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Celtic Goddess Brigid and the Story of the

Enduring Deity
www.historicmysteries.com |
Doug MacGowan
December 9, 2016

Over the centuries, the stories of two women named Brigid (or Brigit or
Bride or Brighid) have become intertwined in an intricate Celtic knot of
myth and miracle. The Celtic Goddess Brigid and the Catholic Saint
Brigid of Kildare both personified similar spiritual practices of their
times in Ireland. Many scholars believe that the two are the same
mythological person. The saint was necessary to mollify the native Irish
population while not falling within the realm of worship of Pagan gods and goddesses. The
transition from goddess to saint allowed Brigid to survive throughout the Christianizing world. At
this time, the worship of a pantheon of gods and any religious or spiritual belief system that
existed outside of Christianity was no longer acceptable in Europe.
The Celtic Goddess Brigid was born in the Tuatha D tribe of gods and embodied the element of
fire. Source: Pinterest, Esther Remmington Art.

Celtic Goddess Brigid


The Celtic goddess Brigid is one of the most venerated deities in the Pagan Irish pantheon. The
name Brigid means exalted one, while her most ancient Gaelic name, Breo-Saighead, means fiery
power or fiery arrow. As a solar goddess, she embodies the element of fire and is commonly
depicted with rays of light or fire emanating from her head. Irish mythology relates that she was
born at sunrise of Dagda, the earth god, and Boann, the goddess of fertility. They belonged to an
ancient tribe of gods, called Tuatha D Danann (people of the Goddess Danu), who practiced
magic. After they lost their mysterious islands in the west, they traveled to Ireland in the misty
clouds and settled there.

When Brigid was born she had flames shooting out from her head, and through them, she was
united with the cosmos. As a baby, Brigid drank the milk of a sacred cow that came from the spirit
world.

Fiery Aspects

Worshippers sometimes call Brigid the Triple Goddess for her fires of the hearth, inspiration,
and the forge. She is a powerful being and through her fires, she is the patroness of healing arts,
fertility, poetry, music, prophecy, agriculture, and smithcraft. Many people also call her the
Goddess of the Well, as she also has ties to the element of water. The well is sacred because it
stems from the womb of the earth, and Brigid is also Mother Earth or the Mother Goddess. Her
association with the sacred cow reflects the Celtic reliance on the animal for sustenance; milk was
an important theme throughout the year, especially during the cold winter months when hardship
threatened.
Brigid is a Triple Goddess for her fires of inspiration, hearth, and the forge. Source:
Espressocomsaudade.

Worship of the Celtic goddess Brigid was widespread among Celts of Ireland, the highlands and
islands of Scotland, and also of Western Europe. Amongst the warring clans, Brigid was a
unifying theme and common bond. However, in the 5th century, the goddess faced an immense
wave of religious change and pressures that swept through her devotees. She had to evolve,
otherwise, her followers would have to banish her from their lives.

Saint Brigid of Kildare


As Christianity spread throughout the Celtic lands, many properties of the older religions were
Christianized rather than eliminated. Brigid was an integral part of the lives of Celts, and the
solution was to create a version of her that would fit into the Catholic religion. Hence, a new story
emerged.

St. Brigid of Kildare was born around 450 AD to a Pagan family. Her family converted to
Christianity with the help of St. Patrick, an equally important saint in Ireland. The Lord inspired
Brigid as a young girl and her generosity and compassion reflected her unusual virtue. She gave
everything away to the poor. So overly charitable was the young girl that her own father,
Dubhthach, a chieftain of Leinster, wanted to give or sell her away because she had gifted the
impoverished with many of his valued possessions.

St. Brigids Church of the Oak Tree

The king recognized her holiness and gave her a plot of land where she built a church under an
oak tree. It was called Kill-dara (cill dara) meaning church of the oak tree (the area is now called
Kildare). Seven girls soon followed her to Kill-dara and they started a convent at the tree.

This is one of the ways Brigid sanctified the Pagan with the Christian: The oak was
sacred to the druids, and in the inner sanctuary of the Church was a perpetual flame,
another religious symbol of the druid faith, as well as the Christian. Gerald of Wales
(13th century) noted that the fire was perpetually maintained by 20 nuns of her
community. This continued until 1220 when it was extinguished. Gerald noted that
the fire was surrounded by a circle of bushes, which no man was allowed to enter.
Female worshippers tended to Brigids sacred fire for many hundreds of years. Other sources
indicate that 19 maidens rotated over 19 days to keep the fire lit, and then on the 20th day,
Goddess Brigid tended the fire herself.

Celtic Goddess Brigid symbols of the cow, fire, and reed cross, all of which transferred to St.
Brigid.

The Legends of St. Brigid

According to the same story, St. Brigid of Kildare had many mystical powers, performed many
miracles and healed innumerous sick people. Thus, the colorful tales about the goddess-saint
quickly spread to other lands. Her popularity grew in Celtic devotions to the point where she
became closely associated with the Virgin Mary and Jesus. In fact, other names for her was Mary
of the Gaels and Foster Mother of Jesus, and myths placed her centuries earlier than her
known 5th-century life. Those myths described her as the midwife attending Mary or as the wife
or daughter of the innkeeper who had no room for Mary and Joseph.

The story of Saint Brigid tells us that she passed away in the year 523.
The Celebration of the Goddess and Saint
The hardest evidence of a mixture of the goddess and the saint is the date of February 1st. This is
the Celtic festival day of Imbolc, which was an important event that included much worship of the
goddess Brigid. That same date is when the annual Saint Brigid Feast Day takes place. The Irish
still celebrate this day. As part of the festivities, they make Saint Brigids crosses (St. Brigid) of
rushes or reeds (Goddess Brigid) and put them in houses for protection and luck (both). The cross,
one of Brigids most important symbols, looks very much like the swastika motif, which ancient
proto-Germanic people used as a symbol of life, fortune, and blessings.

Brigids crosses maintain both Pagan and Catholic aspects. The symbol still exists in churches,
schools, and homes.

Resurgence of Paganism
Hundreds of years passed since the Celtic goddess Brigid converted to sainthood. And yet, her
worshippers had maintained many of her goddess qualities. Because Ireland was separate from
mainland Europe, they were able to keep some their own culture and practices intact. Therefore,
even the nature of their worship still had Pagan aspects.
Wells of Resistance

Pagan roots still exist today at many Irish wells that Christians had dedicated to St. Brigid. Those
wells were originally connected with the Celtic goddess Brigid. As noted, she is also the Goddess
of the Well, which is historically very sacred as the womb of Mother Earth from which flows life-
giving waters. The most significant wells are those that exist near a large tree, as there is deep
reverence and old mythology about world trees and wells. Even today, the wells have pre-
Christian significance.

For example, worshippers mostly visit between dusk and dawn. This is the time of day when the
Celts believed the veil between the worlds of the living and of spirits is thinnest. The Irish annual
pilgrimage to many of Brigids wells falls on the first Sunday in August. This day is a pre-
Christian Gaelic holiday called Lughnasadh, after the god Lugh. Lughnasadh is one of the four
seasonal holidays of the ancient Celts, and celebrations abound in honor of Lugh and the fall
harvest.

The Burning Flames That Endure

Brigid started as the Great Goddess, exalted and inseparable from the everyday activities of the
Celts. Although the Church rewrote her story, they were never able to completely supplant the
tenacious goddess. Each Brigid reflected the essential spiritual values of her era, whether Pagan or
Christian. She still endures so strongly that it is now impossible to tell where the goddess ends and
the saint begins.

In 1993 a group of female followers re-lit Brigids fire, and her spirit still burns fervently in hearts
and minds, as she continues to move through time as the enduring Celtic Goddess of the flame.

Sources:
Celtic Goddess, Christian Saint, Celtic Heritage, February/March 1997.
St. Brigids Well
Wicca Spirituality, Brigid: Goddess of the Flame and of the Well
Orthodox Outlet for Dogmatic Enquiries

Co-authored by Kim Lin

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