Friday, January 18, 2013

Brighid


Time for week 3 of the Pagan Blog Project!

Normally, I try to come up with something slightly creative, but this week I’m pulling from the list of suggestions. I’ve had a cold for the past week and that, combined with being pregnant, makes me feel a little creatively stunted.

This week’s topic is Imbolc under the name of Brighid! I was going to write a post on Imbolc soon, so this was actually perfect timing.

Imbolc is the next Sabbat coming up.

It's one of my favorites because it is also Groundhog's Day.

Also called Brigid, Brighid’s Day, St. Brigid’s Day, or Candlemas, Imbolc is about the halfway point between the Winter and Spring Equinoxes (I did have to Google the proper plural form of equinox). The word Imbolc comes from the Old Irish, "oimelc," which means "ewe's milk" or the word "imbolg," which means "in the belly". This is about the time of the year of lambing season. If I had ever been allowed to raise livestock like I wanted to growing up, I'd know that first hand. Alas, I have only read about it. Thanks, Mom! I'm still waiting for that horse too.

In many areas of the Northern Hemisphere, the weather is still very cold, which makes it a perfect time to celebrate this hearth Goddess.

As made obvious by its other names, this holiday is also a celebration of the Celtic Triple-Goddess, Brighid. The story goes that Dagda had three daughters, each named Brighid, and each daughter had a specialty. She is the goddess of poetry, which included spoken and written magick as well as prophecy; she is the goddess of the smith's and hearth's fires; and lastly, she is the goddess of water, which included healing properties and pregnancy.

Those who celebrate Brighid may leave a piece of green cloth, as green is her cloak's color, on the mantle and hope that her touch imbues the cloth with healing powers as she passes by.

Another tradition is to weave a Brigid's Cross. Soon we will do this with our boys (using pipe cleaners) and I'll post some pictures of our efforts. A traditional cross is weaved with rushes that are pulled, not cut, from the ground and then hung from doorways and rafters to ward off fires and protect the home.

This is a really short post about Brighid, but now I must curl up with some tea and attempt to get rid of this cough.There are many more things to write about Imbolc, which I will put more effort into in the coming weeks.


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