformation of Cailleach to Bride to the roar of the Cailleach to women everywhere, to the brief silence of the final poem of praise to her.

… If Angus would come

He would search for me

Guided by the light of a thousand candles

He would know my abode

By the sark I have hung on the window sill

It collects the snow, to be wrung as dew

To ease his wounds when he comes …

                        from “If Angus Would Come”

… I cackle again from the treetops

raising a storm that sends the cattle

lowing and bucking in indignation

from sleet like knives

for the shelter of the dyke

The ponies

lower their heads to the ground

tails plastered to their legs …

                        from “The Cailleach Becomes Bride”

What does it feel like when life turns out not to be a journey, after all, but an immense impermanence?

                                                from “Cailleach Rant”

Sister Phil on Saint Brigid's Cross (Solas Bhride)

Thin Places

Published on 1 Feb 2018

Blessings of Imbolc!

There has been much excitement this year leading up to Imbolc. Clann Dord Fiann offered a three week daily devotion which many of us joined in on. I enjoyed it so much I am going to continue it. Land, Sea, Sky Travel put on a wonderful Brigit conference on 26 January, which consumed much of my bandwidth for weeks beforehand as I planned and organized my own contribution. And now Brigit lovers all over are posting images and stories and videos that teach and inspire and comfort us at this time.

Lora O'Brien sent a link out on her Irish Pagan School email listserve the other day that points us toward a great program on Brigit and her traditions by Blúiríní Béaloidis/Folklore Fragments on SoundCloud:



I am so happy to be surrounded by Brigit lovers and Brigit lore. May you all be blessed, this year and every year.

Blessings of Brigit

may Brigit bless you

with the lustre of her poetry

the vigour of her smithcraft

the mercy of her healing

and may you walk under

the protection of her blue mantle

all the days of your life.

Mael Brigde

Image: Brigit by Maggie Jones

Amy Interviews Dolores Whelan

Amy Panetta interview Dolores Whelan, educator, spiritual guide, and author of "Ever Ancient, Ever New: Celtic Spirituality in the 21st Century." They discuss her book, her work, The Brigid of Faughart festival she organizes, and Brigid herself. 

You can listen to the podcast by clicking here.

Amy is also offering an hour-long webinar in exchange for a donation.   Most proceeds will go towards The Solas Bhride Centre in Kildare where so many beautiful Brigid sites are located.  Back in Jan/Feb 2017, she taught a number of classes based on her Brigid work and she is excited that the class she was teaching is now online in this webinar!  She also teaches the song, "Gabhaim Molta Bhride" in Irish Gaelic.

Click here for more information about this project.

Imbolc Celebrations at Brigit's Garden

Click here to reach their facebook page.

Revisiting Brighid & Imbolc: A Year With The Gods Conference 26 January 2019

Very soon we will be treated to a second online Brigit conference through Land, Sea, Sky Travel. I'm so excited! I will be presenting--my only presentation with them in the coming year--a deep dive into meditation on Brigit. There is so much more. Explore the various posts on their Facebook page and definitely consider one of the scholarships if they apply.

I love the group of people that Vyviane has gathered together. These conferences have had a huge impact on my practice and on my sense of connection with the wider community. They are accessible in every way, inspiring, friendly, and filled with new ideas and information and ways of looking at things. A real blessing.

JAN26

Revisiting Brighid & Imbolc: A Year With The Gods Conference

Public

 · Hosted by Land Sea Sky Travel

“The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.” ~W.B. Yeats

Land, Sea, Sky Travel is pleased to announce we will be hosting a series of online conferences, A Year With Our Gods: An Online Polytheist Conference in 2019. Over the course of the year, we will be hosting an eight-part conference series. Each conference will hold a specific theme relevant to Irish, Welsh, Gallic, and Deovtional Polytheists. Our first conference is Revisiting Brighid & Imbolc and is meant to be a deeper dive into the work we stared last year with our very popular Brighid: A Fresh Perspective conference.

The conference will provide a balanced mix of hands-on, devotional, and experimental practice with academic and lore-based studies . In addition, a chat room will be provided to facilitate building friendships and meeting others interested in polytheism. Each conference will feature five presenters, a mix of well known faces and fresh voices.

The conference may be accessed from any phone, tablet, or computer.

To help make it accessible to all participants, especially those who cannot commit to attending the full eight hours, a recording of the entire conference is included with your registration ticket. Participants will also receive a digital welcome pack with exciting content from each of our presenters along with other offerings from polytheist groups and polytheist or pagan run small businesses. During the conference, we will be giving away items such as Kindle books, tickets to a future conference in this series, and other exciting surprises. If you own a pagan business and would like to be involved with our Welcome Packet or Give-Aways, please get in touch.

Full and partial scholarships will be offered for the conference along with group viewing party discounts. Registration will be offered for free to individuals under the age of twenty-one and over the age of seventy-one.

Twenty Day Brigid Devotion with Clann Dord Fiann (Starts Today!)

I am very keen to participate in this shared-yet-solitary daily offering to Brigit as we move toward Imbolc. What a wonderful idea! We begin in less than an hour--8 PM Irish time, noon British Columbia time--but the devotion may be done any time during each twenty-four hour period. Whatever works best for you. I'll let Clann Dord Fiann explain.

FLAMEKEEPING/ BRIGIDMAS/ IMBOLG 2019

For 2019 Clann Dord Fiann are working each evening from the 12th of January to the 31st with a 20 day devotional work with and to Brigid. As part of the extension of our work to have a public face, we invite others to join this activity if they wish. It is solitary and requires no other involvement.

Each day at 8pm (Irish time) we light a candle to Brigid and speak or sing the text of Gabhaim molta Bríghde/ I Give Praise to Brigid, a traditional Irish song and poem. This time is ideal, but need not be followed if not fitting with your life. This may be done at any time each day. We will post daily reminders at 7 daily for the 20 days. For those who would like to work with the text as gaeilge, but who do not speak the language, Gaol Naofa has a phonetic version. http://www.gaolnaofa.org/library/music/gabhaim-molta-bride/ . For the first 19 days we light and extinguish the candle after speaking Gabhaim molta Bríghde and a period of reflection. On the 20th day, Brigids eve, reeds are gathered for crosses, and an effigy of Brigid is brought to the place of the candle, be it an image or a Brideóg. An accompanying verse may be desired of this arrival of Brigid. A historical example is:

Oiche Bhríde brichíneach
Bain an ceann den croiceanach,
Gabhaigí ar na glúnaí,
Déanaigí umhlú
Is ligigí isteach Bríd Bheannaithe.
‘Sé beatha, ‘sé beatha, sé beatha.

"On St Brigid’s night
Take the head off the rushes,
Go on your knees,
Make obeisance
And let St Brigid in.
You’re welcome, you’re welcome, your welcome."

The candle is lit in a safe container and allowed to burn out in the company of Brigid, for on the 20th day Brigid keeps the flame.
___________________

Gabhaim molta Bríghde Text (Gaeilge/ English)

Gabhaim molta Bríghde, iníon í le hÉireann
Iníon le gach tír í, molaimís go léir í.
Lóchrann geal na Laighneach, soils’ ar feadh na tíre
Ceann ar óigheacht Éireann, ceann na mban

Tig an Geimhreadh dian dubh, gearra lena géire
Ach ar lá le Bríghde, gar dúinn Earrach Éireann.
Iníon le gach tír í, molaimís go léir í.
Gabhaim molta Bríghde, iníon í le hÉireann

I give praise to Brigid, daughter of Ireland
Daughter of all lands, let us praise her.
The bright torch of Leinster, shining across the country
The leader of Ireland’s youth, leader of women.

The house of Winter is dark, cutting with its sharpness
But on Brigid’s Day, Spring in Ireland draws near to us.
I give praise to Brigid, daughter of Ireland
Daughter of all lands, let us praise her.

Brigantia #2: Funding Unsuccessful

Funding Unsuccessful Posted by Chris Mole (Creator) Hey everybody, As you'll probably have seen, we've unfortunately failed to reach our funding target before the end of the campaign, which means that none of your pledges will be collected. We're going to take some time over Christmas to go back to the drawing board and figure out what to do going forward - we still want to tell Brigantia's story, so we'll try and come up with a way of making that happen. As soon as we've got a plan, we'll let you know! We're obviously disappointed that we couldn't reach the goal, but it's hard to be too upset - we've been bowled over by all of your support for the campaign and all the nice things you've been posting about the story and artwork. Thank you all again for your time and support - we'll be in touch! Chris & Mel

An Dagda's First Books Have Launched!

 

Pagan Portals - The Dagda: Meeting the Good God of Ireland by Morgan Daimler (2018)

Harp, Club, and Cauldron - A Harvest of Knowledge: A curated anthology of scholarship, lore, and creative writings on the Dagda in Irish tradition edited by Morpheus Ravenna and Lora O'Brien (2018)

I'm excited. Two separate books on The Good God, An Dagda, father of the goddesses Brigit, are now available. In my time of devotion to Brigit I have come to know her parent somewhat and fallen in love with him. I am thrilled to have these two opportunities to know him more.

Until now, those interested in The Dagda have had to scrape together their information from widely dispersed sources. In late October Morgan Daimler's Pagan Portals book, The Dagda, was released. A slim volume, like all Pagan Portals titles, it is the first book entirely devoted to this important Irish god. I haven't read it yet, but it sits on the table awaiting my attention. I've read several of Morgan's books and have never been disappointed. 

Minutes ago, Morpheus Ravenna and Lora O'Brien launched their anthology Harp, Club, and Cauldron - A Harvest of Knowledge. Many respected (and beloved) writers and artists have contributed to the book: Isolde Carmody and Chris Thompson from Story Archaeology, Anthony Murphy, author of Mythical Ireland: New Light on the Ancient Past, Segomâros Widugeni, author of Ancient Fire: An Introduction to Gaulish Celtic Polytheism, Valerie Herron, the artist responsible for the delightful works in Ravenna's book on the The Morrigan, The Book of the Great Queen, Morgan Daimler herself, and many others. (I have a poem in there, myself, speaking with Brigit about her father.) Having had a glimpse of the ebook, I am more than ever looking forward to having the book in my hands, .

Now is a great time to have the profile of the Dagda raised. A god of many abilities, protector of his people and linked to the health and balance of his land, he is a powerful ally in a world filled with disharmony and fear. His cauldron of plenty, his harp that can bring sorrow, laughter, or sleep to those who listen, his club which kills with one end and restores to life with the other, his great appetites and his ability to do what needs to be done under any circumstances--An Dagda's influence needs to be felt now more than ever.

It may take a few hours for the anthology to become available--the button is pushed, but Amazon sometimes takes a while to catch up. So if you get a "not currently available" note, fear not. It's on the way.

For those of you who have grown interested in or close with An Dagda, you might also want to join the Facebook group The Dagda's Hearth. I'll see you there, perhaps?

Original Fund-Raising Video for Harp, Club, and Cauldron: