Brigid from The Goddess Project: Made in Her Image by Colette Numajiri

She is the reason BRIDES wear white, swan-like wedding gowns. Brides veil themselves like the Goddess herself, Whom all Bridegrooms honor, until revealing Herself to Her chosen groom. Tiny flowers and shamrocks are said to bloom in Her wake, She brings new life.

BRIDGET BRIGHT by Hedgewytch

She is known as Brigid Bright,
Goddess who shines against the night.
At Cille Dara, at the setting sun,
Her sacred flame is kept by one.
Nineteen times the earth turns round,
As sacred springs come forth the ground.
Twenty times the sun has burned,
And now the Goddess has returned.
Alone she tends her thrice-bright flame,
Born of her heart that bears her name.
The Dagda knows Brigid as Daughter,
Triple Blessed by fire and water.
Poets call her name to inspire.
And healers oft gain from her fire.
Wayland too would know her well
As hammer and anvil ring like a bell.
A sorrowful cry did she give meaning,
When first she brought to Eire keening.
Oh Sacred Fire against darkest night,
Burn for Brigid, for Brigid Bright!
Fire in the head…to quicken us.
Fire in the cauldron…to heal us.
Fire in the forge of the heart…to temper us.

Great Britain, or Brigit’s Isles, were named after the Goddess Brigid, Who is also known as “She of a Thousand Names” including Bride and Brittania. Brigit’s Isles are covered with sacred sites in homage to Her, including the MYSTICAL AVALON, the swan- shaped matriarchal island of the Arthurian legends that is said to exist in a higher dimension hovering in the mists near Canterbury and GLASTONBURY TOR. Ireland, Wales and England each have rivers are named for Her: Brigit, Braint and Brent, respectively. Another important pilgrimage site of Brigid is Solas Bhride in Kildare, Ireland. This gorgeous new pilgrimage facility is near St. Brigid’s Cathedral and Holy Well. (#onmybucketlist)

SAINT, you ask? Yes, when Christianity spread across Europe, they kept the Goddess but changed Her name to: “Saint Brigid” and She is celebrated on ancient sites dedicated to the Goddess. “In order to incorporate Brigid into Christian worship, and thus insure Her survival, Her involvement in the life of Jesus became the stuff of legend. According to the stories in The Lives of the Saints, Brigid was the midwife present at the birth, placing three drops of water on His forehead. This seems to be a Christianized version of an ancient Celtic myth concerning the Sun of Light upon Whose head three drops of water were placed in order to confer wisdom.” “Little is known about Saint Brigid’s life after she entered the Church, but in 40 AD she founded a monastery in Kildare, called the Church of the Oak. It was built above a pagan shrine to the Celtic goddess Brigid, which was beneath a large oak tree.”

A sacred fire is kept in Kildare, that continuously burns, kept by a group of 19 NUNS. “The tradition of female priestesses tending sacred, naturally-occurring eternal flames is a feature of ancient Indo-European pre-Christian spirituality.” says Wikipedia. You can visit and possibly tend to the fire yourself, even lighting your own candle there. Brigid goes home with you in the wick. (She lives in my home!)

“Brigid, the Celtic Goddess of Healing, Poetry, and Smithcraft, begins her reign on Imbolic, February 2, the midpoint between winter solstice and spring equinox… [The Celtic] Fire Festival in honor of Brigid and the growing light. In Scotland… houses were cleaned and the hearth fires rekindled on February 2, to welcome in Brigid. Remnants of this festival are found in America today on Groundhog Day.

Another clue suggesting Her importance… the massive stones which make up Stonehenge and Avebury are known as Bridestones.  Bees are also sacred to Brigid. Her bees brought their magical nectar to earth.” according to Sacred Feminine artist and writer Judith Shaw.

Goddess Brigid is the guardian of domesticated animals and they are said to cry out warning to Her. She invented keening (the combination of wailing crying and singing) and also the “night whistle” for safe moonlit travels.

“She is the goddess of all things perceived to be of relatively high dimensions such as high-rising flames, highlands, hill-forts and upland areas; and of activities and states conceived as psychologically lofty and elevated, such as wisdom, excellence, perfection, high intelligence, poetic eloquence, craftsmanship (especially blacksmithing), healing ability, druidic knowledge and skill in warfare.” according to Wikipedia.

Brighid, Exalted One
Goddess of fire and light
Patron of poets, smiths, and healers
Inspiration you bring when you are near
You, whose fire lights the smithy
Where our tools are forged
And our hearth-fire
Where we seek warmth
By your light and radiance many are healed
Daughter of Dagda
Lend us some of your fire and light
Share with us your radiance
Descend on us
Come and bless this site
Aid us and this world
As we journey on the healing path
Goddess of the hearth-fire
We bid you welcome
Hail and blessed be

Our Brigid model, Melody, is equally as fiery and protective as the Goddess she portrays. A brilliant mother and wife, she and her young son are the only red-heads in their family. Melody writes: “I grew up in Upstate South Carolina. My dad is still a Methodist Minister. I have my BA in Art History from Converse College in Spartanburg, SC and my Master’s in Museums Studies from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore Maryland. My mom’s family are accomplished Southern Gospel singers, “The Sheltons” who were recently inducted into The South Carolina Gospel Music Hall of Fame.” Melody is a brave, passionate, fun-loving artist and art enthusiast, a true Goddess in every way. I knew she was our “Brigid” after she told me she always found 4-leaf clovers as a child.

Photo and computer editing by David Clanton.

For other Goddess Project: Made in Her Image Goddesses go to our website, or the FREE SOPHIA blog.

Colette Numajiri is a Goddess cheerleader and Creatrix of freesophia.com, the FREE SOPHIA blog, The Goddess Project: Made in Her Image, the Goddess Group and one of the Reverends of the New Wineskins Feminist Ritual Community in Dallas. 20 years of professional makeup artistry and design in the theatre lead her to blend worlds, creating the Goddess Project. THE GODDESS PROJECT: Made in Her Image JOURNAL JOURNEY has just been released!  Wife and mother of two young boys, she will stop at nothing until all of the World’s children are happy and free. Follow her on Instagram: @coconiji.