Sisters of the Burning Branch Goddess Gallery Presents...

Goddess Brigid

Level One Final Project
By Venus Nighthawk

Background information:

Brigid is one the most powerful deities in the Celtic pantheon as well as one the most favorite Goddess to all Irish people. When christianity moved into Ireland she became adopted to the Catholic Church and was Canonized as St. Brigid. She is the Celtic Goddess of flame, Brigid is a Sun Goddess, Goddess of the Dawn. (To the Celts, the Sun was feminine, and Light was masculine.) She is also the Goddess of the Well and the Waters. She is a commonly celebrated Wiccan Goddess. Maiden Goddess, Goddess of springtime and new growth, Her festival is held on Feb. 2, a Cross-Quarter Sabbath which is named after her (and alternatively called Imbolc). Her  herstory It is told that Brigid is the daughter of the Earth God Dagda. She was born with the sunrise, and elevated into the sky with rays of light radiating from Her head. She was nourished as a babe on the milk of a sacred cow. It is also said that wherever She walks, flowers and shamrocks spring up in Her footsteps.

She has an apple orchard in the Otherworld, and her sacred bees travel back and forth, carrying the magickal nectar to the Earth. There is some evidence that Brigid may pre-date even Celtic religion. The stones of monuments such as Stonehenge are known as Bridestones, and if that name dates back to the creation of the henges, it indicates that perhaps She was worshipped 5000 years ago or more. Her Eternal Flame was tended for many hundreds or perhaps thousands of years by 19 priestesses ... and when She became St. Brigid, by 19 nuns for more than a millennia!

Sacred to her:
         
•    poets,
•    musicians and singers,
•    storytellers,
•    scholars and teachers,
•    artists, tradesperson, and artisans, especially metalsmiths
•    healers and herbalists,
•    magick-workers,
•    seers and prophets
•    Learning and teaching
•    Magick
•    Knowledge
•    Herbal craft
•    Midwives and childbirth
•    Home tending

Fire and water
•    Wells and  springs
•    Sparks
•    Light candles  etc
•    Sun
•    Sudden flames
•    Sunrise sunshine
•    Brighid's  Cross
•    Forges
•    Hearthfire
•    Spears and arrow

Creatures
•    Swan
•    Goose
•    Dairy cows
•    Bees
•    Owls
•    Ewes and lambs
•    Serpents (especially intertwined)
•    Linnets
•    Oystercatchers
•    Hibernating animals
•    Vultures

Plants or Herbs
•    Hawthorn
•    Shamrocks
•    Meadow flowers
•    Spring flowers such as snowdrops and crocus
•    Sprouts
•    Dandelion
•    Trillium
•    Heather
•    Grains, especially corn and oats
•    Violet
•    Wisteria
•    Blackberry

Metals & Stones
•    Gold
•    Brass
•    Copper
•    Silver
•    Crystal
•    Red or blue stones

Colors
•    White
•    Yellow
•    Red
•    Dark blue

Other Symbols
•    Harp
•    Brigid's Cross
•    Brigid's Knot
•    Triple Spiral
•    Cauldron
•    Stone megaliths (such as at Stonehenge)
•    Green cloak (mantle)
•    Milk
•    Bells
•    Thresholds and entryways
•    All heights, objects on high, and high places
•    The number 19 — Brighid's sacred number

Related Goddesses
•    Cerridwen (Welsh)
•    Athena (Greek)
•    Minerva (Roman)
•    Saraswati (Hindu)
•    Isis and Hathor (Egyptian)
•    Astarte (Phoenician)
•    Ishtar (Babylonian and Assyrian)

Rituals

For my Ritual I took a bath  with candles lighted and a few crystals  around the tub a few flowers such as rose petals, rosemary ,chamomile   as well as I recited her prayer each night before bed and made bread. Through that I felt her warm embrace and was very very happy and love. I know Brigid is the Goddess for me I see her in my dreams I feel her around me all the time she has help me in last year of my life with all the darkest negative times in my life she has pulled me out of it and has brought the fire within me out. I feel  amazing to serve Brigid as she has giving me so much. As well as she has help me on my path to becoming Wiccan. Since I was 13 I knew I was different from others I know i had some Brigid characteristic in me this is why I chose her

Images and original arts

Links used  or books https://www.wicca-spirituality.com/brigid.html , Find your Goddess by Skye Alexander