The Sacred Fire of Bride

In Celtic times the main shrine to the Goddess Bride was at Kildare in Irelandand and was tended by a group of women known as 'the daughters of fire' whose job it was to ensure that the flames never died.

In Christian times the Goddess Bride became St Bridget and she took on the role of abbess of the convent at Kildare. The sacred fire also crossed the divide between Pagan and Christian beliefs and constantly burned within the abbey for more than 1000 years.

The fire however appeared to have magical properties, for it never died and never increased in ashes, a fact that is written about in the Chronicles of Gerald of Wales when he visited the abbey during the C12.

Gerald described how, over a period of 19 nights, one nun would watch the fire through the night, whilst on the 20th night, the nun on duty would fetch the logs, place them beside the fire and say 'Bridget guard your fire, this is your night,' and then leave. In the morning the logs would be burned and the fire would be alight.

In the C13 the papal envoy of London ordered that the fire be extinguished due to its Pagan connections, but the local people were so angry that they petitioned the bishop to have it re-lit and it then burned until the reformation, when under the orders of Henry V111 it was

extinguished for good.

From 'Mrs Darley's Pagan Whispers'

Wells of Fertility

Wells have been used by the native people of these islands for thousands of years and many are dedicated to the once Irish Goddess Bride or the now Christianised, St Bridget. They have been used for a myriad of reasons, although many would visit Bride's sacred wells for a specific purpose; that of fertility.

As late as 1860, it was recorded that a group of women were seen dancing around St Bridget's well in Grampian, Scotland, whilst an old crone stood in the centre and sprinkled the dancers with water with which to sweep away their bareness. Another story from the same well tells of brides visiting the well the day before their wedding to ensure they would be fertile and bare children.

Who was the Goddess Bride?

As previously mentioned, the Goddess Bride has become synonymous with the midwinter festivals of Imbolc. We know she was the daughter of the Divine being Daghda and that she was the patron of healers, smiths and poets, but in order to have an affinity with her it becomes important to discover who she really was.

Some say Bride was brought up as a wizard and acquired the enviable skills of multiplying both food and drink and having the ability to turn her bath water into wine (a familiar story?). She was revered as the Goddess of light and her domain in the house was the hearth, where many an altarwas set up in her honour. She also presided over the harvest, livestock and was often depicted with a bird of prey.

Bride, rather appropriately, looked after brides on their wedding day and was often called upon to assist those in child birth as well as being the guardian of children.

It comes as little surprise then that when christianity came to these islands, the Goddess who was held so dear in the hearts of the Celts should be embraced and christianised by the early church. More later about her christianised role and her association with fire.