The Goddess Brigid
by John Duncan (1866–1945 English)
The goddess Brigid, is a triple diety of ancient Ireland, with mutltiple aspects, often presented as three sisters. As such, she is simultaneously or at different times, the goddess of healing and protection, the goddess of poetry and wisdom, and the goddess of fire, smithing and war. She is also associated with domesticated animals, the beginning of Spring and planting season,, and the Pagan festival day of Imbolc, the celestial midpoint between the winter solstice and the spring equinox.
Her names means ‘the exalted one’ and has various spellings – Brigit, Brigantia, Bride, Brid, Briginda, Brigdu, and has several modern words associated with these spellings, notably ‘Bride’, ‘Brigand’ and ‘Brigantia’, the Celtic goddess of Britain, perhaps one and the same entity. The name ‘Brigid’ may also have evolved and been used as a title too, as all goddesses in Ireland are sometimes referred to as Brigit.
In Irish mythology, she was born as the daughter of the Dagda, the chief king of the Tuatha dé Danaan, and his wife Breas. As she came of age, she married Bres, the half-Fomorian ruler of the Tuatha Dé Danann, and had a son Ruadán, who was killed in the battle of Magh Tuireadh. It is said upon his death, she visited him on the battlefield, and began the custom of keening (lament), a combination of wailing and singing, as mourning.
Other versions of mythology have her as the daughter of the Morrigan, the goddess of war, and marrying Tuireann and with whom, had three sons – Creidhne, Luchtaine, and Goibniu. Tuireann also had three other sons – Brian, Iuchar, and Iucharba, by the goddess Danand, a derivative of the word Danu, which is also used interchangeably with Brigid at times, so things get a bit intertwined. Some interpretations note that ‘her status as a triple goddess allowed her to have multiple husbands, parents, and children without causing contradictions in the Celtic mythos (mythopedia/brigid).
by Warwick Goble (1862 – 1943 British)
In general, Brigid is a ‘pan goddess’, a goddess mother referring to a specific story in Irish Mythology, but also used as a general reference to all the goddesses of ancient Ireland, with her name, as mentioned, sometimes even used as a title. It is also notable that she is sometimes associated with or called Danu, and this spans the origins of the Tuatha dé Danaan, being the people of the goddess Danu. In that context, Brigid is the embodiment of the feminine origins of the tribe, and flowering into the many aspects she represents.
In the larger picture, the three sisters of Brigid, or three aspects are similar to the various manifestations of three goddesses in other traditions. The three Fates, the Moirai of ancient Greece, the Goddess Diana or Parcae of Rome, the Norns of Norse mythology and the Matrones of ancient Celtic beliefs all share similar triple aspects. Additionally other religions also have similar goddess manifestations – Tridevi (Vedic or Hindu beliefs India), Maat (Egypt), and Triglav (Slavic origin) are examples. And the three aspects are variously described as birth, life and death, or maiden, mother, and crone, or girl, grown, and widow, or the phases of the moon, or turnings of the seasons depending on the culture. As such, in a certain consideration, the Goddess Brigid is an Irish manifestation of this recurrent triple goddess theme.
Brigid and Modern or Neo Paganism
In ‘modern’ (and I use this word lightly) pagan belief and shamanistic practices, Brigid represents many things.
One of the primary aspects of her is the Healer, with associations of care, birth, spring, water and animals. Her energies are often tapped in various ceremony and practice, calling forth the renewal of each of these qualities.
Another value Brigid manifests is that of the Poet, referred to in one historical account as the ‘goddess whom poets adored’ and with it inspiration and wisdom. This aspect grows in significance when one remembers the importance of the spoken and later written words and storytelling often via poetry throughout Irish history. For instance ancient kings always took their poet when waging war, such was their importance.
The third and perhaps most referenced aspect of Brigid is the Smith, associated with fire, transformation, purification, rebirth and the life giving qualities of the sun. Pagan belief and practice often calls forth the energies around this aspect, the abilities of the smith to forge raw materials, particular metals, into various tools, jewelry and weaponry. These energies are called forth towards transformations of life and change.
For further reading, a good description of shamanic practice can be found here – https://shamanicpractice.org/article/bridget-the-celtic-goddess/
Brigid and Saint Brigit
Finally there is the discussion of Brigit of Kildare, a catholic saint aligned with Brigid. In the Catholic tradition, Brigit of Kildare is of significant importance, considered patroness saint, or mother saint of Ireland. She is one of Ireland’s three national saints, those being Saint Patrick and Saint Columba.
Saint Brigid lived 451 – c. 525, and is best known for founding the important abbey of Kildare (Cill Dara), as well as several other convents of nuns. There is little factual information about her origins and life, but pagan folklore suggests she was ‘the daughter of an Irish clan chief and an enslaved Christian woman, and was fostered in a druid’s household before becoming a consecrated virgin’, so a lot to unpack in that description from Wikipedia.
Regardless of origins, she is the patroness of many things, including poetry, learning, healing, protection, blacksmithing, livestock, and dairy production, or as may be pointed out, the same qualities of the Pagan goddess Brigid. Additionally, her ‘feast day’ is February 1, the same general date of Imbolc, the pre-Christian festival celebrating Spring. She is also referred to as ‘the Mary of Ireland’ and the ‘Mother Saint of Ireland’.
The fact is the Goddess Brigid and St. Brigid share deeply intertwined values, so much as to be nearly indistinguishable in certain lights, with some scholars even going so far as questioning whether or not St. Brigid was an actual person, and instead a Christianized version of the Pagan goddess. Other views suggest she was a real personage but wrapped in the values and mythos of the Goddess Brigid by a combination of folklore and Christian influences, or even that she was originally a Druidess of a Pagan temple and who converted to Christianity and changing the temple to a monastery.
Regardless, it is not difficult to appreciate the historical backdrop of and influence of the Goddess Brigid upon St. Brigid, however things sort out. It is also notable to remember the difference in time between the two, with St Brigid some 1500 years old while the Goddess Brigid has roots some three or four thousand years back, which suggests St. Brigid is simply a more modern evolution of the Goddess.
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brigid
https://www.rte.ie/learn/2023/0127/1352186-st-brigid-stories-and-legends-from-herstory/
https://mythicalireland.com/blogs/myths-legends/bridget-bright-goddess-of-the-gael
https://shamanicpractice.org/article/bridget-the-celtic-goddess-draft/