February Eve :: Deity of the Sabbat :: Brigit

Brigit, the Triple Goddess The goddess Brigit has been venerated from prehistoric times straight through to modern times. Stone carvings, inscriptions and entries in the Book of Invasions and the Cycle of Kings attest to the goddess’ worship through the ages. Her form may have changed from Pagan goddess to Catholic saint and back again and she has been known in various lands under different names, but she is always with us.

In Ireland, she is the daughter of Dagda “the good god” and leader of the Tuatha De Danann. In some myths, she has two sisters of the same name, but this is most likely an allegory to illustrate the three aspects of the goddess. At once, she is the goddess of poetic inspiration, the goddess of the hearth and healing and a martial goddess associated with the fire of the forge. She also has a brother, Angus, the god of love, youth and beauty. Brigit married Bress “the beautiful”, the son of Elathan, the Fomorian sea king and Eriu, the earth mother of the Tuatha De Danann. The couple had a son, Ruadan, who was slain in battle by Goibnui, the weapon maker of the Tuatha De Danann. The loss of her son caused Brigit to wail and cry uncontrollably, her lamentations became known as a keening, hers being the first in Ireland. Some believe it is Brigit that one hears keening when a prominent figure is preparing to cross from our world. She is most often depicted as a beautiful, blond, slender woman dressing in a cape of fairy green.

Brigit's Many Names

Brede
Breo-Saighit
Brid
Bride
Bridget
Brig
Brigandu
Brigantia
Brighid
Brighit
Brigid
Brigin-do
Brigit
Ffraid
In Northern England, she becomes Brigantia, the protective goddess of the Brigantes, the largest tribe in Britain. Legends here tell of Brigantia suckling magic milk from a white cow with red ears in the Otherworld. Here she is the goddess of the seasons, who presides over streams and springs, cattle and lambs. Milk and butter are sacred to her and may be left out on Imbolg Eve as offerings to the goddess. In Northern England, as in Ireland, she governed the hearth fire and fertility, both of land and of animals. She was often invoked into the birthing chamber to oversee the mother during her labor and she was believed to hover near the cradle to protect the infant during its first few days of life. As Brigantia, she is depicted armed, with a breastplate carrying a scepter and an orb, symbols of her as a goddess of sovereignty.

In Scottish mythology, she is the goddess who frees spring form the wintry grasp of Cailleach Bheur, known as Cally Berry or Bherri in Northern Ireland. Cailleach Bheur is described as an old hag with red teeth and one eye. She is the Mountain Mother who presides over the winter months. With the coming of Brigit, the goddess of springtime, she places her staff under a holly tree and turns to stone. Brigit takes control of the weather, warming the earth and bringing fertility to fields and animal alike. Some have theorized that Cailleach Bheur and Brigit are one in the same, personifying longevity in both their appearance and the cycle of the seasons.

Brigit’s names and titles are almost as numerous as her areas of influence. She rules all aspects of fire, from its ability to inspire, as in poetry and learning, to its ability to destroy, as in the weapons created in the forge. She teaches the healing art of herb craft and presides over healing springs, but she is also a warrior and teacher of battle skills. She protects her people, while always seeking a peaceful mediation. She protects mothers and babies and blesses brides on their wedding days, while she laments the death of kings and of her own son. She is goddess of fertility and abundance, who warms the fields and the hearth fire so crops may grow and meals be cooked. The Sanskrit cognate bhrati, from which her name descends, translates to ‘exalted one’, a most fitting title for the goddess.

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