Introducing Brigid
“Hello! Hello! Come in out of the cold. It’s an awful chilly evening to be out wandering the streets. Come in, Come in, and I’ll put the kettle on. Sure, it’s no trouble at all. Let me take your coat. Go on. Just go through to the kitchen. The fire’s on and we’ll soon get you warmed up in no time.”
Back slightly hunched, white hair faintly gleaming in the dimmed lights of the little cottage, the old lady helped me slip my arms out of the sleeves of my denim jacket. The days had been warming up over the last week or so, but this evening a fierce cold had gripped the small town of Kildare. It was almost as if winter had decided to put up a final fight to the death before it was ready to relinquish to the inevitable arrival of spring.
I’d been out with friends. A catch-up drink at the local pub to share all our news since we last spoke at New Year’s. Time had passed more swiftly than we had realized and before I knew it the pub was closing, my friends had left and I had missed the last bus home. As I watched the tail-lights of the bus rounding the far corner, my heart heavy in my chest and my fingers quickly turning numb with the cold, I remembered Brigid.
Her hospitality was legendary. Everyone in the county, and perhaps even beyond, knew that if they needed a bed for the night, Brigid’s door would be open to them. But still, as I had hesitantly shuffled my feet on the doorstep, working up the courage to knock on the door of an elderly woman after midnight, I couldn’t help but wonder if I should just start the long walk home. I was sure I could be home by sunrise, but the very thought of trudging home alone in the freezing darkness was enough to stir my courage, and I held my hand up to knock on the door.
But before my hand had even struck the wood, the door had swung open and I had been greeted by a vision of the loveliest old woman I had ever seen, her clear blue eyes sparkling as though she had been expecting me. And now I was sitting in her kitchen as she pottered around preparing a large pot of tea. The fire burned hotly in the grate warming my frozen pink skin. Feeling began to return to my fingers and toes, and with that return came a dull ache of limbs chilled to the very bone.
Brigid popped a bright orange hand-knitted tea cosy on top of the teapot, and poured the strong amber liquid into the two china cups that she had set down in front of us, and took a seat opposite mine. “Milk?” she asked as she passed a tiny jug that perfectly matched the china teacups. I thanked her in a soft voice, still a little bewildered at the way my evening had turned out.
“It’s a cold cold night to be out in such thin jacket,” she remarked. I nodded, and explained that I’d been fooled into thinking that spring had arrived because of the warmer temperatures that our little corner of the world had been enjoying this past week. She nodded sagely before turning to stare into the fire. Her voice, when it came, was coloured by an ancient certainty. “Ah, but tonight belongs to the Cailleach.”
All this week, I’m going to be sharing excerpts from the goddess stories contained within the pages of Virgins & Lovers: Ancient Wisdom for the Modern Goddess. Today, it’s Brigid’s turn, or Bride as she’s better known in Scotland.
Unlike Persephone’s Story, which has a very clear and well-known plot, Brigid’s story is fragmented, the threads unravelled and displaced. To create a coherent narrative for Brigid, I’ve brought the story up to date while engaging with both the Celtic and Christian interpretations of this beautiful goddess.
You can find the rest of her story in Virgins & Lovers along with a collection of tools to help you explore and connect to the goddess stories including journal prompts, visualizations and creative exercises. Through these pages I will support the blossoming of your connection to your inner wisdom, helped along by the power of story. It’s going to be beautiful!
PS All this week, I’m having a launch party on my FaceBook Page – come and join the fun! (My mini goddess readings are going down a storm!!)
PPS Yesterday the latest edition of Wild Sister magazine was launched, and I’m in it as one of their new regular writers – woohoo!! This month’s theme is GRATITUDE, and my article is called Gratitude: A Confession. What am I confessing to? You’ll need to buy it to find out! 😉
You can find the latest issue along with special back issue bundles on their website – I just love this magazine and I’m just thrilled to bits that I get to write for it!!
