Brigid- The Goddess and The Saint:Uniting the people of Ireland-TeamGirlPowa Women's History Month Contest

Brigid has long been an important part of Irish history, she is recognized as the ancient Celtic goddess of fire (the forge and the hearth), poetry, healing, childbirth, and unity. Before Christianity when Ireland was not a religious Country but one that celebrated an spiritual way of life that was very connected to the land, it was Brigid that they saw as their representative of mother earth and it was to her that they looked to, to look after the land and their children.

When Christianity arrived in Ireland the church saw the huge feminine presence in Ireland as a threat to their survival. They had to find a way to introduce their ways whilst also allowing the Irish people to hold on to some of their past. They did this by replacing the Celtic festivals with church holidays. Many Druids and Druidess's were forced to convert or face banishment or death.

Some did perish but others did convert but only in order to help keep their culture alive. This is where the story of St Brigid comes into play, of a woman born in Ireland that would go on to help unite the people of Ireland and help preserve the old ways, to keep the fire of early Irish life of earth based spirituality alive amongst the Irish people

In Ireland today Brigid is mostly celebrated as a Saint, the second Patron Saint of Ireland. She was born on the 1st February in Faughart, Dundalk, Co. Louth in A.D. 450. It is believed that her father Dubhthach was a Chieftain and her mother a slave, some reports say that her mother was brought to Ireland by Pirates and after she gave birth to Brigid she was sold on to another chieftain.

Image Source:https://deviantart.net
Brigid was named after the Goddess Brigid, the name meaning ‘Exalted One.’ She was send to be educated amongst the Druids, not much is known about her education or for exactly how long it went but at one point she was a high priestess or Druidess at the Kil Dara (the temple of the oak), a pagan sanctuary, sacred to the Druids.

The druids worshipped outdoors and did not have chapels or churches. Druidic rituals were held in oak groves, and these groves were very sacred to them.

The Druidesses at that time were healers, wise women,philosophers, musicians and poets. Bandruí is the Old Irish name for Druidess.

There is much speculation about Brigid's conversion to Christianity, some reports state that she actually met St Patrick and that he personally converted her, but no matter how it happen, for her to survive she would have had to convert, as the church would not allow a women especially a Druidess to continue to live on. Even within the website of the library of Ireland there are records which talk about how many nunneries within Ireland where built on ancient sites, or in their own words

Several ancient nunneries are conjectured to have been Druidesses' retreats, or as being established at such hallowed sites. At Kildare, the retreat of St. Brigid and her nuns, having charge of the sacred fire, there used to be before her time a community of Irish Druidesses, virgins, who were called, from their office, Ingheaw Andagha, Daughters of Fire.

Kil Dara, the sanctuary for Druids is where St Brigid built her monastery, she built it next to a sacred oak tree. This is where as a Druidess, Brigid would light ritual fires for the Goddess Brigid. This eternal flame was tended for thousands of years by 19 priestess's. When Brigid became a Nun,her and her sisters continued to tend that same fire until the 16th century. Brigid as nun remained very connected to the land, and continued to celebrate the Celtic festivals. She really honoured the earth, the air and the fire like all the Celts before her. St Brigid was known also as a great healer and many people travelled from all over Ireland to be healed by her.

Brigid changed the pagan sanctuary of Kil Dara into a Christian shrine, which gave its name to the present County Kildare. She extinguished the ritual fire of the Druids, and lit a flame dedicated to Christ which was thereafter maintained by her followers until it was doused by the forces of Henry VIII. Brigid's wisdom and generosity became legend, and people travelled from all over the country to share her wisdom. Her monastery at Kildare became one of the greatest centers of learning in Europe.

Another monastery that Brigid opened in Kildare at the end of the 5th Century was opened to both females and males, this is something that was not done at this time and especially in Europe. She was Abbess of this monastery, meaning she was the one who ran and over saw everything. This Abbey became famous throughout Europe as a great centre of learning. She also opened a school of art, where one could study metal work and illumination, this is where the famous book of Kildare was created, which is said to rival the Book of Kells.

Image Source:https://www.artclickireland.com/art/brigids-cloak/
There are many legends about Brigid, one of my favourite’s is about how she obtained land in which to build one of her converts. She approached the King of Leinster asking him for land, she already had a place in mind that was close to a forest and lake and where the land was very fertile. The King apparently laughed at her and did not want to give her any land. She simply smiled and asked if she could have land that her cloak would cover. He agreed to this, and along with 3 of her sisters from the covenant, Brigid went to the land she wanted and after each of them took a corner of her cloak they walked to four corners with her cloak growing and covering many acres of land. As one can imagine the King was stunned and apparently fell to his knees and promised her anything that she wished.

Another more realistic account of this story is that Brigid unravelled her cloak and used this wool to surround the and that she wanted. This quick thinking on her behalf won her the admiration of the King and the land that she so badly needed. I love that this story shows how fearless and clever she was and how very determined she was in getting what she needed. At a time when so many women were being persecuted, here was a woman who stood her ground.

Brigid really represented balance, recognizing the masculine and feminine within us all. To be strong in our gentleness and gentle with our strength. She was and still is loved as a goddess and Saint of peace and inspiration, one of compassion and generosity, and one who had great gifts of insight and wisdom.

Brigid really embodies the spirit of Pre-Christian and Christian Ireland, she represents a time of change and of acceptance. Her feast day is on the 1st February which is also the day when Imbolc is celebrated, the day we honour Brigid the Goddess. The returning light, the sun, the fire.

Today the Brigidine Nuns are still based at Solas Bhride in Kildare, that same monastery that Brigid created where the Druids Kil Dara sanctuary was based. The sisters there still celebrate the Celtic Festivals, they continue to celebrate and Honour Brigid, continuing to identify with Celtic spirituality. You can see this for yourself when you visit their website, of if you talk to the sisters where they openly talk about a cosmic God, A God in all things that is neither male or Female.

In 1993 they relight the the Perpetual Flame of Brigid at a conference called “Brigid: Prophetess, Earthwoman, Peacemaker” which was organised by Afri, (Action from Ireland), a justice, peace and human rights organisation, this flame continues to be tended by the nuns. In 2010 a Flame Sculpture was placed in the centre of Kildare, it is bronze with oak leaves at the top and an acorn nestling in the oak leaves. The acorn holds the flame.

Image Source:https://edmooneyphoto.wordpress.com/2015/06/15/brigid-kildare/#jp-carousel-6309

This sculpture as seen above really is a symbol of unity, for the Druids, the oak was a mystical doorway to the divine.

To listen to the voice of the divine, one should stand under the oak tree.The druids gathered in the oak groves to listen to the voice of the divine and to perform their rituals.

It is next to an oak tree where Brigid build her monastery, and now today it is an sculpture of an acorn that holds the flame of Brigid.

I chose to write about Brigid in this contest because regardless of whether we see her as the Goddess or the Saint,she has shown us how much the essence of the feminine has survived through it all. In Ireland when Christianity began to oppress so many women, demoralizing them and calling them evil and witches, they still found a way to hold onto their ways, their knowledge, they still held onto their power. This is a herstory we must not forget.

Thank you @teamgirlpowa for putting together this fantastic contest. Please also check out all the other great entries for this contest.

Sources of Information:http://www.libraryireland.com/Druids/Druidesses.php
https://irelandnow.com/brigid.html
http://solasbhride.ie/
http://thewildgeese.irish/profiles/blogs/st-brigid-the-2nd-patron-saint-of-ireland-1