The Daughters of Fire

Upon the arrival of Christianity, the much loved Goddess, Bride became St Bridget, who took over the jurisdiction of Bride's shrine at Kildare by becoming the Abbess of the newly formed christian convent.

The original shrine was tended by 'the daughters of fire', who ensured that the flames, which burned in Bride's honour would never go out, a custom that was tranferred into christian tradition. The abbey's fire burned for a thousand years; it never died and never increased in ashes, a fact that was witnessed by Gerald of Wales in the twelfth century who described it in his writings.

Each night for 19 nights, a nun would stoke and watch the fire through the night, whilst on the 20th night the nun would leave logs beside it and say, 'Bridget, guard your fire, this is your night,' she would then leave the room and in the morning the logs would be gone and the fire would be burning brightly.

In the 13th century the papal envoy ordered that the fire be extinguished, but so enraged was the public that it was reinstated and continued to burn until the reformation under Henry v111.

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.

The Celtic Goddess Bride

Today until sundown is the festival of Imbolc which has, overthe years become synonymous with the Celtic Goddess Bride (christianised as St Bridget).

Bride is often depicted as the gentle maiden Goddess, who's return brings a promise of spring at this lovely winter festival. This image however, belies her true character and tenth century Irish writings provide a far more accurate description when they say she was; 'The daughter of Daghda, the great God of Tuatha de Danann, a woman of wisdom.'

The Tuatha de Danann were thought to have been a race of Divine beings who inhabited Ireland long before the time of the Celts. Bride therefore came from good stock and was indeed a woman of wisdom, often depicted as a triple Goddess in so much as she was, and still is, recognised as the patron of healers, smiths and poets.

To simply celebrate this festival, light a white candle, bring an offering of craftwork, a poem or a promise of helping someone in need and sit quietly in order to give thanks to a Goddess who's return heralds the return of life to the earth.

The festival of Imbolc

Sundown today sees the beginning of the Celtic festival of Imbolc, although in truth, the Celts did not have a fixed date, but celebrated in style as soon as the lambing season began. Imbolc was a time of the utmost importance to the Celtic tribes as the quality and amount of new born lambs meant the difference between survival and extinction.

The word Imbolc (pronounced 'im-olc') actually means 'in the belly' and refers to the stirring of life within the earth's womb. An alternative term for this festival is 'Oimelc', meaning 'the first flowing of ewe's milk, both of which are appropriate words for this exciting time of year.

When christianity came to these islands this festival became 'Candlemas' and commemorated the time when Mary went to the temple to undertake a purification ceremony forty days after the birth of Jesus.

Imbolc is still celebrated by Pagans and witches alike today and has become synonymous with the delightful Celtic Goddess Bride (christianised as St Bridget), who I will look at in greater detail as the week progresses.

Enjoy celebrating over the next few days. Decorate your home with white flowers and candles and arrange to share an Imbolc meal with friends or family to celebrate the return of the Goddess and the eternal hope of spring.

Searching for a soul mate

I have been asked this week to provide a spell, which will help to attract a soul mate and lead to a happy marriage.

Whilst this is probably something many of us ultimately desire, there is no magic wand that I can wave in order to bring the love of someone's life hurtling through the ether towards them. The magic wand lies within each and every one of us. Only we have the power to manifest what we need in our lives.

In order to attract a soul mate, we have to radiate positive energy outward into the world, for what we give out surely shall return. We can't expect good things to come from negative vibrations. Remember the words in the song, 'Something Good', from 'The Sound of Music'? 'Nothing comes, from nothing, nothing ever should.'

Therefore we must work on ourselves first and foremost before we attempt to work our magic on others. It isn't enough to look good, we must be happy with who we are, deep down inside, for that's where positive energies radiate from. We need to look at what we do; does our work satisfy us? We need to look at our relationships with others; are they nourishing? Once we are happy with who we are then our energies will change and hopefully attract that elusive someone.

In the words of Ghandi: 'Be the change you want to see.'

Good luck in your quest.

Plough Monday

The Monday following Twelfth Night was known as 'Plough Monday', as this was the time that farmers returned to work and the winter ploughing began. In actual fact very little ploughing was done and instead, the plough was dressed in ribbons and dragged around the streets, accompanied by people dressed up as goblins and witches and a man dressed as a woman who was referred to as a Betsy, Molly or Bessie.

The owners of the plough would ask for money from passers by and anyone who refused to donate would be at risk of having their garden ploughed up. Before the time of the reformation the money collected, was used to purchase a large candle known as the 'Plough Light', which burned on the church altar in order to bring good ploughing weather, a fruitful harvest and protection for the farmers.

These traditions stem back to Pagan times where sacrifices were made to the old Gods in exchange for a blessing before the new agricultural season began.

Endings

Today is the modern festival of Twelfth Night, which marks the end of the Seasonal celebrations. This is the day on which all the decorations should be taken down to avoid the hauntings of hobgoblins and mischevious spirits throughout the coming year. (More on Twelfth Night traditions and ritual mid month, when 'Old Twelfth Night' is celebrated)

Many people confuse Twelfth Night with the Christian festival of the Epiphany, which commemorates the visit of the three wise men to Christ and therefore leave their Christmas decorations up until the 6th January. This however, would be the 13th night of Christmas, so please take your decorations down today!

Twelfth Night also marks the anniversary of a very personal ending for me, as my Mum died a year ago today and I miss her now as much as I ever did.