Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Celtic Goddess paper

For a goddess, I selected Brigid. A LOT has been written about her and I will only touch on some of what I found.

As the Goddess of Fire, Brigid is found in the home and hearth, she is also to be called on for inspiration and creativity. All of these aspects are important to me because I’m a mother, I work from my home (so I’m always here and cooking!), and I am a creative (as well as “crafty”) person. In addition, Brigid is the goddess of poetry (http://www.goddessgift.com/goddess-myths/celtic-goddess-brigid.htm) and I am an unpublished novelist — yet another way Brigid does and is working in my life. To put it another way, Brigid is responsible for the Fire of the Hearth; the Fire of the Forge; and the Fire of Inspiration (http://www.pantheon.org/articles/b/brigid.html).

Lore about this goddess is abundant. It is believed that when Christianity overtook the Celtic lands, the Christians “converted” Brigid into St. Brigit. The goddess’s cross, which could have originally been a pagan sunwheel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brigid%27s_cross) became a cross dedicated to Christ, allowing the ancient people to still safely practice and hold their beliefs.

With her “mother” aspect, Brigid is the goddess associated with Imbolic, the bringing of Spring. This “birthing” of the land is her responsibility. As the goddess of fertility, this is a perfect role for her.

One of the things I found the most fascinating about her, though, was the idea that Brigid had two sisters — also named Brigid. Together these three symbolize the Celtic Triple Goddess (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brigid). One datasheet I found online put it this way:

Brighid - a poetess, daughter of the Dagda. She is the female sage, woman of wisdom, or Brighid the Goddess whom poets venerated because very great and famous for her protecting care. She was therefore called 'Goddess of the Poets'. Her sisters were Brighid the female physician, and Brighid the female smith; among all Irishmen, a goddess was called 'Brighid'. Brighid is from breo-aigit or 'fiery arrow'. (http://www.shee-eire.com/Magic&Mythology/Gods&Goddess/Celtic/Goddess/Brigit/Factsheet1.htm)

Brigid, in my opinion, is an amazing Goddess and I feel very drawn to her because of the “fires” she represents. There is so much information out there about her, though, that narrowing it down for this paper was difficult and I plan to spend more time studying her in the future.

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