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| St. Brigid |
Long before there was a St. Brigid, there was a Brigid. Brigid was nobody to mess with. Her father, Dagda, was a prominent god of Irish mythology. He wielded a magic club that could either kill or bring the dead back to life. If that weren’t enough, his backup plan consisted of a bottomless cauldron affectionately known as the Undry.
Even without Daddy Dagda’s help, Brigid was a force to be reckoned with. She, too, knew how to wield power – albeit by somewhat subtler means. Hers was the domain of artistic seduction. When not spouting
poetry, she was off somewhere smithing whistles (try saying that three times fast). She also got a bit feisty at times, and was known for (literally) playing with fire.
Her namesake, St. Brigid, was also associated with flames. St. Brigid’s sacred flames were said to be so
potent that it took 19 nuns from her Kildare, Ireland sanctuary to protect them. Chronicler Giraldus
Cambrensis claimed that men who foolishly tried to get too close to these flames suffered insanity, death, or the withering of their genitalia.
Eastern Orthodox Christians consider St. Brigid to be one of the great Western saints. Her feast day is either celebrated on February 1-2 (Western calendar), or on February 12-14 (Julian calendar), and traditionally marks the beginning of Gaelic Spring (occurring halfway between the Northern Hemisphere’s
December solstice and March equinox). This feast day is also referred to as Imbolc, Imbolg or Oimelc.
St. Brigid lived circa 451 to 525 CE. The details of her biographies are somewhat sketchy and subject to debate. Her legacy, however, remains clear. She has long been considered to be one of Ireland’s great patron saints.
Resources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imbolc
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breg_(Irish_mythology)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brigid_of_Kildare
Copyright February 1, 2011 by Linda Van Slyke All Rights Reserved
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