Saturday 22 March 2014

Celtic goddesses: Brighid (part 3)

From the Take Back Halloween site (with ideas to cosplay Brigid! :) ): http://takebackhalloween.org/brighid/. The artists of this montage are unknown to me, if you know about them, please contact me!

Part 3 of my goddess Brigid tribute is going to be mainly about aesthetics: More artwork and some excerpts and links to songs and poems about this Celtic goddess.

-DISCLAIMER: Same as in the former two parts, I do not own any of the songs/poems or any of the artwork, unless I state so. Poems and songs that do not belong to me are quoted and credited, and the authors of the artwork are credited as well, and in the case of Deviants, I also link to their DeviantArt profile (if you do not want me to show your credited artwork here, please contact me). This is for enjoyment and appreciation only. And once again, please do not spam me about religion.

  • Poems and invocations: I've chosen a few, there are many more on the Internet. 
                                                    'Hail, Brigantia!'  by Patti Wigington
'Brigid's Fire - The Offering' by Joanna Powell Colbert
"Hail, Brigantia! Keeper of the forge,
she who shapes the world itself with fire,
she who ignotes the spark of passion in the poets,
she who leads the clans with a warrior's cry,
she who is the bride of the irlands,
and who leads the fight of freedom.
Hail, Brigantia! Defender of kin and hearth,
she who inspires the bards to sing,
she who drives the smith to raise his hammer,
she who is a fire sweeping across the land."

Invocation of Brighid by Ellen Evert Hopman (Old Irish translation by Alexei Kondratiev)
'Brighid Mother Goddess of Ireland' by Jo Jason.
"A Brigit, a ban-dé beannachtach
Tair isna huisciu noiba,
A ben inna téora tented tréna,
Isin cherdchai,
Isin choiriu,
Ocus isin chiunn,
No-don-cossain,
Cossain inna túatha.

O Brighid, blessed Goddess
Come into the sacred waters
O woman of the three strong fires,
In the forge,
In the cauldron,
In the head.
Protect us.

Protect the people."

          
                                            Excerpt from 'Lady Day', by Susan Morgan Black:
Card  from the "Oracle of the Goddess" Divination Deck, by Gayan S. Winter (also known as Gayan Sylvie Winter), illustrated by Jo Dose (Copyright 2006, U. S. Games Systems, Inc., Stamford, Connecticut). [Thanks to thetarotman for the info!]
"(...) The sacred fires of Brigid
        Are lit.
        Goddess of the blacksmith's forge,
        Of healing wells and
        Bardic wit.

        The Sun is returning,
        Spring is on her way.
        We light the sacred fire,
        For this is Brigid's Day."

Excerpt from 'Invocation to Brigid' by Michelle Skye (http://thetarotman.wordpress.com/tag/lisa-iris/)
I really like the fragment I show, but I'm not a great fan of these kind of invocations where such things as 'let me do your will/bidding' are expressed, as I'm more of an agnostic spiritualist and certainly against serving a deity. 'Inspire us' and 'guide us' are all right, but 'teach me to do your bidding' and 'I serve you' are not so great for my mindset and lifestyle. I prefer to have inspiration and guidance while being my own mistress.
'Brigid media study' by awenbrig on DeviantArt (http://awenbrig.deviantart.com/art/Brigid-media-study-103151288).
"Most blessed Brigid,
Living light,
Bright Arrow,
Goddess of the sun and
Of the eternal fire,
Arise like a shining sun!"
'Brighid' by purplefaerey on DeviantArt (http://purplefaerey.deviantart.com/art/Brighid-197773210).
"Victorious one of shining spear
Come, dear Brigid, come, be here!"
(Excerpt from an ancient invocation, http://www.wicca-spirituality.com/brigid-invocation.html)

  • Songs:


 Lisa Thiel, 'Song to Brighid'https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXcON5cL9vw (lyrics also in the link)
Gorgeous depiction of Brighid dressed in red with fiery red hair, blending with the flames in her hand, and holding a goblet with water (association with healing and fertility, reinforced by the tree and the Moon).  The painting is signed at the bottom, but I've been unable to trace the artist for now.
"Blessed Woman come to me
Woman of the Fires,
Woman of Poetry
Blessed Woman come to me
woman of Healing,
Woman of Skillful Means

Blessed woman of the land
Guide my heart and guide my hand
Blessed Woman of the streams
Guide my soul and guide my dreams
Blessed Woman come to me
Woman of the fires
Woman of Poetry,

Blessed Woman come to me
Woman of Healing
Woman of Skillful Means.
Blessed Woman of the hills
Heal all wounds and heal all ills
Blessed Woman of the flame
Awaken me to renew again."

        Kellianna, 'Brighid'https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6F_gV8QnP10 (full lyrics in the link)
'A blessed Brigit' by Jane Iris (http://thetarotman.wordpress.com/tag/lisa-iris/) This image can be found on the “Don’t Back Down” Card in “Goddess Guidance Oracle Cards,” by Doreen Virtue, Ph.D. 
"Blessed Brighid 
Burning bright
Lead us from 
The darkest night

Triple Goddess 
Of new life
Shine your flame 
On us tonight
(...)
Wise guardian 
Of the Hearth
You bless our homes
And our lives

Keeper of the
Healing light
Shine your light 
On us tonight
(...)
Sacred muse 
Of poetry
Inspire 
Creativity
(...)"


Sources:
-Essay on Brigit by Susan Morgan Black. Downloadable as pdf.
-Ellen Evert Hopman's Invocation to Brighid on her FB page and her site: https://www.facebook.com/EllenEvertHopmanAuthor?fref=ts and http://elleneverthopman.com/
-Patti Wigington's poem: http://paganwiccan.about.com/od/imbolcprayers/qt/Brigantia.htm
-Michelle Skye's invocation: http://thetarotman.wordpress.com/tag/lisa-iris/

2 comments:

  1. Thanks for listing me as a source on your blog post.

    I happen to know the name of the artist that illustrated the Bridget Card "Excerpt from 'Lady Day,' by Susan Morgan Black. The Card is from the "Oracle of the Goddess" Divination Deck, by Gayan S. Winter (also known as Gayan Sylvie Winter), illustrated by Jo Dose (Copyright 2006, U. S. Games Systems, Inc., Stamford, Connecticut).

    ReplyDelete