A Brig(it) Over Troubled Waters

Recently, February 2nd to be exact, was the Celtic holiday of Imbolc. Imbolc is Gaelic for "Ewe's Milk" (which is why I always make enjoying some chocolate milk a part of my festivities!) because it denotes the time when the sheep begin to lactate for the new lambs being born -- it is the beginning of Spring. Last year around this time this was brought home to me as I drove home from Eugene, Oregon with my friend Pixie, after attending the Faerieworlds Winter Ball, and the fields all the way to Washington were teaming with ewes and lambs.


With all this new and sprouting life it is also a time of making dedications -- declaring your intent and dedications for the coming year. This year I again renewed my dedication to Artemis, the virgin, huntress Greek Goddess who is the keeper of wild places and things. I have mentioned before (I think...) how, in retrospect, I can see how she has always walked with me, and called to me from the dappled forests of my mind, and I am so grateful that I have finally been able to both acknowledge and answer that call. There aren't words to describe what such a connection feels like -- and even the word "connection" seems wrong because it suggests separation. I feel as though She is part of me, or perhaps it's more correct to say I am part of Her.


On a different level, over the past year or so, I have felt another connection growing. Brigit, the Celtic Goddess of fire and creativity has slowly been easing her way into my consciousness. In a shamanic circle I took part in last year, it seems I was the only one who wasn't connected to Brigit -- at least in the same deep way others were. So in the course of that year I had quite a bit of exposure to her, though I still maintained my solitary dedication to Artemis -- which is actually quite fitting for the Goddess who walks her own path. So, though I liked and admired Brigit, I didn't feel a strong personal connection. Not yet anyway.


The interesting thing that I found out, while doing some research, is that there is actually a big connection between the two -- namely their Totem: Bear. Bear is considered by some to be the original Mother Goddess. I believe some of the earliest artifacts discovered in tombs or with altars were bear skulls. Bear was apparently worshipped for it's ability to remain dead all Winter and be reborn in the Spring. In fact I've heard it theorized that originally it was a bear rather than a ground hog who was watched for on this particular day. Hence Brigit being a Spring Goddess concerned with creativity and fire, as sunlight begins to increase, and with it new life. Artemis is connected in here by being the Goddess of midwives, as well as being known as the 'Light Bringer' -- when you are being born, she is the light at the end of the tunnel.

One of the projects we'd decided on for the circle was that each of us would craft our own Brigit's Cross, a symbol that has become kind of cross-cultural in bridging (pun intended!) Pagan and Christian religions. I think I was probably the last one to make one, which at the time I felt a little bad about, but have since realized how appropriate it was for me to wait until the spark of inspiration struck -- and strike it did!


I can't remember where I was or what I was doing, but this one day, out of the blue, came this full blown image of my Brigit's cross into my head, along with the drive to make it. Now! I swung into the local craft store, that happened to be on the way home, bought some supplies, and within the hour I was holding in my hands what I'd seen in my mind shortly before that:





It just struck me how appropriate peacock feathers were for this, being sort of a patron bird of artists as well as symbolizing creativity and personal expression. What more perfect medium for honoring Brigit.


Shortly after that I went to a weekly Chanupa circle where a deck of Goddess cards was passed around for each of us to pick one from, to see what Goddess was working with us at that time. And I pulled (insert drum roll here) Brigit --

Image from The Goddess Guidance Oracle Cards copyright Doreen Virtue Ph.D

I believe it was a few days later when I was at work, counting out some brass fittings as I pulled an order, when I looked into my hand at the four pieces I'd dropped into my palm, they formed a perfect Brigit's cross! I'm not kidding!

That was the magic number three, at which point I believe, if you don't recognize the pattern unfolding in your life, the spirits pull out the cosmic 2x4. Fortunately I'm a quick study. I readily acknowledged this Goddess of my blood heritage and her efforts to get my attention.

Okay, so maybe I didn't get it right away. What really made it sink in was the fourth encounter. Just before Imbolc I went to a sweat lodge at a friend's property. Because she decided to make it an all women's lodge I wasn't going in, but had instead been asked to be a fire tender -- tending the fire and making sure the stones stay heated while the others are in the lodge.
The significance of being a son of Artemis and filling this role was not lost on me. I stood watch and held space for this group of women as the presence of Artemis, Protector of Women, and witnessed their rebirth from the lodge, the Womb of the Earth, as the presence of Artemis, Midwife. What hadn't occurred to me at first was being the presence of Brigit. ...Fire, duh!

One of the participating women gave me a beautiful, hand-made bracelet as a give-away for being the fire tender. It has amber and other fiery stones on it and I've been wearing it since then as a conscious connection between Brigit and me.

So at Imbolc, though it didn't feel exactly right to dedicate myself directly to Brigit Herself, what I did after re-dedicating to Artemis was to dedicate myself to my creativity under the supervision of Brigit. And my creativity has been sky-rocketing lately. I can not wait to see what new rivers of light these waves of creativity lead me down under Brigit's matronage!

One last bit of synchronicity, that I was not aware of until just a few minutes ago, is that her name comes from "Breo-saighit", a fiery arrow. Another tie to Artemis, Goddess of Archery, and what better Goddess to join the pantheon of a former outlaw of Sherwood?